THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
Laramie, Wyoming
UNIREG 580, Revision 1
February 15, 1994
UNIVERSITY REGULATION 580, Revision 1
Initiating
Authority: Graduate School
Subject: Regulations of the Graduate School
References: (a) Regulations of the Trustees, as amended.
(b) University Regulation 251, as amended.
(c) University Regulation 702, as amended.
1. PURPOSE. To promulgate and amend regulations of the Graduate School, as set forth
in Faculty Senate Bill 252, which was adopted by the Graduate Faculty and the Faculty
Senate.
2. GENERAL INFORMATION. This UNIREG sets forth the basic organization and
processes through and by which the Graduate Faculty may function in the exercise of its
authority and responsibility as prescribed by the Regulations of the Trustees of the
University of Wyoming and as established by action of the Faculty.
3. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL.
a. Duties and Responsibilities of the Dean.
i. The Graduate School, authorized for the purpose of coordinating and supervising all
post-baccalaureate education except that offered in the College of Law and in the Family
Practice Residency Programs in the College of Health Sciences, shall be headed by a
Dean recommended by the President to the Trustees after consulting with appropriate
faculty groups and University officials. As chief administrative officer of the Graduate
School, the Dean shall:
(1) Enforce University policies regarding graduate education;
(2) Following consultation with the Graduate Council, make recommendations to the
Provost concerning new graduate programs, substantive changes in existing graduate
programs, implementation of changes in graduate programs recommended through
program reviews, and deletion of graduate programs;
(3) Participate in or conduct reviews of graduate programs in collaboration with other
appropriate college and University officers;
(4) Recommend budgets to provide funding for:
(a) operation of the office of the Graduate School,
(b) training of graduate teaching assistants,
(c) admission of graduate students, and
(d) assistance for recruitment of graduate students;
(5) Recommend a budget for stipends and tuition and fee reductions for state-funded
graduate assistants and recommend allocations of state-funded graduate assistants to
colleges or other appropriate units;
(6) Facilitate operation of interdisciplinary graduate programs that do not otherwise have
an administrative unit base and assist Graduate Faculty who wish to explore
establishment of interdisciplinary graduate programs;
(7) Call the Graduate Council into session at least once per semester (summer sessions
excluded) and provide the Council with an agenda (ordinarily, these duties will be
handled by the Chair of the Graduate Council, see UNIREG 702, Paragraph 7.d.);
(8) Approve admission of all students to the Graduate School;
(9) Serve other roles normally expected of the chief administrative officer for graduate
education (e.g., Fulbright advisor for candidates for Fulbright fellowships, Coordinating
Official for NSF Graduate Fellows, etc.);
(10) Assume other duties as assigned by the Provost; and
(11) Assume duties appropriate to fostering and promoting high quality graduate
education at the University including appointment and charging committees of Graduate
Faculty to examine issues germane to graduate education.
ii. The Dean, upon approval by appropriate University officials and the Trustees, may
appoint an Associate Dean of the Graduate School.
iii. The Dean of the Graduate School shall promote and maintain high standards of
scholarship in graduate education, promote and encourage interdisciplinary efforts in
graduate education and research, encourage cultural diversity in the graduate student and
faculty bodies, and inform the University community of local and national issues of
import to graduate education.
4. GRADUATE FACULTY.
a. Purpose.
The Graduate Faculty is composed of individuals who offer and direct graduate
education. To accomplish this specific purpose, the Graduate Faculty is superimposed
across the colleges of the University. In consultation with the Graduate Council, rules and
regulations of the Graduate Faculty are administered by the Dean of the Graduate School.
b. Membership.
The responsibility for establishment of criteria for Graduate Faculty status is delegated to
each department for its own faculty. Each department will, therefore, be responsible for
drafting its own criteria for Graduate Faculty status subject to the minimum requirements
specified below. The Graduate Council shall review these proposed departmental criteria
and make recommendations to approve or reject such criteria to the Dean of the Graduate
School.
i. Minimum Criteria for Initial Appointment:
(1) To be considered for Graduate Faculty standing, a faculty member must be a tenuretrack or tenured assistant, associate, or full professor.
(2) Before any faculty member can have Graduate Faculty status, he/she must serve as
the co-chair of a master's or doctoral committee under the supervision of a member of the
Graduate Faculty. This requirement can be waived if the faculty member under
consideration has transferred from another institution where he/she held Graduate Faculty
status or if the nominator can provide other evidence that the candidate has received
mentoring in guidance of graduate students.
(3) Any faculty member assigned to a department that does not have a master's,
educational specialist, Ph. D., or Ed. D. program must apply directly to the Graduate
Council for consideration for Graduate Faculty status. The Graduate Council shall review
such requests for membership in the Graduate Faculty and make recommendations
regarding such membership to the Dean of the Graduate School.
(4) Any of the above requirements can be waived for uniquely qualified individuals upon
petition to the Graduate Council and acceptance by the Council of such a petition
however modified by the Council. The Graduate Council shall then make
recommendations regarding such individuals to the Dean of the Graduate School.
(5) Appointments to the Graduate Faculty will be made by the Dean of the Graduate
School upon receipt of a nomination by a department head/chair in which the department
head/chair has indicated that the nominee has met or exceeded the approved minimal
criteria for initial appointment established by the department or program. Similarly,
appointments will be made by the Dean of the Graduate School for faculty or uniquely
qualified individuals recommended by the Graduate Council through the processes
described in Paragraph 4.b.i.(3) & (4) above.
ii. Continuation of Graduate Faculty Status:
(1) During a department's or program's scheduled review (see item #10, p. 46, Minutes of
the Trustees, December 8, 1990; p. 30, Minutes of the Trustees, December 14, 1991), the
Graduate Faculty of a given department will be reviewed for participation in graduate
committees and the quality of supervised graduate student degree programs. If any
member of the Graduate Faculty has not served on any graduate committee since the last
review period, his/her Graduate Faculty designation will be terminated. The assessment
of graduate degree program quality and quality of student direction by individual
Graduate Faculty members will be left up to each department or program, but some
specified minimums must be proposed and submitted to the Graduate Council for
approval. It is strongly suggested that publication of the results of master's theses and
doctoral dissertations be one of these minimums. Graduate Faculty designation will be
terminated for those faculty not meeting their department's or program's approved
minimum quality level.
(2) Members of the Graduate Faculty whose membership has been recommended for
termination will be notified by the Dean of the Graduate School. If the faculty member
wishes, he/she may appeal the termination to the Graduate Council.
(3) The department's or program's criteria for Graduate Faculty status will be reviewed
for adherence and quality by the Graduate Council which shall then make
recommendations regarding such criteria to the Dean of the Graduate School.
iii. Reinstatement to membership in the Graduate Faculty:
To be reinstated to the Graduate Faculty, a candidate must meet the requirement
expressed in Paragraph 4.b.i.(2) above.
iv. Membership for Administrators:
The President; Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs; the Vice
President for Research; the deans of the colleges and schools (including the Graduate
School and the University of Wyoming/Casper College Center); the heads/chairs of
departments, divisions, and schools which offer graduate degrees; the Director of the
University Library; and the Special Assistant to the President for Information Technology
are members of the Graduate Faculty by virtue of their administrative appointments.
When such appointments terminate, these administrators must follow the procedures
outlined in Paragraph 4.b.i. for appointment to membership in the Graduate Faculty.
c. Powers and Duties.
i. Pursuant with current regulations of the Trustees and subject to the policies and
regulations of the University, the Graduate Faculty shall develop policy for graduate
education and, subject to approval by the President and the Trustees, shall make such
rules and regulations as it may deem necessary for the promotion and conduct of the
graduate education mission of the University (see Paragraph 4.e.i. for delegation of these
powers and duties to the Graduate Council). In the case of any action by the Graduate
Faculty intended to have the force of a regulation, the complete text of the regulation
shall be incorporated into the Graduate Faculty Regulations (see Paragraph 5.).
ii. Subject to approval by the President and the Trustees, the Graduate Faculty shall have
power to make regulations with respect to:
(1) General requirements for graduate degrees (except the Juris Doctor), diplomas, and
certificates (except certificates issued for completion of the Family Practice Residency
Program), and
(2) Standards for admission to the Graduate School.
iii. The Graduate Faculty shall recommend candidates for graduate degrees to the
Trustees, through the Dean of the Graduate School and the President.
d. Meetings.
i. Meetings of the Graduate Faculty shall be held when called by the Dean on his/her
initiative, by request of a majority of the Graduate Council, by request of the Provost, or
by written request of 10 voting members of the Graduate Faculty. Ordinarily, a meeting
of the Graduate Faculty will be convened at least annually.
ii. Quorum: One-fourth of the voting members of the Graduate Faculty shall constitute a
quorum.
e. The Graduate Council.
i. Rationale: The powers and duties of the Graduate Faculty described in Paragraph 4.c.i.
& ii. above are delegated to the Graduate Council with the provision that the Graduate
Council keep the Graduate Faculty informed of proposed new regulations and proposed
changes in existing regulations. One of the specific elements of the University's mission
is "graduate programs of recognized excellence in disciplinary and interdisciplinary
fields." This aspect of the mission is a concern of the Graduate Council.
ii. Composition and Reporting to the Faculty Senate: The Graduate Council is a Faculty
Senate Committee and the composition and selection procedures for members of the
Graduate Council are defined in UNIREG 702, Paragraph 7.d. Requirements for
reporting to the Faculty Senate are described in UNIREG 702, Paragraph 3.e.
iii. Functions: The Council shall recommend the broad policies concerning the overall
University function in graduate education and the University requirements for graduate
degrees. These policies shall be codified into the Regulations of the Graduate Faculty.
Administrative support for the Graduate Council will be furnished by the Graduate
School.
iv. Meetings: The Council shall elect a chair from one of its members. The chair of the
Graduate Council and/or the Dean of the Graduate School are responsible for calling the
Council into session at least once each semester (summer sessions excluded) and for
providing the Council with an agenda.
(1) The agenda will be circulated to the members of the Graduate Council, the Faculty
Senate Office, Chair of the Academic Planning Committee, the members of the Executive
Deans' Council, and the graduate coordinators of each department or graduate program at
least two working days before the meeting.
(2) The Graduate School shall provide personnel and support to maintain an accurate
record of the proceedings of the Graduate Council. The minutes of the meetings shall be
circulated to the members of the Graduate Council, the Faculty Senate Office, Chair of
the Academic Planning Committee, the members of the Executive Deans' Council, and
the graduate coordinators of each department or graduate program.
v. Committees of the Graduate Council: In addition to the broad functions stated above,
the Graduate Council has several specific responsibilities that will be addressed by the
standing committees described below. As the need arises, the Graduate Council may form
additional standing committees and the Chair of the Graduate Council or the Dean of the
Graduate School may appoint ad hoc committees to address specific issues.
(1) Graduate Student Appeals Board (GSAB): The purpose of the GSAB is to provide an
appellate body to review appeals of graduate students concerning retention in graduate
programs, employment as graduate assistants, and charges of academic dishonesty or
scientific misconduct. The GSAB will not hear appeals of course grades or charges of
academic dishonesty associated with a course (these appeals will be handled by the
procedures of the college in which the course is offered). Appeals emanating from Plan
B, thesis, or dissertation research will be heard by the GSAB even though thesis and
dissertation research are designated by course numbers. Policies and procedures for
graduate student appeals will be modeled after those used by the University Board of
Student Appeals and published as part of the Regulations of the Graduate Faculty.
(2) Graduate Admissions Committee: The purpose of the Graduate Admissions
Committee is to review and recommend actions to the Graduate Council on criteria for
admission to graduate programs if the proposed criteria differ from the general
admissions criteria for all University graduate programs (see UNIREG 251, Paragraph
3.(a).vi.). In addition, the Graduate Admissions Committee will make recommendations
on applicants for admission to the Graduate School. The committee may chose to
delegate routine admissions recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School or
his/her designee.
(3) Awards Committee: The Awards Committee is charged with selecting recipients of
Graduate School Scholarships, Outstanding Dissertation Awards, Outstanding Teaching
Assistant Awards, and other awards which may fall under the purview of the Graduate
Council.
(4) Program Review Committee: This committee, in collaboration with the University
Program Review Coordinator and the Dean of the Graduate School, will assign members
of the Graduate Council to the program reviews scheduled for an academic year. The
Program Review Committee will also assign members of the Graduate Council to chair
ad hoc reviews of graduate programs requested by the Dean of the Graduate School.
5. REGULATIONS CONCERNING GRADUATE EDUCATION.
a. Publication of Regulations.
i. Regulations of the Graduate Faculty which affect graduate students will be published in
the Graduate Bulletin and/or other appropriate media.
ii. Other regulations of the Graduate Faculty will be published in a loose-leaf type
notebook and be made available to all graduate programs. Changes in these regulations
will be made by deletion, substitution or addition of pages to the loose-leaf binder.
b. Enactment of Regulations.
i. The Graduate Faculty delegates to the Graduate Council the power to enact regulations
governing graduate education with the provision that the Graduate Council keep the
Graduate Faculty informed of proposed new regulations and proposed changes in existing
regulations as described below.
ii. The process for enactment of a new regulation or change in an existing regulation will
be:
(1) A proposed regulation or change in a regulation will be developed and approved by
the Graduate Council.
(2) The proposed change will then be circulated to the Graduate Faculty. The Graduate
Faculty will have two weeks in which to respond to the change. The proposed change
will also be circulated to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, to the Executive
Deans' Council, and to other units which may have an interest in the proposed change.
(3) The Graduate Council will consider comments from the Graduate Faculty and other
groups and make adjustments if appropriate.
(4) The proposed regulation, after modification based upon feedback from the Graduate
Faculty and other entities, will be placed on an agenda for the Graduate Council. Agendas
for the council will be circulated as described in Paragraph 4.e.iv.(1), above.
(5) Actions taken by the Graduate Council will be recorded in the minutes of the Council.
Actions which are intended to have the force of rules or regulations will be published in
the appropriate medium as outlined in Paragraph 5.a.i. & ii. above.
c. Amendment of UNIREGs or Creation of New UNIREGs Affecting Graduate
Education:
i. The initial process for approval of amendments to UNIREGs or creating new
UNIREGs affecting graduate education will be the same as described in Paragraph 5.b.ii.
(1)-(4), for regulations of the Graduate Faculty.
ii. For UNIREGs, the Graduate Council will forward recommended changes or
recommendations for new UNIREGs to the Faculty Senate for further action.
APPROVED: February 15, 1994
/s/ Terry P. Roark
Terry P. Roark
President