Graduate Council Meeting Minutes

Coastal Carolina University

October 4, 2006

 

Members Present:         D. Vrooman replacing S. Libes, (Natural and Applied Sciences),

E. Wright (Natural and Applied Sciences), D. Rauch (Business), J. Marcis (Business),

E. Helms (Education), J. Navin (Humanities and Fine Arts), W. Prince (Humanities and Fine Arts), D. Wiseman (Office of the Provost), D. Lawless (Registrar)

 

Members Absent:  J. Winslow (Education)

 

The meeting was called to order at 11:30 am in the Dawsey Conference in the Singleton Administration Building by Dr. Dennis Wiseman.  Dr. Wiseman welcomed the members and began with an announcement that to the College of Education had just completed a very successful NCATE accreditation visit.  Considerable work had gone into the preparation for the visit both in and out of the College of Education.  All involved should be congratulated.  Dr. Wiseman also shared good news regarding special recognition received by the College of Education, Dr. Emory Helms, and two MAT social studies students.  Dr. Helms was asked to speak to the recognition.  He shared that a social studies kit for middle school teachers had been designed by a group of Coastal Carolina students and faculty in the MAT social studies program and had received the Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award from the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).  The project, Native American History in a Box, was developed by graduate students Adam Jones and Jason Schipper with Dr. Helms and Dr. Austin Hitt.  The four individuals will be officially recognized at the NCSS annual conference in Washington, D.C. on December 3.

 

After these preliminary announcements, Dr. Wiseman asked for approval of the Minutes from the Council’s September 6 meeting.  There being no corrections or additions, the Minutes were approved as distributed.

 

Dr. Wiseman shared that no college had submitted any agenda items for the Council to consider.  In the absence of college-specific items of business, he had distributed to the members a number of pieces of information related to the development of graduate programs.  The items distributed prior to the meeting included the following:

 

  1. Approval Process for New Degree Programs at Coastal Carolina University
  2. S.C. Commission on Higher Education Procedures for Program Planning Summaries
  3. S.C. Commission on Higher Education Format for Proposals for New Programs, Modifications, Centers, Bureaus, and Institutes
  4. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) standards pertaining to educational programs and evaluation, graduate vs undergraduate education, and faculty qualifications
  5. Statement on Graduate Faculty from UNC Wilmington

Dr. Wiseman distributed to the members the current Strategic Directive pertaining to graduate studies in the Coastal Carolina University Strategic Plan, 2006-2011.  He also distributed a listing of the largest undergraduate programs by major as represented by a degree program with more than 100 declared majors and circulated information about other institutions and their graduate programs.  Dr. Wiseman will send copies of this information via email attachment to all of the members.  :

 

Fall 2006 Students/Major

 

812 – Management

540 – Marine Science

507 – Marketing

384 – Biology

372 – Psychology

298 – Health Promotions

271 – Early Childhood Education

234 – Elementary Education

230 - Accounting

203 – Resort Tourism Management

188 – Finance

185 – Politics

184 – Recreation Sports Management

182 – Physical Education

174 – History

155 -  English

153 – Computer Science

147 – Art Studio

137 – Communication

132 – Sociology

 

With this information in hand, Dr. Wiseman asked the members their views as to the role of the Graduate Council in terms of graduate program development.  It could be a role of 1) promoting graduate programs, 2) reviewing and approving or not approving graduate programs, or 3) both.  Given the specific charge of the Council, the Council, minimally, will be involved in the program approval process. 

 

The discussion that followed included a review of some possible graduate areas that have been discussed over the past one to two years.  These include graduate programs in biology, computer science, sports management, educational leadership, counselor education, and liberal arts.  The Strategic Plan specifically identifies recreation and resort tourism management as possibilities that could meet the needs of area employers and fit well with the unique characteristics of the region.

 

While the members were interested in exploring graduate needs at the University, the question was asked as to the position of the University administration related to new graduate programs.  Dr. Wiseman suggested that he felt that the Provost would be pleased

to speak to the Council with his views concerning graduate study.  It was decided that Dr. Wiseman would invite the Provost to the next meeting.

 

Dr. Helms noted that at an earlier meeting of the Council that a question was asked related to how the College of Education reviewed candidate transcripts for entry into the MAT program.  He indicated that he would like to present information related to this process at the next meeting.

 

There being no further discussion or business, the meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm.