DISTRIBUTION DATE:  March 6, 2008

All actions taken by the Graduate Council will have a twenty-one (21) day faculty protest period except for new courses, course changes and petitions which will be considered approved by the Graduate Faculty if no written protest is received in the Graduate College within seven (7) days.

Present: Janis Paul, Sanaz Aghazadeh, Samir Barman, Sally Beach, Denise Beesley, LeRoy Blank, I-Kwang Chang, Sudarshan Dhall, Charbel Khoury, Maureen Taylor, Theodore Trafalis.

Absent: Lee Williams, William Ray, Julia Abramson, Michael Bemben, John Duncan, Charity Gillman, Mary Linn, Sam Stalcup, Irvin Wagner, Bret Wallach.

General Business

• The minutes from February 5, 2008 were approved.

Committee Reports

• CDRP – CDRP has not met since the last Graduate Council meeting.

• Faculty Senate – Dr. Trafalis reported that there were several announcements regarding new faculty senators and the faculty development proposal that was due March 4. Nominations for volunteers for councils and committees are due to the Faculty Senate office by March 6.  The faculty senate chair reported that regarding the retirement policies President Boren responded to the resolution approved by the Faculty Senate at its January 14 meeting that he will encourage the Healthcare Task Force to review the retirement issues as suggested. The chair of the Big Event, explained that on April 5 about 4000 students, faculty and administrators will do community service projects around the metro.  He asked senators to help him find volunteers to sign up for this year’s event. The senate chair said that the President reported that we are now $88 million behind on matching endowed positions and we are expecting more gifts for endowed positions in the future.  The budget, according to President Boren, “is just horrible.” However, the President is committed to some faculty salary increase, but even an increase as low as two percent would require a substantial tuition and fee increase.  Other issues addressed by the faculty senate chairman report were related to retiree medical benefit, health insurance plans and security in garages at night. Prof. Bemben raised the issue of the few bicycle lanes on campus. Other discussions were referred to the textbook reserve initiative and Recreational Services Advisory Committee charge. The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

• Inter-liaison – No report given

Program Modifications

• The proposed Aerospace Engineering Master of Science program modification was approved.  The change will affect the BS in Aerospace Engineering/MS in Aerospace Engineering accelerated degree program and the MS in Aerospace Engineering stand-alone program.  The change clarifies the requirement of 3 hours of graduate-level coursework in mathematics or advanced engineering analysis.
• The proposed Computer Science Master of Science program modification was approved.  The change will affect the BS in Computer Science/MS in Computer Science accelerated degree program, the BS in Computer Engineering/MS in Computer Science accelerated degree program, and the MS in Computer Science stand-alone degree program.  The changes in available courses will allow computer science students the appropriate breadth in their field of study.
• The proposed Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Ed.D. program modification was approved.  The required course changes are due to the statutory changes to superintendent certification in Oklahoma and the incorporation of nationally recognized standards for leadership at the district level.  The differentiated standards for building level leadership preparation called for by the ELCC are incorporated in the current master’s program, which eliminates the need for prerequisites.  The change in the required number of dissertation hours will accommodate students who complete their dissertation in two semesters rather than three.
• The proposed BS in Electrical Engineering/MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering accelerated degree program was approved.  The new program will provide an advanced technical degree in an efficient and cost-effective manner. 
• The proposed BS in Computer Engineering/MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering accelerated degree program modification was approved.  The change raises the required GPA for admission into the accelerated program to 3.25.
• The proposed Mechanical Engineering Master of Science degree program modification was approved.  The change will affect the BS in Mechanical Engineering/MS in Mechanical Engineering accelerated degree program and the MS in Mechanical Engineering stand-alone program.  The change clarifies the requirement of 3 hours of graduate-level coursework in mathematics or advanced engineering analysis.

Course Changes

The following course changes and proposals were unanimously approved.  Only brief information regarding approved changes follows; however, original course change proposals will be on file in the Graduate College through the seven-day protest period if you have questions or concerns about any of the following.  Please contact the Graduate Council Secretary, Clarissa Dobrinski, at 325-3811 if you wish to review any of these materials.

AMGT 5113. Course addition
AMGT 5563. Course addition
ANTH 5063. Course addition
CS 5033. Change prerequisite
CS 5043. Course addition
CS 5083. Course addition
CS 5163. Change prerequisite
EDEL 5593. Change long title
LSTD 5563. Add crosslisting with AMGT

With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m.  The next regularly scheduled meeting will be April 1, 2008.