Graduate Studies

Graduate Council Minutes - October 9, 2017

3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Horrabin Hall 60/QC 2203

Members Present: J. Ehrlich, H. Hemphill, A. Hyde, J. Jones, K. Kapale (Vice Chair), J. Laurent (Chair), S. Szyjka

Members Absent: M. Stryker

Guests Present: K. Daytner, K. Mayborn, L. Wolff, E. Sheffield, J. Myers, T. Lough, S. Thompson, C. Piletic, T. Piper, E. McJimpsey, R. McConnell

Ex-Officio Present: N. Parsons

Others Present: A. Schulz

I. STUDENT APPEALS

A. Educational Leadership

1. Request to transfer more than 12 hours into a doctoral program

Drs. Wolff and Sheffield were in attendance. Dr. Laurent asked about the courses listed on the request. Dr. Parsons noted that the transcripts were not included with the petition and it would be beneficial to have a list of which courses replace each one. Dr. Wolff stated that she met with the student and requested syllabi and sample assignments from each course. Dr. Laurent asked for clarification regarding who evaluated the syllabi. Dr. Wolff reviewed the ones for the courses that she teaches and conferred with other professors for the remaining courses.

Motion: To approve the request. (Kapale/Jones)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

B. Health Sciences

1. Request to waive the 6-hour C rule

Appeal withdrawn by student.

Discussion was held regarding applications for full membership in the graduate faculty and the location of the requests on the agenda.

Motion: To permanently reorder the agenda to have full graduate faculty membership requests after student appeals. (Kapale/Ehrlich)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

Motion: To remain in closed session for full graduate faculty membership applications. (Ehrlich/Hemphill)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB


II. GRADUATE FACULTY – FULL MEMBERSHIP

A. Erica McJimpsey, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

Drs. McJimpsey and McConnell were present. Dr. Laurent asked about previous work with students. Dr. McJimpsey responded that she has not yet worked on committees until recently. Dr. Jones asked how common the thesis option is in Chemistry. Dr. McConnell responded that about 80% of students do a thesis. She also added that Dr. McJimpsey is the main analytical person in Chemistry, especially forensics.

Motion: To approve the request. (Hemphill/Jones)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

B. Tim Piper, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology

Drs. Piper and Piletic were in attendance. Dr. Piper has served on fifteen to twenty thesis committees but has not been able to chair and there is a need. Dr. Laurent asked how many publications included students. Dr. Piper noted that at least a dozen had student involvement.

Motion: To approve the request. (Jones/Hyde)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB


III. ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Academic integrity incident reports filed in the School of Graduate Studies, September 2017 (0)

B. Requests to serve as a reader on exit option committee, September 2017 (0)

C. Graduate Committee Chair fall semester meeting recap

Dr. Parsons stated that the graduate committee chair meeting went well. She noted that recruitment expectations will go out soon and the Graduate School will meet with individual programs for one hour each to discuss recruitment and other topics. A social media workshop is being planned and will be announced soon. There are graduate student mixers at both campuses being planned. The spring meetings are scheduled for February and April.


IV. GRADUATE CURRICULUM

A. Geography

1. Request for a 400-G level course

a. GEOG 402, Advanced Cartography, 3 s.h.

Dr. Thompson was present. Dr. Laurent asked for more detail regarding the graduate level work required. Dr. Thompson provided a detailed statement of the additional work required for the graduate students adding that exams will also be weighted more.

Motion: To approve the request. (Ehrlich/Kapale)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

b. GEOG 407, Social Applications of GIS, 3 s.h.

Dr. Thompson noted that this course focuses on social aspects and will allow students from other programs to take the course and be involved. He also read additional information regarding the course to the Council.

Motion: To approve the request. (Kapale/Hyde)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

c. GEOG 410, Applied GIScience, 3 s.h.

Dr. Thompson stated that this is an applications based course. The graduate students will be required to complete projects based on the discipline that they are in.

Motion: To approve the request. (Ehrlich/Kapale)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

d. GEOG 440, Connections: A Geography of Transportation, 3 s.h.

Dr. Thompson noted that this course is the basis for introducing transportation analysis to GIS analysis.

Motion: To approve the request. (Hemphill/Kapale)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

2. Request to change post-baccalaureate certificate program requirements

a. GIS Analysis

Dr. Thompson explained that the request takes the requirement back to the original certificate that was changed a number of years ago. The electives are chosen by each department and the students can take courses with additional GIS courses.

Motion: To approve the request. (Ehrlich/Hyde)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

B. Law Enforcement and Justice Administration

1. Request for Integrated Baccalaureate and Master’s Degree Program

a. Bachelor of Arts in General Studies/Master of Arts in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration

Drs. Lough and Myers were in attendance. Dr. Myers stated that there are a number of students working in criminal justice but are getting a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies because of the online component. These students would benefit from an integrated program into the Master of Arts in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration which is also online. The first offering would be in Fall 2018.

Motion: To approve the request. (Hyde/Hemphill)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB


V. OTHER BUSINESS

Dr. Kapale shared a few items from a recent College of Arts and Sciences graduate chair meeting. One area was the emphasis on recruitment. Discussion was held regarding recruiting more students while also improving the quality of the programs. Another area of discussion was assistantships and if WIU stipends are comparable to other benchmark institutions. The last area discussed was UNIV 695 and the concern over paying the tuition as some students may not want to come back to complete the degree. Dr. Parsons noted that there have been a few exceptions made when there are extenuating circumstances.


Meeting adjourned: 4:32 p.m.