College of Graduate Studies

GRADUATE COUNCIL MINUTES

January 24, 2023

Present: Wissam AbouAlaiwi, Marcelo Alvarado-Vargas, Arun Anantharam, Brian Ashburner, Tomer Avidor-Reiss, Sharon Barnes, Larissa Barclay, Frank Calzonetti, Saurabh Chattopadhyay, Madeline Clark, Jim Ferris, Bashar Gammoh, David Giovannucci, Noella Haughton, Gary Insch, Ahmad Javaid, Andrea Kalinoski, Kristen Keith John Laux, Patrick Lawrence, Linda Lewin, Mark Mason, Bindu Menon, Scott Molitor, Ling Na, Patrick Naranjo (GSA), Jeanine Refsnider,-Streby, Patricia Relue, Barbara Saltzman, Youssef Sari, Connie Schall, Joseph Schmidt, Rebecca Schneider, Zahoor Shah, Snejana Slantcheva-Durst, Weiqing Sun, Jami Taylor, Jerry Van Hoy, Eileen Walsh, Kandace Williams.

Absent: Joseph Slater, Rebecca Zietlow.

Excused:  

Guests: Teri Green (COGS), Yasmeen Hamdah (COGS), Timothy Mueser.

Call to Order, Roll Call, and Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order and roll called.  The Minutes of September 27, 2022 and October 25, 2022 were approved.

Executive Reports
Report of the Executive Committee of the Graduate Council

On behalf of Graduate Council, Chair, Dr. Wissam AbouAlaiwi reported:

• Fall 2022 Commencement – December 17, 2022
  Chair AbouAlaiwi represented the Graduate Council as grand marshal leading platform party at fall commencement which included doctoral hooding.
  
  
• Board of Trustees – December 7, 2022
  GC  Vice Chair, Dr. Patrick Lawrence, presented the Graduate Council report to the BOT at their December 7^th meeting. The report is posted on the GC website https://www.utoledo.edu/graduate/facultystaff/gradcouncil/BOTASAreport.html.
  
  
• Graduate Council Spring Semester 2023 - Presentations and Speakers
  - January 24 Graduate Success Center – Teri Green and Yasmeen Hamdah
  - February 7 Strategic Planning update – Dr. Jason Huntley and Dr. Anne Fulkerson
  - February 21 ParkUToledo – Claire Dow
  - March 21 Bylaws revisions/updates reading – Dr. Andrea Kalinoski
  - April 4 President Postel & Recognition of 3 Minute Thesis competition winners
  - April 18 Graduate Student Recognition
  - May 2 Election of officers for 2023-2024
  
  
• GCEC meeting with President Postel
  GCEC will meet with President Postel next week. Any questions or concerns to be shared with the President should be sent to Chair and Vice Chair.

Report of the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies
Dr. Scott Molitor, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Acting Dean, College of Graduate Studies provided the following report:

• Spring Commencement – May 2023
  Whether there will be two or three ceremonies will be determined based on the number of graduates and capacity of Savage Arena. If there are three ceremonies, one would be designated as a graduate ceremony on Friday evening.
  
  
• Curriculum - Concentrations
  The Provost’s Office will be looking at undergraduate and graduate curriculum in terms of concentrations and degree programs and we are initiating conversations with colleges and programs with issues we identify. I have passed along to GCEC Chair, Dr. Tim Meuser a proposed definition of concentrations. We are also passing this along to the Faculty Senate for their input at the undergraduate level.
  
  We have some degree programs that consist of one degree encompassing several concentrations that should really be separate degree programs because they have no curriculum in common. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have multiple degree programs that have a lot of coursework in common that could probably be a single degree with multiple concentrations. This issue first become apparent when we were trying to compare our programs to external institutions using CIP codes, which is the Department of Education’s common framework for reporting what degrees students are pursuing.  For some programs, it became apparent in comparing CIP codes with other institutions that we did not have an accurate way to identify common programs using these CIP codes.  Input from ODHE and CCGS on our definition of concentrations will solicited as well.
  
  Ultimately, accurate transcripts with degree awards and concentrations are the primary goal. We want to make sure that a student’s degree title represents the work they did in their curriculum requirements.  There are instances where we may need to separate a single degree with multiple concentrations into separate degrees or combine some programs that are already in separate degrees into a single program with multiple concentrations.

Discussion:
Dr. Tomer Avidor-Reiss agreed that this issue can be problematic. Biology and Environmental Sciences programs are part of the same degree so potential students do not contact the correct area. They must be coded correctly

Dean Molitor agreed noting that in that there are Ph.D. concentrations in Biology, one is cellular and molecular and the other is environmental.

Although he did not recall how much curriculum they have in common, it is a prime example of an instance where we would check with the program faculty to determine whether there is a need to create separate degree programs from these concentrations.  Combining multiple degrees into a single degree is actually easier in terms of internal processes. Splitting combined programs into separate degrees will involve an external process through the BOT and then the State. Undergraduate proposals would go to ODHE and graduate proposals would go through CCGS.

Historically, we likely had programs that started as a single program and added multiple tracks or concentrations that were completely distinct from each other. This may have been done to avoid the need for multiple proposals and additional approval processes through the BOT and the State. But we need to rectify this to ensure that students are receiving diplomas and degrees that reflect the actual work they did in their programs.

Dean Molitor also mentioned a few policies that may need to be updated.

• Readmission and Recertification Policy
  We would like  to remove unnecessary barriers for students who want to take a break then continue their studies. There appear to be two separate issues – the readmission itself and the recertification of older courses.  We cannot allow students to use 20 year-old classes, but most students are more likely to take a short break. We are going to look at this and come back to GC for discussion.
  
  
• Transfer Policy
  The graduate level transfer policy seems rather restrictive especially compared to the undergraduate policy. Some units are proposing 1 + 1 articulation agreements that involve master's degree programs with international institutions.  In these agreements, students would take 15 credit hours at their home international institution, transfer to UToledo, complete the remaining 15 credit hours and then receive a UToledo degree. This is in violation of our current transfer policy. I need to get some context why these agreements were approved.  In discussing with colleagues at CCGS, everybody had a restrictive transfer policy at the graduate level. In fact, some schools even had a blanket policy of not accepting any transfer credit into their graduate programs. However, as we are working to expand enrollment and engage international partners, we may need to be more flexible. I would like to have the conversation with this group when I have more information about the preferences and approach, rationale etc., for whether we should keep the current policy in place and work with programs that want to pursue 1 + 1 programs. But if we have programs violate the policy, we may need to take another look at this policy.

Dean Molitor sought volunteers to serve on the following groups following a meeting with Finance this week regarding enrollment deposits and out-of-state surcharge. Changes to these fees would require going to the BOT for approval. If you interested in serving on either group, please let Dean Molitor know so there is adequate representation from the Graduate Council and from colleges where these issues are relevant.

• Enrollment Deposits
  Professional programs have expressed interest in this topic.
  
  
• Out of State Surcharge
  The topic has been of interest to several Council members particularly those with programs with larger numbers of externally funded and/or international students. Dr. Connie Schall volunteered for this group.
  
  
• Constitution and Bylaws Committee of GC
  There will be more information about a mentor training requirement after discussion and further investigation by this committee.

Discussion:
Dr. Patrick Lawrence inquired whether the group/committee that was reviewing a combined undergraduate/graduate student code of conduct policy was still in operation and whether there were any updates.

Dean Molitor replied that he was not aware but can check on this.  Division of Student Affairs does have processes and regulations in regard to student conduct.

NOTE:  Dr. Lawrence was referring to a combined undergraduate and graduate academic misconduct policy and process that Drs. Mike Dowd and Tim Mueser took the lead in revising. The Provost Office has reviewed the proposed changes but believes the proposed process would be difficult to implement and would be hard for students to understand as written. We will circle back with Faculty Senate and GC to develop a more workable version.

Report of the Vice President for Research
Dr. Frank Calzonetti was unable to attend due to being out of town on university business.

• Internal Grants Programs
  - URFO – deadline was January 19, 2023. 40 applications received. Research Council meets January 27, 2023 to begin reviewing.
  - DeArce Koch for Biomedical Research – 6 applications received.
  - Research and Fellowship – 25. 10 from the College of Business and Innovation but none from the Judith Herb College of Education.
  - Research and Innovation - 4 applications selected to move forward.
  - Interdisciplinary Research Initiation - 4 applications selected to move forward
  
  
• Scholars Institute Program
  Faculty and post docs who would like more training how to prepare grant proposals. Organized by Eva English along with faculty members to provide guidance and go through processes. Participants are asked to put together a draft proposal for critique. The deadline to sign up is January 27^th.  There are 19 registrants with capacity up to 25. This is a successful program that we are pleased to offer again.

Report of the Graduate Student Association
None.

Information and Discussion Items
Graduate Success Center - Activities and Student Success Initiatives

Teri Green, Director of Graduate Academic & Student Affairs, COGS and Yasmeen Hamdah, Graduate Success Center Coordinator, COGS presented an update on the activities and student success initiatives of the Graduate Success Center.

Teri Green reported that the GSC has been up and running since March 2022 with the staff receiving hundreds of hours of training and shadowing.  We track every possible data point we can.  Yasmeen will share a deeper dive of the work we do and let you know how you can help us engage students.

Yasmeen Hamdah presented her PowerPoint presentation “Student Success Initiatives Spring 2023 – the Graduate Success Center” providing an overview on these key areas:

1. Mission & Vision
2. Coaching Appointment Information
3. Transactional to Transformative Approach
4. Outreach & Starfish
5. Faculty Involvement
6. Programming

Mission
The Graduate Success Center promotes holistic growth and community-building among graduate students by providing individualized support and guidance to thrive personally, academically, and professionally. We accomplish this by connecting students to campus resources in order to build belonging.

Vision
We will be a leading hub for graduate student success in the nation that fosters belonging among the graduate student population at the University of Toledo, champions diversity, equity, and inclusion, and develops global citizens through transformative coaching.

WHAT IS A SUCCESS COACH?
A success coach is a main point of contact for students to ask questions, think through problems, and express concerns related to their University of Toledo experience. They are a non-academic support that can provide holistic guidance throughout a student’s graduate journey.

HOW WE SUPPORT STUDENTS
Each coaching interaction can look very different, but there are a few ways we coach students

• We provide a non-judgmental space for students to discuss their problems
• I have had students tell me that they didn’t need anything except for someone to simply listen
• We challenge thought patterns and help students see their concerns from a different lens
• We help students set realistic goals over the course of the semester including creating academic success plans

Ask Questions: One of the reasons we ask questions is to help students understand if there is more to why they are meeting with us.

Listen:  One of the most critical things we do with students is practice active listening. Sometimes a student might be experiencing a difficulty that we might not be able to address, and so we ensure in those situations, we listen and give the student space to vent.

Strategize: We tell students that sometimes, they may need a second opinion on a plan they’re executing so we help by, for example, visualizing and planning for potential obstacles.

Weigh Options: When students are making an important decision, we’ll help them explore the consequences and benefits to each option to help them make the most informed decision.

PEER VS PROFESSIONAL COACHING
While peer and professional success coaches perform similar coaching, they each approach student concerns from unique lenses. Peer coaches understand the current graduate school experience.

Professional success coaches can assist a student with mapping a way forward for complex issues. Peer coaches can be a source of support for the anticipated bumps in the road.

Our model differs from the undergraduate Center for Success Coaching in that we have peer coaches.

We have one doctoral peer coach and one master’s peer coach.

Peer coaches

• Working with students on many concerns surround the adjustment to college
• Discussing what worked for them in their graduate school career

HOW WE MEET WITH STUDENTS
-        Face to Face
-        Video Chat
-        Phone Call

In addition to daytime hours, we are piloting evening hours due to students working full time, attending classes all day – if successful, we plan to keep them.

TOP APPOINTMENT CONCERNS

• Course Concerns
• Goal Setting
• Time Management
• Graduate Assistantships
• Personal Concerns
• Adjustment to Graduate School
• Grades/GPA

Other popular topics include:

• Interpersonal relationships
• Stress Management
• Campus/Community Involvement
• Mental Health Concerns
• Career Exploration and Goals

TRANSACTIONAL TO TRANSFORMATIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Examples of task focused to person-focused coaching while modeling empathy, rapport-building and non-judgement.

POWER OF OUTREACH
Discussed its benefits and use of Starfish software which is designed to catch students with course concerns before it’s too late to turn things around and to also recognize a student’s progress.

STARFISH (SOFTWARE)
Starfish is a communication and student retention tool used to connect students to resources on campus and allow instructors to alert students of their academic success in the course.

        Outreach Campaigns and Other Outreach

        Registration Outreach                                                       Tabling

        Low GPA Outreach                                                             Event participation

        Midterm Early Alerts Outreach                                     Workshops/general presentations

        Incomplete Grade Outreach                                          Orientation presentations

HOW WE OUTREACH

• Email
• Phone
• Text

UPCOMNG PROGRAMMING

        Workshops

• Financial Literacy & Budgeting
• Imposter Syndrome
• Building a Committee for Thesis, Dissertation, Project
• Statement of Purpose
• Diversity Statement
  
  Graduate Student Appreciation Week April 3 – 7, 2023

Chair AbouAlaiwi thanked Yasmeen for the presentation and for sharing helpful resources for our students.

Dean Molitor also thanked Yasmeen Hamdah and Teri Green and is appreciative of the work being done to help struggling students achieve their educational goals. Important at the graduate level.  At statewide level, CCGS, has convened a group on graduate student success, recognizing that issues do not just affect undergraduate students but graduate students as well and the importance of taking a more holistic approach to well-being to all students, faculty and staff.

Discussion:
Dr. Lewin inquired about assistance with for both English speaking and English as a second language students.

Teri Green responded that the Writing Center is in operation and is part of learning support services. You can reach out to them regarding development of workshops, particularly for graduate students. She mentioned that she has the experience to offer workshops as well, but in terms of full scale assistance, we would turn to the Writing Center first.

Dr. Wissam AbouAlawi commended the Graduate Success Center for the helpful services and resources it provides. He inquired about current or future resources for graduate students struggling financially. Graduate students often have families and greatly impacted by inflation and economy.

Yasmeen Hamdah stated that she has seen students who have either lost their funding or experienced other financial struggles. She provides referrals to UToledo’s new financial wellness counselor and Rocket Aid. Unfortunately, there has not been much funding in terms of international students.

Dean Molitor pointed out that the university does not have dedicated resources to this particular challenging issue. Students and faculty share sentiments that fees and health insurance exacerbate cost of attendance.

Chair AbouAlaiwi added there is often additional burden for graduate students as many have families, children.

Dr. Tomer Avidor-Reiss inquired of the possibility to allow international students to pay their fees, including health insurance, over time throughout the year.  It is a very tough time for them as they transition from in transition from a foreign country to the United States and are awaiting scholarships. 

Scott Molitor replied that international students are exempted from being deregistered.   Regarding a possible late fee for situations where they arrive late, I am not certain but can check. Any lates fees due to internal processes causing late application of tuition waivers can be removed.

Teri Green noted that Yasmeen is proactive in notifying students of registration, drop and fee due dates so that students knows well in advance to help them plan accordingly. Of course, there are instances where a student cannot continue because they cannot afford the cost. It is always really difficult. However, Yasmeen is well versed in talking to students to analyze what their options are, and to make the best choice for their situation. Kudos to Yasmeen.

Dean Molitor noted that there is an installment payment plan, and that it does have a fee associated with it. It would be better to have a student pay by the end of the semester than not at all.

Dr. Patty Relue suggested the idea of having students automatically in the plan unless they opt out. That could help by not sending them to collections or have late fees pile up. A student had $400 in lates by the end of a semester because the late fees keep piling on.

Dr. Noella Haughton questioned whether it is possible to remove the fee for the installment payment plan. Dean Molitor Scott responded that fees are approved by the Board of Trustees and so the Treasurer’s Office applies them. You would have to bo back to the BOT to request  removal of the fee which involves a lot of discussion with Finance and revenue implications.

Dr. Bashar Gammoh commented on possibility to remove barriers for international students with visa delays arriving late and encountering late fees and having to go through administrative adjustment process to remove them or have them drop courses only to re-add later.  Dean Molitor agreed that it does create extra work and is a barrier that sometimes results in turning away students. There is a larger conversation pertaining to student success going on in Provost’s Office and various barriers are being identified.

Chair AbouAlaiwi inquired whether UToledo is considering waiving the application fee for graduate applications. He pointed out that other universities, including neighboring institutions, are competing for graduate students by waiving the application fee.

Dean Molitor replied that again this is another Board of Trustees approved fee.

Chair AbouAlaiwi again thanked Teri Green and Yasmeen Hamdah for their support and services they provide for graduate students.

Standing Committee Reports
Report of the Curriculum Committee

On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Dr. Timothy Mueser, Chair, presented the committee’s reports giving a brief overview of the requests for each proposal. Council approved unanimously. See individual discussion below.

Noted:
ENGL 4190/5190
Is an is an existing course in Linguistics where they are simply want a new subject code. How it was entered is quite right but asking GC to acknowledge what we are doing in trying to get the proper paperwork in. Requesting pre-emptive approval. When a new course is submitted, we would like it to simultaneously have an accompanying program modification so we know where the home is and associated program(s). That is what is missing. LING would be changed to ENGL – a CIM change.

Dean Molitor noted that the Registrar’s Office does not permit changing subject codes, or course numbers of existing courses. A new course must be created.  Even though it is the exact same course, description, and title, we leave the old course in the catalog and then add the course with either the new subject or the new course.

Dr. Mueser pointed out that the cross-listing was missing and needs to be there so that is not seen a duplicated redundant course. We wanted to see it cross-listed at the beginning and then the program modification in parallel. So that was the main issue highlighted in yellow. You should not put in a new course if it is identical to something else without cross-listing it immediately. The committee looks for generation of competing courses, which we do not want.

Dean Molitor added regarding minor administrative corrections, such as typos or semester offering – list under development, those could be corrected to avoid making extra work and review where it is unnecessary. We will bring to Graduate Council and Faculty Senate so as not to bypass governance process.

COMLS
New courses for a program being developed, course have to be available as established. If program does not materialize, you can certainly inactivate a course. These still need to include schedule type, lecture hours.  We also are seeking clarification as to why one is to be offered face-to-face and one online.  We could put on hold if you choose.

Dr. Kandace Williams noted that the program has to go to through channels for all levels approval – expect it to be a while. She has no issue with them moving forward.

BIOLOGY
Several courses increasing from 3 to 4 credit hours and two new courses for review to meet external review.

Regarding whether to vote to approve COMLS courses, Vice Chair Dr. Lawrence indicated that if the committee has reviewed and their decision to bring these proposals forward with a motion to approve then in seeking consent or decline, it comes from this group. If there are concerns raised regarding a course or set of courses, they could ask those be set aside as to not hold up the remaining proposals.

Dr. Molitor added that from the Provost’s Office standpoint it is comfortable with approving new courses that do not necessarily have a program yet in anticipation that that program would be approved someday. If needed, we can remove those courses from the active catalog since the group has already done their work and the college already submitted and approved, there no harm and approving those courses. It is the opposite that causes harm when approve a program and not all of the courses have been approved.

Chair AbouAlaiwi then asked Dr. Mueser to request vote on all of the presented proposals.

Chair Mueser recommended GC approve all presented proposals. Seconded.

These proposals were approved by the GC Curriculum Committee are listed for reference. 

Report of the Membership Committee
None.

Old Business
None.

New Business
None.

Adjournment
There being no further business, the Council adjourned at 1:49 pm.