Graduate Studies

Graduate Council Minutes - September 12, 2022

3:00 p.m., Virtual

Members Present: J. Jobu Babin, P.K. Babu, Roberta Di Carmine, Hoyet Hemphill (Chair), Steven House (Vice Chair), Andrea Hyde, Todd Lough, Danyang Zhao

Guests Present: Dennis DeVolder, Rafael Obregon, Kishor Kapale, Monica Rouse, Amanda Silberer, Renee Polubinsky

Ex-officio Present: Mark Mossman

Others Present: Amanda Schulz

   

I. STUDENT APPEALS

A. Business Administration

1. Request to waive the 6-hour C rule

Student was in attendance. Discussion was held over the submitted documents. Student explained that a relative passed away in an accident. Dr. Hemphill asked for clarification on the timing of the passing and the course assignments, including a group project.

Motion: To approve the request. (Hyde/House)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB

2. Request to hold an assistantship with less than a 3.0 graduate GPA

Student unable to attend. Discussion was held over documents submitted and grade replacement options.

Motion: To approve the request. (Zhao/Babin)
MOTION CARRIED 8 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

B. Computer Science

1. Request to waive the 6-hour C rule

a. Student A

Student and Dr. DeVolder were present. Student explained that they had to return home to help their family settle things after a family member passed away. Dr. DeVolder stated that the department fully supported the request.

Motion: To approve the request. (Babu/Babin)
MOTION CARRIED 8 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

b. Student B

Student and Dr. DeVolder were present. Student stated that a family member had health issues that were distracting. Dr. DeVolder confirmed that grade replacement was being pursued. Discussion was held over timeline of events.

Motion: To approve the request. (Hyde/House)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 1 NO – 0 AB

c. Student C

Student and Dr. DeVolder in attendance. Student had a delay in visa approval which resulted in their late arrival to campus and then had to deal with family issues ongoing at home.

Motion: To approve the request. (Hyde/House)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 1 NO – 0 AB

C. Engineering Technology

1. Request to hold an assistantship as a probationary student

Student unable to attend. Mr. Obregon explained that the student has two degrees and the first one earned is the one that has lowered the overall GPA.

Motion: To approve the request. (Babin/Babu)
MOTION CARRIED 8 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

D. Physics

1. Request to waive the 6-hour C rule

Student and Dr. Kapale were in attendance. Student provided an update on their medical condition. Dr. Kapale added support for the student and hopes that they will continue receiving medical help. The student is taking a lighter course load this semester.

Motion: To approve the request. (Zhao/Di Carmine)
MOTION CARRIED 8 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

II. GRADUATE FACULTY – FULL MEMBERSHIP

A. Monica Rouse, Assistant Professor, Education

Dr. Rouse was in attendance and provided additional clarification on her publications. Discussion was held over publications in process and presentations.

Motion: To approve the request. (Lough/House)
MOTION CARRIED 8 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Academic integrity incident reports filed in the School of Graduate Studies, May – August 2022 (21)

1. Resolved at the instructor level - 21

B. Graduate Committee Chair fall semester meeting – October 5, 2022

Ms. Schulz announced that the fall meeting of the graduate committee chairs will be held on October 5 in a virtual format. Email notifications will be sent out in the next few days.

C. Graduate Student Research and Professional Development Fund

Ms. Schulz requested a sub-committee of one member from each college be formed to review the fall applications for the Graduate Student Research and Professional Development fund. The spring committee was also formed. Graduate Council members will serve on the committees as follows:

Fall 2022 semester: Dr. Babu, Dr. Hemphill, Dr. House, and Dr. Lough
Spring 2023 semester: Dr. Babin, Dr. Di Carmine, Dr. Hyde, and Dr. Zhao

A date later in the semester will be established for the selection meetings. Ms. Schulz will provide copies of the applications and evaluation forms via email.

D. Additional Graduate Council meeting – May

Dr. Hemphill provided the background for the additional meeting scheduled in May moving forward. Students that are removed from their program for exceeding the 6-hour C rule after grades are posted from the spring semesters have to wait until the first week of the fall semester to know if they are going to be able to continue their courses at WIU. Adding an additional meeting in May, after spring grades are posted, will allow these students to either transfer to another institution or register for their required courses prior to the fall semester beginning. This additional meeting will be for student appeals only.

IV. GRADUATE CURRICULUM

A. Speech Pathology

1. Request to increase credit hours

a. SPA 515, Autism and Special Populations, 2 s.h. to 3 s.h.

Dr. Silberer explained that the increase in the credit hour is based on need and that another course is going to be reduced to 2 s.h. so the hours required for the program is not going to change. Discussion was held over the logistics of offering the courses while students are under different catalog years.

Motion: To approve the request. (House/Hyde)
MOTION CARRIED 7 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB

V. NEW BUSINESS

A. Student appeal procedure review

Dr. Hemphill presented the current process for student appeals to Council members. The main point of discussion was the presence of students and faculty during the appeal review. Current policy allows for the student and a department representative to be present during the review. Discussion was held regarding the value of having the student and/or department representative in attendance as well as the current practice of CAGAS for undergraduate appeals. Council members questioned if appeals would then become completely anonymous.

Motion: To retain the current process as is. (Lough/Babin)
MOTION CARRIED 8 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB

IV. OTHER BUSINESS

None reported.

 

Meeting adjourned: 4:34 p.m.