Graduate/Doctoral Council

Meeting

April 20, 2015

AgendaDiscussion Items

• Behavior Assessment Team

• Leave of Absence Policy Form

• Admission Appeal Process

• Peace Corps: Paul C. Coverdell Fellows Program

• Admission GPA

• Maximum Credit Hour Enrollment

Announcements

• Security of Virio and Digital Collections

• GradBulletin

• Redesign of Marketing Materials: Survey

• Recap: Graduate Student Appreciation Week

• 3MT® Winners

• Doctoral Research Support Fellowships / Thesis Research

Support Fellowships

• Graduate / Doctoral Council Meetings 2015-2016

DISCUSSION ITEMS

Behavior Assessment Team

• Dr. Ron Brown, Assistant VP for Academic Services

• Kathryn Weiser, Assistant Dean of Students

• UPPS 07.10.05

Leave of Absence Form

• Hard copy at 3/26 meeting; electronic copy

accompanied minutes from 3/26 meeting

• There were no suggested revisions to the

form, so it will be finalized and available on

The Graduate College website for use

beginning Fall, 2015

Admission Appeal Process

Graduate Catalog, p. 18

“Students may submit an admission appeal to the Graduate

Dean for a denial decision within three weeks of the date of

the decision. The written appeal should include additional

supporting documentation. Admission appeals will be

answered via email within three weeks of receipt of the

student's appeal.”

Peace Corps: Paul C. Coverdell

Fellows Program

• Students who have returned from the Peace Corps enroll in

designated master’s programs at partner universities. The

partner universities offer certain (financial and/or credit)

benefits to the student

• Each Peace Corps fellow is required to participate in a

meaningful internship in an American underserved community

or organization. This internship must be related directly to

his/her program of study.

• Universities must apply to become a partner university

Advantages:

• High visibility

• Recruitment of unique graduate students with international

experience

• No other school in Texas is currently a partner for this

program

Disadvantages

• Paperwork to set up partnership

• Cost of financial incentives for students (scholarships are an

option)

• Workload to set up internship opportunities

To learn more

• General program description:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/graduate/fellows/

• To view graduate school partnerships offered to Returned

Peace Corps Volunteers (Coverdell Peace Corps Fellows):

http://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/graduate/univandprog/?

program_area=&state=&program_type=

Action Item

If interested in exploring this option further, contact Dean Golato

agolato@txstate.edu by May 15, 2015.

Admission GPAGraduate Catalog (Texas State), p. 20

A minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 2.75 or higher on a

4.0 scale calculated on:

1. The last 60 semester hours of undergraduate work at a

four-year college or university before the bachelor’s

degree, or,

2. The last 60 semester hours of undergraduate work at a

four-year college or university before the bachelor’s

degree plus any graduate course work taken at an

accredited college or university.

-------------------------------

Note:

• Undergraduate hours taken beyond the bachelor’s degree

are not included in the GPA calculation unless the student

has earned a second bachelor’s degree.

Texas Administrative Code, Title 19 Part 1 Chapter 5, Subchapter A, Rule 5.7

…(3) All grades assigned for academic course work shall be used in calculating the grade-point average, except that an institution may base the calculation on the last 60 semester credit hours (or equivalent) of undergraduate work and any previous work in a graduate or professional school.

The Texas Administrative Code gives us 2 options:

- Our current system (where mere hours beyond the bachelors do not figure into the GPA unless the student has earned a second bachelors)

- Overall undergraduate GPA (including lower division course work)

Admission GPA Benchmarking

GPA based on

last 60 hours

Cumulative

Undergraduate GPA

Minimum GPA

Texas State X 2.75

Texas A&M X X (Law, Dentistry,

Medical School)

Varies by dept.

U of North TX X X 3.0 in last 60 or

2.8 cumulative

3.4 on prior graduate

UT Austin X 3.0

UT San Antonio X 3.0

TX Tech ? ? Varies by department

U of Central

Florida

X X 3.0 in last 60 or

3.0 overall

U of Oregon ? ? Varies by department

U of Arkansas X 3.0 on last 60

U of Oklahoma X Varies, 3.0 suggested

U of Nebraska-

Lincoln

X Competitive

New Mexico State X 3.0

Clemson U X (typically) Varies by department.

Seniors must have 3.0 to

take graduate level courses

UC Santa Barbara X 3.0

Arizona State X 3.0

Maximum Course Load

Policy in the Graduate Catalog, p. 38

… Students may take up to fifteen hours during the fall and spring

terms and up to twelve hours during the summer… Course loads up to eighteen hours require written approval. Only the dean of The Graduate College may authorize an overload.

Additional rules for students holding assistantships (UPPS 07.07.06)…The dean of The Graduate College must approve graduate and doctoral teaching assistants taking more than twelve graduate semester hours of course work per fall or spring semester or those taking more than six graduate semester hours per summer session.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Vireo and Digital Collections:

Security• Vireo and Digital Collections login information is tied to the university’s

active directory through the same processes as TRACS, e-portfolio, etc.; only active students/faculty can access Vireo because they must use their NetID and password.

• Vireo automatically populates the submission data with the first and last names plus their institutional ID. So a student cannot access any other students’ material, nor can a faculty member get into anything that is not associated with them.

• Every action in Vireo is logged and the identity of the person who made the changes is recorded

• There are password and authentication protections involved in moving anything from Vireo to Digital Collections; this is overseen by Technology Resources.

• All activity in Digital Collections is likewise recorded and tied to specific logins.

• Digital Collections provides no editing privileges for any file.

• Nothing is published in Digital Collections until it is authorized by specific Alkek staff.

GradBulletin

• http://eepurl.com/bj9wAv

• Brief survey from the Office of University

Marketing about current marketing

materials and needs for different

materials.

• Your feedback is vital!

Redesign of Marketing Materials

• Some Stats:

– April 6-12

– Over 500 graduate students participated in one or more

events

– 5 different brown bags and workshops

– 8 different wellness activities (some offered multiple times)

– 4 different socials

– 3 different focused luncheons

– & other events (3MT®, Graduate College Awards

Ceremony, etc.)

• Next year: more at Round Rock, greater variety of

times from 9-9, online offerings, increased

departmental initiatives, and other changes as

feedback comes in!

Texas State 3MT®

University Finalhttp://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/3mt/2015.html

• First Place: – Sydney Granger: Influence and Preparation: TAs and Tutors

as Developing ProfessionalsDevelopmental Education, College of Education

• Runner-Up:– Rain Nox: Wildfire Mitigation Behavior on Single Family

Residential Properties near Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Wildlands in Austin, TexasGeography, College of Liberal Arts

• People’s Choice Award:– Kate Bell: The Population Genomics and Architecture of Jaw

Morphology in a Trophically Polymorphic CichlidAquatic Resources, College of Science and Engineering

• One of our 3MT® competitors will represent Texas State at the Regional 3MT® competition at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in February

Graduate Student Research Support

Fellowships: Call for Fall 2015

• Graduate College Doctoral Research Support FellowshipThe Graduate College provides Doctoral Research Support Fellowships to support graduate student research at the doctoral level. Each award of up to $5,000 is to be used to cover expenses directly related to conducting dissertation research. Fall 2015 fellowship applications must be submitted to the Doctoral Program Director of the student’s doctoral program by the deadline of July 1, 2015.

• http://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/Prospect_Students/Fin_Grad_Ed/Scholarships.html

• Graduate College Thesis Research Support FellowshipThe Graduate College provides Thesis Research Support Fellowships to support graduate student research at the master’s level. Each award of up to $2,000 is to be used to cover expenses directly related to conducting thesis research. Fall 2015 fellowship applications must be submitted to the Graduate Advisor of the student’s master’s program by the deadline of July 1, 2015.

• http://www.gradcollege.txstate.edu/Prospect_Students/Fin_Grad_Ed/Scholarships.html

Graduate / Doctoral Council

Meetings 2015-2016

• Thank you for your service during this academic

year!

• New student representatives for 2015-2016