Get documents about "Grad Letter Sp06
Shared by: HC121001174728
-
Stats
- views:
- 0
- posted:
- 10/1/2012
- language:
- English
- pages:
- 11
Document Sample
GRADUATE PROGRAM NEWSLETTER
Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies
Spring 2006
January 23, 2006
Dear RLS Graduate Student:
Welcome back to SFSU and the spring semester! And a special welcome
to all our new graduate students Lisa, Nicole, Jaekyun, Janet and
any others who may have been admitted late. Hope you all had a good
holiday.
I am continuing on as graduate program coordinator with the able
assistance of the department faculty. You can contact me for
graduate requirements, questions, or to say hello via phone (415)
338-1818 or by email ptierney@sfsu.edu or in my office HSS 309.
This welcome back letter contains important department news and
information for you to note and write down in your over-flowing cell
phone appointment program. The SFSU dates can also be found in the
on-line course schedule at http://www.sfsu.edu. Remember, it’s your
responsibility to know these dates and follow-up on them as needed.
For questions about the RLS graduate program look at the revised RLS
Grad Student website, http://www.sfsu.edu/~recdept/html/gradhm.htm.
It has news, deadlines, research opportunities and more. New
students should look at www.sfsu.edu/~recdept/html/newstudent.htm,
while students approaching your thesis or comp exam should see
http://www.sfsu.edu/~recdept/html/gradprep.htm. These have critical
information about requirements and deadlines.
As in the past, the primary means of communicating from the
department to graduate students about news, deadlines and job
opportunities will be via email and through the Department website.
So make sure we have your most up-to-date email address by emailing
the department at benes@sfsu.edu.
Sincerely,
Patrick Tierney
Graduate Program Coordinator
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
Message From The RLS Department Chair
Welcome Back Grad Students!
It is 2006 already, how the time goes so quickly! It is with great
pleasure that I welcome new grad students to the Master’s degree
program at San Francisco state and all returning grad students as
well. The past year has been exciting with the implementation of
the first new classes in our revised program. In December, 2004 our
new curriculum was formally approved by the university academic
senate. Last semester we offered for the first time the REC 720 and
REC 700 classes. This semester REC 650 is being offered for the
first time. So it is great to be moving forward with a quality
program.
Dr. Tierney, Graduate Coordinator has planned a New Grad Student
Orientation for Wednesday, February 1, 5:30-7:30 pm and Comp. Exam
orientation for Wed. Feb. 8, 5:30-7:30 pm. Both meetings will take
place in Gym 117A. Hopefully we will have a grad student-faculty
social fairly soon too.
I hope you all have a terrific spring semester. You are welcome to
come by my office in HSS 307 to say hello. If I can be of any
assistance please let me know.
Jim Murphy
Chair
DATES UNIVERSITY/RLS DEPT. DEADLINES/EVENTS
Jan. 30 (M) First day of instruction
Feb 1 (W) New Grad Orientation 5:30-7:30 p.m., Gym 117A –
Mandatory for all new grad students and anyone else
who has not had the orientation. Extensive resource
packet. If not already done so, RSVP (415) 338-1818
or ptierney@sfsu.edu.
Feb. 8 (W) RLS Comprehensive Exam Orientation 5:30-7:30 p.m.,
Gym 117A – Mandatory for those taking Spring 2006
exam. If not already done so, RSVP (415) 338-1818 or
ptierney@sfsu.edu by 2/8, 5 p.m.
Feb. 10 (F) Deadline to see your advisor to get advising slip for
spring 2006 classes. If you have not done so at the
end of last semester, see your advisor for mandatory
meeting and advising slip. RLS policy requires you
2
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
to show an advising slip to the instructor in order
to stay enrolled in any REC graduate or undergraduate
class.
Feb. 10 (F) Last day to add
Feb. 13 (M) Graduate internships begin
Feb. 15 (W) Deadline for preliminary verbal notification of
intent to take spring comps, to Dr. Tierney …12 noon.
You still need to do written notification by due
date.
Feb 17 (F) Last day for graduate students to file Graduate
Approved Program (GAP) and Proposal for Culminating
Experience Requirement and to file application for
degree for May, 2006 commencement/graduation
Feb. 24 (F) Last day to drop courses
Feb. 27 (M) Deadline to submit written intention to take
comprehensive exam (to Dr. Tierney – 12 noon)
April 12 (W) Comprehensive examination (5:30-8:30 p.m.). If
serious conflicts call me.
May 1 (M) Last day to file application for admittance to SFSU
Graduate School in order to be admitted for Fall
2006. Contact RLS Department (415) 338-2030 or Dr.
Tierney (ptierney@sfsu.edu)
May 4 (Th) Program advising (get some)
May 12 (F) Graduate internship ends
May 19 (F) Last day to file approved thesis and/or Report of
Completion of Culminating Experience Requirement.
Forms in the Graduate Division office.
May 20, 22-26 Final Examinations
May 27 (Sat) Commencement
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
DATES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
3
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
January 29 BAEER Fair (Bay Area Environmental Education
Resources Fair) has workshops on environmental
education topics and over 90 exhibits of naturalist
programs and school/outdoor adventure curriculums and
services available.
February 8 Northern Chapter of Meetings Planners International,
15th Annual Trade Show. No student rates. See:
http://www.nccmpi.org.
February 7-10 American Camping Association Annual Conference.
Chicago. See http://www.acacamps.org/conference/
March 3-5 West Region Association for Experiential Education
(AEE) conference will be held in Livermore. More
info at www.aee.org by clicking on conferences and
then West Region.
March 16 East Bay Funders Fair For Non-Profits, Friday,
Oakland. See http://www4.compasspoint.org.
March 16-18 California/Pacific Southwest Parks and Recreation
Annual Conference – Ontario; (you may work at the
conference in exchange for registration costs,
depending on the number of hours you volunteer).
Check out the conference schedule at
http://www.cprs.org. We encourage you to attend.
Attend interesting sessions, meet prospective
employers and mentors.
March 27-29 California Conference on Tourism, Disneyland. (you
may work at the conference in exchange for
registration costs, depending on the number of hours
you volunteer- see Dr. Tierney).
Watch the RLS department bulletin board upstairs and
www.sfsu.edu/~recdept for many more conference and workshop
announcements and scholarship information.
FACULTY AND DEPARTMENT NEWS
A big welcome to Dr. Nina Roberts who has just completed her
fist semester in the RLS Department. She has a Ph.D. from
Colorado State University and extensive work experience with
the National Park Service and many non-profits. She taught the
Collaborative Leadership class in fall. Nina has been awarded a
prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and will be conducting
4
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
research in India this spring. Congratulations to Dr. Roberts.
Stop in to see her in HSS 308 or email nroberts@sfsu.edu.
Dr. Erik Rosegard has been involved with the Hilton national
leisure advisory board, CPRS and in the raising of a son and
new daughter.
Dr. Rene Dahl now serves as Coordinator of the Adolescent and
Childhood Development Program in the College of Behavioral and
Social Sciences at SFSU.
Dr. Bill Michaelis has retired, but you can to contact him.
Dr. Ginny Jacquith is back teaching this semester, as part of
her early retirement program.
Dr. Jim Murphy continues as RLS chair. He has been a great
asset to the department since his return, deftly guiding us
through the graduate and undergraduate program reviews.
Dr. Don Taylor is Acting Dean in CHHS. He says he will be back
teaching for us someday.
Dr. Patrick Tierney recently finished a research project for
the California Coastal Commission on the proposed Devil’s Slide
Trail, near Pacifica. He will be starting a new project this
spring and will be looking for graduate students to assist him.
He enjoyed telemark skiing in Wyoming and Utah over the break.
NEW GRADUATE CURRICULUM
In December 2004 the department received final approval of our
revised graduate curriculum. It began in fall 2005. Only students
who became classified students beginning in fall 2005 and after will
be required to follow this new program. Pre-2005 Graduate students
can follow the previous graduate curriculum.
The new program structure and course rotation are shown below.
Core Classes (19 units)
-REC 700 Orientation and Professional Development (1 unit, must
be taken 1st year).
-REC 720 Developing Collaborative Leaders In Leisure Services (3
units).
-REC 730 Foundations of Leisure (3 units).
-REC 810 Research Methods In Recreation and Leisure Services (3
units). Renumbered from REC 710.
5
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
-REC 850 Human Resources Development In Leisure Services (3
units).
-REC 862 Management of Leisure Services (3 units).
-REC 880 Trends and Issues in Leisure Services (3 units).
Specialization Classes (12 units)
Selected courses with advisor approval (maximum 9 units upper
division undergraduate classes).
Culminating Experience (3 units)
Students have two choices for culminating experience:
-REC 898 Thesis, or REC 891 Special Studies (for written
comprehensive exam)
Total Units = 34
NEW GRADUATE COURSES TO BE OFFERED
REC 740 Leisure and Aging will be offered starting in spring 2007.
This class will be part of the Gerontology graduate curriculum.
REC 650 will be this spring. Sign-up for them.
REVISED COURSE ROTATION
Last semester the Department revised the graduate course rotation
to the one shown below. Consult it in planning your classes.
Spring Fall
700
710
2005 720
730
850
700
862
2006 730
880
810
720 700
2007 880 862
740 850
730 700
2008 810 720
740 880
862 700
2009 850 730
740 880
6
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
NEW POLICIES
THESIS ELIGIBILITY - To be eligible to take the thesis option for
their culminating experience requirement a student must have:
* Completed all core and specialized courses. Students can petition
to take REC 880 concurrently with starting a thesis, although taking
REC 880 concurrently is not recommended.
* Received a grade of at least B+ for REC 810 and REC 880.
* Demonstrated excellent writing ability in REC 810 and REC 880
* Completed a basic statistics class with a grade of B- or better.
ADVISING POLICY - Students enrolled in any graduate class offered by
the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies must show the
instructor a copy of a recent (within 4 months) Advising Slip signed
by your advisor, indicating that you are approved to take that
specific graduate class. This must be done at the beginning of each
semester." Getting an advising slip may be as easy as emailing your
advisor at the beginning of the semester with your planned classes
and letting him/her know that these class are consistent with your
jointly-developed and previously approved program and class
schedule, or if you have not developed a 1-2 year graduate program
plan and course schedule then you will need to meet with the
advisor. So if you have not already gotten an Advising Slip within
the last 2 months please contact your advisor asap to get one, and
then show it to your REC 700-800 class instructors.
GRADUATE PROGRAM WRITING REQUIREMENT
It is imperative that all graduate students pursuing a Master’s
degree in Recreation have or develop writing proficiency. Both the
university and department require that if a writing deficiency
exists, the student shall be expected to complete prescribed courses
in English to improve writing skills, grammar, composition, etc. at
a level expected for a Master’s degree.
The University Graduate Studies office requires that each graduate
student must demonstrate the ability to write English correctly and
effectively. To assure that each student has the desired
proficiency in written English, two distinct assessments are
required of each department offering a Master’s degree. For
students in Recreation and Leisure Studies the requirements are (1)
7
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
a successful ‘pass’ on the Graduate Essay Test (GET) upon entrance
into the university and (2) successful ‘pass’ and completion of
either a thesis or written comprehensive examination as an exit
requirement.
If you need clarification about writing requirements please see your
graduate advisor or Dr. Murphy. There are also many resources
available to you on campus. For example, some students choose to
take an optional English composition or a technical writing class to
hone their skills. Always use your grammar and spell-checking
software for your papers. I hope you find this reminder helpful and
good luck with your graduate studies.
PART-TIME GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP AVAILABLE
The department is pleased to announce that a part-time graduate
research assistantship (GRA) will again be offered starting in fall
2006. This competitive position is designed to assist new graduate
students in their first semester in the program. The first GRA was
awarded in fall 2005 to Ben Lara who has been assisting the Pacific
Leadership Institute with tasks ranging from ropes course leadership
to research. Contact Dr. Tierney for more information on how to
apply this semester.
NEW DEPARTMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
The Department is very fortunate to have a dedicated group of
professionals, some graduates of our program, who are serving as our
Advisory Council. They include:
Cindy Blackstone, The Janet Pomeroy Center
Katherine Bradshaw Chappelear, City of Sunnyvale Leisure Services
Rebecca Goldberg, California School Age Consortium (CalSAC)
Ron Hamilton, California Autism Foundation
Dr. Beth Kivel, California State University-Sacramento
Sally McIntyre, MIG Consultants
Marcia Somers, City of Danville
Linda Thompson, Cappa & Graham, Inc.
Rebecca Tilley, Adventure Associates, Inc.
Alex Tsitovich, California Sports and Recreation, Inc.
A big thank you to these experts for all their assistance!
NEWS AND REMINDERS
8
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
If you’re interested in a certificate in Youth and Human Services
Nonprofit Administration, see Dr. Nina Roberts HSS 308, phone 338-
7576 or email: nroberts@sfsu.edu.
The Department is indeed fortunate to have an outstanding group of
lecturers teaching classes this semester. Welcome back to Bob
Flasher, Ezra Holland, Loretta Lowe, David Muela, Regina Neu, Sue
Pon and Laura Rifkin.
Dr. Patrick Tierney coordinates and teaches in the commercial
recreation, events, tourism and resort management areas of our
department. He will be looking for graduate students to assist
with research this spring (HSS 309; Phone: 338-1818; email:
ptierney@sfsu.edu)
Outdoor/adventure types will want to see Dr. Erik Rosegard (HSS
311; Phone: 405-0911; email: rosegard@sfsu.edu )
If interested in Adolescent and Childhood Development issues and
classes, see Dr. Rene Dahl, (HSS 309; Phone: 338-7575; email:
rdahl@sfsu.edu)
Anyone interested in program evaluation projects should see Dr.
Rene Dahl (HSS 309; Phone: 338-7575; email: rdahl@sfsu.edu) or
Dr. Ginny Jaquith. Let them know of your interest and they will
keep you in mind as they receive funding for projects with
nonprofits and other agencies.
Contact Drew McAdams (HHS 254; Phone: 338-2047) if you’re
interested in teambuilding programs with Pacific Leadership
Institute.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
RLS is looking for part-time graduate teaching assistants (TA)to
help course instructors and grade papers. These are paid and the
schedule is flexible. If interested, email ptierney@sfsu.edu or
call Dr. Tierney, 338-1818.
Department graduate committee are: Dr. Ginny Jaquith, Dr. Jim
Murphy, Dr. Nina Roberts, Dr. Erik Rosegard, Dr. Patrick Tierney.
Update your address, phone number (work and home), email address
or web site. Give the information to Barbara Enes in the
department office, HSS 307 (Phone: 338-2030; email:
benes@sfsu.edu) If we don’t have current information, we can’t
contact you, nor can you receive information that is pertinent to
9
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
graduate school… but you are still responsible for it. Email is
the primary means by which we will contact you.
New students must take the Graduate Essay Test (GET) before
beginning their 2nd semester in the program. Register for this
January or August exam in the university’s Testing Office. New
students who do not take the test will not be allowed to continue
in the program until this requirement is completed. If you do not
pass GET you must enroll in a remedial class the next semester,
either TPW 400, BUS 514, ENG 614 or if these are not available you
must take a CHS 514 course through College of Extended Learning
for an additional fee.
You must complete any prerequisite conditions (as outlined on your
dept. acceptance letter and university form) before you can become
a classified graduate student. See your advisor.
As soon as you complete 12 units of courses that qualify for the
Graduate Approved Program (GAP), you must meet with your advisor
to develop and file a completed GAP.
Use your 699/899 Special Study units to maximum educational
benefit. You are allowed 6 units on your GAP. Good possibilities
for a Special Study course: special project or research paper or
an in-depth examination of a specialty area. You must have
advisor pre-approval and a completed/signed contract before
signing up for Special Study courses.
Do not wait to take your selective elective classes. We encourage
you to identify them early and take your elective course
throughout your program of study.
If you are thinking about writing a thesis, talk to your advisor
and note the new Thesis Eligibility Policy. You and your advisor
can determine the most appropriate type of culminating experience
requirement for you, based on your professional interests, grade
point average, and ability to work independently. The thesis is
NOT a fallback option for those who don’t think they can pass the
comprehensive exam – or for those who have failed the exam.
If you plan to take a comprehensive exam this semester contact Dr.
Tierney immediately. Department policy requires that during the
semester of your exam, if you are not enrolled in other classes,
you must enroll in REC 891 (REC 891 can not be used on your GAP).
Get to know the department faculty and their research interests.
Many times they have work as a research assistant or a teaching
assistant. Faculty consistently get funding for grants, projects,
10
Spring 2006
Graduate Student Newsletter
and consulting work and may need skillful, responsible assistance
from YOU … or they may know a professional who has job openings!
See policies for comprehensive examination, computer competency
requirement, and the statistics requirement for the thesis option
on www.sfsu.edu/~recdept/gradhm.htm.
We hope you take advantage of this graduate school experience to
stretch yourself, both intellectually and professionally. We are
pleased to be working with you and look forward to continuing
adventures in learning.
11
