The Graduate Council Minutes
September 25, 2014
Ward Edwards 1550
3:30 pm
Members/Guests Present: P. Antrim, R. Ayalon, A. Fairfield, O. Jurkowski, S. Lankford, J. Mercado, A. Oller, ,
M. Yousef, A. Zabriskie, S. Julie Mollenkamp (G), Hewitt (G), and K. Keller (G).
This regular meeting was called to order by the Chair at 3:31 pm in Ward Edwards 1550 and the Director of the
Graduate School and International Admissions was present to record the meeting.
Approval of the Minutes: Move by O. Jurkowski to approve the minutes of the last meetings (September 11, 2014)
as distributed. (APPROVED)
I. New Business
College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
Department of Theatre and Dance
2. THEA 4440 Literature and History of the Theatre III – New Course – Jurkowski (APPROVED)
College of Education
Department of Career and Technology Education
3. INST 5500 Online Course Development – Course Revision – Yousef (APPROVED)
4. INST 6930 Internship in Educational Technology – Course Revision – Yousef (APPROVED)
5. Master of Science in Educational Technology – Program Revision – Yousef (APPROVED)
6. Education Specialist in Human Services/Educational Technology – Program Revision – Yousef
(APPROVED)
II. Discussion Items
7. Motion by O. Jurkowski to post approved Graduate Council Minutes posted on the web.
(APPROVED)
8. Graduate Commencement
a. Recap of the Graduate Faculty Assembly meeting, discussion about the level of prestige
between graduate and undergraduate ceremonies. The concern with be shared with the
Registrar.
i. Surveying graduate students about commencement was discussed
1. Two new questions provided by Shellie Hewitt to incorporate in the current
graduation survey: What was the most meaningful experience of your
commencement ceremony? and What areas could be improved upon for future
commencement ceremonies?
Motion by A. Zabriskie to incorporate Shellie’s questions in the current survey sent
to all students who have completed their degrees. (APPROVED)
b. Fall 2014 Ceremony
i. Time, the fall 2014 ceremony will be held at 7pm as in the past.
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ii. Reception
Motion by P Antrim not to hold a reception hosted by the Graduate School for the fall
2014 ceremony. (APPROVED)
iii. Two line up areas; College of Education and College of Health, Science, and
Technology will line up on the second floor of the Multipurpose building and the
College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the Harmon College of Business
and Professional Studies will line up on the main floor. This is to reduce congestion in
the line up area.
9. With the anticipated purchase of the TK 20 Software the Graduate Faculty Status could possibly be
incorporated into the software. In the meantime, Shellie Hewitt demonstrated a google site to allow
the Graduate Council members to view Full Graduate Faculty Status applications and provide
feedback about their reviews. The Graduate Council would still meet and vote on the status.
10. An international student submitted a transcript evaluation that did not separate the student’s
undergraduate and graduate grade point average (GPA). The combined GPA was below a 3.0 and a
student with a graduate GPA must have a 3.0 or higher for admissions. WES Evaluation Company
was contacted to determine if they could separate the GPA by level and they could not.
A. Zabriskie motioned that we allow the student to complete the fall 2014 semester and if the
student earns a 3.0 or higher graduate GPA he be allowed to continue his graduate studies at UCM.
If less than a 3.0 is earned, the student will need to return back to his home country and will not be
allowed to continue to enroll at UCM. (APPROVED)
11. The University Research Council (URC) requested representation from the Graduate Council to
assist the committee with one of its functions, “To assist the School of Graduate Studies and the
Office of Sponsored Programs in promoting research and scholarly activities.”
A. Zabriskie motioned that the URC update its charge to include a Graduate Council representative
with full voting privileges. (APPROVED). S. Lankford volunteered to serve as the URC
representative for the 2014-2015 academic period.
12. A. Oller discussed the need for a list of top graduate discussion items for the graduate faculty to rate
for priority. She will be meeting with the Provost and will report back to the Graduate Council at
the next meeting.
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