Graduate Studies

Graduate Council Minutes - March 7, 2016

3:00 – 5:00 p.m., Horrabin Hall 60/QC 2108

Members Present: P.K. Babu, V. Diehl, J. Ehrlich, L. Erdmann, K. Pawelko (Chair), S. Sanders, M. Stryker

Members Absent: J. Averbeck (Vice Chair)

Guests Present: D. Lee, D. DeVolder, L. Oden, S. Evans, K. Daytner, H. Marchand, S. Simonson, B. Lee, K. Mayborn, C. Lydeard, S. Hum-Musser, C. Blackington, T. Honesty, M. Mhango

Ex-Officio Present: N. Parsons

Others Present: A. Schulz

I. STUDENT APPEALS

A. Biological Sciences

1. Request for a late withdrawal

Motion: To approve the request. (Ehrlich/Stryker)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

B. Computer Science

1. Request for a late withdrawal

Motion: To approve the request. (Erdmann/Ehrlich)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

II. ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Academic integrity incident reports filed in the School of Graduate Studies,  January 2016 (1)

1. Resolved at the instructor level - 1

B. Requests to serve as a reader on exit option committee, January 2016 (0)

C. Graduate Research Conference – March 4, 2016

Dr. Parsons announced that the Graduate Research Conference was well attended with around 100 presentations. The number of poster presentations doubled from the previous year. Dr. Parsons thanked the volunteers in attendance for their efforts with the conference. The date for the conference next year is set for March 3, 2017.

D. Graduate Council Nomination and Election Procedures

Ms. Schulz announced that petitions would be mailed to full members of the graduate faculty in the near future. Vacant seats will be from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and the College of Fine Arts and Communication. New members will be invited to the April 25, 2016 meeting.

III. GRADUATE CURRICULUM

A. Biological Sciences

1. Request for a New Graduate (500 or 600-Level) Course

a. BIOL 575, Special Topics, 1-3 s.h., repeatable

Drs. Hum-Musser and Lydeard would present. Dr. Diehl asked about the requirements that make it a graduate level course. Dr. Hum-Musser clarified the specific graduate credit requirements. Dr. Stryker asked about the variability each semester. Dr. Hum-Musser responded that each topic would be a set number of hours for the semester.

Motion: To approve the request. (Diehl/Babu)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

b. ZOOL 575, Special Topics, 1-3 s.h., repeatable

Dr. Hum-Musser noted that this is the same format as the previous course but with different topics. Dr. Babu asked when the course would be offered. Dr. Hum-Musser stated that they hoped to offer it Summer 2016.

Motion: To approve the request. (Stryker/Erdmann)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

2. Request for Multiple-Title Approval

a. BIOL 575, Special Topics, 1-3 s.h., repeatable

Motion: To approve the request. (Erdmann/Stryker)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

b. ZOOL 575, Special Topics, 1-3 s.h., repeatable

Motion: To approve the request. (Sanders/Ehrlich)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

B. Computer Sciences

1. Request for a 400-G Level Course

a. CS 425G, Server Side Web Development, 3 s.h.

Dr. Ehrlich noted that he is the instructor of this course. He explained the course offerings and added that this is a project based course. He stated that the graduate students would have more expectations for each step of the project and will have to actually make the website live. Dr. Diehl asked about students that take it as an undergraduate and not being able to then take it as a graduate student. Dr. Ehrlich responded that the students in that situation could do the graduate work as a master project but there are not enough graduate students to make it a stand-alone graduate course.  Dr. Stryker asked about other electives that graduate students could take in the program. Dr. DeVolder named several courses that would count.

Motion: To approve the request. (Diehl/Sanders)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

C. Curriculum and Instruction

1. Request for a New Graduate (500 or 600-Level) Course

a. C&I 576, Family and Community Engagement, 3 s.h.

Drs. B. Lee, D. Lee, and Simonson were present to answer questions. Dr. Simonson provided information on the course stating that there was a 400G course on this topic but it was restructured and is now a 200-level course leaving nothing for the graduate students. The department changed the course to an online format, added rigor, and broadened the appeal for others besides Early Childhood Education majors. Dr. Stryker asked about the registration for state requirements and if students could take the classes at different institutions. Dr. D. Lee responded that a student could take the required courses from different institutions but the department is packaging this course with other courses so that the students can take them all from WIU. They anticipate non-degree students taking these four courses to meet the state requirement. Dr. Erdmann questioned the possible overlap with EDL, specifically EDL 545. Dr. Simonson stated that there were no other similar courses. Dr. D. Lee added that this course is geared towards the classroom level while the EDL course focuses on the superintendent level. The EDL course would probably not satisfy the state requirement either.

Motion: To approve the request pending a letter of support. (Erdmann/Stryker)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

D. Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising, and Hospitality/Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration

1. Request for a 400-G Level Course

a. HM/RPTA 455G, Casino Operations, 3 s.h.

Dr. Mhango was in attendance.  Dr. Pawelko asked about the projected enrollment for this course. Dr. Mhango responded that the course would be added to the Event Planning and Management PBC and they anticipate about eight graduate students in the course. Dr. Babu questioned the math background needed for the course. Dr. Mhango stated that it is mainly work with cash flow in the course. Dr. Diehl asked about adding “permission of the instructor” to the prerequisites. Discussion was held regarding suggested changes to the prerequisites.

Motion: To approve the request with revisions to the prerequisites. (Babu/Sanders)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

E. Theatre & Dance

1. Request for a New Graduate (500 or 600-Level) Course

Motion: To consider all requests together. (Stryker/Diehl)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

a. THEA 551, Graduate Scenic Design Studio, 3 s.h.

b. THEA 552, Graduate Costume Design Studio, 3 s.h.

c. THEA 553, Graduate Lighting Design Studio, 3 s.h.

Ms. Honesty was present. Dr. Babu noted that the abbreviated title should be all capital letters. Dr. Stryker asked about the courses and the differences between them. Ms. Honesty stated that the current course, THEA 550, covers all of these topics but transcripts for the students do not show specifically the topics that the students took. THEA 550 will be dropped if these courses are approved. The current situation does not reflect what the students are actually learning.

Motion: To approve the request. (Erdmann/Stryker)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

2. Request to Change Graduate Program Requirements

Motion: To approve the request. (Babu/Ehrlich)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

IV. GRADUATE FACULTY – FULL MEMBERSHIP

A. Hal Marchand, Associate Professor, Health Sciences and Social Work

Drs. Marchand and Oden were present. Dr. Marchand provided an updated CV to the Council members. Dr. Parsons stated that upon spot checking the original document, a few discrepancies were noted and that it was brought back to Council. Discussion was held regarding the revisions to the CV.

Motion: To deny the request. (Sanders/Diehl)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES   0 - NO  0 - AB

V. OTHER BUSINESS

None reported.

 

Meeting adjourned: 5:22 p.m.