GSA Senate Minutes
November 2nd, 2012
Attendance:
Victoria, GSA
Alexis Song, AHANA
Alyssa Wehr, GSSW
Erin Singer, GPA
John Peron, GSA
Anotolio, GISA
Darrell
Vice Provost Hafner
Caitlin Monahan, GEA
Veronica Davis, AHANA
1) Approve Minutes
a. Is everyone happy, yes.
2) Update on Action Items (Victoria)
a. Calendar Items to Denise
i. Anything open to entire graduate population send to Denise Fung with 2
weeks’ notice
ii. Links to your school/association’s calendar – put on general GSA website
iii. Denise.fung@bc.edu
b. Rec Center
c. Comments
i. Making front page more user friendly
3) Academic Honesty Procedures and Policies (Vice Provost Hafner)
a. Came up in Faculty Forum
b. University in past adopted a general statement on academic integrity
i. With undergrads, each school has same way to handle
ii. Graduate schools are left to own
c. Concerns about language used, might cause confusion
i. Undergrads – don’t have to do with deliberate attempts to deceive but with
misunderstandings
1. Have pushed faculty to make clear what their expectations are and
what qualifies as breaking academic integrity
2. Getting better at this -- Faculty members are including in syllabus
and course assignments
d. Works with academic support/tutoring
i. Asking about how clear assignments are on points of academic integrity
e. Can be confusing for students
f. Surprised when putting handouts together on graduate students
i. Each school has own catalogue and own statement on academic integrity
ii. Still is a university statement on academic integrity
1. Each graduate school clarifies its own procedures
iii. Where are these procedures? Complicated to find, some schools don’t
have procedures at all.
g. Because of these gaps, part of the conversation among provost advisory – do we
need to have more concern about graduate students
i. Do we need to be more clear, do we provide enough assistance?
ii. Sense that we are not -- made sense for each school to have their own
1. Maybe each school/department ought to do this
h. Asking for views on how we should proceed – What should we be doing to help
graduate students?
i. Amelia – STM has video they have to watch
ii. Alyssa – It’s applied/assumed, leaves room for asking for forgiveness
rather than permission
1. Problem of reusing papers
2. Need to make it more clear
iii. Victoria – (AHANA) MBA
1. Orientation, during that session someone comes in to talk about
plagiarism
2. Challenges of diversity and different understandings
3. Single session is good, but not always totally clear
4. Tutoring session for international students to clarify?
iv. John – Law School and MBA
1. Mandatory classes/sessions on academic integrity within both
schools
2. CSOM – pressing matter more because of core values, Law School
– legal troubles as initiatives
3. Students and administrators coming together after problem with
academic integrity, to solve what the punishment should be, etc.
4. Instructions read before exams
i. Question posed:
i. Core Values Statement – doesn’t make any reference to university
statement, doesn’t include
1. John – some things provided by the students; not sure if they are in
conflict with BC; pretty general things; students said that they
wanted to live by these values – something that happened
organically (opportunity to sign a pledge at graduation); service
component required
2. Victoria (AHANA)– Core values coming out of financial crash and
the critiques that business field received; people assume that
graduate students know better; but it’s hard if things aren’t clear;
student initiated may be more receptive
ii. Amelia – making sure that we aren’t operating under different standards or
procedures, need to compare the different schools together
iii. Victoria (GSA)– Expectations are different; what do you do with students
that are in different schools when each school has different expectations?
1. Devastating effects of being accused of academic integrity
violations – the school, the deans, have to value what it does to the
student when considering best practices
iv. John – school where infraction takes place should be the one where
punishment happens
1. Erin – well, but what if you are only taking one class
2. John – accusations against students and blame being placed on
students all from one country
v. Victoria (GSA)– considering the cultural barriers, understandings
1. Victoria (AHANA) – different cultural expectations
j. The STM’s video came out of their own initiative – should each school do it on
their own?
i. John -- Want to have different departments/schools have the discretion to
apply different academic standards, but there should be some general
guidelines/policies everyone should follow
1. Some schools don’t have procedures – that’s a problem
ii. Catilin – No one at Lynch said this is how you cite for this program
1. General university policies, yes, but there are so many different
things that different schools and programs have – so maybe have a
general, but then each school/department has their own?
a. Challenges with Lynch school, it doesn’t match
iii. Cailin and Victoria (GSA) – pushing general policies
1. John – there are some general principles that all schools could
agree on
iv. Amelia – bringing schools together to agree on general policies/principles,
making sure nothing is coming into conflict
1. Then, if departments/schools want to do something particular, then
it needs to be approved by the university
v. Anotolio – questions of how clear faculty members need to be about, for
example, where you can collaborate and where you can’t
vi. What’s the default? – Faculty have an obligation to make these clear
vii. Victoria (GSA) – right of appeal
1. What right of appeal do I have? Who do I go to? Who do I talk to?
2. VP – Student can appeal to a grievance procedure against a
particular grade. Different issue to defend yourself against a
particular charge
3. Victoria (GSA) – Is it fair to the student not to have clear cut
procedures
viii. Victoria (AHANA) – each school should have own say, but there are
overarching principles that everyone can agree on.
1. Having students from different schools that might feel that there
are different standards
ix. John – stated consequences, think that would be a mode of prevention
k. VP – Can call together the Academic people from each school together
i. Would be more powerful if GSA were to draft a proposal to present to
them
ii. Victoria (GSA) – what kind of alumni are we creating?
l. Victoria (GSA) – creating a proposal?
i. Alyssa -- Have each school nominate someone to do this.
4) Exec Update (Victoria, Jon, Emily)
a. GSA policies and procedures that need clarification
i. Victoria (GSA) – GSA will have a policy update
1. Alcohol policies for example
2. Any policy you would like updated/clarified/etc.
ii. Amelia – Where can you find these?
1. Victoria – you can’t
b. Top 5 issues for Masters and PhD
i. Victoria (GSA) – wants lists for both PhD & Masters
1. Looking for a theme
ii. Amelia – particular to schools or general?
1. Victoria (GSA) – looking for more general but will welcome
specific
c. Social Committee
i. Victoria (GSA) – want to create social committee to bring schools
together. Submit names
ii. Discussion of GEA/GSA Ball last spring
1. Subsidizing tickets
2. Challenges of space, cost, etc.
iii. Discussion of Integration – how to do this?
1. Ideas of trivia and sports events where people would have to mix
2. Need for ideas – how to split people up
iv. Email names for suggestions of who they should be
5)
6)
7)
8)
d. Outreach Committee
i. Marketing/Outreach for who GSA is – sending names toward Victoria
ii. Contacts for flyers
GSL Dir. Update (Darrell)
a. Alcohol Policy – some policy, but not as specific as it needs to be
b. Hours – GSA has committed funds to keeping Murray House open on Sundays
from 12pm-8pm, from Nov 8 to December 16
i. Trial period
ii. If good attendance, may continue into spring
c. Meeting with admissions officers from schools – graduate housing, orientation
Senator Updates
a. A&S – excused
b. GEA – pass
c. CSOM – not present
d. Social Work – Happy Hour with STM, tickets for BC game, Holiday party,
smaller sub groups are active own holiday cards for soldiers abroad
e. STM – Open Mic Night, Happy Hour, trying to get groups to collaborate together
within the school
f. GNA – not present
g. AHANA – Screening of Half the Sky, 7pm-9pm, Thursday, Nov 15 – guest
speaker, Dr. Dempewolff; volunteering opportunities, RSVP on facebook
h. GISA – Events  game night in November; international restaurant hopping
event;
i. GPA – Ice Cream Social; Happy Hour; flyers for schools re: collaboration with
other LGBT groups (Rainbow Alliance)
Newsletter – Are people getting the newsletter? Make sure people are opting in.
Events
a. GSA:
i. Conversation with a Jesuit (11/5)
ii. Holiday Cards for Heroes (11/12)
iii. Stress Relief Events (12/3-5)
1. Schools asked to provide when finals are and what events we are
already planning