About Graduate Council

Duties

Review, evaluate, and provide recommendations to the Provost/Academic Vice President on proposals for new graduate programs, and on existing programs on a continuing basis; promote quality in graduate programs; develop University-wide policies on graduate students; develop policies on financial aid for graduate students and develop agenda for graduate faculty meetings.

Composition

The Graduate Council consists of faculty members elected by the graduate faculty within each college or school providing graduate programs, in numbers proportional to the size of their graduate faculty and graduate student body, as outlined in the Bylaws. The dean of the Graduate School shall serve as chairperson.  In addition, six faculty members and two graduate students are appointed by the dean of the Graduate School.  The following shall serve as ex-officio members:  Provost/Academic Vice President, the dean of University Libraries, a representative of the College of Continuing Studies, and a Graduate Faculty member appointed by the Faculty Senate.

The Graduate Council has five standing committees. Each committee shall include at least one member from four or more of the schools and colleges. The dean of the Graduate School or a representative designated by the dean shall serve in an ex-officio capacity on each committee but shall not vote except to break a tie. The dean shall appoint a member of each committee to serve as chair, and that chair shall be empowered to schedule meetings and apportion workloads among committee The following standing committees act on the matters indicated and on others, as charged by the dean of the Graduate School:

1. 1. Admissions and Recruitment Committee – reviews applications received from departments, divisions, schools, or colleges for changes to admissions requirements or procedures, including applications for new or changes to existing AMP programs.
   2. Fellowships and Scholarships Committee – reviews all departmental nominations for fellowships and scholarships awarded by the Graduate School (these include Graduate Council Fellowships, National Alumni Association Fellowships, McNair Fellowships, and the David Francko Fellowship) and assigns awards to individual students, as well as advising on related policy such as the timing of fellowship cycles, number of awards, or other changes that enhance the competitiveness of these awards.
   3. Policy Committee – makes recommendations concerning academic policies that govern graduate education, the graduate faculty, and the implementation of Council decisions within the Graduate School; individual exceptions to existing policies are not the purview of this committee and should be decided on a case-by-case basis by the dean of the Graduate School; a list of repeated exceptions should be forwarded to this committee for annual review and, if a majority of the committee deems it necessary, new policy recommendations will be drafted.
   4. Graduate Curriculum Committee – reviews proposals from departments, divisions, schools, or colleges for new graduate degrees and certificate programs and for changes to existing programs; makes recommendations concerning such applications to the Council, which serves in an advisory capacity to the Provost for new program approval.
   5. Teaching, Research, and Service Awards Committee – oversees the process for awarding all “Outstanding Student” awards made by the Graduate School each year and assigns awards to individual students.

The Council may create, by a majority vote, or the dean of the Graduate School may appoint, other ad hoc committees as they deem necessary to conduct the business of the Graduate School.