GRADUATE COUNCIL
for the
SEPTEMBER, 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), Peter Becker (SCS), Meg Brindle (CVPS), Phillip Buchanan (SOM), Ellen Dawson (CNHS, for Panniers), Jim Finkelstein (SPP), Dee Ann Holisky (CAS), Joan Isenberg (CEHD), Stephen Nash (IT&E), Jerome Short (CAS, for Boehm-Davis), Wallace Warfield (ICAR), Steve White (CEHD).
Special Attendees: Beverly Davis, Director, Graduate Admissions; Rajib Sanyal, ACE Fellowship, Carlos Sluzki, Acting Dean, Health Sciences and Research (CNHS).
I. Call to order
- Provost Stearns called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m.
II. Approval of August Minutes
- Minutes of the August 25, 2004 meeting were approved as written.
III. Announcements
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A. Peter Becker informed the Council that the Ph.D. in Earth Systems and
GeoInformation was approved by SCHEV at its September 14, 2004 meeting.
Provost Stearns added that the Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Justice, Law and
Crime Policy also were approved.
B. The Council secretary stated that two CAS course modifications (announcements) were submitted too late to post, MAIS 798 and MAIS 799. She also reminded Council members that the next Grad Council meeting is October 20, deadline for submitting postings is October 5th. And the March 2005 meeting has been changed to March 9th.
C. Provost Stearns reminded Council members that any new programs for Fall 2005 need to be presented at the October 20th Council meeting, for consideration by the Board of Visitors in December, and approval by SCHEV in March.
D. Jim Finkelstein stated that an ad for George Mason University, which appeared in The Express, focused on a swimmer, which he felt, did not convey an image of serious graduate studies.
IV. Discussion Items (at the end of the meeting)
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A. Issues for 2004 - 2005:
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1. Jim Finkelstein stated that he and Deborah Boehm-Davis met with Donna
Kidd to discuss awarding in-state tuition rates to GAs, TAs or RAs.
A follow-up meeting is scheduled in a couple of weeks with the idea of
being able to bring something back to the Council at the October meeting.
It was suggested that Donna Kidd be invited to attend the next Council meeting.
2. Meg Brindle raised the issue of determining the costs of new programs and what role, if any, Grad Council has when considering new programs for approval. Jim Finkelstein suggested that a summary report of the past year be a topic of discussion.
3. Stephen Nash expressed concern about the Council’s role in reviewing and approving new courses and programs. After some discussion, which included questions about criteria and budget issues, it was decided that the Council secretary would send the SCHEV criteria to Stephen Nash, and he will put together a more formal discussion item for the October meeting.
4. Dee Holisky stated that the Graduate Admissions Steering Committee and the Grad Council need to be more aware of graduate admissions and recruiting processes. With this information, the Council would be in a better position to give some direction where appropriate.
Provost Stearns asked Beverly Davis, Director of Graduate Admissions, to prepare a basic report to the Council on the kinds of collective procedures with respect to graduate admissions and recruiting. He also suggested that she invite a couple of units to attend the meeting and comment on recruiting and standards in their respective units. The report will be presented to the Council at the November 17th meeting.
5. Phillip Buchanan expressed concern regarding students who have a three year Baccalaureate degree, and who wish to do their graduate work at Mason. He stated that there is increasing competition from European schools, who do accept the three year degree. Linda Schwartzstein responded that it depends on the specific program; there are some three-year degrees that are accepted as being equivalent to a US degree. She further stated that a lot of the three-year degrees are technical degrees and are really not equivalent to an undergraduate education here.
Linda Schwartzstein stated that she had spoken with Dee Holisky and Stephen Nash about possibly creating a year-long program (as some other schools have done) that would, in effect, give students with a three-year degree the equivalent of a four-year degree and could then be admitted for graduate study. This would provide a vehicle to attract students and give them a way to prepare for graduate study.
Provost Stearns suggested that some graduate level courses could be offered to these students during the transitional year. Several Council members expressed support for this idea. Dee Holisky suggested possibly using the accelerated masters model; Linda Schwartzstein suggested that work on this type of program could be through BIS. Provost Stearns expressed interest in a proposal to consider later in this academic year.
Jim Finkelstein suggested that WES or others doing Mason’s transcript evaluations be contacted to get a sense of what they’re seeing, and what other institutions are doing to address this issue.
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Dee Holisky stated that a little over three years ago, the Grad Council
suggested having a subcommittee that would look at graduate admissions,
help to set goals and meet targets. The Graduate Admissions Steering
Committee works closely with Bev Davis, Director of Graduate Admissions and
consists of members from the five largest units that have graduate programs:
Dee Holisky, CAS, Stephen Nash, IT&E, Teresa Panniers, CNHS, Mark Goor, CEHD.
At the Graduate Admissions Retreat on September 8, the Steering Committee looked at the potential graduate student’s experience with George Mason from the time they first encounter the university until they enroll in classes. The committee agreed that the goal is to try as an institution to establish a seamless experience for the students, recognizing the places where that is not done as well as the university desires. The committee considered points of contact around which potential graduate students interact with the university and then what kinds of response the university gives. The committee spent the day flushing out those encounters, then choosing those places where it might focus in the coming year, to make the biggest impact on potential graduate students. The committee decided to put emphasis in two specific places along the time line from initial response to enrollment: 1. Mason responds to the initial inquiry from the student. The Committee suggests trying to improve Mason’s response on the phone and the web; and 2. Conversion; getting more of the university’s prospective students to actually apply to George Mason. The committee agreed that it is important as a university, as well as individual units, to manage the contact with prospective students better. The Committee wants to develop integrated an communications flow to coordinate the timing and content of responses that students get from the central admissions level to the department level. The committee will try to promote Chat University (software that was developed for recruiting activity), and help more units use it in effective ways to recruit students, getting them to that next stage to apply to George Mason. The committee also wants to broaden and regularize the use of Recruitment Plus (a recruiting database tool). The Committee decided to expand their group to include members of all units that offer graduate programs and meet once or twice a semester to have all the graduate programs working together on these issues. The committee will contact the deans and ask them to appoint someone to represent their unit.
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Following discussion that included positions by faculty in SPP, CAS, IT&E,
and ICAR, Jim Finkelstein withdrew both motions to amend the bylaws.
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Linda Schwartzstein expressed concern that the approximately $750,000 set
aside for high potentials is not being used to attract students at the
highest level. She suggested that the Council request a report by units with
the qualifications of the people for which high potentials have been offered
for the last three years. This would provide an opportunity to look at and
determine if the Council wants to make changes by imposing stricter rules,
keep the program as it is, or whether the Council wants to keep the program
if it is not doing what it was designed to accomplish.
Several Council members expressed interest in reviewing the high potential program and all the funding issues for graduate students. It was suggested that the Council take a fresh look at graduate funding, possibly using additional funds to increase assistantships. Provost Stearns suggested that a subcommittee be formed to evaluate high potentials this year.
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Provost Stearns suggested that during the Spring semester, Council discuss
procedures to develop a regular schedule for program evaluation. Dee
Holisky stated an interest in the process but acknowledged problems caused
by resource constraints. The Provost stated that before the next SACS
accreditation, the university would need to have a system in place and
funding for a new position for someone to head the evaluation process.
V. Old Business
- None
VI. New Business
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Proposals from the College of Education and Human Development
Contact Person: Joan Isenberg, 3-2037, jisenber@gmu.edu
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New Courses (Action Item): Approved
EDCD 621 Consultation and Leadership Skills for International School Counselors
EDCD 792 Internship in International School Counseling and Development
Modified Courses (Announcement):
EDUC 616 Counseling Skills in International Schools
EDUC 617 Group Counseling in International Schools
EDUC 618 Principles and Practices of Counseling in the International School
EDUC 619 Multicultural Counseling in International Schools
EDUC 620 Counseling Children and Adolescents in International Schools
EDUC 895 Seminar in Emerging Issues of Early Childhood Education
Modified Certificate (Announcement):
International School Counseling (ISC) Graduate Certificate Program
Contact Person: Stephen Nash, 3-1499, snash@gmu.edu
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New Course (Action Item): Approved
CEIE 762 Transportation System Planning Models
Contact Person: Jim Finkelstein, 3-2269, jfinkel@gmu.edu
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New Certificate (Action Item): Approved
Certificate in Global Medical Policy
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New Concentration (Action Item): Approved
Certificate in Global Medical Policy
VII. Adjournment at 2:35 p.m.