Faculty of Health Sciences
Quick Guide to New Graduate Program Implementation
(after MTCU and Quality Council approval)
The purpose of this Guide is to provide a new program development team with assistance in establishing
a new graduate program at McMaster University once it is officially approved. The Guide outlines the
processes immediately following the processes described in the New Graduate Program Development
and Approval Process Guide. Although both these Guides were developed specifically for the Faculty of
Health Sciences (FHS), should other Faculties express any interest in utilizing them the Guides can be
easily adapted to their specific situations.
Disclaimer: in case of discrepancies between this document and other University official documents,
McMaster and School of Graduate Studies policies and procedures will supersede this Guide.
Resources
Required by the
New Program
First priority
Program Head
(Director or
Assistant Dean)
Comments
Who to Contact
Personnel Recruitment
Terms of References (ToR) will normally be drafted by the
Department Chair (within department programs) or the
Associate Dean of Graduate Studies (for Director of a multidepartmental program, an Assistant Dean role, or an
Interdisciplinary Program Director), in consultation with
others. Roles that are not restricted to one department
must be approved by the Faculty Executive Committee.
ToR templates are
available from the
Health Sciences
Graduate Studies
(HSGS) office (Christine
Larabie/Sherri Keene)
An adhoc selection committee will be struck in consultation
with the appropriate Chairs and Associate Dean of Graduate
Studies, FHS. For selection of leaders of interdisciplinary,
multi-departmental, or Assistant Dean roles, the selection
committee requires FHS Executive Council approval.
Position needs to be posted and announced to all
participating parties.
Faculty
Review McMaster Policy on Academic Recruitment:
Advertisement for Faculty positions.
Manager, Academic
Advancement
(Rebecca Collier)
Department Chair(s) will lead the process.
Staff
Find out who your HR area staff person is and work with
them to recruit for staff positons.
HR: Advertisement for
staff positions
Program Director will normally lead the process, which will
be done through the new Mosaic system.
Office space
Space
Needs are reviewed and evaluated at the pre-approval
1
Assistant Vice-
stage (part of the submitted proposal).
Academic
classrooms
Inquire whether other
locations are available
(downtown centre)
Associate Dean,
Research, FHS (Steve
Collins)
Laboratories (if
applicable, will be
allocated to the
faculty members)
Student space
Furniture
President/Chief
Administrative Officer
(Debbie Martin) and
Manager, Corporate
Services (Todd
Pentlichuk)
Director, Education
Services (Susan Birnie)
and Coordinator, FHS
Room Bookings (Tracy
Manes)
If the program is
associated with a
department, they may
already have dedicated
student space.
Carded access to the
HSGS Student
Homebase is also
available (inquire with
HSGS office)
Furniture, Supplies and Equipment
Once hired, program administrative staff will look into it.
Preferred supplier:
Lordly Jones
Office supplies
Preferred supplier:
Grand and Toy
Computers and
printers
Computer Services
Unit (CSU)
https://www.csu.mcm
aster.ca/
Phones
Telecommunications
http://telecom.mcmas
ter.ca/
Photocopier
Media Production
Services is responsible
for the Sharp campus
2
copier devices
throughout McMaster
University
Email: printsmart@mc
master.ca
Web Page:
http://printsmart.mcm
aster.ca
Library resources
Processes
Required by the
New Program
First priority
Open operating
account
Library Resources
Discussed at the program submission stage.
Director, Health
Sciences Library
(Jennifer McKinnell)
Comments
Who to Contact
Finances
Fill out the form found here:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/opr/html/mcmaster_home/main
/search_results.html?q=create%2Fupdate+chartfied+value
&cx=017110053273856412988%3Aakq6v26t6nm&hq=inurl
%3Amcmaster.ca&cof=FORID%3A11
(Click on “Create Update Chartfield Value form”)
Inquire with Assistant
Director, Finance (Sue
Galloway) as to who
your program Budget
Analyst is and work
with them
Once your operating account is set up, give the chartfield to
the office providing the program’s start-up (i.e. the Office of
Provost, Dean of FHS, etc.) and they will transfer the funds.
Open graduate
scholarship
account
Familiarize yourself with the operating guidelines for the
SGS scholarship administration.
Note: historically, SGS funds have been distributed on the
slip year basis, which may change with the implementation
of the new budget model. Check with SGS whether
scholarship funds will be available to the program in the
first year.
Determine the
funding formula
to support full
time thesis-based
students
Program leadership will determine eligibility criteria and
funding formula(s) for FT thesis-based students.
Components may include:
o
Entrance scholarship
o
Graduate scholarship
o
Research scholarship
o
TA and/or RA in lieu of TA
o
Tuition bursaries for Visa students
The program may have different funding formulas for
Masters and PhD programs and also for students with
various levels of external funding.
3
Contact Executive
Director, Strategic
Planning &
Administration, SGS
(Brooke Gordon)
First priority
Note that it is the University requirement to provide fulltime PhD students with the minimum stipend ($17,500 as of
2014/15).
Program website
Program Promotional Materials
If you are considering using an external agency, please note
that the approvals from UTS, CSU, and the Office of Public
Relations will be required. Familiarize yourselves with the
university branding guidelines and ensure that the external
agency receives them and adheres to them, too.
Social media
Consider having Facebook, Twitter and other ways to reach
out to students, potential applicants, and others who might
be interested in updates from the program.
Promotional
materials
If not dealing with the external agency, brochures can be
developed by the program administrative staff.
Contact
Communications/Web
Assistant (Brian
Hamister)
Program banner:
contact Underground
or Media Production
Services
TV advertisement in
MDCL and Hospital:
contact CSU
FHS Open House
Student Recruitment
Organized annually at the beginning of November.
Admission
webinars
Recommended to have at least two admission webinars in
the cycle: a more general at the beginning of the admission
process (with the overview of the program, website, etc.)
and the second one a few weeks prior to the application
deadline (the applicants will have more specific questions).
For researchbased programs,
consider how to
match supervisors
with applicants
It is advisable to have a list of the program potential
supervisors on the website with some description of their
expertise and area of research.
You may want to ask your applicants to indicate their top
three faculty supervisors at the time of the application.
You can also use Graduate Supervisor Questionnaire to help
guide your applicants:
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/grad/student_resources.html
4
HSGS office (Sherri
Keene/Tatiana
Dobrovolska)
Contact Instructional
Assistant, CSU (Chris
Skrzek)
First priority
Graduate calendar
description and
course approvals
Program Academic Materials
Graduate calendar description and course materials need to
be submitted for approval at multiple levels, such as FHS
Graduate Program Curriculum Committee (GPCC), Faculty
Executive Council and Graduate Council. The process takes
time, start as early as possible.
Contact Assistant
Graduate Secretary,
SGS (Christina Bryce)
First priority
Courses can be offered once on Dean’s approval.
Program
Handbook
Will be developed by the program leadership.
Needs to be approved by FHS GPCC. Handbooks cannot be
distributed or posted until they are approved.
Comprehensive
Exam procedure
Applicable only to Doctoral programs only. Needs to be
addressed within the program’s first year of operations.
The document needs to be approved by FHS GPCC, Faculty
Executive Council and Graduate Council. It is considered
best practice to describe the exam in graduate calendar,
and in more detail in the program handbook, rather than
having a separate booklet.
Student Forms
Some of the forms related to Masters degree are program
specific, e.g. MSc to PhD Transfer, MSc Supervisory
Committee Report.
Examples are available
on other FHS
programs’ websites
Inquire with Associate
Registrar and Graduate
Secretary (Stephanie
Baschiera)
Examples are available
on other FHS
programs’ websites
Scholarships forms (program specific) may require form and
process development, for example, if the program is going
to offer travel scholarships, awards for published papers,
etc.
Essentials common
to all graduate
programs
New graduate
student
arrangements (not
all items may be
applicable to all
programs)
Preparations for the Start of the Academic Year
SGS will set up the following:
o Admission page
o Program for registration
o Access to approved courses for student registration
o Access to SGS Admin Tools (for program staff)
Prepare packages for new students, which may include the
following items:
o Updated program handbook
o Progress tracking sheet (to be completed with their
supervisor)
o Deposit form
o Tax forms
o Safety training documentation
o Copy of Supervision Guidelines for Faculty and
Students
o Scholarship information
5
Contact Associate
Registrar and Graduate
Secretary (Stephanie
Baschiera)
o Validation stickers
e-mail distribution
lists
Request e-mail distribution lists for students and faculty in
your program.
Course offering and Confirm each course schedule with the instructors/course
scheduling
coordinators.
If students in the program will be taking courses from
other programs, get detailed agreements from other
programs as to how this will be arranged (i.e. will the
courses be cross-listed (needs GPCC approval), the number
of seats in the classes, permissions – who students have to
contact to get a seat in the class, etc.)
Contact UTS at
uts@mcmaster.ca
To set up courses
through Avenue to
Learn, go to
http://avenue.mcmast
er.ca/
(training on how to use
Avenue is also
available through the
website)
Course schedule will have to be entered into Mosaic.
Classroom booking
Committees
Book classrooms through
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/corporate/room_bookings.html
Other Important Items and Considerations
Program Head will be a member of the
o FHS GP Exec (contact Christina Larabie, HSGS to be
added to the list)
o FHS GPCC (contact Christina Bryce in SGS to be
added to the list)
Program leadership will organize Admissions, Curriculum,
Program Scholarship committees (and others, as
appropriate) and write up terms of references for various
within program roles and committees, if needed. Normally,
programs have an executive committee, an admissions
committee and a curriculum committee
Program
stakeholders
Consider potential members for your Advisory Committee,
such as Chairs and Department Education Coordinators
(DEC) of the participating departments, Heads of affiliated
research institutes, etc.
TAship
Program Administrator will inquire about TA opportunities
for the graduate students within the undergraduate
program (if the graduate program is part of an academic
department).
For TA opportunities in other programs and related process
inquire with HSGS Office.
Note: TA positions, if available, may become part of the
funding formula for the graduate students.
6
Send requests to
bookFHS@mcmaster.c
a using the on-line
booking form
Contact HSGS Office
(Christina Larabie) and
Assistant Graduate
Secretary, SGS
(Christina Bryce)
Contact Manager,
HSGS (Tatiana
Dobrovolska)
MacFACTS
(former STAR)
For the complete list of MacFACTS roles and hours contact
HSGS office. Program leadership can use other program
roles as a base for their program-specific activities.
Contact HSGS Office
(Sherri Keene)
Final list of roles and hours will be approved by the
Associate Dean of Grad Studies, FHS.
Supervisory
privileges (if
applicable)
New faculty members (not listed in the program original
proposal) will need to go through the FHS approval process
to obtain graduate supervision privileges.
Review resources at
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca
/grad/faculty_resource
s.html
Inquire with HSGS
Graduate Officers
(Christine Larabie or
Sherri Keene)
Student and other
program data
You may want to review a template for the program
periodic review (IQAP) and consider what data you need to
keep track of on a regular basis.
Alumni
Consider how the program will keep in touch with the
alumni and foster partnership with them.
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Appendix A
List of incumbents as of November 13, 2014
Faculty of Health Sciences:
Associate Vice-President (Academic), Health
Sciences
Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Health
Sciences
Associate Dean, Research, Health Sciences
Dr. Susan Denburg
Dr. Catherine
Hayward
Dr. Steve Collins
Director, Education Services
Susan Birnie
Manager, HSGS
Tatiana Dobrovolska
Manager, Academic Advancement
Rebecca Collier
Manager, Corporate Services
Todd Pentlichuk
Coordinator, FHS Room Bookings
Tracy Manes
Assistant Vice-President/Chief Administrative
Officer
Communications/Web Assistant
Debbie Martin
HSGS Graduate Officers
Sherri Keene
Christine Larabie
Assistant Director, Finance
Sue Galloway
Director, Health Sciences Library
Jennifer McKinnell
Communications/Web Assistant
Brian Hamister
Instructional Assistant, CSU
Chris Skrzek
Central Services:
Associate Registrar and Graduate Secretary
Stephanie Baschiera
Brian Hamister
Executive Director, Strategic Planning &
Administration, SGS
Executive Director Finance and Administration
(Academic)
Educational Consultant, (MIIETL)
Brooke Gordon
Assistant Graduate Secretary, SGS
Christina Bryce
Linda Coslovi
Lori Goff
Created November 27, 2014 by Health Sciences Graduate Office in collaboration with FHS departments
8
denburgs@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22110
haywrdc@mcmaster.ca
ext. 21609
scollins@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22184
birnie@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22506
dobrov@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22735
rcollie@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22175
pentlit@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22501
manest@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22885
martind@mcmaster.ca
ext. 26538
hamist@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22579
keenes@mcmaster.ca
ext. 24445
larabic@mcmaster.ca
ext. 21609
sgallow@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22664
mckinn@mcmaster.ca
ext. 24381
hamist@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22579
skrzekc@mcmaster.ca
ext. 22186
baschie@mcmaster.ca
ext. 23684
gordonbe@mcmaster.ca
ext. 28742
coslovi@mcmaster.ca
ext. 26544
lgoff@mcmaster.ca
ext. 24368
cbryce@mcmaster.ca
ext. 24204