Graduate Studies

Graduate Council Minutes - October 2, 2023

3:00 p.m., Virtual

Members Present: P.K. Babu, Roberta Di Carmine, Hoyet Hemphill (Chair), Steven House (Vice Chair), Todd Lough, Jim McQuillan, Danyang Zhao

Members Absent: Niyazi Ekici

Guests Present: Nathan Miczo, Eric Sheffield

Ex-officio Present: Mark Mossman

Others Present: Amanda Schulz

 

I. GRADUATE FACULTY – FULL MEMBERSHIP

A. Theodore Avtgis, Assistant Professor, Communication

Dr. Miczo was in attendance to represent the request. Discussion was held over Dr. Avtgis and his previous institutions and publications.

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

II. ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Academic integrity incident reports filed in the School of Graduate Studies, September 2023 (10)

B. Graduate Committee Chair fall semester meeting – October 11, 2023

Ms. Schulz reminded Council members of the upcoming meeting at 3 p.m. on October 11, 2023. A zoom link will be sent out later in the week.

III. OLD BUSINESS

A. Proposal to change the definition of full-time enrollment for doctoral students.

Dr. Sheffield explained that the hope was that if this request is approved, that it would go into effect for the Fall 2024 graduate catalog. He added that it will help with the scheduling of courses and sequencing to keep students on pace to complete the doctoral program on time. Dr. Hemphill asked about international student status. Ms. Schulz noted that Dana Sistko, the immigration specialist, would need to submit information and it would be an additional process for approval. She also stated that Financial Aid would need time to update programming. Dr. Hemphill questioned the value added for students into this type of change. Dr. Lough asked about having different definitions for doctoral versus master’s students. Dr. Sheffield responded that this request is specifically for doctoral students. Dr. Mossman added that changing the definition for master’s students is not an option. Dr. Hemphill questioned the completion time if students only took the minimum required to be considered full-time if the definition changed. Dr. Sheffield responded that it would take ten semesters if only six hours were taken at a time.

Dr. McQuillan asked about comparisons to other institutions. Dr. Hemphill noted that the list provided by the School of Education showed that most other institutions have nine hours as full-time. Dr. Mossman added information regarding WIU’s current Carnegie rating and how this wouldn’t change anything currently but could have some implications if we added additional doctoral programs down the road. Dr. Zhao asked about possible issues for students if the program was extended as this proposal would likely do for some students plus the funding availability. It was noted that extending the program could potentially make the program cost more for students as there is no longer cost guarantee at the graduate level. Discussion continued weighing the benefits versus possible detriments to students.

Motion: To approve the request. (Lough/House)
MOTION FAILED 3 YES – 0 NO – 4 AB

IV. OTHER BUSINESS

None reported.


Meeting adjourned: 3:40 p.m.