Minutes
COAH Graduate Studies Subcommittee
8:30am, January 23, 2015
COAH Dean’s Conference Room
In attendance: Kristy Gamble, Randy Hendricks, Elizabeth Kramer, Robert Lane, Joshua Masters, Kevin
Shunn, Nadya Popov Williams, Jeffrey Zamostny.
This was the committee’s fourth meeting of AY2014-15.
1. The minutes of our November 19 meeting were approved.
2. Bob asked whether students were permitted to attend faculty/staff committee meetings on which there
is no official student representative. The question was raised by one of his students who wished to
become more involved in that aspect of campus life. We agreed that there would be no problem with
the student attending our meetings. Bob will let the student know and also suggest that she contact the
SGA to see how she might serve as a student rep on other committees, e.g., the Senate’s Strategic
Planning Committee and the Responsible Sexuality Committee. Nadya suggested that we consider
adding a graduate student as a member of our own committee.
3. Bob recounted the remaining charges of this committee for the current academic year: to discuss
a. how soon we should consider adding new graduate programs and what those programs should be
b. recruiting students into COAH’s various graduate studies programs
c. the state of online studies
We proceeded to discuss items (a) and (b) and agreed to discuss (c) at a later meeting.
4. Randy mentioned that the college’s Faculty Advisory Committee has also been charged with
discussing recruitment (both graduate and undergraduate). Bob will contact the chairperson of that
committee to see what progress they’ve made.
5. Kristy suggested that it is crucial to improve the web presence of our various grad programs to make
things less confusing for prospective students. Toby Ziglar (Director of Graduate and International
Admissions) is in charge of http://www.westga.edu/gradstudies/ , but Kristy manages the pages of the
site that contain information about COAH’s grad programs. She keeps that information up to date, but
it sometimes conflicts with outdated information found on the sites of individual programs. We
agreed that English, History and Music should post on their websites only that information that is
unique to their respective programs—information common to all grad programs (e.g., cost of tuition)
should be left for Kristy to maintain on the westga.edu/gradstudies site. Elizabeth, Nadya and Josh
will see that their respective sites are updated accordingly.
6. Nadya informed us that the vast majority of History grad students come from our undergraduate
program in History. Public History is an exception, as that program has a national presence. Josh
mentioned that the same is true of English—most of their recruitment is internal. English has lost a
number of high school teachers from their MA program, and they are meeting next week to discuss
how this can be reversed. Kristy reported that a local principal told her that it is difficult for
prospective grad students in Education to gain admittance, so a lot go to Jacksonville State. (Nadya
suggested this is due to the competitiveness of some education tracks.) Kristy suggested that we reach
out to local high-school English and History teachers to let them know they are welcome in COAH’s
grad programs. Nadya cautioned that some recent grad students in History who are high-school
teachers just aren’t prepared for the rigors of graduate study. Randy suggested a centralized direct
appeal to teachers of History, English and Music, one that would dispel the rumor that graduate
degrees no longer qualify them for pay raises, letting them know that the application process is easy,
that night classes are available, etc. We all agreed that this was a good idea. Randy will draft a letter
and circulate it to the rest of the committee [see Addendum].
7. Conversation turned to the possibility of adding new graduate programs. Randy indicated that we
should think in terms of a 5- to 6-year process of getting a new program approved once it’s decided
what that program should be. Any argument we make in support of a new program will have to
demonstrate that there is a market for it.
8. Kevin reiterated the potential for a new MFA program, something similar to what is available at
Georgia Southern and Jacksonville State. Art has a new facility and already has the faculty for such a
program, and our undergrad art students are constantly asking about the possibility of an MFA.
Additional resources would be needed, including waivers, assistantships, studio space, and resources
for research. Randy thinks that it is not too early to begin working on a plan for this degree, given that
there is interest among the Art faculty. Kevin will carry this back to his department and report back to
us.
9. Nadya suggested that post-baccalaureate certificates are another possibility for increasing enrollment.
We believe that 18 graduate credit hours is the standard for such certificates. With that many hours,
holders of certificates can teach at community colleges. Kristy suggested that adding such certificates
could aid in recruiting new students. Randy mentioned that Rob Jenkins, a UWG alumnus in English,
has written in the Chronicle about teaching at two-year colleges. Elizabeth mentioned that the BOR
approval process is different for certificates embedded in existing degrees (awarded to students in
virtue of their taking a specific set of classes in pursuit of a full degree) and those that stand apart
from any specific degree. Bob will investigate what BOR guidelines there are for such certificates and
what we already have at UWG [see Addendum].
10. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:20am.
Addendum: BOR Guidelines on Post-Baccalaureate Certificates
From “Certificate Guidelines”
(http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/certificates_guidelines):
University System of Georgia institutions offer a variety of certificate programs. Many of these certificates are
not associated with degrees, but are a prescribed program of study at the postsecondary educational level. The
following guidelines are provided to assist institutions with the development of certificate programs.
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Certificates proposed and offered by an institution should be consistent with the mission of the
institution.
Certificates shall be consistent with degree programs offered by the institution.
The institution offering the certificate will maintain enrollment and completion data as part of the
students’ record.
Certificates should be greater than 9 hours, but no more than 59 semester-credit hours.
Certificates require that students meet the admission requirements of the institution and that the
courses offered will not exceed the level of courses offered by the institution (e.g., a two-year
institution may not award a graduate certificate).
The definitions listed below describe types of certificate programs in the USG. These definitions are the same as
those used in reporting data to the federal government. In the definitions, pre-baccalaureate (undergraduate),
post-baccalaureate (graduate), post-master’s, and post-first professional, refer to the level of courses in the
curriculum, not the qualifications or background of the student.
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Pre-Baccalaureate (Undergraduate) Certificates
o Fewer than 30 semester credit hours (less than one year). The degree acronym is CER0.
o From 30 to 59 semester credit hours (at least one year, but less than two). The degree acronym
is CER1.
Post-Baccalaureate (Graduate) Certificates
o Post-Baccalaureate Certificate – a certificate beyond the bachelor’s degree that does not meet
the requirements for a master’s degree. The degree acronym is CERG.
o Post-Master’s Certificate – a certificate beyond the master’s degree that does not meet the
requirements for a doctoral degree. The degree acronym is CERM.
o Post-First Professional Certificate – a certificate beyond the first professional degree. The
degree acronym is CERP.
From Academic Affairs Handbook sec.2.3.8: “Certificates”
University System institutions are required to notify the Office of Academic Programs when a new certificate is
established. Notification will be provided using the certificate notification form
(http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/). Changes in a certificate name should also be sent to the
Office of Academic Programs as notification.
Embedded certificates, those certificates that are only awarded to a student upon completion of a degree and are
a self-contained set of courses embedded in a major or stand-alone degree, do not require notification and are
not listed separately on the Degrees and Majors inventory. Additional information may be found at the
following website: http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/
Addendum: Post-Baccalaureate Certificates Already offered by UWG
Department of Geosciences
Geographic Information Systems
Department of History
Museum Studies
Public History
Department of Political Science and Planning
Public Management
Department of Psychology
Integrative Health Studies Certificate
Tanner Health System School of Nursing (Post Master's Certificates)
Nurse Education
Health Systems Leadership
Addendum: Letter to Prospective Graduate Students
Dear _____________:
Graduate programs in the College of Arts and Humanities at UWG offer tremendous
opportunities for teachers of English, History, and Music to expand their career horizons, deepen
their knowledge in their own beloved disciplines, and increase lifetime earnings.
Students may work toward the Master of Music Education, the Master of Music in Performance,
or the MA in English or History while continuing to work full time by taking courses in the
evening, during the summer, or online. The Master of Music Education is offered fully online.
See the enclosed brochures for more information on our program or visit:
Appropriate URLs here
Or contact Kristy Gamble, Graduate Studies Associate, College of Arts and Humanities at 678839-5453 or kgamble@westga.edu.
Sincerely,
Dr. Randy Hendricks, Dean
rhendric@westga.edu