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Section IV:  Programs
Comprehensive Standard for Graduate Programs

IV-17.The institution's post-baccalaureate professional degree programs and its master's and doctoral degree programs are progressively more advanced in academic content than its undergraduate programs.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Yes, East Tennessee State University is able to provide a portfolio of evidence supporting compliance.

STATEMENT OF RATIONALE FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

The ETSU School of Graduate Studies defines professional degree programs to be freestanding professional programs, such as law, business, or medicine, which are not under the supervision of the School of Graduate Studies.  Given this definition, ETSU's only post-baccalaureate professional degree program is the M.D., which is housed in the ETSU James H. Quillen College of Medicine (COM) and accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, testimony to the strength of its academic programming.  Graduates of the ETSU Quillen COM must pass parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners, prior to being awarded the M.D. degree (ETSU Quillen College of Medicine Accreditation Records).  The COM Admission Committee applies exacting standards for admission (ETSU Quillen College of Medicine Catalog, Admissions).  The M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Sciences are housed in the ETSU School of Graduate Studies.

The ETSU School of Graduate Studies defines progressive advancement according to standards of quality established by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), the Council of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS), and the Tennessee Conference of Graduate Schools (TCGS).  The CGS sets and continuously evaluates national standards of graduate education, which are validated and implemented by regional and state organizations.  For example, TCGS standards were used as a model when the Tennessee Higher Education Commission revised standards for program review in 1997.

East Tennessee State University makes clear distinctions between undergraduate programs and those for the master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees.  The ETSU Graduate Catalog (Individual Degree Program descriptions) provides the minimum requirements for all degrees including a planned program of study, formal admission to candidacy, supervision by an advisory committee, and a culminating experience that includes an integrating activity and a comprehensive evaluation.  Additional completion requirements for specific degrees are, as follows: 

• ''The master's degree requires 30-33 graduate credit hours ('Master's Degree Requirements'),

• ''The Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) degree requires 31 graduate credit hours above the master's degree, a preliminary examination, and a period of residency ('Specialist in Education Degree Requirements'),

• ''The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree requires a minimum of 66 graduate credit hours beyond the master's degree, a qualifying examination, a preliminary examination, a period of residency, and a dissertation ('Ed.D. Requirements'), and

• ''The Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences (Ph.D.) degree requires 60 credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree, a preliminary examination, a qualifying examination, a period of residency, a dissertation, and a final examination ('Ph.D. Requirements')'.

Processes that monitor curriculum development, instruction, and course content assure the progressively advanced content of master's, specialist, and doctoral degree programs.  These three areas are, of course, based on the foundation of qualified faculty in the disciplines (SACS Standard IV-23; ETSU Faculty Teaching Credentials System).  The Curriculum Subcommittee of the ETSU Graduate Council rigorously monitors all curriculum proposals to ensure that program content is substantially beyond the undergraduate level (ETSU Graduate Council, Minutes).  The Graduate Council then reports results to the Academic Council (ETSU Academic Council, Minutes).  The ETSU Curriculum Process Manual outlines the process by which the graduate curriculum is developed and revised.  Additionally, regular and systematic evaluations of graduate curricula in the program review process assure that graduate-level quality standards are met (ETSU Guidelines for Academic Program Review, Standards for Evaluating Graduate Degree Programs).  Program reviews have cited no instances where curricula are not substantially beyond undergraduate programs (ETSU Academic Program Review Summary).

Graduate instruction at ETSU is sufficiently complex and specialized to extend the knowledge and intellectual maturity of the student well beyond expectations for undergraduates.  A wide variety of instructional experiences provide complexity and specialization generally not demanded of the undergraduate student: seminars, research components, theses, dissertations, studio exhibitions, design projects, practicum experiences, internships, and comprehensive examinations. When graduate and undergraduate instruction are combined in 4xx7-5xx7 courses, the ETSU School of Graduate Studies ensures that graduate students are held to qualitative and quantitative standards that are higher than those expected for undergraduate students (ETSU Guidelines for Academic Program Review, Standards for Evaluating Graduate Degree Programs).

New or revised graduate courses are reviewed (ETSU Graduate Council, Minutes, ETSU Academic Council, Minutes) to assure that the advanced level of requirements is appropriate to graduate education. These reviews include consideration of the following (ETSU Guidelines for Academic Program Reviews, Self-Study Document Guidelines, Standards for Evaluating Graduate Degree Programs):

• ''courses meet high academic standards for quality graduate education;

• ''requirements are consistent with the level of instruction; and

• ''content, structure, and means of student assessment are substantially different from those of undergraduate courses.

The ETSU School of Graduate Studies has improved quality control of graduate courses by:

• ''heightening awareness within the university community of the need to distinguish between undergraduate and graduate instruction;

• ''working with specific programs (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, Professional Communication, and Technology) to reduce the number of dual enrolled courses (4xx7-5xx7) offered in the curriculum and counted toward the degree;

• ''working with the ETSU Office of the Registrar and Division of Academic Affairs to monitor the class schedule, thereby assuring that graduate and undergraduate courses are scheduled appropriately;

• ''assuring that all graduate courses are taught by graduate faculty;

• ''participating in workshops offered by the office of the registrar for deans, chairs, and appropriate staff members to communicate standards for distinguishing appropriately between graduate and undergraduate education; and

• ''assuring that graduate and undergraduate curricula are revised concurrently in order to ensure that the logical progression from undergraduate to graduate education is maintained.

DOCUMENTATION

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