Graduate Studies Committee
Minutes of December 8, 2009
Members present: Thomas Devine, Craig Finney, Vickie Jensen, Tina Kiesler, David
Moguel, Jared Rappaport, Merril Simon, Jackie Stallcup
Excused: Leilani Hall, Bruno Osorno, Jennifer Romack, Mary Woodley
Executive Secretary: Mack Johnson
Guests: Elizabeth Adams, Beverly Cabello, Deborah Cours, Helen Cox, David Gray,
Shoeleh Di Julio, Marilynn Filbeck, Ron Fischbach, S.K. Ramesh
Staff: Hedy Carpenter, Gloria Roberts
I.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 2:10 p.m.
I.
Approval of Minutes
Minutes of the November 10th meeting were approved.
II.
Announcements
Beverly Cabello reported that the California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing changed the standards for the Education Specialist credential.
She announced that the Department of Special Education would be submitting
several curriculum proposals for the GSC to review in Spring 2010 for Fall
2010 implementation to maintain accreditation.
Ronald Fischbach raised the issue of the 12-unit rule, which requires that a
student conditionally accepted into the graduate program may not take more
than 12 units of graduate study until they are fully classified. He reported that
there is no mechanism currently available through SOLAR to enforce the
policy and many students have to petition to waive the 12-unit rule to become
fully classified. Admission and Records informed him that a single
department could not request a change to SOLAR. Therefore, he asked if the
GSC would consider his request.
The committee discussed Fischbach’s request and determined that there would
have to be buy-in from all departments and colleges before this could happen.
III.
Sustainable Engineering Certificate
Shoeleh Di Julio informed the GSC that the College of Engineering and
Computer Science will be submitting the new certificate program proposal for
the Sustainable Engineering Graduate Certificate, which is the Technical
Track. The program will consist of existing courses from the Colleges of
Engineering and Computer Science, Business and Economics, and Social and
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Behavioral Sciences, and will be a self-support program through The Tseng
College. The proposal will be submitted to the GSC to review in Spring 2010
for Fall 2010 implementation. She reported that the Non-Technical Track is
the undergraduate certificate that will be reviewed by the EPC for approval in
the spring semester.
IV.
S-Factor Courses
Mack Johnson explained that S-factor courses are supervisory courses.
Because of the current budget situation (lack of resources), the Provost asked
the deans to review all the s-factor courses offered in their college. The
review occurred during the semester with departments reporting centrally to
get an idea of the budget implication of S-factor courses. These courses
would be reclassified to C-levels to reduce the number of S-factor courses and
the commitment of the faculty resources to get the instruction in the S-factor
courses. The GSC reviewed and discussed a template the EPC created for
data and forms needed for converting S-factor and C-factor courses. The GSC
agreed to use the same process as the EPC when reviewing these types
proposals.
V.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
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