MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
August 27, 1998
PRESENT: George T. Barthalmus, Salah M. Bedair, John G. Gilligan, Bruce Hammerberg, Charles R. Knoeber, John R. Kolb, Carolyn R. Miller, Gary E. Mitchell, William Oxenham, John C. Park, C. David Raper, Jr., Rebeca C. Rufty, Daniel L. Solomon, Robert S. Sowell, Paul Tesar, Beth E. Wilson, Chadwin D. Young, and Nanda W. Irons (Recorder)
ABSENT: Edwin R. Gerler, Margaret F. King, Stephen Middleton, and Debra W. Stewart
GUESTS: Members of the Research Ethics Committee: Tom Regan, David F. Ollis, Jean Ristaino and James R. Wilson; Amy Short and Judith Schwartz from the Graduate School; and Danielle Stanfield from the Technician
1. The minutes of the June 8, 1998 meeting were approved.
2. Announcements:
The College of Textiles has elected Dr. William Oxenham to serve as their Board representative for a four-year term beginning September 1, 1998, replacing Dr. Charles D. Livengood.
Dr. Edwin R. Gerler has been appointed to serve a second one-year term as ex-officio Board representative from the Office of Research, Outreach and Extension for the 1998-99 academic year.
Ms. Amy Short joined the Graduate School on August 3 as the Graduate Student Teaching Programs Coordinator. In this capacity, she will manage the general English proficiency testing for all graduate students in programs that request it. She will also coordinate the Preparing the Professoriate program as well as assisting with research ethics initiatives.
The Graduate School has submitted a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation in the area of minority graduate education. The proposal includes NC State's best practices for recruitment and retention of under-represented students, a mentoring program, and a summer research program. Only eight awards will be given nationally, and the Graduate School should be notified in December or January if a grant has been awarded.
The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Executive Committee has voted to increase access to the test for examinees residing overseas by establishing a single testing fee of $100 for ALL examinees, regardless of where the test is administered. (Previously, a fee of $125 had been proposed for examinees taking the test overseas.) ETS (Educational Testing Service) also plans to provide up to 100 additional mobile TOEFL testing visits outside the United States. The revised list of new sites, as well as other important information, can be found on the TOEFL Web site at www.toefl.org.
The Graduate School will present two workshops on Financial Support for Graduate Education. The first to be held on Tuesday, September 15, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., is for first-year graduate students and undergraduate seniors planning to pursue graduate degrees. The second to be held on Wednesday, September 16, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., is for continuing graduate students. Both workshops will be held in Room 2405 Williams Hall. Preregistration is required.
The Graduate School will hold a Research Ethics Colloquium on Tuesday, September 22, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., in 2405 Williams Hall. Dr. Tom H. Regan, Chair of the Research Ethics Committee, will lead a panel discussion of the report which this committee issued in July. Panelists will be the members of the committee: Dr. Regan, Dr. Bruce Hammerberg, Dr. David F. Ollis, Dr. Jean B. Ristaino and Dr. James R. Wilson. NC State faculty and graduate students are encouraged to attend.
The Graduate School will present a Crosstalk Seminar entitled "How to be Successful in Graduate School: Understanding the Roles, Responsibilities and Interaction of Graduate Students, their Advisors, and their Committees" on Wednesday, September 23 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., in Room 216 Poe Hall. Panelists are Dr. Robert S. Sowell, Acting Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School; Dr. Stephanie Curtis, Head of the Department of Genetics; and Ms. Laura Potter, National Science Foundation Research Trainee and doctoral student in applied mathematics.
3. Report from Research Ethics Committee
Dr. Tom Regan, Chair of the Research Ethics Committee, presented a report from the committee which was produced in July. Other members of the committee are Dr. Bruce Hammerberg, Dr. David F. Ollis, Dr. Jean B. Ristaino and Dr. James R. Wilson. Earlier this year, Dean Debra Stewart charged the committee with devising broad outlines of a plan to position this university as a national leader in research ethics. The committee explored what other universities are doing and attempted to use their ideas and practices as a springboard to devise even better methods for NC State. They feel that they have developed a realistic, doable plan, a proactive report, not reactive to problems which exist but rather in the spirit of thinking creatively about the best response to changing times and expectations. The main focus of the recommendations in the report is exemplary practice, to provide the best possible tools with which to do the best possible job. Conventions and etiquette in ethics differ across disciplines but training in all areas can be improved by using the collective wisdom of many. Some highlights of the report include development of instructional modules, bibliographies, websites and other relevant information and resources to refer to on the subject that would be made available for instructors to use in their classes.
The Graduate School has asked Dr. Rebeca Rufty to serve as "Research Ethics Coordinator" for the upcoming year while she is Acting Assistant Dean in the Graduate School. She will coordinate Graduate School efforts to fund the ethics initiatives outlined in the report. Students in advanced degree programs are expected to have exposure to ethics training. Many funding agencies are making it a requirement for successful grant proposals. It is planned, as proposals are submitted to NSF, GAANN and other funding agencies, to make ethics training part of these proposals. Also, since there are varied perceptions of ethical practice in different parts of the world, many international students experience confusion about what is expected here. Informing them of our expectations, what is acceptable and proper practice, will help to "level the playing field" for our international students.
After discussion of the report, Dr. Sowell encouraged Board members to return to their colleges/departments and distribute copies of the report to their graduate studies committees, other faculty members and graduate students, and to initiate discussions. The Graduate School has posted a copy of the ethics report, as well as links to other ethics websites on the World Wide Web, at http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad/ethics/.
Finally, Dr. Sowell thanked the Research Ethics Committee for a very high quality report and also thanked Judith Schwartz, Communications Specialist with the Graduate School, for her technical support. He mentioned that the high quality of the report reflects the excellent leadership of the committee by Dr. Tom Regan, Chairman. Faculty and graduate students are encouraged to attend the Research Ethics Colloquium scheduled for September 22 where all committee members will again be present to discuss the ethics report.
4. Update on recent ITA (International Teaching Assistants) Screening, including a Detailed Screening Score Key
Ms. Amy Short, Graduate Student Teaching Programs Coordinator gave a brief report on the recent ITA Screening. A total of 76 graduate students were tested for English proficiency in August using the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) Test.
Approximately 50% of the students tested received a rating of 50 or above, indicating clearance to be assigned to any teaching responsibility normally assigned to Teaching Assistants, including service as an instructor of a lecture, discussion, or problem session; as a recitation leader; or as a lab instructor.
Approximately 18% received a rating of 45, indicating that they may be assigned only those teaching responsibilities that require relatively limited verbal interaction with students. This includes team-teaching in a laboratory, working in a computer lab, or grading with office hours. Each of these students must be re-screened and achieve a score of 50 or above before receiving teaching responsibilities that involve significant verbal interaction with students.
Approximately 24% of the students received a rating of 40 indicating a provisional pass. These students may be assigned the same responsibilities as ITAs with scores of 45 but must take a recommended ITA course for credit concurrent with their initial TA appointment. They must be re-screened at the next screening and achieve a score of 45 or better to continue limited responsibilities assignments.
And finally, six students, or 8%, received ratings of less than 40. These students may not be assigned TA responsibilities that require verbal interaction with students. They are eligible for grading without office hours, lab setup, etc. Each must be screened again and achieve a score of 40 or higher to receive an appointment involving increased verbal interaction with students. They must take an FLE course before being re-screened.
5. Enrollment/Graduate Student Support Plan Update
Dr. Sowell reported to the Board that recent enrollment figures have been discouraging. Applications were up 8% over last year, however, we have actually admitted 9% fewer students for Fall 1998 as were admitted last year. As of the eighth day of classes, overall graduate enrollment was down 3.6%. New graduate student enrollment was down 10.1%. The enrolled to admit ratio is down 1.1% in spite of our offering the new student support plan as an incentive. The Graduate School called several departments for explanations of these discouraging figures and explanations included the fact that, since the overall U.S. economy is very good, many applicants to graduate school at NC State ultimately made the decision to go to work instead. Also, the worsening economic situation in Asia has caused many international students to be unable to afford the cost of coming to the U.S. to graduate school. Visas to the U.S. in some countries have apparently been restricted, as well.
Lists of accepted students who have not yet registered have been sent to the departments and Dr. Sowell asked Board members to encourage Directors of Graduate Programs in their colleges to contact these students and ask them to register by the census date of August 31.
Brief discussion followed these announcements and, it was pointed out that sometimes students who are nearing graduation wait until they are sure they can meet the minimum requirements for graduation before actually registering, thus missing the census deadline. Several options were discussed with regard to the $100 late registration fee and/or possibly making students wait until the next semester to register if they miss the deadline for generating an FTE in the current semester.
6. Operational Item:
Request for cancellation of the cross-listing of the physics course, PY 511, Nuclear Physics for Engineers. This request does not affect the listing of the course as NE 511. PY 511 has not been taught for at least five years, and the 511 designation in physics is now needed for another course. Approved.
7. Course Actions:
PY 501, Quantum Physics I, 3(3-0) - New course. Approved, contingent upon adding a statement that PY 501 is the first semester of a two-semester sequence with PY 502, and a statement about the grading of the course.
PY 502, Quantum Physics II, 3(3-0) - New course. Approved, contingent upon adding a statement that PY 502 is the second semester of a two-semester sequence with PY 501, and a statement about the grading of the course.
PY 511, Mechanics I, 3(3-0) - New course. Approved, contingent upon the addition of a statement about the grading of the course.
PY 512, Mechanics II, 3(3-0) - New course. Approved, contingent upon the addition of a statement about the grading of the course.
PY 514, Electromagnetism I, 3(3-0) - New course. Approved, contingent upon the addition of a statement about the grading of the course.
PY 515, Electromagnetism II, 3(3-0) - New course. Approved, contingent upon the addition of a statement about the grading of the course.
8. Next Scheduled Meeting:
September 10, 1998
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Alumni Conference Room