GRADUATE COUNCIL

 

OPERATING PROCEDURES

 

 

 

1.         ANNUAL CALENDAR

 

The Chair will publish an annual calendar of all scheduled meetings of the Council and Due Dates by which agenda items for each meeting must be received. The calendar will be distributed to Council members, the Chair of the Undergraduate Council, Provost, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, academic deans, and department chairs. 

 

2.         CURRICULUM PROPOSALS

Copies of the proposal forms may be obtained from the office of the Graduate Council Chair.  Curriculum proposals or revised proposals will not be considered by the Council until a formal recommendation has been received from the college/school curriculum committee. [NOTE: 5000-level courses will be reviewed by the Graduate Council and forwarded to the Undergraduate Council as a point of information. Courses with a split-level designation (e.g., 3000/6000) must be approved by the Undergraduate Council in order to be considered by the Graduate Council.]

 

All curriculum proposals must be complete (including all documentation where appropriate) and must be submitted in the appropriate format, as approved by the Council in September 1991. Proposals that are incomplete or that do not conform to the appropriate format will be returned to the originating unit for revision without being considered by the Council. The revised proposal must then be reviewed again and recommended to the Council by the college/school curriculum committee.

 

A cover sheet must accompany materials sent by the college/school curriculum committee to the Graduate Council. All materials should be organized and the pages numbered to correspond to the cover sheet. Additionally, within each item, materials (such as course descriptions or comments from affected departments) should be organized and the pages numbered in the same order as listed on the proposal.  In all cases, documentation is required of discussions/negotiations/agreements with any other unit offering the same or a similar course. Any new program proposal must include a specific date for review of that program.

 

The original and nineteen (19) copies (20 total) of all curriculum proposals must be received in the Office of Graduate Studies and Research (208 Sadler Hall) by 4:00 p.m. on the Due Date for a particular Council meeting as published in the annual calendar of Council meetings.

   

3.         COUNCIL AGENDA

On Tuesday of the week preceding a meeting, the Chair will prepare an agenda and submit it, with the pertinent documents, to the members of the Council.

 

The agenda will include a Consent Package comprised of proposals which seek only minor changes to existing curriculum (e.g., title, number, or prerequisite(s), and will be voted upon as a single item. Any member of the Council, including the Chair, may request that an item be removed from the Consent Package for separate consideration prior to a motion to adopt the Consent Package.

 

Any item received after 5:00 p.m. of the Due Date for a particular meeting, as published in the annual calendar of the Council, will not be included on the agenda for that meeting.

 

No action will be taken on any matter not on the agenda unless an exception to the agenda is unanimously approved by those members of the Council present and voting. Such exception must be made for each additional agenda item.

 

4.         COUNCIL MEETING

Those members of the Council present at a scheduled meeting will constitute a quorum.

 

Meetings of the Council will be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order; however, the Council may adopt other procedures which will then take precedence over those listed in Robert's Rules of Order.

The head of the unit originating the proposal is invited to attend the meeting of the Council in order to respond to questions and/or clarify any portion of the proposal. The unit head will be asked to attend only that portion of the meeting concerning his/her unit's proposal and will be asked to leave prior to a Council vote on the proposal.

 

The minutes of the Graduate Council will constitute official notification of all actions taken by the Council during a particular meeting. Minutes will be circulated to members of the Council, the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, (chair of the University Council with a cover memo of recommendations), Associate Provost of Academic Affairs, Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, academic deans, Undergraduate Council Chair, department chairs, the office of the Registrar, and the School of Education certification officer.

 

5.         AMENDMENTS TO THE PROCEDURES

These procedures may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those members present and voting at a meeting of the Graduate council. Unless otherwise specified, an amendment to the procedures will take effect immediately following the meeting at which it was adopted.

 

Revised 12/99