Minutes Commission on Graduate Studies & Policies February 2, 2000 206 Sandy Hall Present: Dr. Julia Beamish, Dr. Annette Burr, Mr. John Cosgriff, Dr. Ron Daniel, Dr. Klaus Elgert, Ms. Barbara Fraticelli, Dr. Peter W. Graham, Ms. Erin Hanley, Mr. Chris Heine, Dr. Eileen Hitchingham, Dr. Virginia Maxwell, Dr. Malcolm McPherson, Dr. Kent Nakamoto, Mr. Tomoya Ochinero, Dr. Len Peters, Mr. Hunter Pittman, Dr. Doug Strickland, Dr. Richard Veilleux and Mrs. Kathryn Young Absent with Notification: Dr. Mike Vorster and Dr. Greg Amacher Absent without Notice: Ms. Christina Coukos, Dr. Martha Johnson, Dr. Ellie Sturgis and Mr. Surya Vakkalanka Invited Guests: Dr. Roger Avery, Ms. Angela Duncan, Dr. John Eaton, Mr. Marvin Foushee, Dr. David Orden and Mrs. Angie Webb Dr. Julia Beamish, Chair, called the meeting to order. Adjustment to today's agenda - First item addressed was the Resolution regarding the Merger of the Agricultural and Applied Economics and Economics Ph.D. Degrees. Dr. John Eaton stated that the resolution was approved by the Graduate Curriculum Committee on January 27, 2000. The Departments and the GCC want this resolution forwarded to the University Council so it can be presented in March to the Board of Visitors. Dr. David Orden was the guest speaker who discussed this resolution. Dr. Orden said this has been a four-year effort by both departments to bring their Ph.D. programs together. The departments have made much progress and have already seen some benefits from this. Each department has authority over their own admission and financial decisions. Each College will receive credit for the graduate students that go through each department. There will be an internal count of how many graduate students went through Arts & Science or Agricultural and Life Sciences. Dr. Virginia Maxwell requested the motion to approve this resolution and it was approved. Dr. Julia Beamish will present this resolution to the University Council. Announcements- Dr. Eaton announced that each year he has the opportunity to nominate students to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. He presented Mrs. Barbara Fraticelli, Chief Justice of the Graduate Honor System, with a certificate from Who's Who Among Students. Approval of the agenda - Approved. Approval of minutes of January 19, 2000-Approved. Committee Reports Graduate Curriculum Committee- Dr. Virginia Maxwell reported on the December 9, 1999 and January 27, 2000 meeting of the GCC. Dr. Maxwell did clarify that the Resolution regarding the Merger of the Agricultural and Applied Economics and Economics Ph.D. Degrees was approved by the GCC in their January 27th meeting. The Minutes from the January 27th meeting and the upcoming February 10th meeting will be presented to the CGS&P at the next meeting. Graduate Student Appeals- Dr. Julia Beamish contacted Peter Graham, Mike Vorster and Greg Amacher to see if they would be a Faculty representatives to serve on the Graduate Appeals Committee. Dr. Beamish also needed a graduate student on this committee and asked if the graduate students present at the CGS&P meeting would stay and meet with her after the meeting. There were no appeals last year and there have been no appeals to report this year. Graduate Student Relations- Dr. Beamish also sent an email to Kent Nakamoto and Annette Burr about the Graduate Student Relations Committee. They will meet with Dr. Beamish after today's meeting and discuss what has happened on the Student Relations Committee and what they will continue to do. Ad Hoc ETD Advisory Committee- Dr. Eaton discussed the ETD Approval form that was introduced by Dr. Avery at the last CGS&P meeting. When the ETD process was implemented, it was deemed appropriate to give the students and faculty control of the date when the thesis and dissertation would become available to others. Since it is becoming increasingly harder to contact the student about releasing their ETD, the ETD Advisory Committee has examined the issue. Dr. Eaton presented this ETD proposal form to the ETD Advisory Committee and the proposal before the CGS&P today is what they felt comfortable with. The main revision is under the Student and Committee Agreement, Item 2, which is proposed to read hold the ETD for Virginia Tech access only, for 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years. After this time, release the entire work for worldwide access. Extensions beyond 3 years require a written request and approval by the Graduate School. Dr. Eaton would like to get some feedback from graduate students and faculty. Dr. Eaton will present this to GSA and email the Graduate Chairs. Dr. Eaton will continue this discussion at a later CGS&P meeting. DRSCAP- Mr. Hunter Pittman handed out two documents. The first one was the Proposed Revised Statement of Residency Requirements. This resolution was passed last year but was withdrawn by the University Council. The original resolution is attached. The second handout is a copy of the comments that Tim Pratt from the College of Engineering brought to DRSCAP questioning the original resolution. DRSCAP would like to discuss the resolution with CGS&P. Several CGS&P members made comments in regards to this issue and Dr. Beamish instructed the members to read the resolution, discuss it with departments and colleges, and CGS&P will continue this discussion at the next meeting. Other Reports Graduate Student Assembly- Ms. Erin Hanley wanted to remind the committee that the selection process has started for the Board of Visitors graduate student representative for next year. Applications are due by February 7th, 2000. There is a three-step process for this selection. First-GSA looks at the applications received. Second-GSA will pick six candidates for an interview with the Board of Visitors Selection Committee. The Board of Visitors Selection Committee will narrow it down to three. Third-The final three candidates will meet with the Board of Visitors and they will select the student representative. Erin also said the Executive Board positions for GSA is open for next year. GSA will take nominations for those positions in their next meeting, the 24th of February. GSA will vote on March 23rd and the new GSA representatives will start in April. On March 27th, the Research Symposium will be held in the Commonwealth Ballroom. If any CGS&P member would like to be a judge, please see her. Special Note: There will be a Tax Seminar for international graduate students on February 16th at 5:00 PM in 100 Hancock Hall. This seminar will instruct international graduate students on how to prepare their taxes. Social Note: On April 29th, GSA is sponsoring "Spring on the Green." They are renting outdoor theatre equipment and will be showing the movie, Star Wars, Episode 1 on the drillfield. Open to Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech community. Graduate Honor System- Mrs. Barbara Fraticelli reported that they have a total of six cases. Three cases are underway and the other three, will hopefully, be underway soon. Fifty percent of their cases are from the Northern Virginia area. University Library Committee- Mrs. Eileen Hitchingham reported that the library committee meet last week. She handed out two documents. The first handout had several questions from the GSA with the University Library responses. The second handout illustrated the path to electronic journals. The Governor's budget proposal did not come back out in December and did not include the library admendment. The library proposal for $2.1 million has been carried forward in the legislative budget amendment process. This process makes our needs known to our legislators and will hopefully result in an addition to the library budget. Old Business- None reported. New Business- Discussion on the Proposal -- Discussion of Conflicts of Interest and Commitment. Dr. Peters stated the issue was faculty owned businesses and getting guidelines and procedures in place for faculty, departments and students. This draft will go through three different committees and will be presented to the University Council. There will be a formal presentation in the future and this proposal will be discussed again at the March 1st CGS&P meeting. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:58 PM Respectfully submitted: John L. Eaton, Associate Provost for Graduate Studies