Graduate Council Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2014
SURC 301; 3:30-5:00
In attendance: Andonie, Razvan; Bouillon, Marvin; Brammer, Robyn; Gabriel, Kara; Herman, Dan;
Johnson, Jim; Lorenz, Joseph; Lupton, Natalie; Mattinson, Chris; Murataya, Rodrigo; Rivera, Dion;
Robinson, Scott; Robison, Stephen; Snedeker, Jeff; Spybrook, Janet; Williams, Henry
1) Approval of minutes from March meeting.
2) Deans Statement
a) The impact of RCM on Graduate Studies is unknown at this point. Under the proposed model,
Graduate Studies will not receive funding based upon graduate student tuition dollars.
Additionally, monies for graduate assistantships will be allocated to College Deans under RCM.
b) Under RCM, profitable colleges will need to fund GAs for unprofitable colleges with the Provost
making decisions about which non-profitable colleges to fund.
c) Dean Archer feels that Graduate Studies should receive tuition-based dollars based upon graduate
student enrollments. However, currently Graduate Studies is being considered a service unit and is
being evaluated as such.
3) Associate Deans Statement
a) Tuition Fellowships will not be available next year. The Graduate Studies office is continuing the
process of creating them.
b) Because Graduate Council has no formal policies and procedures that have been approved at the
University level, it is currently considered an advisory rather than a legislative body. The Associate
Dean is currently drafting a policy and procedures manual.
c) To celebrate the new location in Barge of the Graduate Studies office, there will be an open house.
Stay tuned for the announcement as to when.
d) The drafting of the needs statement for the Professional Masters degree category is still underway.
4) Chairs Statement
a) Three of the four members of Executive Committee are stepping down at the end of the 20132014 academic year due to the completion of their term (2 years) or for professional reasons
(sabbatical). At the May meeting, nominations will be considered to fill the following positions:
Chair of Graduate Council, Chair of the Procedures Committee, and Chair of the Curriculum
Committee.
5) Old business
a) The mission statement below was approved:
The mission of the Graduate Council at Central Washington University is to ensure that programs
provide a high quality graduate school experience for students, to foster exceptional faculty
scholarship and teaching, and to promote contributions to society through effective postbaccalaureate programs.
6) New business
a) Discussion involved proposed rewording for credit limits/requirements for graduate students.
Discussion included: the need to shift to percentages rather than absolute numbers; the need to
accommodate programs that use 400-level classes extensively; that wording should be focused
upon graduate programs rather than individual students (allowing greater flexibility for students
when programs transition); care for wording choices (e.g., cross-listed versus layered, arranged
courses versus independent study courses). The Chair of Academic Standards will incorporate
suggestions and return with new proposed wording.
b) The procedures committee has proposed changes to the wording of the document regarding
regular faculty status. Council members requested that the Procedures Committee remove the
phase “principal investigator” to better minimize confusion. Further discussion was postponed
until the Chair of the Procedures Committee could be in attendance.
7) Any concerns of Graduate Council Members.
a) The Graduate School was asked to review the current policy that limits graduate assistantships to
three years; an important consider for terminal degree programs that are three years in length.
b) Council members requested that the email for project description requirement descriptions be
resent.
c) Update on electronic thesis submissions: Theses for Spring and Summer will be submitted both
electronically and via paper. If that trial period works well, all theses will be submitted
electronically in the Fall
d) Out-of-state tuition waiver for 2nd year students will be available for 2014-2015.
8) Adjourn