University of Nevada, Reno Graduate Council

Meeting Minutes, October 11, 2001

Members Present:

Marsha Read, Interim Associate Dean of the Graduate School

Jennifer Greer, Journalism and vice chair

Brent Bowman, Business

Katharine DeBoer, A&S, Fine Arts

Robert Winzeler, A&S, Social Sciences

Alan Gertler for Jeff Thompson, A&S Science

Peter Krumpe, Medicine

Rafik Beekun, Faculty Senate Representative

Dean Adams, Engineering

Michael Peters, recorder

Members Absent:

Deborah Ballard-Reisch, Chair and HCS

Linda Brinkley, VP for Research and Dean of the Graduate School

Scott Tyler, Mines

Stacy Burton, A&S, Humanities

Rangesan Narayanan, Agriculture

Chris Cheney, Education

Carlos Ledon, Graduate Student Association

Guest:

Ann Drayer, Graduate School

Inmaculada Aban, Math Department

1. The vice chair called the meeting to order at 1:35. As there was no quorum, the council decided to proceed with the committee reports.

2. Associate Graduate Dean’s Report: Read introduced Pam Drayer of the Graduate School to update the Council on the Quality Assurance Program review of graduate assistantship hiring procedures. Drayer reported that the review team had identified departmental difficulties in meeting required processing deadlines as the largest impediment to processing hiring paperwork. Such factors as new students arriving on campus after contract submission cut-offs coupled with the requirement that students are present to sign contracts often delays student payment by a month at the beginning of the semester. Council members proposed that a greater degree of flexibility be incorporated into processing procedures to accommodate such recurring difficulties and that perhaps electronic, on-line submission of signatures/forms be explored. Drayer indicated that the review team hoped to have final recommendations ready by December 1, 2001.

Read reported that a policy would be forthcoming from the Chancellor’s Office regarding students who are called to active duty military service, essentially charging the university community to make every effort to assist these students and that their studies should not be “penalized” by their having to perform military service. Situations involving research that must be terminated due to the student’s departure would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

[A quorum was attained at 1:50]

3. Courses & Curricula Report: Greer reported that two program proposals had been sent to C&C without the Council’s review and that both were now being presented to the Council

Master of Science in Mathematics, adding a Statistics option and

Master of Arts in Psychology, adding a non-thesis option.

In addition, the Council received a proposal from the History Department for a new degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching History.

As there was no representative from the Psychology Department to field Council questions on the MA-Psychology proposal, the Council decided to table consideration of the proposal until next meeting.

Inmaculada Aban, a professor from the Math Department, provided background to the MA-Mathematics proposal, explaining that the statistics option the “straight” mathematics and “applied” mathematics options in the master’s program. The addition of three 700-level statistics courses did not conflict or overlap courses provided by the Applied Economics and Statistics department and, in fact, complements their program with courses more extensively grounded in mathematics as opposed to applied statistics. Discussion ensued.

MOTION. Winzeler/DeBoer: Approve MS in Mathematics statistics option as appended with explanation of “no additional resources” statement in proposal. Five “yes” votes; Two abstentions. Motion passed.

Council recommended inviting representatives from both the Psychology and History Departments to the next meeting to address their respective program proposals.

Old Business

Interdisciplinary Program (IDP) Guidelines (update): Read distributed the third draft of the proposed IDP Guidelines. After extensive discussion, the members decided that they would like more feedback from faculty and that the guidelines needed additional revision to include an expanded discussion of the role of the IDP directors and more defined assurance that deans would, indeed, “buy-in” to maintaining new and existing interdisciplinary programs.

There being no other business and it being 3:20, the Council adjourned.

The next meeting with be held in the Alan Bible Conference Room, Getchell Library, at 1:30 p.m. November 8, 2001.