Office of the Provost - George Mason University

GRADUATE COUNCIL

GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
for the
August 25, 2004
Meeting

Graduate Council meetings are held monthly, August through May, in Mason Hall Room D5, from 1:30-3:00. See schedule for exact dates. All meetings are open to the general George Mason University community.

Members attending: Peter Stearns (Chair), Linda Schwartzstein (Provost Office), Deborah Boehm-Davis (CAS), Phillip Buchanan (SOM), Jim Finkelstein (SPP), Dee Ann Holisky (CAS), Joan Isenberg (CEHD), Stephen Nash (IT&E), Wallace Warfield (ICAR), Steve White (CEHD).

Special Attendees: Claudio Cioffi, Director, Center for Social Complexity, Computational Social Sciences Program; Beverly Davis, Director, Graduate Admissions; Cindy Roberts, Assistant to the Director, Center for Social Complexity; Rajib Sanyal, ACE Fellowship.

I. Call to order

II. Approval of May Minutes

Minutes of the May 19, 2004 meeting were approved as written.

III. Announcements

None

IV. Discussion Items (at the end of the meeting)

The second issue concerned the possibility of awarding in-state tuition rates to students who are RAs or TAs. Linda Schwartzstein stated that there is language passed by the state this spring that would allow the university to apply in-state tuition rates for RAs and TAs. Currently, the university is considering a budget proposal to increase the amount of graduate funding which would apply next year.

B. Stephen Nash indicated that IT&E was looking for way to motivate its graduate students to enroll earlier. Dee Holisky stated that CAS had tried to remedy this situation but found that the timing of the processes of hiring GRAs, posting of tuition waivers and students enrolling in classes were made more difficult by the change-over to the new Banner system. Several Council members suggested that further examination of the problem and possible solutions would be helpful to eliminate the problem next year.

C. Jim Finkelstein state that a few SPP graduate students have expressed their concern about the closing of the window (9-12 credit hours) for graduate student registration, stating that it is a significant hardship especially for out-of-state and foreign students.

D. Deborah Boehm-Davis stated the there is a problem with masters students who do not let the departments know early enough if they will accept their offer to enroll in a program. Suggestions were made that offer letters could ask for a response by a certain date and/or require a deposit to hold a spot for the prospective student.

E. Jim Finkelstein proposed the following two amendments to the Graduate Council Bylaws, and moved that the amendments be presented to the graduate faculty of the university at their next meeting:

Article III, Section 2, Paragraph b, to read:
The Chair of the Graduate Council shall be elected by its members and serve for a one year term with a maximum of 3 consecutive terms. Terms shall commence in September of each year. The Chair shall appoint a designee from among members of the council in the event of his/her absence.”

Delete Article V, Section 1, Paragraph c, which states,

A successful motion for amendment will require the usual approval (Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Provost and President) before it takes effect.
Stephen Nash seconded the motion to allow for discussion. After some discussion, Council members agreed to table the motion until the September meeting.

Phillip Buchanan stated that every bylaw in the university requires higher administrative approval of any amendments to those bylaws. The deletion of Article V, Section 1, Paragraph c, would remove that approval process for amendments to the bylaws, taking away any administrative oversight.

Council members agreed that Linda Schwartzstein, Dee Holisky and Joan Isenberg would form a committee to review the Grad Council bylaws and incorporate the amendments that have been made into the main text of the bylaws.

V. Old Business

None

VI. New Business

Proposals from the College of Education and Human Development

jisenber@gmu.edu

New Course (Action Item): Approved

EDSE 612

Modified Course (Announcement):
EDCD 611 Introduction to Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling

Modified Certificate (Announcement):
Literacy Certificate

Modified Concentration (Announcement):
Literacy Concentration in Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning (ASTL)

Literacy Emphasis Modification Form Literacy Emphasis Courses

Proposals from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

wwarfield@gmu.edu

Modified Courses (Announcement):

CONF 737

Proposals from the School of Computational Sciences
Contact Person: Peter Becker, 3-3619, pbecker@gmu.edu

Modified Course (Announcement):

EOS 900

Proposals from the School of Information Technology & Engineering
Contact Person: Stephen Nash, 3-1499, snash@gmu.edu

New Courses (Action Item): Approved

STAT 660

STAT 758

TCOM 575