Weber State University
GRADUATE COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES

CHAIRED BY:Valerie Herzog, Director of Graduate Studies
DATE:September 1, 2017, 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 pm, Education Bldg. Moench Room (016)

ATTENDEES:Andrew Wright, CamiDilg, Fon Brown, Genevieve Bates, Jackie Shafer, Jacob Hansen, Jed Spencer, Julie Gee, Kevin Wallace, Lindsey Garr, Melinda Bowers, Lonnie Lujan, Madonne Miner, Robert Ball, Matt Mouritsen, Paul Eberle, Monica Williams, Robert Holt, Ryan Pace, Sarah Steimel, Scott Teichert, Tanya Nolan, Valerie Herzog, Bruce Bowen, Brian Rague, Carla Wiggins, MahalingamSubbiah, Samantha Mikesell, and Lisa Trujillo.

RECORDED BY:Jackie Shafer

  1. Approval of minutes from April 14, 2017 meeting
  2. Carla motioned, Mali seconded, and all were in favor to approve the minutes.
  3. Graduate Fair – Ashley Aldous
  4. WSU – Monday, Oct. 2nd, 10am-2pm
  5. Ballroom vs. Atrium
  6. Discussion:
  7. This year only two-thirds of the ballroom, the mezzanine and the atrium are available. There are advantages to being in the atrium. The Graduate Fair gives priority to WSU programs. Any thought where programs would like to be?
  8. Genevieve mentioned in the past that there was someone with a loud performance down there and it was very loud. This year the atrium should be just grad fair, so this shouldn’t happen.
  9. Andrew likes the feel of the ballroom.
  10. Lindsay said she doesn’t really know. She has been two years and they have been very different.
  11. The largest complaint is that there is not a lot of student participation.
  12. Valerie mentioned that the atrium could be good for getting Grad programs out there.
  13. Lonnie asked if it would hurt the flow if everyone was in different areas.
  14. Val will do a google doc where everyone can sign up ballroom vs. atrium.
  15. There is still availability for programs to attend but need to let Ashley know as soon as possible.
  16. UVU has the lowest ceiling of numbers. So you should sign up soon. If you need to go to a fair and are not getting in contact Wynn.
  17. Will reach out about Marketing when Ashley is back.
  18. Details on all sites/dates:
  19. Initial Proposal – Master of Science in Computer Science – Robert Ball
  20. He passed around a one page proposal. All these courses are already being taught. They have low enrollments and feel that they would triple or double with a Master’s Program. They have the Dean’s approval.
  21. There is a 9th course that is not listed.
  22. There is an anecdotal demand for this. Computer Engineering is not what all students want to major in.
  23. The department already has 8-10 PhDs.
  24. The total credit hours would be 33. There would be leveling course requirements, A GPA of 3.2, and GRE entrance exam requirements.
  25. They are concerned about getting too many applicants. Valerie reminded that they can set a cap on how many they accept. The concern is how many applicants they would have to go through.
  26. There is a lot of interest in computer science right now.
  27. Scott asked where the competition is. He answered that they usually go to BYU or a little place up in Logan.
  28. Scott asked why students are choosing to get a masters instead of going straight into the workforce. He answered in order to be management and the significant pay increase.
  29. Scott also asked if they are worried about cannibalizing the computer engineeringprogram. Fon answered no they are not.
  30. This program would consist of two cohorts that can complete the degree either during the day or at night. It will mirror the computer engineering program.
  31. It was asked if these courses willbe cross-listed with undergrad courses? What if they have taken one or all in the undergrad? He foresees having to offer more courses than they are already offering. They would like to go slow. The concern is that a student could be in the position where they can’t graduate because they have taken all the offered courses and need more graduate credits.
  32. It was asked if they should come to President’s Council and give them a heads up. Madonnesaidit needs to wait until it goes through Faculty Senate.
  33. They would like to have it go through for Fall2018.
  34. Madonne suggested that they contact Eric Amsel.
  35. It was also mentioned that a new policy is that if you are proposing a new program then you have to propose a course fee for any new courses or wait three years to propose the course fee.
  36. Our trustees will make the final decision on this.
  37. Wildcat Design and Print – Kevin Wallace & Jacob Hansen
  38. Shared new things that they can produce:
  39. Table stands
  40. Color prints
  41. Door hangers
  42. Envelopes that are full color
  43. Bright colored paper with black ink flyers
  44. Banner stands
  45. Swag: hats, screen-prints, shirts
  46. Laser engraving
  47. They can design a table for programs
  48. They need about a week to process something.
  49. Programs can come directly to printing or go to University Marketing and Communications
  50. No run of shirts is too small for them.
  1. PPM 7-1 regarding the posting of materials on campus
  2. Current PPM language:
  3. Proposed new language
  4. Madonne talked about the hateful posters that were posted around campus over the weekend. They were removed because of legal reasons. This caused administration to start looking at the PPM that hasn’t been revised since 1968. It is now much more detailed. It tries to be very specific to balance free speech and protection. It gives a fair amount of control to building managers. A building manager is a Dean who is responsible for a building in their area. It’s not very clear in the policy though.
  5. She would like everyone to review this and bring back their questions and concerns about this policy change.
  6. This policy will apply to all of the locations. The Dean will provide a list of who the authorizer is. There is some struggle because WSU wants to allow outside entities to post but needs some protection.
  7. Fon mentioned that it seems like a lot of work for building managers and should be centralized. Ryan also expressed that there should be more consistency.
  8. Madonne mentioned that if there is a particular billboard with things such as items for sale or student rentals then anyone can post these items there. But at some point there needs to be a list of billboards and who is responsible for them and what they can have on them.
  9. Scott addedthat we need to audit what boards there are.
  10. Bruce mentioned that this could include many other areas that are not just bulletin boards.
  11. Ryan asked if there is an appeal process when a poster is denied. Madonne went over that process that is listed in the policy. The VP of student affairs has the ultimate say.
  12. WICHE application -
  13. The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) allows master’s, graduate certificate, and Ph.D. students who are residents of the WICHE member states to enroll in some 450 high-quality programs at 61 participating institutions outside of their home state and pay resident tuition. In fall 2016, 1,567 students enrolled through WRGP and saved an estimated $23.3 million dollars in tuition, and each student saved an average of $14,900 annually.
  14. WICHE States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States (Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands & Guam), Utah, Washington, Wyoming
  15. For Graduate Students:
  16. To be considered for the WRGP resident tuition rate, apply directly to the department or graduate studies department of the institution where you want to enroll, and identify yourself as WICHE WRGP applicant. WGRP students must fulfill all the usual requirements of the department and institution concerned, and meet all admission deadlines. Contact information for each participating program is listed in our WRGP online directory.
  17. Applications are available in September – the university must nominate programs
  18. Review process will be completed in April
  19. Application process
  20. Institutions can nominate their graduate programs for participation in WRGP every fall. Programs that aren’t related to healthcare must be “distinctive,” meaning they must be offered at no more than four other institutions in the WICHE region (exclusive of California). WICHE is particularly interested adding graduate programs in healthcare (for fields not available through WICHE’s Professional Student Exchange Program) and on-the-rise sectors including microtechnology and nanotechnology; green building and building energy conservation; emerging media and communications; biotechnology and bioinformatics; computer and cyber security; alternative energy technology and sustainability; geospatial technology; market research, data mining, data science and analytics; homeland security and emergency and disaster management; user experience design and management; and elder care specialists.
  21. Discussion:
  22. Madonne - Many legislators are interested in limiting the number of tuition waivers that universities are using for out of state students. There will be more discussion about out of state tuition waivers in the future.
  23. Jed – The graduate program has to apply and be approved. Valerie asked what it means that the university has to nominate programs. Jed said that must be him because he has the ability to access the system. For next fall you have to make this September’s deadline.
  24. Contact Val or Jed and let them know if you would like to be nominated. This is free advertising as well as an option if waivers go away.
  25. How many are interested? Respiratory Therapy and Computer Engineering.
  26. Public Opinion Survey Results
  27. See Box/E-mail for Summary PPT
  28. Take a minute and look through this before the next meeting.
  29. Matt - One of the early slides highlighted Nursing, and the University gets a halo affect from this program.
  1. Agenda items/guest speakers for 2017-18
  2. See initial thoughts/ideas in Box
  3. Valerie mentioned that from the conference that she attended there is a common theme for Graduate Programs to feel like they take a back seat on campus. Even at Florida State.
  4. Other thoughts and ideas?
  5. Matt brought up a concern about having international students staying at the UV village and getting public transportation. They can get out to night classes at Davis but do not have a way to get back. It was also mentioned that the route is very long back and forth from Ogden to Davis. Valerie will invite the International Student Office to talk about this.
  6. TA’s were mentioned and how they are compensated? Mali shared that they are listed as instructors in his program. Valerie uses students as what they call Lab Assistants, but they cannot grade. In MBA they have tutors that they pay. In Health Science there are lab assistants that they pay. It might be a good idea to set up some guidelines. There has been a problem in the past with students teaching courses when faculty weren’t there. It would just be a policy for the program. In Health Science there has to be a faculty member supervising at all time and they have installed cameras. Mali mentioned this should be something addressed in PPM. It’s tricky with grading issues and FERPA. It is common practice that graduate students are supposed to help in undergrad classes.
  7. It was suggested to maybe have someone come and talk from legal counsel about classes that are using the distance learning. There was a discussion but the policy didn’t pass. Student voices and faces are being captured and how can that be shared later.
  8. Email Valerie if you think of anything else for this year’s agenda items.
  9. Monitoring admissions exceptions. This is something that Grad Council does instead of having a centralized admissions. Please take this seriously.
  1. Program Updates

Next Meeting: October 6, 2017, 12:30-2pm