Minutes
COAH Graduate Studies Subcommittee
8:30 am, Wednesday, January 27, 2016
COAH Dean’s Conference Room
In attendance: Patrick Erben, Pauline Gagnon, Elizabeth Kramer, Robert Lane, Melissa Sullivan,
Nadya Williams, Jeffrey Zamostny
This was the committee’s third meeting of AY 2015-2016.
1. The minutes of the November 3, 2015 meeting were approved with a friendly amendment: the
sentence “Within COAH, Public History most frequently attracts out-of-state graduate students”
shall read “Within COAH, Public History and Music occasionally attract out-of-state graduate
students.”
2. Discussion of terminology regarding Graduate Studies Program Directors. A discussion
of titles was prompted by the email from Denise Overfield included in Appendix A. In the past,
Dean Hendricks served as Director of Graduate Studies for COAH. Interim Dean Gagnon will
retain that de facto role. In practice, some program directors have been signing forms (time limit
extension form, transfer of credit form) as both Program Director and Director of Graduate
Studies (and also sometimes as the student’s academic advisor). This is acceptable.
3. Announcement on 3-minute thesis competition. Jeffrey briefly announced Denise
Overfield’s survey to gauge graduate student interest in a 3-minute thesis competition, as
described in Appendix B. The survey did not elicit much interest from graduate students. As a
side note, it was pointed out that Patrick, Nadya, and Elizabeth are on a listserv run by Denise
regarding graduate studies. Jeff should be added, as should Dawn McCord, who will be replacing
Kevin Hibbard on the COAH Graduate Studies Subcommittee.
4. Revised draft definitions of graduate assistantships. The ad hoc committee on graduate
assistantships led by Denise Overfield has revised its draft definitions of graduate assistantships,
also adding guidelines for eligibility. The revised draft is included in Appendix C. Patrick asked
if the sentence at the end of the first paragraph mentioning “delivery mode” was intended to or
could be construed to mean that graduate students from one particular program could be eligible
for an assistantship in another unit (e.g., a graduate student in History could be eligible for an
assistantship offered in English, or vice versa). Elizabeth confirmed that this was not the intent of
this sentence, but that the committee is very cognizant of this issue. The Subcommittee agreed
that it would be unwise to add restrictions to the document preventing graduate students in one
program from applying for relevant assistantships elsewhere. The Subcommittee also
recommended that TA1, TA2, and RA be renamed GTA1, GTA2, and GRA to further clarify
that these are graduate positions. Elizabeth will take this recommendation to the next meeting of
the ad hoc committee on January 29.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:55 am.
Appendix A
Hi, all
Welcome back and happy new year! I hope you all had a pleasant break.
I'm writing because I'm looking at the Graduate Studies website (http://www.westga.edu/gradstudies/101.php)
to see what needs to be changed/deleted/added). Under Time Limits to Complete a Graduate Degree, it says
that a student must request a time limit extension form and that the form needs to be signed by the program
director and the Director of Graduate Studies. My question is this: does every college have a college-level
Director of Graduate Studies? If your college has one, can you tell me who that person is?
In COAH, we often used the titles program director and Director Grad Studies interchangeably. Others may
not.
Thanks.
Denise
Appendix B
Dear all:
We have created a form on Qualtrics for potential 3 Minute Thesis Competitors to fill out. The purpose of this is
to measure student interest in competing. Please ask interested graduate students to fill this out by
January 16. This is not registration but rather a request for students to indicate their interest.
Here is the link that interested students need to fill
out: https://westga.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9FZtu477HQU1oEt
Please pass the above link along to students with the following information:
1. The date for the competition if there is enough interest will be April 9.
2. The competition is for thesis presentations only.
3. At this point, the form is only to measure interest, not a firm commitment. Should there be indications of
enough interest (we can't have a competition, for example, at the doctoral level if only one doctoral level
student signs up), there will be another form that goes out at the end of the month.
4. Ideally, there will be a master's level competition and a doctoral level competition.
5. Obviously, this is best for students at the end of their academic program.
Rules:
1. Students get 3 minutes to present their thesis and ONE power point slide. No exceptions.
2. There will be a panel of judges. They will not be experts in the research area. The panel will likely consist of
individuals from campus and the community.
3. There will be a prize for the winner and the runner-up. I don't know what they will be yet, but I will do my best
to make them cash prizes.
Here is the information on the 3MT: http://threeminutethesis.org/
Please let me know if you have questions.
Thanks.
Denise
Appendix C
All graduate assistantships are awarded each year by academic units and non-academic
units on a competitive basis following a highly qualified student’s identification nomination
by their graduate program and using predetermined criteria, including but not limited to
the applicant’s academic record, test scores, recommendations, and/or other pertinent
information. Students in all graduate programs, regardless of the delivery mode of the
program, may be considered for an assistantship.
Eligibility
To be eligible for an assistantship, a student must meet the following requirements:
 have applied for and been accepted to a graduate program of study at UWG
 Be enrolled full-time in a graduate program of study at UWG
 Completed the requirements for an undergraduate degree.
 Have maintained a 3.0 GPA in current and previous graduate course work
 International students must meet the requirements to be eligible for employment in
the US.
 Students admitted provisionally are not eligible for an assistantship until fully
admitted to the program
Students may hold an assistantship for no more than two years. Extensions may be
granted based on individual student needs and the demands of programs.
Types of Assistantships
Graduate assistants may be classified by function or purpose and include teaching
assistantships (TAs), research assistantships (RAs) and graduate assistantships (GAs):
Teaching Assistants, Level 1 (TA1)
Graduate students appointed to the position of TA1 may not have primary responsibility
for a course or serve as the instructor of record, but they may assist in the instructional
process by serving as discussion leaders in breakout sections, grading papers, proctoring
exams, working in approved tutoring/instructional support programs, or assisting the
primary instructor of record in other ways. The department chair and graduate program
director shall determine that the credentials of a student assigned as TA1 qualify the
individual to assist in instruction activities.
Teaching Assistants, Level 2 (TA2)
Graduate students appointed to the position of TA2 will have completed more than 18
hours of graduate course credit in the appropriate discipline and will have completed
training facilitated by their College or program. TA2s may have primary instructional
responsibility for a course and may have autonomy for teaching, assigning grades, and
providing laboratory instruction/setup as part of a regularly scheduled course. TA2s must
be under the supervision of a faculty member that teaches in the discipline. The
department chair and graduate program director shall determine that the credentials of a
student assigned as TA2 qualify the individual to undertake the assignment of instruction.
Research Assistantships
Research Assistantships (RAs) are research positions that allow graduate students to
conduct research of a scholarly nature, normally under faculty supervision. While not a
requirement, in many cases the funding source for a research assistant’s salary and/or
tuition may be secured through an external funding source (NSF, NIH, etc.) sponsored
programs. and are not paid by a unit of the institution. The work of an RA can include, but is
not limited to, the collection and analysis of data, the development of theoretical analyses
and models, the production or publication of scholarly research or creative work, and
instructional support to develop his or her own professional agenda and for the benefit of
the University, faculty or academic staff supervisor, or granting agency.
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships (GAs) are assistantships that provide general
academic/instructional and/or administrative support to units within the University.
Whenever possible, the duties assigned to graduate assistants should be relevant to the
graduate program and the professional goals of the students.
The following guidelines should be used when determining the work assignments and
workload for assistantships:

Assistantships best serve the student, the hiring unit, and the student’s academic
department when they are used as an integral component of the graduate education
experience.

Assistantships should enhance the educational experience by exposing the
student to the professional activities of their disciplines, involving them in
university activities related to their academic and professional interests, and
affording them the opportunity to work closely with faculty and professionals.

Assistantships should provide high quality support for the academic mission of
the University.