Graduate Council
Meeting Minutes
11/09/06 – Taylor Hall 306
Supporting, facilitating and promoting excellence in lifelong education
through graduate programs of distinction, innovative outreach programs and a diverse student body.
Attendance –
Members present: Dabney Bankert, Lynette Bible, Christine DeMars, Corinne Diop, Lennie
Echterling, Ralph Grove, Patty Hale, Jim Hammond, Gregg Henriques, Reba Leiding, Reid
Linn, Jeff Loveland, Sharon Lovell, Tim Madden, Corinne Makarewich, Al Menard, Alice
Philbin, Sheena Rogers, Chuck Runyan, Kathy Schwartz, Sherry Serdikoff, Kathy
Thompson, Kent Todd, Terry Wessel
Programs not in attendance: Adult Education/Human Resource Development, Audiology,
Biology, Business Administration, Dietetics, Education, Exceptional Education, History,
ISAT, Music, School Psychology
Approval of Minutes – The minutes from the October 19, 2006 meeting were approved as
submitted.
REPORTS AND BUSINESS ITEMS
1. CAP Report
Sherry Serdikoff reported that the CAP meeting was cancelled for this month.
2. A-Team
Kathy Thompson reported that orientation dates have been determined for 2007. In
addition, members will hear more information about the Advising Portal in the coming
months.
3. Graduate Student Report
Corinne Makarewich reported that the E-Voting process was running smoothly and
welcomed any questions or comments from council members.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Reid reminded members that course/program requests need to be submitted to Kristi
Shackelford by the April meeting.
2. Reid announced that five individuals have been nominated for the VCGS Graduate
Student Research Forum in February. Council members were asked if there were any
other students that would like to be considered and clarified that recent graduates could
also be considered; several coordinators responded that they would forward student
information to Reid.
2. The Madison Magazine welcomes stories from graduate students as well as from
graduate programs. Council members were encouraged to submit stories about things
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going on in their programs and were asked to encourage students to submit as well. Story
ideas may be submitted to Michelle Hite, Assistant Editor of the Madison Magazine,
martinmh@jmu.edu.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
1. Background Check Questions
Susan Wheeler was not present for this discussion item. The item was postponed until
the December Council Meeting.
2. Graduate Programs of Distinction
Reid began the discussion by distributing a handout (Graduate Programs: Standards of
Excellence) to council members. Defining “graduate programs of distinction” is a
difficult task and two of the issues that must be resolved are: the definition of the
designation and the criteria used to identify specific programs. The majority of programs
offered at JMU are excellent programs. The term “distinction” would suggest that certain
programs stand-out for a particular reason (e.g., quality, uniqueness, etc.). The Standards
of Excellence were created for the purpose of approving new graduate programs, and it
was and will remain the responsibility of the Graduate Council to determine the criteria
used for these standards.
The programs that have been identified as graduate programs of distinction are the
Speech Pathology Ph.D. and M.S., Hearing Disorders Ph.D./Au.D., Combined-Integrated
Program in Clinical and School Psychology Psy.D., Assessment and Measurement Ph.D.,
Information Security M.B.A. and M.S., and D.M.A. in Music. Some council members
suggested that if terminal degree programs were considered distinct, then the M.F.A. and
programs resulting in terminal degrees other than doctoral degrees should be considered
as well. Additional concerns were expressed about the selection of the D.M.A. as early
as last March when the program was not approved by SCHEV until September and will
not enroll the first students until fall 2007.
Much concern was expressed about noting in the Strategic Plan 2005-06 that research
funding would be increased by $1 million for the graduate programs of distinction with
no statement of support for the multitude of graduate programs not carrying the
“distinction” label. Reid responded by saying that he was unaware of any extra funding
that had being allocated to these programs and that to his knowledge, no resources would
be taken away from any program because of this term. It was noted through the
discussion that if programs were defined as distinct in order to advocate for JMU’s
unique programs and bring those graduate programs to the forefront, the council should
challenge “uniqueness” as a criterion for a distinctive program because certain excellent
programs (e.g., M.S. in accounting, M.A.T./M.Ed. programs) would never qualify for
such status. It was noted that no program within the College of Arts and Letters was
selected as a distinctive program – the same was true for other colleges as well. Many
other graduate programs have received national and regional recognition and rankings
(e.g., community counseling, accounting) however they were not identified as
“distinctive.”
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Council members voiced their concern about not being a part of the process of
determining which programs were considered “distinctive.” It was members’
understanding that the Standards of Excellence were created for the purpose of approving
new graduate programs, not assessing the quality of already existing programs. If criteria
are going to be used to determine graduate programs of distinction, council members
should have the opportunity to participate in that process.
Members were in agreement that they need the answers to the questions about what the
term “graduate programs of distinction” means, and how it will be used? Rather than
forming a committee to pursue this issue, it was determined that Reid would meet with
Provost Brown and discuss the concerns brought up by council members.
Remaining 2006-07 meeting dates
• December 14th – Taylor 306, 2-3:30
• January 11th – Taylor 306, 2-3:30
• February 8th – Taylor 306, 2-3:30
• March 15th – Moody Lounge, 2-3:30
• April 12th – Taylor 306, 2-3:30
• May 11th – Grad Council Retreat – Allegheny Room, College Center
ELECTRONIC APPROVALS
Program Approvals
Number proposed: 1
Number approved: 1
Yes votes: 22 No votes: 1
Course Approvals
Number proposed: 5
Number approved: 5
Yes votes: 21 No votes: 2
Program Requests:
Psychological Sciences – Add 4 concentrations – Behavior Analysis, Clinical Psychology,
Cognitive Science, and Quantitative Psychology
Course Requests:
PUAD 660 – New Course – Nonprofit Organizations and Their Issues
PUAD 661 – New Course – Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector
PUAD 662 – New Course – Governance and Nonprofit Organizations
PUAD 663 – New Course – Resource Development and Philanthropy
LEAD 710 – New Course – Advocacy and Volunteerism
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