Graduate Council Minutes
| Meeting Date: | 04/09/2021 |
|---|---|
| Meeting Time: | 10:00 AM |
| Meeting Location: | ZOOM |
Attendance
Other Attendance Information
Ms. Stacey Lantagne, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Associate Professor in the School of Law, attended on behalf of the School of Law. Dr. Jocelyn Tipton, Assistant Dean for Public Services and Associate Professor in the Libraries, attended on behalf of the Libraries. Dr. Pat Coats, Southaven Regional Campus Assistant Director, Academic Support Services, attended on behalf of the Regional Campuses.
Additional Minutes Notes
Note that proposed new course IMC 595 was instead approved as IMC 695. Note that proposed new course JOUR 595 was instead approved as JOUR 695. Regarding 638023170 Conditional Admission Status Discussion Note that Approval on the minutes merely means that the item was discussed. We discussed the merits of allowing "full-standing" admissions status, rather than "conditional" admission status, for applicants with GPA < 3 (such as eligibility for federal student loans). Admissions with full standing can still include conditions such as a certain GPA required over the first N credit hours. According to Graduate School records from recent years, conditionally-admitted students had a similar record of graduation as those admitted with full standing. Suggestions to consider included: --allow two semesters, not one, for a student to fulfill conditions (especially for part-time students or for those in programs that include courses that are required but not taught every semester) --compare with language in the "Dismissal Policy" for graduate students and use that to guide enhancement of the "Admissions Statuses" policy. Regarding 638023565 Graduate Student Council Resolution 21-3 Note that this was submitted as an item of information, so Approval on the minutes merely means that the item was discussed. Several questions were considered, related to this resolution, and it is expected that Human Resources will send a report to Graduate Council later in the semester regarding some aspects of the resolution. Some graduate programs send an offer letter to a new admit specifying details about a formal offer of an assistantship (including funding level, work requirements, and years of the offer) and others do not send anything at all and do not communicate clearly and in writing on those important details. The GSC thinks that requiring a contract for each GA (graduate assistantship) would be helpful. For example, some students felt surprised when told last year that for their second year they would only get a 0.25-time GA instead of a 0.5-time one like they had in their first year in the program. GSC leaders are concerned that GAs could be cut suddenly, leaving the student without sufficient funds. GSC would like to be able to have GAs notified about proper reasons for termination of an assistantship, if termination is necessary. It would be helpful to have a guidance document that explains what is required in GA offer letters. There could be a standard employment offer/renewal form.