Committee Website: http://faculty.bemidjistate.edu/ckippenhan/BSUGradCom/
Members Present: Carla Norris-Raynbird, Heidi Hansen, Christel Kippenhan, Michael Urban, Virgil
Bakken, and Angela Hahn
Members Not Present: James McCracken, Mark Christensen, John Gonzalez, & Tammy Bobrowsky
Non-Members: Patricia Rogers and Joan Miller
1.
Minutes approved needed for March 27, 2013.
Heidi moved (Michael 2 nd ) to approve the minutes as is. Motion carried.
2.
New Program Form 6 revision (Joan)
Suggestion from Christel:
* MS/MA Curriculum proposals for graduate programs must indicate how the program addresses these requirements (in the draft catalog copy or elsewhere): a.
MnSCU 50% rule: At least one-half of the required credits in a master's degree, exclusive of a thesis, capstone, or similar culminating project, shall be credits restricted exclusively to graduate student enrollment. b.
Competency Requirement c.
Written Examination Requirement
**Applied Master’s Degree must address items a-c above as well as: d.
How the proposed capstone experience meets the capstone requirements/standards listed in the catalog.
For more information on each of these requirements refer to the current graduate catalog.
Michael moved (Carla 2 nd ) to approve the New Program Form 6 with the above additions. Joan will forward to Wendy Larson.
3.
MnSCU Graduate Deans’ - we need to answer the following questions (Pat/Joan); the document referred to in the following questions is the proposed MnSCU mission statement that was distributed last week. a.
Does the document reflect the current MnSCU graduate education?

b.
Do you see yourself/program reflected in the document? If no, what needs to be changed? c.
What do we want from the system office related to graduate education?
Concerning the proposed MnSCU mission statement, it was suggested that a more current reference should be included rather than information from 1995. Dr. Rogers will take this back to the MnSCU
Graduate Deans.
The BSU Graduate Committee members will take the proposed MnSCU mission statement back to their departments for input and to address the questions listed above; please be prepared to discuss at the
April 17 th meeting.
4.
Continue with Graduate Faculty Orientation Review a.
Item #3, The Job of the Graduate Faculty Representative/Q & A
1.
What is my role as the Graduate Faculty Representative?
2.
What am I supposed to do and what is my timeline?
3.
What can I do or not do in a defense?
4.
What should I do or not do in a defense?
5.
Do I have a say in passing/failing a student?
6.
If I feel the defense/thesis is not up to standards, what can I do? a.
Paper? b.
Oral presentation? c.
Discussion?
7.
What if I do not understand the jargon/terminology of the field, can/should I still serve as a graduate representative?
8.
Remote (Skype/WebEx, etc.): What about paperwork? What if committee member is not present?
After much discussion was decided, it was decided that each of the 6 members in attendance would take one question to answer for a total of 6 questions for the Q & A section; some of the questions were combined:
Christel: Q1
Angela: Q2
Virgil: Q3 & Q4
Mike: Q5 & Q6
Carla: Q7
Heidi: Q8 b.
Item #4, Advising a Thesis or Research Paper
To be included in the next agenda.

5.
BSU Graduate Committee – need to restructure:
Catalog Description:
The BSU Graduate Studies Committee is composed of graduate faculty. The Committee normally consists of five members elected by the faculty. The Dean, School of
Graduate Studies is invited to participate as an ex-officio member. The Committee considers curriculum requests, program proposals, and advises the Dean in formulating and discharging administrative responsibilities.
Suggested Change: The BSU Graduate Studies Committee is composed of graduate faculty. The
Committee normally consists of five members elected by the faculty. The Director, School of Graduate
Studies is invited to participate as an ex-officio member. Ad Hoc members will consist of one College Dean attending on an annual rotating basis. The Committee considers curriculum requests, program proposals, and advises the College Dean/Director in formulating and discharging administrative responsibilities.
This was briefly discussed. We need to do more research on what exactly the BSUFA lists as an appropriate committee as what is currently “on the books” does not agree with the BSU graduate catalog. Tabled till next meeting.
6.
Adjournment and Next Meeting
Meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m.;
Meetings for the rest of the term are: April 17, April 24, and May 1. Please make every effort to attend as there are important items to discuss and decide.
Joan Miller, Reporting Secretary