skip to main content ISU bar University Faculty Senate Approved March 3 2009 February 24, 2009 Minutes Indiana State University Faculty Senate 2008-09 GC#12 Present: W. Barratt, S. Barton-Bellessa, M. Boyer, B. Corcoran, B. El-Mansour, E. Hampton, M. Haque, L. O’Laughlin Absent: Stan Buchanan, A. Jamison Speaking Seats: D. Collins (COE), J. Gatrell (SoGS Dean), S. Gick (Registrar), D. Mallory (Nursing), P. Terpelets (Graduate SGA) Guests: 1. Call to Order: M. Boyer called the meeting to order at 8:03 AM. 2. Agenda: The agenda was adopted by acclamation. 3. Minutes: S. Barton-Bellessa moved approval of minutes from 02.17.09; L. O’Laughlin seconded. Minutes were approved. Vote: 5-0-0. 4. Old/Unfinished/Ongoing Business a. No unfinished business. 5. New Business a. No new business. 6. Reports: a. Chairperson (M. Boyer): i. The registrar has indicated that additional study is needed before further GC discussion on two of the items in our 'Upcoming Items' listing: Master's Thesis Incomplete Grading Challenges and Multiple Graduate Careers. Both topics will be removed from the upcoming items listing for this semester. ii. The University President accepted GC invitation to visit the GC for an open discussion about graduate education next Tuesday, March 3, 2009. b. Faculty Senate Liaison’s Report (T. Sawyer): i. No Report c. Administrative Report (J. Gatrell, SoGS Dean): i. The GC invitation to the University President to visit the GC from 8:00 to 8:30 next week, March 3, 2009, has been accepted. The aim of the meeting is to communicate to the President the importance and value of graduate education at ISU. It is also important to acknowledge that we as graduate faculty are doing effective work at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. 1. M. Boyer asks that the meeting be brought to order before the President’s visit. 2. M. Boyer affirms L. O’Laughlin’s point that graduate mentorship is too rarely considered when discussing course loads. Boyer calls this the “silent work load” and it would have a significant impact on graduate programs especially in the case of movement to a potential 4/4 load. Another aspect of the course load discussion involves faculty teaching and mentorship during the summers. 3. D. Collins suggests that we inquire into the President’s sense of the role of graduate education at ISU, and what he sees as the potential for various programs expanding into a PhD offering. 4. GC agrees that the President’s commitment to assistantship money would be valuable. ii. J. Gatrell is working on dissertation fellowship guidelines for the 2008-2009 period. He argues that letters of support from various committee members, not just the Chair, would be useful. iii. There have been 50 applications for research funds and over $14,000 has been awarded. It is the aim of the SoGS is to increase this funding. The quality of the proposals was impressive and, regrettably, there was not enough money to support all the applicants. J. Gatrell encourages graduate mentors to use a failure to receive research grants as a teachable moment; students who applied for funds this year after failing to receive funding last year did very well—all were funded. iv. M. Boyer asks if we are able to implement the Thesis/Dissertation Chair training workshop this semester. The Graduate Faculty guidelines passed last year indicate that faculty wishing to be endorsed to chair thesis/dissertation committees “complete a graduate faculty workshop sponsored by the GC to develop knowledge of the thesis/dissertation process at ISU.” J. Gatrell suggests that the SoGS would like to establish an on-line asynchronous approach to the training for general formatting and procedures. M. Boyer argues that there is value in GC and SoGs co-hosting or offering some sort of informational/educational forum for faculty who chair or serve on thesis and dissertation committees. 1. B. El Mansour affirms the need for such a training with the example of a distance education student that got as far as completing the thesis without having defended the proposal. L. O’Laughlin agrees that there should be some component for students to make sure that they know all of the steps in the process. v. The spring 2009 Celebration of Student Scholarship (formerly the Research Showcase) will be held at the Cunningham Memorial Library, April 8, 2009. d. Registrar’s Report (S. Gick): i. Midterm grading is opening up next week; over spring break the Banner system will be down for several days. ii. S. Gick asks for feedback about midterm grade posting for graduate students and how this might be rendered electronically, as it is now for undergrads. She also reminds that there may be graduate students that are currently struggling and might benefit from mid-term grading. L. O’Laughlin reminds that a minimum of a B is needed in most graduate courses. GC discusses the implications of a student who has earned below a B at midterm; various problems may need to be addressed. 1. S. Gick states that because graduate students cannot retake courses, if a student is earning less than a B, the only recourse for that student is to drop the course, thereby keeping the low grade from devastating the student’s GPA. 2. Apparently there are students who are surprised about deficiencies. 3. M. Haque suggests that if a student is not aware of the grade, then it is possible that they are not attending the class. 4. S. Barton suggests that the responsibility lies on the student. B. Corcoran adds that because of the nature of many graduate classes, the grade at midterm may only represent a third or less of the work that will be done; thus, the meaning of a midterm grade is possibly indeterminate. 5. S. Gick reminds that this reporting would be only for real deficiencies, and that reporting would need to be based on program requirements. (Midterm grade reporting for graduate student is currently not required.) 6. J. Gatrell suggests that the drop down menu might offer the option not of a letter grade but rather some kind of statement that suggests that the current performance is inadequate and that the student needs to contact the professor. S. Gick says that the system will only allow us to register actual letter grades. 7. P. Terpelets states that some professors currently don’t report midterm grades for undergraduate students. He asks what ensures that faculty will report deficiencies. S. Gick replies that there are students who are tagged as requiring some midterm grade. 8. M. Boyer suggests that midterm reporting of graduate students would be both a policy and a practice issue that we might address and bring before the Senate, thereby reminding faculty that this reporting is very important. e. Graduate Student Report: (P. Terpelets) i. The Kweku Bentil Masters and Kweku Bentil Doctoral Student Awards ($300 each) need applicants. The form can be downloaded from GSA website or SoGS website. Faculty need to nominate students for the award. 7. Upcoming Business a. Graduate Assistant Compensation Issues b. Midterm Grades for Graduate Students - report expected in April c. Joint BA/MA programs d. Wait listing for Graduate Classes - future discussion with Registrar - please forward questions/concerns to S. Gick who is exploring this possibility for us. 8. Adjournment – 8:59 AM Respectfully submitted, Brendan Corcoran Secretary Last modified: March 26, 2009 Copyright © 2007 by Indiana State University.