Minutes of the Graduate Council Meeting

GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING January 15, 2010 Regents’ Room

Minutes

INVITED GUESTS: Patti King, Office of Academic Affairs Eugene Cochran, College of Optical Sciences

MEMBERS PRESENT: Andrew Carnie, Nathan Cherrington, Andrew Comrie, Matthew Cordes, Steven Dvorak, Gautam Gowrisankaran, Dianne Horgan, Kathie Insel, James Johnson, Tsianina Lomawaima, Carl Maes, Katherine Morrissey, Betul Ozkan, Barry Pryor, Ivy Pike, Elaine Rubinstein-Avila, Andrei Sanov, Timothy Secomb, Maria Teresa Velez

MEMBERS EXCUSED: William Epstein, Jose Alvarez, Zhao Chen, David Chisholm, Dennis Doxtater, Stephanie Fryberg, Chuck Hutchinson, Suzanne Knosp, Lisa Ordonez, Rose Ylimaki, Gail Varin, Priya Sundareshan

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL. The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. by Chair Carnie and a member sign-in list was passed. It was moved by Member Cherrington and seconded by Member Lomawaima to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2009 meeting. The minutes were approved as read.

DEAN’S REPORT. The Graduate Assistant contracts went to Systems on January 11, 2010 and should be out soon. Dean Comrie also reported that applications are up 12% -- there were 900 more applications this year compared to last year. Admissions are up 6% although it’s still early in the process

There was no CHAIR’S REPORT or GPSC REPORT.

NEW BUSINESS. Photonic Communications Engineering MS (implementation proposal). Guest Eugene Cochran was at the meeting to provide background information on the implementation proposal. Because the degree would be both in Optical Sciences and Engineering, concerns were expressed about the administration of the program (e.g., budget issues, college/department policies), etc. Guest Cochran indicated that a committee comprised of individuals from both colleges would develop a blanket agreement about these issues. Both Deans agree to the program and realize that there are issues yet to be settled. A concern was expressed about how research ethics will be introduced into this degree program. Guest Cochran indicated that a three-hour workshop on ethics is being planned at this time. The Graduate Council made the following suggestions for amendments to the proposal before it goes to the next level of approval: 1. Include an explicit description of the planned three hour workshop on ethics and make it explicit up front that attendance and participation in the workshop is a degree requirement. 2. Clarify non-credit requirements, including the ethics workshop. 3. Provide a distinction in the academic structure of the two colleges . 4. Provide specifics of how/who would handle the administrative side of the degree program (e.g., budget, complaints, costs) and which college policies would pertain to the degree program. Council of Graduate Schools Resolution. Member Horgan distributed a resolution from the Council of Graduate Schools which states that students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15, and that no college can force a student to make a decision by that date. The Council suggested an online link to the resolution. Member Lomawaima moved that the Graduate Council of the University of Arizona continue as a signee to the resolution. It was seconded by Member Pryor and passed with 17 in favor, 0 opposed, and 1 abstention.

INFORMATION ITEMS. CGS essay on Graduate Education in 2020. Member Horgan recommended this as reading for the Council.

DGS meetings . Member Comrie reported that the Graduate College schedules DGS meetings once a semester and that several meetings will take place in the next couple of weeks. Examples of items that will be discussed are funding sources available through the Graduate College and the Admissions and Degree Certification processes. The meetings provide opportunities for DGS’s to discuss program issues and challenges they face.

Admissions Numbers, GRE Update. Member Velez, Associate Dean of the Graduate College, reiterated the application and admission statistics reported by Dean Comrie. She also reported that 15% to 17% of UA graduate students are from underrepresented groups and of all Research 1 Universities, the UA is ranked the highest (#1) in this category. Member Velez also reported that the UA has more graduate assistantships this spring than in the spring of 2009. The Personal Profile Index, a diagnostic tool to measure is now available through ETS if a department wishes to use it in conjunction with the GRE to make its admissions decisions.

Professional Science Master’s Degree Programs. Dean Comrie provided background on Professional Science Master’s degree programs (PSMs) which are non-thesis master’s with 9 business courses and an internship. He indicated that if any of the Council members’ departments are interested in this type of program, they should contact Associate Dean Horgan. Additional information about PSM’s, including a PowerPoint presentation, can be found on the PSM website: http://psm.arizona.edu/.

Cross-listings update. Associate Dean Horgan notified the Graduate Council that the registrar’s office is listing all current cross-listed courses as ‘multiple listings’ which is the closest PeopleSoft option.

ANNOUNCEMENTS The Graduate Council will invite Dr. Elizabeth Boyd, Director of Research Compliance and Policy, to the February 2010 meeting.

The next meeting of the Graduate Council will be February 19, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in the Regents’ Room (7th floor of the Administration Building).

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Nultemeier Graduate Council Secretary