WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING
February 14, 2005

MINUTES

I. The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m.

Voting members and alternates present were: K. Ahmad, G. Alter, S. Baird, G. Bernhardt,
J. Brandeberry, W. Carmichael, C. Cherrington, R. Hill, B. Jung, J. Leung, K. Malloy,
P. Martin, S. McConnell, T. McKee, M. McLellan, S. Mohan, S. Nelson, L. Ream, R. Ritzi, C. Ryan,
T. Sudkamp, J. Thomas (Chair), L. Winfrey

Non-voting alternates present were: S. Narayanan, V. Shalin

Non-voting attendees were: J. Kimble, G. Malicki, D. Orenstein, J. Petrick, and W. Sellers

II. Approval of Minutes

It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the November 1, 2004 meeting be approved as written. Motion carried unanimously.

III. Report of the Dean (J. Thomas)

The winter, 2005 enrollment report indicates a 4% decline in graduate headcount and a slight (0.8%) decrease in graduate credit hours (excluding School of Medicine and School of Professional Psychology). Compared to fall 2004, fall 2005 domestic applications have decreased; international applications have increased. Overall, fall applications are about flat.

In conjunction with the Provost’s priorities, we are placing increased emphasis on graduate recruiting. Graduate recruiting tools include:

Graduate Tuition Scholarships - Approximately 160 positions are available. Presently, the allotment for the program is being reviewed.

Graduate Council Scholars -The program features a stipend of $12,000 and tuition remission for up to two years. Programs should nominate their top students to Dean Thomas. Accelerated awards may be made for exceptional students. The Graduate Student Affairs Committee selects the remaining wards. Typically, five-six awards are presented per academic year.

Dean Thomas will forward an RFP for graduate student recruitment to deans, program directors, and department chairs mid-February. Up to $30,000 will be available for graduate recruitment in awards ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. The emphasis should be on fall 2005 enrollment.

IV. Committee Reports

• Policies Committee (D. Orenstein)

The Committee met on February 2 and on February 9, and discussed and acted upon the following issues:

1. The Committee reviewed and approved an updated School of Graduate Studies Policies and Procedures Manual including all recent policy changes approved by the Graduate Council.

2. The grant-funded CoNH “BEACON” program provides a BSN to students with a previous bachelor’s degree who wish to enter the Nursing profession. The program includes 17 credit hours of graduate coursework taken under Senior Permission to cover licensing requirements and as a quick start to the MSN. The Committee approved a waiver of the 12 credit hour Senior Permission restriction for students in the College of Nursing and Health’s “BEACON” Program.

3. This is the second graduate transition program requiring a waiver of the Senior Permission restriction of 12 credit hours. To eliminate the need to waive this policy the Committee recommends to Graduate Council the following addition to the Senior Permission policy (sec. 4.51 of the SoGS Policies Manual): Students admitted to an approved transition program may be allowed to take and apply more than 12 hours of graduate credit. This was moved, seconded, briefly discussed, and approved unanimously be the Graduate Council.

4. The Committee approved a Communication concentration in the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program. The concentration targets 16 credit hours of electives to communication coursework. The new concentration is consistent with MPA accreditation standards.

5. The Committee considered a proposal for a new Technical and Professional Writing Graduate Certificate Program in the Department of English, which would replace two existing certificate programs. It was tabled for further clarification of the transition from the old programs to the new and discussion at the next meeting.

6. J. Thomas distributed copies of NCA guidelines for “distance learning” (essentially televised and on-line) graduate degree programs to the Policies Committee. He asked the Committee to review these guidelines and advise him of how the Committee should be involved in this process in the future. Currently, distance learning degree programs require approval by NCA, and WSU needs to have a procedure for reviewing and submitting future requests for this approval.

7. The Registrar has suggested to the SoGS that it is possible for Graduate Council to bring forth a policy to accept grades of “I” without requiring a signed Incomplete Grade Agreement. There are both policy and procedural issues associated with any change. After some discussion, the Committee voted to keep this issue on the table until its next meeting.

8. The Classroom Teacher M.Ed. program has several concentrations including Classroom Teacher: General. This concentration was judged not to be serving student needs due to its rigidity. So, a more flexible, menu-driven curriculum was proposed. After discussion, the Committee approved the revised curriculum. This revision will offer more realistic choices and options for new teachers needing to meet state mandates for follow-on education.

9. The following policy regarding Credit by Examination was brought forward by the Committee: A maximum of twelve hours of graduate credit received through credit by examination may be applied toward graduate degree requirements. This credit may be elective and/or program required credit. Colleges may specify which courses may be completed through credit by examination. This was proposed, seconded, briefly discussed, and approved unanimously by the Graduate Council.

10. There is a need to review records retention in the School of Graduate Studies in view of a move to digital storage. This move is being accelerated by the need to vacate storage space in the Student Union before remodeling. At present the SoGS Records Retention Plan requires that student file documents (other than the official transcript which the Registrar stores) be kept for 25 years. A fifteen-year period is being considered. Without a reduction in retention period, over one million pages will need to be scanned. Any concerns should be addressed to G. Malicki.

Membership Committee (J. Petrick)

J. Petrick has taken over as chair from R. Grubbs who is leaving the university. Dean Thomas thanked Dr. Grubbs for his excellent leadership and Dr. Petrick for assuming the chair position.

The Committee met February 3, 2005 and considered and recommended six nominations for full graduate faculty membership and four nominations for adjunct full graduate faculty membership.

The full member nominees are:

The adjunct full member nominees are:

It was moved and seconded that the nominees be approved; the motion passed unanimously.

V. Research Report (W. Sellers)

This year to date(January 31, 2004), WSU has over $40 million in sponsored program awards. Last year, the number was $50 million for the entire year.

The Research Incentive Program is underway for 2005. The overall program is comprised of the following sub-programs: Research Initiation, Professional Development, and Research Travel. The deadline for submitting Research Initiation and Professional Developments is February 18. The Research Travels program is continuous and makes approximately 20 awards per year for amounts up to $1000. .

VI. MS in Logistics Management: Supply Chain Management

Dr. Vikram Sethi, chair of the ISOM department, briefed the Council on the revised MS in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. With the MS in Logistics Management program dormant, many organizations were solicited for input to determine market need, including Wright Patterson AFB and the ISOM Corporate Advisory Board members. The revised program is non-conventional in design, development and marketing. It is a one-year program, and the initial cohort consists of 27 students. They will spend five weekends on campus and participate in ten on-line modules. This is the only program of its nature in the state of Ohio. Rich partnership opportunities have emerged since the program’s inception including WCI-ADMA, NCR Teradata, and the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC).

VII. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.