Graduate Council – Minutes
East
Tennessee State University

October 26, 2009 1:15pm
President’s Conference Room, Burgin Dossett Hall Room 206

 

Present:  Ms. Amy Arnold, Dr. Jeffrey P. Beck, Ms. Queen Brown, Dr. Stacy D. Brown, Dr. Wayne Gillespie, Dr. Donald B. Hoover, Ms. Billie Lancaster, Dr. Lori J. Marks, Dr. Cecilia A. McIntosh, 

Dr. Martha M. Pointer, Dr. Kathleen M. Rayman, Dr. Marie Tedesco, Dr. Paul Trogen, Dr. Jon Webb,

Ms. Raina Williams

 

Absent:  Dr. David A. Arnall (excused), Dr. Ranjan N. Chakraborty (excused),

Dr. Scott W. Champney (excused), Ms. Maria D. Costa, Dr. Wallace E. Dixon (excused),

Dr. William Duncan, Dr. Helene K. Halvorson, Ms. LaDonna Hutchins, Ms. Mary Ellen Musick,

Ms. Caitlin T. Teaster, Dr. Ester Verhovsek (excused)

 

 Guest:  Dr. Donald Luttermoser

 

Dr. Scott Champney was not present, therefore, the council requested Dr. Paul Trogen to chair the meeting.

 

Approval of September minutes: 

 

The minutes for September 28, 2009 were approved with no correction.

 

Curriculum Subcommittee report and recommendations – Dr. Martha Pointer:

 

            Substantial Course Modifications – PHYS 5007, Computational Physics

 

The proposed course modification adjusts the catalog description, the prerequisites, and the credit hours earned.  These adjustments bring the official course in line with the material that students need and can assimilate in one semester.

 

http://etsuis.etsu.edu/CPS/forms.aspx?DispType=OutputForms&NodeID=5_4a_3&FormID=10&Instance=2779

 

The subcommittee recommends approval of the new course with the following suggestion:

           

Remove the commas after bulleted items in the Syllabus Course Goals and Learning

Outcomes.

 

Action taken by council:  Approved with recommendations

 

Graduate Faculty Subcommittee report and recommendations – Dr. Tedesco:

 

Report of Graduate Council Graduate Faculty Subcommittee Meeting

October 23, 2009

 

New Applications

 

Applicant                                            Department                                         Committee Recommend

 

1.      Enloe, John                                   HDAL                                                 Temporary

2.      Jackson, Frances                           PMNU                                                Temporary

3.      McDonald, Gregory                      Geosciences                                        Temporary

4.      Nash, Stephen                               HIST                                                   Affiliate

5.      Nelson, Donna                              HDAL                                                 Temporary

6.      Riddle, Norma Myers                   CASS                                                  Affiliate

7.      Worthington, Julie                        Biostatistics                                         Member          

 

Action taken by council:  Approved

 

Reapplications (Includes those who previously had temporary status)

 

Applicant                                Dept.                           Present Status             Committee Recommend

 

1.      Barett, Martin                   CSCI                           Full                              Member

2.      Breuel, Kevin                    OBGYN                     Full                              Member

3.      Ellwanger, Stephen           CJCR                          Associate                     Member

4.      Stoots, Michael*               Commun.. Health        Associate                    

5.      Tollefson, Terry                ELPA                          Full                              Member

6.      Whitehead, John               CJCR                          Full                              Senior

 

*Application lacked CV information. Requested CV be forwarded to graduate school

 

Action taken by Council:  Approved

 

Old Business:

Dr. McIntosh presented the data responses from eleven universities regarding their usage of the Turnitin program as part of the thesis/dissertation submission process.  According to the data, four universities require the Turnitin program, four universities encourage usage, and three did not send data.  The council members discussed pros and cons of requiring use and several options to utilize the Turnitin program for this purpose.  Afterward, the council members asked Dr. McIntosh to draft a proposal to phase in the Turnitin program and present it at a future council meeting.

New Business:

Dr. Gillespie presented two proposals.  The first proposal was to form a Standing Awards Committee that would make decisions on awards for Outstanding Dissertation, Thesis, and Capstones, Excellence in Teaching, and Service Projects that Enhance the Public Good.  The purpose is to expedite the evaluation process and to have a consistent committee membership to serve.   The council discussed possible membership, meeting frequency, and how committee could be established.  The council asked Dr. Gillespie to continue to develop this idea and to bring a full proposal to the council in the near future.    

The second proposal concerns students who need to enroll in Readings and Research and their department does not have one built into the schedule.  This affects only a few students each term.  Discussion of several options occurred including the possibility of building a GRAD-5990 Reading and Research or requiring all departments with graduate programs to have a section of this in their schedule each term.  The latter option received stronger support.  Ms. Billie Lancaster, representative from the Registrar’s office, stated that the courses do not roll from semester to semester due to the way course building occurs with Banner, but courses could be built each term.   The council requested that Dr. Gillespie develop a full proposal to bring to the next council meeting.

Other:

Dr. McIntosh stated an email was sent to graduate coordinators and department chairs relaying GA stipend survey results.  This information was obtained by the School of Graduate Studies’ participation in the survey run through SUNY-Binghamton.  Since the Graduate School participated in the most recent survey, information from previous surveys is also available. The survey listed the average GA stipends by subject areas for the master’s and doctoral students.  In benchmarking a comparison of other universities with ETSU, the result is ETSU GA stipend is on average lower than the other universities.  The council requested that Dr. McIntosh forward the survey to council members.  Graduate coordinators, department chairs, and college deans have received copies.    

Adjournment:   

There was no further business to conduct; therefore, the meeting was adjourned at 2:22 p.m.