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Graduate Council Minutes 2/26/14
GBB 205, 12:10-1:00 p.m.
Members Present:, M. Alwell, M. Berthelson, D. Biehl, D. Campbell, X. Chu, I. Crummy, L.
Gray, N. Hassanein, M. Kia, A. Kinch, A. McKeown, E. Stone, S. Williams
Members Absent/Excused: B. Klaasen, S. Sprang, K. Swift
Ex Officio Members Present: B. Brown, R. Arouca, N. Hinman, S. Ross
The 2/19/14 minutes were amended and approved. Chair Sprang was unable to attend the
meeting. Professor Hassanein chaired in his absence.
Communication:

The meeting started with the UM Minute.
Business Items

The Council briefly discussed Chair Sprang’s recommended language change to the
Advising Guidelines. One additional edit was made and the guidelines were
unanimously approved (appended below). The guidelines should still go to the UFA
and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate for input. Professor Hassanein
will draft a cover letter explaining the purpose of the guidelines and the opportunity
for collaborative input and endorsement related to faculty governance or CBA issues
only with a deadline of March 11th. The guidelines should be sent to programs in
order to have some formative affect. The cover letter should indicate the Council’s
recommendation that all programs have a process to evaluate advising. It was also
suggested that the Provost Office include some clarification language in the program
review self-study instructions. Another possibility is to have faculty development /
training opportunities related to advising. [Three years ago there was a faculty
development session on advising- Amy Kinch recommends that there be another
session related to work load and effective advising.] The Graduate School could also
show case the guidelines.
The College of Education and Human Service programs are looking forward to
having the guidelines. There may be others who will be grateful for the guidance.

The Graduate Student Associate prepared a document that listed their goals for
requesting a change in status. The graduate student voice is missing from the shared
governance process. In reviewing the list it was noted that perhaps five of the items
involved the administration and the remaining involve ASUM. It was suggested that
the GSA organize all graduate students to bring a referendum to ASUM. A mass
action is needed. The principle of the GSA’s request is valid. The current GSA
leadership is working on a petition given negotiations with ASUM have not been
productive.
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The Council would like to see specific language that it might endorse.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:02 p.m.
Procedure Number:
Procedure:
Date Adopted:
Last Revision:
References:
Approved by:
302.30
Graduate Advising Guidelines
2/26/14
x/xx/xx
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) 6.20, 10.120, 10.310,
19.00, 21.00; Graduate School Policy C6.000, D4.000, F1.000,
G1.000; The Northwest Commission on Colleges and
Universities (NWCCU) Accreditation Standards 2.D.3 and
2.D.10; University Policy 410
Graduate Council
Resources:
Samples of Best Practices see section E
A. Purpose & Scope
Provide students and faculty with guidelines for graduate advising at the University of
Montana, as well as clarify existing policy
B. Assumptions
Academic programs have various cultures and styles for student advising that meet their
program requirements and student needs. Each Master’s and Doctoral degree program
has an orientation session to introduce graduate students to the policies, practices, and
resources of the department, including a mechanism for addressing student complaints.
C. Definition(s)
Advisors are critical to the success of a graduate student’s education. Graduate advisors
provide essential training and mentoring through close collaboration with students. The
primary responsibility of the advisor is to assist the student to reach their academic and
professional goals. The advisor and student should work together to determine suitable
thesis, professional paper / project, or dissertation objectives per program requirements.
While students may seek mentorship and advice from any source, particularly the
students’ dissertation or thesis committee, the term “advisor” refers to the principal
formal supervisor overseeing their work.
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D. Policy
Graduate programs shall provide students with timely, specific, accurate information and
advising about the requirements of their program of study, including key steps with
timelines towards graduation. This information shall be disseminated during orientation
sessions, in the form of a student handbook, and published on both the Graduate School
and program's websites.
As stated in the CBA: “Faculty member’s responsibility includes a deep interest in
students’ progress and welfare, which includes counseling and advising and maintaining
a responsible, professional relationship with the students. The advisor and advisee should
discuss the educational objectives suited to the advisee’s demonstrated abilities and
expressed interest.” (CBA 6.20)
Student advising is considered a general activity by the CBA that “shall be given
consideration in any faculty evaluation for purposes of promotion, award of tenure,
determination of salary increment, or recommendation for retention.” (CBA 10.120)
Faculty advisors shall be available to assist graduate students in planning their academic
programs, but students have the responsibility for meeting all requirements for their
degree. To identify an advisor for their graduate studies, students are urged to consult
with professors, academic advisors, department chairpersons, Graduate School staff and
others, as needed.
The faculty member assigned to a graduate student as principal advisor must possess a
degree at least at the level of the degree sought by the student (G1.000). Programs may
petition for exceptions to this policy on the grounds that the advisor possesses specialized
experiences and expertise relevant to the graduate offerings. All such petitions must be
submitted to and approved by the Graduate School.
The Graduate School ensures compliance with Graduate School policies C6.000, D4.000,
F1.000 and G1.000 referring to the membership on graduate committee and advisingi.
The Graduate School is also responsible for providing accurate and current information to
graduate students and faculty regarding graduate committees and advising issues.
Graduate programs are required to clearly communicate the respective roles of graduate
student and faculty in the advising process. “Both faculty member and advisee share
responsibility for making the advising relationship successful.” (CBA 6.20). Programs
should identify an appropriate course of action for initial efforts to resolve problems that
may arise between advisor and advisee. Programs should also clearly communicate the
grievance procedure (CBA 19.00) and student complaint procedure (CBA 21.00).
E. Expectations of Graduate Students and Advisors
Graduate students take primary responsibility for informing themselves of the
regulations, policies, and practices governing their degree, course requirement, research
activities, and conflict resolution. They understand faculty advisors’ central role as well
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as their limitations:
Students should understand that advisors are essential to the intellectual and
instructional environment.
Advisors are responsible for monitoring the accuracy, validity, and integrity of
the student’s research, scholarship, or creative works to the extent dictated by
graduate program policy and practice, and ensuring that the contributions of all
participants in these activities are properly acknowledged in publications and
presentations. Students shall consult with their advisor before attempting to
publish or present the results of work carried out under the advisor’s direction
and or in advisor’s studio or laboratory.
Students should be aware of time constraints and other demands imposed on
faculty members and program staff.
Student should take the initiative to arrange meetings with faculty advisor as
often as necessary and to keep the advisor informed of any factors that might
affect progress towards achieving their graduate degree. Circumstances and
diverse academic cultures will dictate the frequency of meetings; best practices
suggest a minimum of twice a semester.
Students should seek an early and informal resolution of problems that may
occur in their working relationships with their advisor, or others, by first
consulting with the advisor prior to starting a formalized process.
Faculty advisors must take an active role in understanding the relevant university
policies that pertain to graduate students. These include, but are not limited to,
requirements of coursework, tools and methods used by the student in the course of
scholarly or creative activity and research, examinations, authorship, intellectual
property, environmental health and safety, ethical and conduct standards relevant to
the student’s graduate work, Institutional Review Board guidelines, and the Student
Code of Conduct.
Faculty advisors or graduate programs may provide eligible students with
financial support through access to teaching and research funds when available.
Expectations, requirements, limitations and duration of financial support, when
available, should be clearly stated..
Advisors serve as intellectual and professional mentors to their graduate
students. Certain academic, research or creative traditions encourage facultygraduate student collaborations and the sharing of authorship or rights to
intellectual property developed in research or other creative or artistic activity.
Advisors provide students with evaluation of their progress and performance in
regular, timely and informative ways.
Advisors seek to prepare students to be competitive for employment,
encouraging them to participate in professional meetings, perform or display
their work in public settings, and publish the results of their research.
Advisors seek to provide a realistic view of the field and the current job market.
Advisors maintain a high level of professionalism, and excuse themselves from
participating in committees where they have a conflict of interest as described in
CBA 12.30.
Advisors shall never impede a graduate student’s progress toward the degree
sought, either through negligence or to benefit from a student’s proficiency as a
teaching or research assistant (see CBA 10.310 and University Policy 410).
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F. Resources for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Advising
In general, all units of the University of Montana must meet the Northwest Commission
on Colleges and Universities Standard for Accreditation 2.D.10 for advising
http://www.nwccu.org/Standards%20and%20Policies/Standard%202/Standard%20Two.h
tm. Specifically, the Graduate Council and Graduate School expect units to develop
mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of advising within the unit, and procedures
employed to mitigate instances of ineffective advising.
Guidance and information on best practices adopted by public universities for Advising is
available at The University of Michigan publication How to mentor graduate students: a
guide for faculty at http://www.rackham.umich.edu/publications/, and The Ohio State
University Graduate Student Handbook at http://www.gradsch.ohiostate.edu/Depo/PDF/Handbook.pdf and mentoring guide at
http://www.gradsch.osu.edu/DEPO/PDF/MentoringAdvisingGradStudents.pdf.
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For reference see www.umt.edu/grad/Academic%20Policies/default.php