Graduate Council – Minutes

East Tennessee State University

March 25, 2013 1:15pm

President’s Conference Room – Dossett Hall 206

 

Present:  Dr. Karin Bartoszuk, Dr. Jeffery P. Beck, Ms. Queen H. E. Brown, Dr. Russell Brown, Dr. Stacy D. Brown, Dr. Scott W. Champney, Ms. Maria D. Costa, Dr. William R. Duncan, Dr. Marsh M. Grube, Dr. Donald B. Hoover, Dr. Marie Jones, Ms. Billie Lancaster, Dr. Lori Marks, Dr. Cecilia A. McIntosh, Ms. Laura Pepper-Weiler, Dr. Martha M. Pointer, Dr. Marie Tedesco, Dr. Ester L. Verhovsek

 

Absent:  Dr. Scott W. Champney, Ms. Maria D. Costa, Dr. Emmett M. Essin, Dr. Eric S. Glover, Ms. LaDonna Hutchins, Dr. Jeff R. Knisley, Dr. Robbie Pack, Dr. Kathleen M. Rayman, Ms. Colleen Scott, Dr. Florence M. Weierbach

 

Guests:  Dr. Phillip E. Pfeiffer, Dr. Jay Franklin, Dr. Cynthia R. Chambers

 

Approval of February 2013 Minutes:

 

The February 25, 2013 minutes were approved with no corrections.

 

Informational Item – Staffing changes – Dr. McIntosh:

 

Dr. Beck accepted the Dean’s position at Keane College and his last day will be April 5th.  Dr. Bartoszuk has been promoted to Associate Dean and there is an internal search for the Assistant Dean position.  Also, Ms. Gail Powers will be retiring June 30th and has agreed to a temporary position to train the new hire beginning July 1, 2013.

 

Curriculum Subcommittee report – Dr. Martha Pointer:

 

Each of the proposals below was considered using the following characteristics as an element of the appropriateness of the proposal:

Appropriate credit hour assignment

Appropriate discipline-specific best practices

Appropriate purpose and goals of the proposal

Appropriate intellectual/learning outcomes

Appropriate content and topics

Appropriate major assignments

Appropriate class level

Appropriate course type

Appropriate course delivery method

Conflict with other courses or programs

Articulation and transferability of credit to other institutions

 

I.          New Course Proposal – ENTC 5050, International Experience:

This course is an international trip which may be taken to various foreign locations.

 

            The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        Change the course number to ENTC 5080.

B.        Investigate the possibility of having secondary titles for the course to provide more information on course content on the transcript (since focus can change).

C.        Re-word the course description to exclude the names of specific locations, especially Rome, Italy and Europe to provide more flexibility in topic.

D.        In the Purpose and Goals section, begin the Course Goals section with the sentence “The goals of the course include:” and begin each bullet point with a verb ending in “ing.”

E.         In the Grade Assignment section, separate the verbal presentation and the Journal percentages.

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

II.        New Course Proposal – ANTH 5027, Cultural Resource Management:

 

This course is part of an undergraduate curriculum modification.

            The subcommittee recommends approval.

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

           

III.       New Course Proposal – ANTH 5407, Archaeological Field School:

 

This course is part of an undergraduate curriculum modification.

            The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        In the Purpose and Goals section, begin with “The purpose of the course is to ….”

            B.        In the Purpose and Goals section, begin the goals section with the goals of the course are to:”

C.        Renumber the goals to remove the two 4s.

D.        In the Grading Assignment, remove the “A weighted average….”

            E.         In the Order Information section, change the Field Experience hours from 45 to 50.

F.     In the Required Textbook section, why is the Wong and Wong textbook used as the sole text in multiple courses?

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

           

 

IV.       New Course Proposal – SPED 4/5587, Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Significant Disabilities

 

This new course is part of the curriculum modification that will implement TBR's Ready 2 Teach initiative.

            The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        In the Purpose and Goals section, remove the hyphen in the third bullet.

B.        In the Purpose and Goals section, attempt to place a bullet before the last item in the list of goals.

C.        In the Learning Outcomes section, attempt to place a bullet in the last item of the list.

D.        In the Major Assignments section, spell out “ELA” and “SIP.”

E.         In the Major Assignments section, add a suggested length to the description of the Evidence-based Practice Paper.

F.         In the Attendance Policy, remove the “C-“ reference.

G.        In the Attendance Policy, Weather Related section, change “may be” to “must.”

H.        In the Other Information, remove the Weather Related Information.

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

V.        New Course Proposal – SPED 4/5467, Teaching Math to Students with Mild/Moderate Exceptional Learning Needs

 

This new course is part of the curriculum that will implement TBR's Ready 2 Teach initiative.

            The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        Edit the Corequisites to include SPED 5710.

B.        Edit the points assigned to Graduate Students in the Grade Assignment section to allocate more weight to the Graduate Student Research Component

C.        In the Grading Scale, include information for the grade of “F” in the Graduate section.

D.        In the Other Information section, Weather Related, change “may be” to “must.”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

           

VI.       Substantial Course Modification – SPED 4/5757, Curriculum Based Assessment:

 

The proposed course modification is part of the Curriculum modification that will implement TBR’s Ready 2 Teach initiative

            The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        In the Major Assignments section, the Graduate Student section, include all of the required assignments, not just the incremental assignment.

B.        In the Grade Assignment section, review the grade assignment for the Graduate Student Research Component for a heavier weight.

C.        In the Other Information section, add the Weather Related information, making sure to use “must” in place of “may be.”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

VII.     Substantial Course Modification – READ 4/5437, Reading Instruction in the Middle and Secondary School:

 

This modified course is part of the curriculum change proposal that will implement TBR’s Ready 2 Teach initiative.

            The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        In the Purpose and Goals section, begin with “The purpose of this course is to allow teacher candidates….”           

B.        In the Grading Scale section, in the last lines of the columns, use “Below 363,” “Below 61%,” “Below 522,” and “Below 75%.”

           

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

 

VIII.    Substantial Course Modification – READ 4/5453, Residency I: Advanced Middle Grades English/Language Arts:

 

This substantial course modification is part of the curriculum change proposal required for TBR’s Ready 2 Teach initiative.

The subcommittee recommends approval with the following change:

A.        In the Proposed Transcript Title, use :Res I: Adv Mid Gr Eng/LA.”

B.        In the Major Assignment section, Module 3, part (2), add the words “as detailed in the lesson plans.”

C.        In the Grading Scale section, use “Below 187” and “Below 75%” for the grade of “F.”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

 

IX.       Substantial Course Modification – READ 5441, Reading in the K-6 Classroom:

 

            This course is part of the curriculum revision proposal required by TBR’s Ready 2 Teach initiative.

                        The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

            A.        In the Proposed Transcript Title, use “Reading in the K-6 Classroom.”

            B.        In the Purpose and Goals section, remove one of the titles.

            C.        In the Grading Scale section, use “Below 73%” and “Below 399” for the grade of “F.”

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

 

 

 

 

X.        TBR Proposal – Terminate the Geoscience concentration in the Master of Science in Technology:

 

            This concentration is no longer needed now that there is a Master of Science in Geosciences.

                        The subcommittee recommends approval with the following changes:

A.        In the Purpose section, rewrite the last sentence to read “… allowing students to pursue a more focused program of study in the Geosciences area."

B.        Check that there are no inactive students in the MST with a concentration in Geoscience.

 

Action taken by council:  approved with recommendations

 

XI.       TABLED – CUAI course proposals and TBR proposal for substantial revision of MAT program were tabled because no representative was present to address questions.

 

Tabled: no representative present

 

Graduate Faculty Subcommittee report and recommendations – Dr. Tedesco:

 

Graduate Faculty Subcommittee Report

March 2013

 

New Applications:

 

Applicant                               Department                            Recommendation     

 

1. Greene, Dana                      COPH                                     Affiliate

2. Mei, Hua                             CHEM                                                Member

 

 

Reapplications:

 

Applicant                       Department                        Present Status            Recommendation

 

1.  Brewster, Karen         Commun.-Theater               Associate                     Member

2.  Campbell, Sharon        Biom. Sciences                   Temporary                   Member          

 

 

Old Business:

 

 

            Annual Awards: Dr. Bartoszuk thanked all the committee members for their participation.  The outstanding thesis/dissertation and capstone awardees have been selected as well as the excellence in teaching, and service for the public good. A total of eleven research grants have awardees have been selected.  Letters are going out as well as invitations to the award ceremony on April 24, 2013.   Dr. Bartoszuk shared the broad representation in research grants and the increase from eight to eleven from last year in the research category.  Dr. McIntosh invited all the council members to the annual Graduate Studies award ceremony on April 24 at the D. P. Culp auditorium beginning at 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a reception to following from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  

 

            New Business:

 

            Dr. Pfeiffer presented his concerns on the idea of football fees on graduate student not being in the best interest of the graduate programs or the institution.  Most graduate students are attending the university with limited funds especially the international students.  According to Dr. Pfeiffer, the undergraduate students perhaps attend the university for more social reasons instead of professional reasons as the graduate students. Also, the stipend received by graduate students is not a substantial amount to offset the additional $250 fee.

 

            Dr. Pfeiffer stated he discussed the situation with Dr. Marty Barrett and concluded a resolution letter from the Graduate Council would be more advantageous to Dr. Noland instead of an individual letter from the Computer Science department.  The resolution letter would request the graduate students have the opportunity to opt-out of paying the additional fee of $250 per year to implement the football program.

 

            After extensive discussion among the council members, Dr. Hoover called for a motion and vote.  The motion was to table the opt-out graduate student resolution letter until the April council meeting.  Dr. Pfeiffer and Dr. Tedesco will gather information and compose a letter to present at the next meeting.  This letter would include possible options that could be considered such as graduate students being able to opt out of this fee, increasing GA stipends to offset the additional cost (but then how to help the others), etc.  The motion was carried unanimously and this will appear on the April agenda.

 

            Next, Dr. Beck asked the council to discuss the nominees for the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award and vote on a recipient. There were six nominees from several departments.  After extensive discussion, the council selected Dr. Teresa Hayes as the Graduate Faculty Mentoring award recipient.  The vote was unanimous.  Dr. McIntosh stated letters will be sent to the other nominees congratulating them on their nomination.  Dr. Haynes nomination package will be sent to Council of Southern Graduate Schools in fall 2013 as East Tennessee State University mentoring nominee for 2014.

 

            Last, Dr. McIntosh summarized the Thesis/Dissertation Boot Camp for this semester.  There were twenty-eight participates, eight returning students, and four or five of the returning students defending for spring graduation.  A straw poll survey was taken in regards to implementing a Boot Camp for summer terms and there was significant interest.  Results from a debriefing will be shared in the April meeting.  Early indications are that the Boot Camp is performing above expectations and the goals are being achieved.

 

            Other: 

 

            Dr. McIntosh announced that ETSU will be responding to a CGS-issued RFP for financial literacy.  If selected, the grant is $40, 000 for two years to support implementation of a campaign to increase financial literacy of graduate and undergraduate students.

 

            Adjournment:

 

            There was no further business to discuss; therefore, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.