Council on Graduate Education Minutes for Meeting 9:00 to 10:45 a.m., HMB E150

Transcription

1 1 Council on Graduate Education Minutes for Meeting 9:00 to 10:45 a.m., HMB E150 Members: Dirksen Bauman, Department of ASL and Deaf Studies; Lawrence Pick, Department of Psychology; Carol Cohen, Department of Social Work; Amy Wilson, Department of Educational Foundations & Research; Steve Ackley, Department of Hearing, Speech, & Language Sciences; Linda Lytle, Department of Counseling; Department of Physical Education and Recreation; Gaurav Mathur, Department of Linguistics; Valerie Dively, Department of Interpretation; Amy Hile, Department of Education; Frank Duffy, Department of Administration and Supervision; Shane Dundas, GSA representative. Ex-Officio: Nancy Carroll, Assistant Dean, GSPP Also Present: Christina Yuknis, Susan King, Carol Erting, Randy Prezioso Absent: Carol Cohen, Frank Duffy Meeting began at 9:09 Mathur proposed to accept the minutes from with corrections and Lytle seconded. Dean s Report Carroll: The policy group meeting had a good discussion about the XF grade, regarding if a person who is no longer a student has the right to appeal an XF grade, and they decided they do not. We need to reopen the discussion as now we have a student who plagiarized on their comprehensive exams, and the policy does not deal with comprehensive or qualifying exams. Chair s Report Bauman: At the Senate meeting last week they discussed what curriculum actions will be coming in March and April and there are many. So they decided to add an additional Senate meeting in March. March 17 th will be the regular meeting and the additional one will be March 28 th. The last Senate meeting for Curriculum actions is April 4 th. If they need to they may add another meeting in April. Carroll: There are several proposals already approved and Dennis Cregan and I are working on those that are already approved. Several of them need to be signed. Prezioso: Last year the course revisions were supposed to be done by February but this year it seems extended. Bauman: The goal is to not extend any to May.

2 2 Bauman: As of May, I will not be here; this semester you will need to pick a new chair of the CGE. Last year there was curriculum work during the summer and we will discuss the possibility of doing that again, it was very helpful. Carol Riddick has stepped down from the CGE. There is no other person in her department that meets the criteria for CGE. One graduate professor teaches online and is not here in DC. Another is not in a permanent, full time position. Is CGE willing to permit someone to serve who is not full time graduate faculty? Any thoughts? Do we want to continue without representation from that department or are we willing to allow someone to come that is not full time faculty? Mathur: I think the second option is best, having someone serve temporarily. Curriculum Committee Mathur: The Curriculum Committee asked representatives to explain their revisions. We will start with Linda Lytle from the Counseling Department. Lytle: Revisions were passed for the School Counseling program awhile ago and this proposal aligns with those changes. There are changes with the SLO s and we added online courses. Our current program is supported by a grant and we no longer want to add a statement about grant support. The number of credit hours changed from 69 to 58 due primarily to dropping the multicultural certificate. The program will be two and a half years. We also dropped a psychosocial class. We assume anyone who will be accepted in this program will be experienced teachers who understand issues related to being deaf or hard of hearing. Questions, comments? Bauman: You have some courses that were offered in person but are now online. How did you do that with CPSO? Lytle: CPSO advertised for us and advised us on the development of the course, but that was it We want people in the program, not outside of the program. It is only one course for the fall. Bauman: When you evaluate the course design, discuss the online experience and how it works. Lytle: Yes we will, that is an important part of the process. Pick: I have a question about the syllabus. It is separate from CPSO, you do not have to follow their template but create your own standards for the department? Lytle: Yes. Mathur: I think we should discuss with CUE and CPSO to make sure that the template fits online courses but the schedule will not match. But the name of the course and content should be the same.

3 3 Bauman: I think the issue is bigger than individual proposals. We need centralize it, but there is no clear direction we need to take. For now it is just the content, SLO s and schedule change. That is something to think about. Hile propose to accept the COU: Summers & Online School Counseling Program (revised program) and Dively seconded. Passed unanimously. Mathur: Next is the Education Department and their Certificate Program on Deaf Children with Disabilities. Christina Yuknis is here to answer your questions. Yuknis: Last year we closed the Deaf Education with multiple disabilities MA program, but many people want it as schools are struggling, so we developed a Certificate for Deaf Children with Disabilities. Bauman: It helps if you can write details for each action explaining the rationale in the summary, the Senate will look at that. Mathur: How many courses are there? Yuknis: One is revised and then six new courses. Bauman: This is a specified field, do you have the faculty to meet all the courses? Yuknis: Yes, we have me and one other person who has a degree in Special Education. There is also someone earning a PhD in Special Education. One is a regular teacher in our department, so we have the ability to teach these classes. Bauman: Why did the program close? Hile: Due to accreditation. Pick: For clarification, both BA and MA students can get this certificate? Or if a teacher has finished their Master s degree they can do it? And then the state will give them permission to teach? Yuknis: Yes, but each state varies. We designed it to follow the DC requirements for Special Education. Pick: Can students get financial aid to support the courses? Yuknis: I do not know. Pick: There is a new policy being set up related to if certificate programs lead to gainful employment. If certificate programs use financial aid money, that impacts the policy.

4 4 Prezioso: If they are doing their MA and the certificate program at the same time, they will get financial aid support. Pick: If the Department of Education sets up a new policy, I am not clear myself but know that if a university has certificate programs they can use financial aid to support them, but that affects policy. I do not know if it will affect this program. Yuknis: There is always a high need for people who can work with students with disabilities. For example in Montgomery County they were trying to hire a deaf education teacher who knew how to work with deaf children with disabilities but they could not find anyone who was qualified, so they hired two hearing women who do not know any sign language. Hile: There is a high demand for professionals with these skills. Erting: One of the courses used to be offered online and it was always full. There were always two sections online and it maxed out every semester. Bauman: One simple change is to add the word graduate in the name of the certificate program, so it is clear if it is undergraduate or graduate. One other question, on page eight. It says that ASL skills are preferred but not required. So students could graduate from a deaf education program at Gallaudet without any sign skills? Yuknis: That was a big discussion. One reason it says preferred and not required is because many who take it are outside of Gallaudet and work in oral programs. They maybe do not have any sign skills but we do not want to close the opportunity to them to learn how to work with students with disabilities. We plan to have the course be bilingual, with videos in ASL with captions Dundas: I took a course in the Deaf Studies program called Enforcing Normalcy that discussed what disability means. I am wondering if that is offered or is an option. Yuknis: Our approach uses disability studies, but it is more about how to teach kids, methods and curriculum that meet their needs, as well as how to work with parents, families and administrators. Dively called for a vote on the EDU: Certificate Program on Deaf Children with Disabilities (new program) and Lytle seconded. Passed unanimously (with revisions). Mathur: Next is from HSLS, they want to change the name of the PhD in Audiology to a PhD in HSLS. Ackley: We have expanded it to include more courses in speech language pathology. We also have many professors in audiology who will retire in the next five to seven years so that is another reason for this program. One concern is that it does not require a certain level of ASL. They are required to take ASL classes, but should we require an ASLPI level? We are open to suggestions.

5 5 Lytle: Could your current students pass the ASLPI? Ackley: I think they could, but do not know. Some of them are fluent. Bauman: I typed some changes and there has been a lot of discussion, I will summarize some of the points. One part says it will prepare them in cultural sensitivity and how to work with culturally and linguistically diverse people. There seems to be an emphasis on cultural sensitivity and diversity in the mission. That is great, but the SLO s do not meet that. For example, only 1/5 of one class addresses cultural sensitivity. That conflicts with the mission statement emphasis. I also have some editorial changes, Carol LaSasso and I have exchanged several s. Basically it needs to increase learning opportunities in the course including assessment that addresses cultural diversity as well as the deaf perspective. We want all graduate students to graduate with knowledge of the deaf world and diversity in the deaf community; it is a symbol of a bigger issue. What should we do with the proposal? Do a conditional vote? Or wait until the next meeting? I think these issues need to be ironed out before going to the Senate. I am happy to work with the department on addressing those issues. Mathur: Should we bring it back at the next CGE meeting? Bauman: We will bring it back in two weeks and that will be plenty of time for the Senate meeting. I have a few editorial changes, like changing it to say ASL instead of sign language. Should they pass a certain ASLPI level or just courses? Erting: Accrediting bodies have shifted from inputs like classes, to outcomes and assessment. To follow that I would say there should be some kind of measurement of ASL. Bauman: Maybe in the clinical sign course you offer there could be some kind of assessment. Ackley: That must be taught by someone who knows clinical sign language. We have a person that comes two or three times a semester, maybe we will need to find another teacher. Bauman: You could develop curriculum material I think it is a great opportunity to have that. I am happy to work with your department on the ASL requirements and issues. Bring the proposal back in two weeks. Mathur: We will work with you to streamline everything. The last proposal is from the Education Department. Amy Hile will explain it. Hile: We changed the admission requirements, before they had to have teaching experience, now they do not, and we added an ASLPI score of two. We substituted two courses, it will be 31 credits and no internship is required. Many of the MA courses are already in place, we added one more.

6 6 Dively proposed a vote on the EDU: MA Deaf Education - Advanced Studies (revised program) and Pick seconded. Passed unanimously. Mathur: We are still revising the linguistics proposal and that will hopefully be ready by the next CGE meeting. There are a few others coming as well, such as the Infants, Toddlers and Families certificate. Bauman: Regarding the MPA, the question now is because it is too late to arrive to the Board this semester, if it goes to the Board in October can it start to be offered in the Spring? Mathur: Marketing is important, and when the applications will be due. If they are due one month before it starts, so for example, November 13, if the Board approves it in the middle of October, they will have to advertise really quickly. Erting: In the past we advertised new programs and said pending if we were waiting on the Senate. I do not know if we could advertise pending for the Board of Trustees. We could advertise it but state that it still needs Boart of Trustee approval. Mathur: Can the Senate look at this in May since it is not for fall but for spring? Bauman: I will bring up with them. Please remind me. Policy Committee Pick: Hopefully you have reviewed the transfer credit policy. Social Work raised an issue on the Discussion Board but they are not here today. We were satisfied with the policy and want to bring it to a vote. Bauman: Carol Cohen could not come today; she requested we wait for two weeks to vote so they could be represented. What is the issue? Pick: To summarize, although it is better if she explains it- their Masters level program accepts BA students with advanced standing and fifteen credits are transferred. The transfer credit policy does not have a provision for acceptance of a full fifteen credits. Social Work wants an exception to the policy. So we either need to specify that Social Work is exempt, or make it more general and say that any Masters program can accept fifteen credits. Our committee feels satisfied with the policy. We decided it is up to CGE to decide if there should be an exception. Lytle: I remember at a past meeting there was the suggestion that the Social Work program develop a new program that fits the criteria so they would not have to fit this policy. It is one solution, although the department would have to do some work. Bauman: I think we should move this discussion to Blackboard, so if you have comments please post them there so we will be ready to discuss at the meeting in two weeks.

7 7 Pick: To update you on the credit hour issue, we sent it to the deans, administrators and CUE. We have not heard from the CUE policy committee, but we do have some feedback from administrators. Some suggest the language should not say class equals 50 minutes, but class equals learning outcome.s Our committee feels that the federal requirements will be coming soon so we prefer to follow 50 minutes. If it is accepted, in the future the language can change. We are still waiting for feedback. Bauman: Is there any kind of guideline for online credit hours that is different? Pick: For now they recommend a time definition and that is equivalent to 50 minutes. For online programs and their interpretation of the language, they follow learning outcomes. It is not clear right now. Bauman: CGE and CUE should work on that as a group. Pick: Pat Hulsebosch is revamping the concept of learning outcomes for the undergraduate level, we are waiting for feedback. We sent it out and the committee perspective is that it is the best we can do right now, we are waiting for feedback. Bauman: In two weeks we will discuss the transfer policy and Social Work. Student Concerns Committee Dundas: Our committee decided we would like to have concerns from GSA in writing so they are not just hearsay problems. Wilson: We have received a few messages about shuttle evaluations, GSA will look at that and will do it themselves. GSA has documented a few concerns. Dundas: The counselors I spoke with had not heard anything about the Mental Health Center and the TIP issue I learned here but outside of CGE I am not sure if it is a big concern. Bauman: Every year we have issues with the Mental Health Center and TIP. I understand you wanting to document concerns; revisit the minutes, they all have student concerns reports that show what the issues are. Wilson: The minutes were vague, we want to know specifics. With TIP we know that they do not have graduate level writing help. We want GSA to give us information so it is not vague. Bauman: What is GSA s method of collecting that information? Dundas: They do it through officers, town halls, etc. We want them to write it down instead of just talking about the issues. Lytle: Sometime the issues do come from us here at CGE, we learn them from our students and them bring them here. For example the Mental Health Center, we heard that from our students,

8 8 that there was a long wait to get in to see staff. That was our concern and we brought it to the council. Wilson: If you have specific concerns will you send them to Shane and I and we will record them. New Business Hile: I have one issue I want to refer to the committee. A student was academically dismissed from one department and they applied to another and were accepted. Is that appropriate? Carroll: Also three courses with grades below a B were accepted as transfer credit in the new program. Prezioso: They were dismissed and during the appeal were still coming to school. With undergraduates they have to leave but with this situation the student was appealing and also going to school. Erting: The student applied to the new program before the end of the semester so there was no transcript or final grades for the fall. They knew they were in trouble in their department so they applied to another one. The department did not ask anything about the student s performance and accepted the student. Carroll: Also when the transcript was ready they did not look at it. They did not look after the grades were posted. Erting: The department had already accepted them; this seems to be some kind of procedural issue that we need to solve. Hile: If they are an international student and dismissed they have to go to their home country but they want to stay in America so they apply to another program, but that is a different situation. Erting: The graduate admissions office needs to flag students in this process. They do formally apply, but there is no place to see if they have good standing. Hile: It is the departments responsibility. Erting: I ended up signing the letter, I had no idea. We need to have some kind of intervention. I agree it is the departments responsibility, but we cannot depend on them to do the right thing. King: If a student is dismissed from one program, maybe they will succeed in another, the graduate admissions office does not judge that. We have 422 students. Erting: With this situation it was a current student who applied to another program, not a new student, so 422 does not apply. Departments need to be in contact with each other to see if there

9 9 are any concerns. The point is not to stop students from switching, but the new department needs all the information and they should be checking. Carroll: It would help if the graduate admissions office is notified when there is a letter of dismissal. Erting: In this case the student was already accepted to the new program before the other department applied for dismissal. Wilson: Maybe there could be a requirement that the new department has to get one letter of reference from the old department. Bauman: This seems more like a procedural issue than policy. Erting: The point is that they should have all the information. We will try and figure it out. Lytle: There is also the issue that the department accepted three courses where the student received C s, that is against policy. Erting: If they are below a 3.0 you can make exceptions for specific reasons, since those courses are not a part of their program. The department needs to have the information that the student got three C s in one program and look at that as they consider admission. Prezioso: The process is clearer with undergraduates. If they are dismissed they have to leave, they cannot transfer. Carroll: I think why the policy is different for the graduate program is that many times courses are only offered once a year, so they can continue to take classes during their appeal and if they win they have not lost any time. Erting: We discussed this issue with the policy committee, it is not clear to the students the risk if they take a class and then are dismissed. They are in separate places in the handbook, they need to be together. Carroll: And some students may have to leave the country Bauman: Dismissal and appeals need to be looked at, as well as transfer between programs. Thank you for coming early and I think in two weeks we will start early as well. Meeting adjourned approximately 10:45. Actions from the meeting: Passed curriculum items: COU: Summers & Online School Counseling Program (revised program) EDU: Certificate Program on Deaf Children with Disabilities (new program) EDU: MA Deaf Education - Advanced Studies (revised program)