Minutes

GRADUATE COUNCIL – MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005

PRESIDENT’S CONFERENCE ROOM – 1:15 P.M.

Attending: Jeff Powers-Beck, John Taylor; Cecilia McIntosh; Bonny Stanley; Marty Barrett; Phil Scheuerman; Don Hoover; Scott Champney; Jo-Ann Marrs; Wallace Dixon; Martha Pointer; Helene K. Halvorson; Paul Trogen; Wesley Brown; Mark Ellis; Joseph Sobol; Mary Littleton; Nancy Scherer; Norma McRae; Rick Osborn; M.E. Musick; Jo Lobertini; Leslie McCallister; J.W. Flowers; James Florence.

 

  1. Approval of Minutes – March 28, 2005. Minutes were approved with two corrections. Peter Rice was listed incorrectly as "Peter King," and the prefix SOAA appeared incorrectly in several places as SOOA.
  2. Curriculum Sub-Committee – Dr. Martha Pointer

 

1.  School of Continuing Studies

A. New Master’s Degree in Professional Studies (MPS).

The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) is an interdisciplinary graduate degree program in the social sciences and the professions. The 33-hour MPS program is designed for working adults who wish to pursue graduate professional studies that combine two or more disciplines. Because the MPS student’s academic needs and interests are multidisciplinary, they generally are not served by traditional professional programs. MPS offers graduate programs that include:

a.       new interdisciplinary courses;
b.      existing graduate courses;
c.      a culminating Professional Project.   

The MPS allows for the development of professionally oriented programs that respond to the dynamic needs of students working in or preparing for rapidly changing professional environments and expectations. In this program of interdisciplinary graduate studies, students make connections between various professional fields and traditional social science disciplines.

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

B. Three New Core Courses:

1. PRST 5100 - Professional Environment: Studies and Ethics (3 CH)

2. PRST 5200 - Globalization in the Workplace (3 credit hours)

3. PRST 5300 – Research Methods (3 credit hours)

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

C. PRST 5500 – Foundations of Leadership (3 credit hours) was approved with corrections (catalog description, grading scale).

 

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

2.  College of Public and Allied Health

A.      New Concentration – MPH in Biostatistics

There is a national shortage of professionals with the type of background for analysis in public health. Although many new challenges have been presented to public health workers in recent years (e.g., bioterrorism; obesity), "…the number of public health workers has decreased during the past two decades to well below 1970s figures." (The Public Health Work Force: Enumeration 2000, Center for Health Policy, Columbia University) Currently, Tennessee ranks lowest in U.S. Public Health Region IV and is in the lowest third of the nation in the ratio of public health workers to population. While the ratio of public health workers continues to decrease, Tennessee and other states are being asked to "… improve their capacity to monitor, investigate, and respond to patterns in disease areas…" (Woernle 1991) creating a desperate shortage of graduate-trained biostatisticans and epidemiologists in health departments and other agencies in the United States.

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

B.      New Certificate in Biostatistics

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

C.      Three New Courses were considered:

1. PUBH 5460 Spatial Epidemiology and Geographical Studies of Health

PUBH (3 credit hours)

2. PUBH 5320 Statistical Methods in Epidemiology (3 credit hours)

3. PUBH 5360 Clinical Research:Design & Analysis (3 credit hours)

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

 

3.       Curriculum Revisions in Community Health/Public Health
    1. MPH Concentration in Community Health

The Department of Public Health Community Health Concentration is requesting to modify the "Trilogy" sequence of courses [PUBH-5110 (Assessment of Individual and Community Health), PUBH-5120 (Techniques of Research and Evaluation), and PUBH-5130 (Planning and Implementation of Community Health Programs], where students partner with a community organization or agency over three consecutive semesters to assess, develop, implement, and evaluate a community health intervention. Modifications to PUBH-5110 would involve editing changes only. Modifications to PUBH-5120 and PUBH-5130 involve substantial course changes. Modification of the Trilogy allows better integration of material in two courses: PUBH-5150 (Consulting in Organizations and Communities), and PUBH 5210 (Professional Development for Public Health Practice). Therefore, we are requesting these two courses be removed as curriculum requirements in the community health concentration. Also, we are requesting the addition of a 6 credit monograph option as a culminating experience. Three additional elective credit hours are being proposed to complete the 43 credit hour degree. The new proposed curriculum more appropriately focuses on public health competencies within the experiential learning process and will greatly enhance research competencies within our MPH program.

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

    1. Two course modifications:
      1. PUBH 5120 – Health Planning Program and Evaluation (3 credit hours)
      2. PUBH 5130 – Consulting and Implementation of Health Programs and Services (3 credit hours)

      Action Taken by Council: Approved.
    2. One new Course:

1. PUBH 5970 – Public Health Monograph (6 credit hours)

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

4..  Two Course Deletions in Public Health. These courses are to be removed from the course inventory.

1. PUBH 5150 – Consulting in Organizations and Communities

2. PUBH 5210 – Professional Development for Public Health

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

    1. New Course in Communicative Disorders

1. CDIS 5215 - Clinical Audiology for SLP Students (3 credits)

 

  Action Taken by Council: Approved.

    1. College of Arts and Sciences: Department of Sociology and Anthropology

      2. 1. New Course SOAA 5057 – Community Sociology (3 credit hours)

       

        Action Taken by Council: Approved.

    2. College of Education: Department of Curriculum and Instruction

1. New Course--READ 5961. A curriculum change was also approved for the capstone option. This three-hour course would be in place of three hours of electives in the non-thesis option.

 

Action Taken by Council: Approved.

      G. College of Business and Technology

    1. New Master’s in Public Administration Concentration

Our goal is to meet a need in our service area for not-for-profit administration

training. This need has been brought to our attention through requests by students

for a concentration in not-for-profit administration. Schools that track graduates

(such as American University in Washington, D.C.) find that a quarter of their

MPA students work in not-for-profits after graduation. Similar needs have been

brought to our attention by not-for-profits themselves. Requests for courses in fund

raising and grant writing, requests for trained interns by local not-for-profits, and

results of a survey of Tennessee not-for-profit organizations all suggest there is a

demand for graduates with skills in not-for-profit management.

Action Taken by Council: Approved.
  1. Graduate faculty Sub-Committee – Dr. Wally Dixon

    2. 1. Applications for Re-Appointment to the Graduate Faculty – Wally Dixon, Chair

    Faculty Member     Department                 Recommended Status

    James M. Stoots        Public Health                Associate

    Jeffrey Powers-Beck English                         Full

    W.F. Mackara          Economics                    Associate

    Lois Lowry               Family Nursing             Full

    Michel Helfgott         Mathematics                  Full

    Shaozhong Deng       Mathematics                  Full

    Andrew Czuchry       Tech/Management         Full

    Ranjan Chakraborty   Health Sciences            Full

    M.S. Anthony           Accountancy                 Associate

    Action Taken by Council: Approved.

     

    2. New Application for Graduate Faculty Status:

    Faculty Member     Department                   Recommended Status

    Daniel Newcomer     History                           Associate

    Action Taken by Council: Approved.

    3. Changes in Graduate Faculty Appointment and Re-Appointment Form.

    the revised form will replace the existing form on the Graduate School web

    site.

  2. Old Business: Graduate Thesis/Dissertation/Capstone Awards – Dr. Cecilia McIntosh—announced the work on the Graduate Thesis/Dissertation/Capstone Awards was complete and thanked the committee members for their hard work. Dr. Powers-Beck also noted that the first class of graduate Quillen scholars would also be recognized at the same time as the other award winners.
  3. New Business: Dean Brown noted the recent passing of Linda Wyatt’s mother, and the Graduate Council expressed its concern.
  4. The meeting was adjourned at 2:35 p.m.

Approval of Minutes:

Scott Champney, Chair