Bylaws of the Graduate Council

Approved by the Graduate Council April 4, 2023

These bylaws are empowered by the Constitution of the Graduate Faculty. The Graduate Council (GC) is the representative body of the Graduate Faculty (GF) and shall legislate for it. These bylaws shall establish the rules and regulations governing: Membership, Graduate Council Officers, Meetings, Committees, and Amendments to these bylaws.

Article I.	Graduate Faculty Membership
Article II.	Graduate Council Officers and Executive Committee
Article III.	Meetings
Article IV.	Committees
Article V.	Implementation and Amendment

ARTICLE I: GRADUATE FACULTY MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. The GC Membership Committee (see Article IV, section 6, sub-section B) shall review and evaluate GF membership applications. It shall make decisions regarding member categories. After deliberation, the GC Membership Committee Chair or designee shall report to the GC the data by college, by category, but without specifying the names of those making application to the GF.

Section 2. There shall be five categories of membership on the Graduate Faculty, as enumerated below. Baseline qualifications for each category of graduate faculty membership follow below. Individual programs, departments or colleges may, in addition to these criteria, establish more stringent qualifications for the respective categories. If more stringent criteria are established within a program or department, these must be clearly documented.

a. Full Membership

1. Qualifications

Hold a terminal or earned doctoral degree;
Hold a regular tenured or tenure track continuing faculty appointment at the University of Toledo;
Be actively engaged in both graduate education and research and continuing scholarly activity; and,
Consideration will be given to evidence of successful involvement with graduate students and programs, evidence of significant professional accomplishment, and where appropriate, administrative responsibility in graduate education.

2. Duties and privileges of Full Membership

Propose, design and teach graduate level courses (including thesis research, scholarly project research and dissertation research);
May serve on, or chair, Master’s and Doctoral advisory committees, comprehensive examination committees, and graduate projects or internships; and,
May vote in elections pertaining to GC and graduate education matters and may serve on GC.

3. Review and Renewal

Full membership is to be reviewed for renewal every seven years. The result of this review may be:

Continued Full membership;
Associate or Professional membership; or,
Revocation of Graduate Faculty membership.

b. Associate Membership

1. Qualifications

Hold an earned terminal degree; alternatively, hold an earned Master’s degree and possess equivalent experience to a terminal degree as documented through an evaluative review process.
Hold a regular tenured or tenure track continuing faculty appointment at the University of Toledo; and,
Demonstrated responsibility in both graduate education and research including continuing scholarly activity.

2. Duties and privileges of Associate Membership

May serve on, but may not chair, Master’s or Doctoral advisory committees and comprehensive examination committees. However, only Graduate Faculty members with doctoral degrees may serve on Doctoral advisory committees. Exceptions to this provision may be addressed with Special Membership status;
May serve on, or chair, Scholarly Project committees; may direct internships;
May teach graduate level courses (excluding thesis/dissertation research); and,
May vote in elections pertaining to GC and graduate education matters and may serve on appropriate committees of GC, but may not serve on GC.

3. Review and Renewal

Associate membership shall be reviewed within seven years, or sooner if requested. The result of this review may be:

Promotion to Full membership;
Continued Associate membership;
Professional membership; or,
Revocation of Graduate Faculty membership.

c. Professional Membership

1. Qualifications

Hold an earned terminal degree; alternatively, hold an earned Master’s degree and possess equivalent experience to a terminal degree as documented through an evaluative review process.
Hold a regular continuing faculty appointment at the University of Toledo; and,
Be qualified to engage in teaching and service at the graduate level.

2. Duties and privileges of Professional Membership

May serve on, but may not chair, Scholarly Project, Master’s or Doctoral advisory committees and comprehensive examination committees. However, only Graduate Faculty members with doctoral degrees may serve on Doctoral advisory committees. Exceptions to this provision may be addressed with Special Membership status;
May teach graduate level courses (excluding thesis/dissertation research); and,
May vote in elections pertaining to GC and graduate education matters, but may not serve on GC or its committees.

3. Review and Renewal

Professional membership shall be reviewed within seven years or sooner if requested. The result of this review may be:

Promotion to Full membership or Associate membership;
Continued Professional membership; or,
Revocation of Graduate Faculty membership.

d. Adjunct Membership

1. Qualifications

Hold an earned terminal degree; alternatively, hold an earned Master’s degree and possess equivalent experience to a terminal degree as documented through an evaluative review process.
Does not hold a regular continuing faculty appointment at the University of Toledo. Adjunct membership may be held by visiting and part-time faculty, part-time clinical or visiting appointees, and fellows; and,
Adjunct membership must be for a specified period of time and for those professionals who would make a significant contribution to graduate education, research, and service.

2. Duties and privileges of Adjunct Membership

May teach graduate level courses (excluding thesis/dissertation research);
May serve on, but may not chair Scholarly Project, Master’s or Doctoral advisory committees and comprehensive examination committees. However, only Graduate Faculty members with doctoral degrees may serve on Doctoral advisory committees. Exceptions to this provision may be addressed with Special Membership status; but,
May not vote in elections pertaining to Graduate Council or graduate education matters, nor serve on GC or its committees.

3. Review and Renewal

Adjunct members are appointed for a specific period of time, but in no case greater than three years; and,
Adjunct Membership may be renewed upon recommendation of the Membership Committee.

e. Special Membership

1. Qualifications

The Membership Committee may grant Special Membership to professionals, including but not limited to, University of Toledo lecturers, research faculty and retired UT faculty, who would make a significant contribution to graduate education or research.

2. Duties and privileges of Special Membership

Special members of the Graduate Faculty will be given responsibilities as enumerated by the Membership Committee from the Duties and Privileges of Full Membership. Individuals holding Special Membership will not vote in elections pertaining to GC or graduate education matters and will not serve on GC or its committees.

3. Review and Renewal

Appointment will be for a specific period of time but in no case greater than three years. This membership appointment may be renewed upon recommendation of the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and the Membership Committee.

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ARTICLE II. GRADUATE COUNCIL OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1. The officers of the GC shall be a Chair, Vice Chair, and three GC voting members. Each GC officer will be elected by secret ballot for a one-year term of office by the members of the GC for the following year at the last meeting of GC. A Vice Chair will also be elected by the same process, but for a two-year term. The Chair will be the Vice Chair elected in the previous year. In the event that the previous year’s Vice Chair is unable to serve as Chair, a new Chair will be elected for a one-year term by the same process as above. Of these five officers at least two must be from colleges on the Main Campus and at least two from colleges on the Health Science Campus. The Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies (COGS) shall serve as Executive Secretary of the Council to review its minutes and prepare them for approval to the GC. The COGS Dean shall designate a COGS staff member to record and transcribe minutes of GC meetings.

Section 2. The Executive Committee of GC (GCEC) shall be composed of the elected officers of GC, the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS, the Vice President for Research, , the current President (or Vice President) of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), and the immediate past Chair of GC, ex officio. The Chair of GC shall serve as the Chair of GCEC. On an annual basis, GC will define Main Campus and Health Science Campus prior to elections.

Section 3. The GCEC shall appoint the members of standing, ad hoc and university committees and shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of GC. The agenda, the text of any proposal on which GC is expected to act, and the Minutes of the previous GC meeting shall be submitted to the members of GC before each meeting date.

Section 4. During the summer months (May to August), GCEC shall hold meetings. The first meeting of summer GCEC each year shall occur in May following the election of the new GCEC members at the last spring meeting of GC.

Section 5. In the first half of April each year, the Vice Chair of GC will consult with the Chair of the Curriculum Committee in order to ascertain the number of curriculum proposals that are likely to need attention during the summer months and the rationale for the urgency of these proposals. The Vice Chair shall report the findings of this consultation process to the GC at its last spring meeting.

Section 6. At its last spring meeting each year, the GC shall consider empowering the GCEC to act in its stead during the summer when GC stands in recess. When the GC chooses to empower the GCEC, the GCEC’s power is limited to the curriculum matters discovered and reported to GC during the process described in Article II, Section 5 above. In the event that GCEC is empowered, the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS shall designate a COGS staff member to record minutes of GCEC meetings. The GCEC shall report all actions taken during the summer recess to the GC at GC’s first fall term meeting. At no time shall the GCEC approve new programs nor shall it engage in program review.

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ARTICLE III. MEETINGS

Section 1. The GC shall hold regular meetings approximately every other week during the fall and spring semesters at a site that is centrally located or that will rotate between the Main Campus and the Health Science Campus. The GCEC may alter a regular meeting date and also may call special meetings of GC.

Section 2. Meetings of the Graduate Council shall be presided over by the Chair of the Council, or in the latter's absence by the Vice Chair. A quorum for the conduct of business shall be a majority of the voting membership of GC.

Section 3. The order of business at regular meetings of GC, unless suspended at the discretion of the Chair of the GC, shall be as follows:

A. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting

B. Reports from the GCEC, the GSA, and the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS;

C. Information and Discussion Items;

D. Standing Committee Reports;

E. Old Business;

F. New Business; and,

G. Adjournment.

Section 4. The GC Minutes, when approved, shall be made available promptly by the Executive Secretary to all members of the Graduate Faculty.

Section 5. Two unexcused absences per year may be sufficient grounds for removal by the GCEC. Should GCEC find sufficient grounds for removal, the member being removed will be notified by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the GC. That office will work with the individual’s academic college to find a replacement based on the college’s election procedures.

Section 6. Members who cannot attend a meeting should designate another Full Member of the Graduate Faculty from their college to attend the meeting in their place and must inform the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Council at least one day in advance of the meeting.

Section 7. The properly identified designee shall have the same privileges within GC meetings as the GC member who the designee is replacing.

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ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES

Section 1. GC Committee Chairs shall make recommendations regarding their respective committee appointments to the Vice Chair by May 31 with a view to identifying committee members prior to the first GC meeting in fall.

Section 2. The Vice Chair of GC shall make recommendations regarding committee appointments to the GCEC. The GC Chair is prohibited from making committee appointments.

Section 3. The Chair of each GC committee having regularly scheduled meetings will submit their respective committee schedule to the GCEC by September 30.

Section 4. The Chair of most GC Committees, with the exception of the Fellowships and Scholarships Committee and the Graduate Student Affairs Committee, shall be a member of GC. A non-GC member who holds Full membership in the GF must be approved by a majority vote of GCEC.

Section 5. Committee Chairs shall provide committee reports to GCEC. The Office of the Executive Secretary of GC will create a repository for them.

Section 6. The standing committees of GC holding regularly scheduled meetings on a twelve-month schedule shall be the following:

A. Curriculum Committee

i. The Curriculum Committee shall consist of one person from each college with Graduate Faculty and graduate programs, holding Full or Associate Membership.

ii. The duties of the Curriculum Committee shall be:

to make recommendations to GC on all new courses offered for graduate credit, both on and off campus, regardless of format, and on all new graduate degree programs; and,
to review all changes to existing graduate degree programs and in graduate course title, credit hours, and catalogue description, and to recommend action to GC when changes are considered significant by the committee.

iii. At any time, the Curriculum Committee may approve routine changes limited to course title changes, course renumbering and course catalog description changes. These approvals will be reported as a consent agenda item to GC at the next scheduled GC meeting.

iv. The Curriculum Committee will take action on all curricular proposals within 30 business days of initial receipt of the proposal by GC.

v. In late March each year, each Curriculum Committee member shall inquire into curriculum proposals forthcoming to the Curriculum Committee during the summer months and rationales for why approval during the summer is sought with their respective college curriculum authorities with an eye towards sharing this information with the Chair of the Curriculum Committee and the Vice Chair of GC.

B. Membership Committee

i. The Membership Committee is empowered to make GF membership decisions. It shall consist of one person from each college with Graduate Faculty and graduate programs, who holds Full Membership on the Graduate Faculty.

ii. The duties of the Membership Committee shall be to review nominations and renewal applications for membership (see Article I) on the Graduate Faculty and to present their decisions in a report to GC.

At the direction of GCEC, the Membership Committee may be convened to review and determine the membership status of an individual member of the Graduate Faculty.

C. Graduate Program Review Committee (GPRC)

i. The UT Office of the Provost and its Office of Assessment, Accreditation and Program Review (OAAPR) oversee the annual UT Academic Program Review including determining the process. The process includes a role for Graduate Council participation. The Graduate Council can review the program self-study and external review team report for purposes of providing feedback to facilitate the program’s continuous improvement. The GC feedback report is submitted to the OAAPR, COGS Dean and Provost.

ii. The GC charges the GPRC to review the program self-study and external review team report. The feedback is submitted to the GC for input and approval prior to submission to the OAAPR.

iii. The GC shall develop documents to provide to GPRC with its charge and general guidelines for conducting program review. The general guidelines shall align with the UT OAAPR Academic Program Review Manual. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Assessment and Review of Graduate Programs should serve as a resource.

iv. The GPRC shall consist of at least one person with Full Graduate Faculty status from each college that offers a graduate degree. Pending the programs scheduled for review, up to two additional members with Full Graduate Faculty status (or Associate membership) might be added from select colleges for a limited time of service to provide the necessary content expertise.

v. COGS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall serve as ex-officio, non-voting member of the GPRC and its liaison to the OAAPR. Responsibilities include:

consult with the UT OAAPR on an annual basis to obtain the Program Review schedule;
receive the self-study and review team reports;
consult with the UT OAAPR on an annual basis to determine if UT Academic Program Review Procedures and program review self-study templates are under consideration for revision. If revision is planned, the COGS Associate Dean shall inform both the GCEC and GPRC Chairs so that GC can participate in revision decision making.

Section 7. The standing committees of GC holding meetings within the nine-month academic year (August - May) shall be the following:

A. Graduate Student Affairs Committee

i. The Graduate Student Affairs Committee shall consist of eight persons, four holding membership on the Graduate Faculty (at least one from each campus) and four officers of GSA or their appointed representatives. Among the GSA representatives at least one must be from colleges on the Main Campus and at least one from colleges on the Health Science Campus. Also, at least one of the faculty members of this committee must be a member of GC and will serve as the ex-officio, non-voting GC faculty representative in the GSA Executive Committee. The COGS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall chair the Graduate Student Affairs Committee.

i. The duties of the Committee shall be:

to act as a liaison between Graduate Faculty, the University administration and GSA;
to counsel GSA in resolving issues related to academic, professional and social programs;
to assist the GSA in planning university-wide events;
to deliberate on the selection of GSA Awards recipients from among nominees

Section 8. The standing committees of the GC that meet on an as needed basis when called upon by the GCEC, GC or the COGS Dean shall be as follows:

A. Academic Standing Committee (ASC)

i. The Academic Standing Committee shall consist of one person from each college with Graduate Faculty and graduate programs, holding Full or Associate Membership, and one graduate student appointed by GSA.

ii. The duties of the Academic Standing Committee shall be:

to serve as a final body to hear (1) academic dishonesty appeals, (2) academic grade appeals, and (3) academic grievances of all graduate students. The procedures for each of these processes are detailed in the Graduate Student Handbook. A decision of the Committee shall be forwarded to the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS for administrative implementation; and,
may also serve as an advisory committee to the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS on matters of policy related to academic standing.

B. Academic Programs and Regulations Committee (APRC)

i. The APRC shall consist of one person from each college with Graduate Faculty and graduate programs, holding Full or Associate Membership, and one graduate student appointed by GSA.

ii. The duties of the APRC shall be:

to serve as an advisory body to GC or the COGS Dean regarding policies, procedures and actions to promote academic standards.

C. Fellowships and Scholarships Committee

i. The Fellowships and Scholarships Committee shall consist of one person from each college with Graduate Faculty and graduate programs, holding Full or Associate Membership on the Graduate Faculty, including the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS who shall be the Chair of the Committee.

ii. The duties of the Fellowships and Scholarships Committee shall be:

to advise the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS on the award of the COGS University Fellowships and Endowed Fellowships and Scholarships;
to advise the Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of COGS on matters relating to the financial support of graduate students; and,
to make reports and recommendations to GC concerning financial support of graduate students.

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ARTICLE V. IMPLEMENTATION AND AMENDMENT

Section 1. Subject to the oversight described in the provisions of The University of Toledo Board of Trustees bylaws sections 3364-1-10(B) and 3364-1-7(B-8), these Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the GC at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Section 2. In the event of amendment to provisions concerning GF membership, and notwithstanding the provisions of Article I, Section 3, current members of the GF will retain their membership status until their membership term expires. Renewal of GF membership will be subject to the provisions concerning GF membership in force at the time of application.

Section 3. Every ten years or sooner if necessary, the GCEC shall appoint a committee to review the procedures set forth in the Constitution of the GF and the Bylaws of the Graduate Council. The committee shall be composed of the Dean of COGS, the Vice President of Research, two members of the GC, two individuals not on the GC who hold Full Membership on the GF, and the President of the GSA.

Section 4. At the request of the GCEC, the ad hoc Committee appointed in Article V, Section 3 above shall submit a written report to GC at a regularly scheduled meeting. Should changes to the GF Constitution be recommended by the ad hoc committee, the Chair of the ad hoc Committee shall provide two readings of the newly proposed Constitution at two regularly scheduled meetings of GC in order to help GC members comprehend the changes and offer suggestions for revision. Following the second reading, but at that same GC meeting, the GC may vote to send the revised GF Constitution to the GF for ratification.

Section 5. At the request of the GCEC, the ad hoc Committee appointed in Article V, Section 3 above shall submit a written report to GC at a regularly scheduled meeting. Should changes to the GF Constitution be recommended by the ad hoc committee, the Chair of the ad hoc Committee shall provide two readings of the newly proposed Constitution at two regularly scheduled meetings of GC in order to help GC members comprehend the changes and offer suggestions for revision. Following the second reading, but at that same GC meeting, the GC may vote to send the revised GF Constitution to the GF for ratification.

Section 6. Prior to a ratification vote of the GF Constitution, the GC shall require that the ad hoc Committee Chair hold two informational sessions at two different times and on two different days of the week so that GF members not serving on GC may have an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns.

Section 7. Working in cooperation with the Office of the Executive Secretary of GC, the ad hoc Committee Chair and the Chair of GC shall report on the Committee's findings to the GF through faculty email and they shall conduct a ratification vote via email. The ad hoc Committee Chair, the Chair of GC and a staff member of the office of the Executive Secretary of GC shall act as a Teller’s Committee to tally votes and report the results.

Adopted September 3, 1984
Amended April 5, 1988
Amended October 12, 1993
Amended October 10, 1995
Amended June 3, 1997
Amended May 7, 2002
Amended March 3, 2009
Amended April 7, 2015
Amended November 29, 2016
Amended April 19, 2022
Amended April 4, 2023

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