Graduate Council
October 22, 1996, 2:30 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Dr. Robert Henderson, Dr. Karla Oty, Dr. Virginia Reasor, Dr. Connie Taylor (Chairperson), Dr. Roberta Wescott, Dr. David Whitlock, Dr. Wayne Dixon, Dr. Ron Finkbine, Dr. Larry Minks, and Dr. Jack L. Robinson

MEMBERS ABSENT: Dr. Bob Oliver, Dr. Molly Risso, Dr. Charles Weiner

GUESTS PRESENT: Dr. Robert Masters

The first item of business was a request for a program modification for the Master of Education in School Counseling. The request was to delete PSY 3353 as one of three courses that students could select in an area of the program. The rationale for the request was that deletion of the course would phase out the only 3000-level course that students sometimes take for this program. A motion to approve the request by Dr. David Whitlock, seconded by Dr. Roberta Wescott, was approved unanimously.

The second item of business was the request for a modification in the Master of Education in School Administration. The gist of the request was to delete EDAD 5333 and EDAD 5363 from the program since these two courses are needed for the required post-masters hours toward the standard superintendent certification. Two courses would be added to the program, EDAD 5343/5353 and EDAD 5463. It was noted by the Council that expected learner outcome number seven contained a sentence fragment and appeared to be incomplete. The rationale for the request was to bring certification requirements in administration into compliance with Oklahoma State Department of Education guidelines.

The third item of business was a request for six new EDAD courses. As the Council reviewed the six new course requests, one member raised a question as to why six new courses were being requested. Perusal of the request forms reveal that a rationale had not been provided, even though the new course request forms clearly state that course objectives, possible text, and a rationale for the request needs to be provided. Other questions were raised in terms of whether the Department currently has appropriate staffing to offer the six new courses. Also, were adequate resources available to provide for these courses, and what is the approximate number of students that would be taking the courses? Another member raised a question whether guidelines were available that provided a conceptual rationale for the courses. Do they cover the subject matter needed and required for a superintendency certificate? The Council also noted that attendance would be part of the grading system, and a general question was raised whether it is appropriate to grade graduate students on class attendance. The sentiment was expressed that graduate students should be sufficiently motivated to do graduate work without having to have an inducement of points for attendance. Since no one was present from the requesting department, a motion by Dr. Robert Henderson, seconded by Dr. Karla Oty, was approved unanimously to table further consideration of the courses until written responses had been provided to the Graduate Council.

The fourth item of business was to review nominations for Who's Who Among American Universities and Colleges. As the Council reviewed an updated list of nominations, it was noted that in most instances that the student's graduate GPA was higher than their undergraduate GPA. Dr. Dixon indicated that two additional students had been considered in the MES program, but their names had not been submitted when nominations were sent over. After some discussion, a motion by Dr. Robert Henderson, seconded by Dr. Wayne Dixon, was approved unanimously to forward the list of nominees but leave the list open for two more students in the MBS program. After the motion, Graduate Dean Robinson asked the Council if they would like to have more information about the nominees or if what was currently presented was adequate. After some discussion, the general sentiment of the Council was that when students have low grade point averages, it would be appropriate to submit additional information such as their leadership activities or other attributes that qualify one for nomination to Who's Who.

The fifth item of business was to review the minutes from the September 24 meeting. A modification was noted by Dr. Taylor. The minutes then were approved for distribution to the faculty.

In the last item of business, the members of the Council asked Dean Masters to brief them on the new MBA program. Three items were discussed: (1) policies for converting from the MAS degree to the MBA degree, (2) steps being taken to ensure that December MBA graduates meet as many MBA requirements as possible, (3) rationale for not requiring MBA students to take the GMAT exam as a part of their admission requirements. Each of the three items were discussed in some detail after which members of the Council were generally satisfied with the outcomes of the discussion. During the discussions, it was noted by Dean Masters that the faculty in the School of Business are preparing to seek accreditation for the MBA and other programs by the year 2000.

The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.