Graduate Studies

Graduate Council Minutes - April 1, 2019

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

Members Present: C. Blackinton, H. Hemphill (Chair), J. Laurent, B. Locke (Vice Chair), J. McQuillan, S. Szyjka

Members Absent: A. Hyde, K. Kapale

Guests Present: K. Mayborn, L. Baker-Sperry, V. Baramidze, L. Wolff, E. Sheffield, L. Oden, D. Barr, S. Thompson

Ex-officio Present: Mark Mossman

Others Present: A. Schulz

 

I.   ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Academic integrity incident reports filed in the School of Graduate Studies, February 2019 (0)

B. Requests to serve as a reader on exit option committee, February 2019 (1)

1. Liberal Arts & Sciences (1) - Approved

C. Graduate Research Conference recap

Dr. Mossman announced that the Graduate Research Conference was again a success with an excellent keynote session. Dr. Penelope Shumate presented.

D. Graduate Council Election Status

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 22, 2019 meeting.

E. Summary of Assessment of Student Learning for 2017-2018

Drs. Baker-Sperry and Mossman presented the report to the Council. Dr. Mossman provided an overview of how the assessment process works and that it is a requirement for the Higher Learning Commission. He stated that the focus is how programs use the data to improve student learning and that all majors, including post-baccalaureate certificates, are reviewed. Dr. Baker-Sperry added that this is her seventh year working with assessment. They are currently focusing on the fourth step which is impact. The HLC requirements have increased and programs are working hard to meet them. Dr. Hemphill asked about the asterisk on the report. Dr. Baker-Sperry noted that the report is always for the year prior and that the asterisk indicates the program is teaching out.


II.  GRADUATE CURRICULUM

A. Earth, Atmospheric, and GIS

1. Request for a new graduate (500 or 600-level) course

a. GIS 511, Examination of GIS Data, 3 s.h.

Dr. Thompson stated that there are a tremendous amount of GIS data sets out there and this course will help students navigate and use them in the real world.

Motion: To approve the request. (Locke/Laurent)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

2. Request to change graduate program requirements

a. Master of Arts in Geography

Dr. Thompson noted that this proposal will move the GIS course into the core requirements. The move is based on student comments that the GIS courses have proven to be the most beneficial. Dr. Locke asked about the removal of GEOG 605. Dr. Thompson responded that the course is being phased out.

Motion: To approve the request. (Locke/Blackinton)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

3. Request to change post-baccalaureate certificate program requirements

a. Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in GIS Analysis

Dr. Thompson stated that the only change is to add the new GIS course so the students would have exposure to that content.

Motion: To approve the request. (Laurent/Locke)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

B. Management and Marketing

1. Request for a 400-G level course

a. HRM 446, Human Resource Management in the Legal Environment, 3 s.h.

Dr. Laurent pointed out that there is no plus/minus grading scale for graduate students as indicated in the course grading scale.

Motion: To approve the request pending revisions to the graduate grading scale. (McQuillan/Locke)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

C. Mathematics and Philosophy

1. Request for a 400-G level course

a. MATH 439, Teaching and Assessment in Secondary School Mathematics, 4 s.h.

Dr. Baramidze stated that the course has been offered for years at the undergraduate level. A push for alternative teacher licensing has led to the request to offer this at the graduate level as well. The department is also working on proposing a new graduate program that would incorporate this course. Dr. Hemphill asked about the differences for the graduate and undergraduate students. The graduate students would focus more on the reflection of their research.

Motion: To approve the request. (McQuillan/Blackinton)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

b. STAT 473, Nonparametric Statistical Methods, 3 s.h.

Dr. Baramidze explained that this is a new course at the undergraduate level and the content is really different from anything previously offered. They anticipate students from Decision Sciences to be interested in this course as well. The graduate students would be expected to prove concepts.

Motion: To approve the request. (McQuillan/Locke)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

D. Music

1. Request for a 400-G level course

a. MUS 489, Special Topics in Music History, 3 s.h.

Dr. Locke presented this new course that is planned to be offered in the fall. There has been a need for it in the department for a long time and it will satisfy the need at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The course will be taught seminar style. Dr. Hemphill asked if this would be added to the program requirements. Dr. Locke responded that it is an elective and not a required course.

Motion: To approve the request. (McQuillan/Szyjka)
MOTION CARRIED 6 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB


III.  NEW BUSINESS

A. Policy Change Request – Educational Leadership

1. Allow courses from completed Ed.S. degree at WIU to be included as part of Ed.D. degree

Drs. Barr, Sheffield, and Wolff were in attendance. Dr. Wolff stated that a few years ago the Ed.D. program was redesigned to offer the option in Higher Education. Previously, students were required to complete the Education Specialist degree before being allowed into the Ed.D. program. When the redesign was approved, that requirement was removed and the two degrees became completely independent of each other. The intent though was for students to be able to complete the Ed.S. degree and go on to the Ed.D. program. This request would allow students to use 21 credit hours from the completed Ed.S. degree towards their Ed.D. Dr. Wolff provided information from peer institutions that have a similar policy. Dr. Laurent asked if this was specific to WIU students or all student going into the Ed.D. Dr. Wolff responded that this would be specifically for WIU students that had complete the Ed.S. in Educational Leadership degree. Dr. Barr stated that he received his Ed.S. at University of North Carolina-Greensboro and could go on to get his Ed.D. from there while using some of the same courses. Dr. Sheffield added that students are being turned away from the Ed.D. program under the current policy because they completed the Ed.S. degree already at WIU.

Motion: To approve the request with change from term “transfer” to “count” in the policy. (Hyde/Szyjka)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB


IV.   STUDENT APPEALS

A. Request to include courses from Ed.S. degree as part of Ed.D. degree

1. Educational Leadership

Petition withdrawn due to approval of policy in III.A.1.

 

Meeting adjourned: 5:13 p.m.