Graduate
Council Meeting
Coastal
Members Present: E.
Crites (Humanities and Fine Arts), E. Helms (Education), S. Libes, (Natural and
Applied Sciences), D. Rauch (Business), B. Sawyer (Registrar),
D. Wiseman (Office
of the Provost)
Members Absent: M. Mitchell (Business), W. Prince (Humanities
and Fine Arts),
E. Wright (Natural
and Applied Sciences)
Guest: D. Vrooman
The meeting was
called to order at
After calling the
meeting to order, Dr. Wiseman asked for a motion to accept the minutes of the
The first item of
business of the Graduate Council was submitted by the
1.
Current Description:
PSYC 582. Advanced General Psychology. (3) Contemporary trends in approaches and behavior theories.
Recommended Description:
PSYC 582 Advanced General Psychology. (3) A graduate-level overview of the scientific study of behavior. The theme of basic research will be followed through the study of personality, learning and memory, cognition, human development, social behavior, abnormal behavior, and the biological bases of behavior, in addition to some other selected topics.
Rationale: The recommended description describes the content addressed in the course more completely.
Discussion: The Council members concurred that the proposed change in the course description offered more information about the course and, therefore, reflected the course content in a stronger way than the current description in the catalog. After a brief discussion, the new course description was approved.
The second item of business was submitted by Dr. Wiseman as Director of Graduate Studies.
2. Director of Graduate Studies
Recommendation for
change on Graduate Council forms dealing with new courses, changes in courses,
and changes in programs: The
recommended change relates to feedback gained from related departments.
Current Wording:
Reviewed by related
department(s) if cross-listed
______________________________ ___________________________________
Date approved Signature of department chair
Recommended Wording:
Reviewed by related department(s) (A review by a related department(s) is expected if the proposed change represents a cross-listed course, a course or similar course already offered in another department, or a program change that could impact a course, e.g., enrollment, student readiness, offered in another department.)
_____________________________ ________________________________
Date reviewed Signature of department chair
Comment: ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Rationale: It is important that related departments are offered the opportunity to comment on academic changes proposed by other departments where the academic changes may have impact across departments. It is not necessary, however, for a related department to approve of an academic change for the change to be initiated by another department. Giving or not giving approval is the responsibility of the Graduate Council. For the success of all of the academic programs at the University, it is essential that clear communication take place and that the rationale for change be understood.
Discussion: Dr. Wiseman spoke to the recommended change in terms of the value of having stronger communication regarding graduate matters across the campus, in particular where departments may have common interests or might be impacted in some way by a change made in another academic area. Dr. Wiseman specifically indicated that, while the College of Education’s recent change in admission to M.Ed. and M.A.T. programs that discontinues the requirement of students to present a satisfactory GRE or MAT score had been approved, he thought that the process could have gone more smoothly and that, perhaps, more communication would have facilitated this. The discussion that followed included the observation that more communication would assist more faculty members in better understanding Coastal’s graduate programs and their requirements. The point also was made that in some instances it might be cumbersome to solicit review from all related parties. Dr. Wiseman pointed out that the review was for the purpose of sharing information and allowing comment, not to seek approval of a proposed change. After discussion, the motion was approved as presented.
There being no further business, Dr. Wiseman closed the meeting with an announcement about his interest in further clarifying the policies and procedures regarding graduate assistants on campus, to include whether or not there should be an approval process for graduate assistants to accept additional employment on campus beyond that related to their graduate assistantship. Introducing the topic of graduate assistantships produced considerable discussion, including the need for greater clarification of graduate assistant duties, procedures for reviewing performance, and the entire area of supervision, retention, etc. Dr. Wiseman indicated that he had met with Dr. Libes and Dr. Wright to further develop Coastal’s current graduate assistant policies and procedures. A summary of possible recommendations had been presented to the Provost for comment. Dr. Wiseman will get with Dr. Libes and Dr. Wright before the next meeting of the Council to finalize a presentation of possible policy and procedures changes.
There being no further business or discussion, the meeting adjourned at 12:20 pm.
.