Sam Conte announced that the Enrollment Management Committee has a full agenda and will not be able to consider the graduate student housing issues raised at the November meeting. Vice Provost Jack Daniel suggested that this issue be reviewed from a broader perspective than the Enrollment Management Committee's.
Elizabeth Baranger noted that she would appreciate any feedback from or response to the memo sent out at UCGS' request concerning graduate student representation on University governance committees at the school and departmental levels.
Formation of Committees
Committee appointments were distributed. Committees should meet soon.
Items to be considered include review of Immunology, the role of graduate
faculty, and graduate student concerns raised at the November meeting.
To consider when looking at the graduate faculty issue:
Review of Nursing Evaluation
Assistant Dean Lynda Davidson, School of Nursing, was present to answer
questions concerning the SEAP Report on the School of Nursing. Elizabeth
Baranger reviewed the SEAP Report, noting the overlap between the Internal
and External Review Committees' findings.
Davidson found the report very useful, especially the sections noting the need for a clearer link between theory and research. The BSN-to-PhD option is being worked on.
The Internal Review Committee clarified that recruiting full-time graduate students was a source of tension; it was not making a recommendation to halt recruitment of full-time students, simply pointing out the need for care as the school proceeds. It was pointed out that the presence of part-time students can be seen as a strength.
UCGS members had several questions:
Q: How will full-time students be supported, and what are their placement
prospects?
A: No huge shift toward full-time students. GSAs are primary means of
support; placement prospects seem to be excellent, yet difficult to
measure since students tend to hang on to jobs while attending school
no real period of non-employment.
Q: Is 65 a small size for program like this?
A: No.
Q: Has the program grown dramatically?
A: No, the program has been fairly stable in size.
Q: How long does a degree program typically take, and how many
graduate?
A: Two years for a post-masters; 4-8 PhDs granted each year.
Q: Are there enough faculty?
A: Sometimes it doesn't seem like it. Doctoral courses must be offered
even if enrollment is very small, since courses have to be taken in order.
Q: Do part-times students have trouble finishing their degree?
A: Yes, especially once the course work is finished. The school encourages
students to build support groups and to encourage each other to continue.
After Davidson and Barbara Seels leave, Council discusses the role of theory in the professions. It was then moved and approved to send the SEAP Report to the Provost.
Proposal to Terminate Masters Program in Interdisciplinary
Studies
Baranger presented a proposal to eliminate the Masters Program in
Interdisciplinary Studies, a student-designed program for which UCGS
stands as surrogate faculty. She noted that the program has not been used
in many years (no one has enrolled since 1993); the elimination of the
program will have no effect on any existing programs at the University.
Council voted unanimously to approve termination of the program.
Changing Job Market Report
Last year's Student Affairs Subcommittee prepared a report recommending
various actions to be taken by departments and schools to address the
issue of placement for graduate program graduates. This year's Council is
asked to consider how this report could best be presented.
Elizabeth Baranger noted that the Graduate and Professional Student Association has asked that placement information be made available to prospective and current graduate students. Students want to know what jobs graduates are getting.
Council noted that some of the report's recommended actions are particular to disciplines and may be inappropriate for all programs. Also problematic are questions of responsibility: who exactly is to make information available, to whom, at what cost, etc.
Evelyn Rawski noted that even with a school -- such as Arts and Sciences -- the differences between placement strategies can be extreme. She suggested that a listserve could be set up to share placement strategy information among interested people (graduate directors, for instance). This would be an informational exchange rather than an exchange of directives.
Merilee Salmon offered that at the University of Wisconsin, students in their second year of graduate study attend a seminar at which the current state of the job market is detailed; students are then asked to consider what they are currently doing and what they could do in the following years of graduate study to match the market's needs.
The Survival Skills Workshop Series is one University opportunity for educating students on placement issues, though none of this term's workshops focus on that topic. A commitment to funding for these workshops was also discussed; most funding comes from the School of Medicine and the Office of the Provost.
Wynne Korr noted that, in a broader perspective, placement information is also a good recruiting tool. Schools might consider that some of the tasks urged by the report would help recruiting efforts.
Stephen Hirtle moved that the report be sent out to deans, chairs, and directors, with an accompanying cover letter asking that administrators keep UCGS informed (by responding to the Office of the Provost) of current placement strategies in place so that information and success stories could be shared. Before the report is sent out, however, the mention of "team theses" should be cut from the list of recommended actions.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm.