Graduate Council Meeting Minutes
November 18, 2009
GBB 202, 12:10-1:00 p.m.
Members Present: R. Bolton, L. Frey, J. Halfpap, J. Hirstein J. Hunt, E. Hurd, M.
McGuirl, N. Moisey, G. Quintero, C. VonReichert, C. Winkler
Members Absent/Excused C. Anderson, D. Erickson
Ex-officio members Present: Associate Provost Brown
Guest: Dean McKusick
The meeting was called to order at 12:15 p.m.
The 11/3/09 minutes were approved.
Communication

Professor Halfpap was welcomed to the committee.

Dean McKusick provided a rationale for the Honors College to retain the UG
designation for its 495 experimental course. There are several other campus
programs (African American Studies, Native American Studies, Liberal Studies,
Physics and Astronomy, Religious Studies, Mansfield Library, and Mansfield
Center) offering graduate courses that do not have graduate programs. The
Council should look at these as well to be consistent. The Honors College tries to
provide tools that will be useful for its students. Honors College students include
baccalaureates, Pharm D, graduate students, and visiting international students.
The course offerings are innovative and interdisciplinary, and are taught by
qualified faculty with PhDs. The courses don’t often fit neatly within a discipline,
but offer students a pathway to material that interests them. The UG status allows
the students to have the flexibility of including the courses in a possible
interdisciplinary program or petitioning for it to count toward a program at
another institution.

There have been some email correspondences regarding the Blackfoot project.
Professor Weix is working with a student who is applying to the IIP program for
the Blackfoot project. She had some concerns and requested to meet with the
Graduate Council. Her concerns were addressed through discussions with
Associate Provost Brown.
Associate Provost Brown provided some background. The project is based on the
idea of building a community of scholars focused on studying interrelated issues –
environmental, policy, social, and economic that would benefit the Blackfoot
people. A group has been meeting to discuss its aspirations and Associate
Provost Brown has been counseling them on the process. Some of the students
would be good candidates for the IIP while others would be better served in
specific disciplines. It depends on the students’ goals and objectives.

PT 628 was approved by ASCRC as Service Learning Course. ASCRC wanted to
make sure the Graduate Council was aware that a graduate course met the criteria
for a service learning course. The courses proposed for service learning are
reviewed by a subcommittee of ASCRC.

The Registrar will be creating a faculty resource page that includes a catalog
production calendar. The curriculum review schedule will remain the same – the
bulk of the items should be approved at the November and December Faculty
Senate meeting. A few will be approved in February.

The curriculum consent agenda was approved by the Faculty Senate. There were
no questions.

There will not be a meeting next week due to Thanksgiving.
The meeting was adjourned at 1.05 p.m.