Minutes of the Graduate Committee

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
5240 N. Jackson Avenue, M/S UC 43
Fresno, California 93740-8023
Office of the Academic Senate Ext. 8-2743

May 12, 2009

Members Present: T. Skeen (Chair), S. Brown-Welty, K. Carey, P. English, N.P. Mahalik, Z. Wang, R. Yazdipour.

Members Absent: G. Kriehn (excused), S. Skelton (excused).

Visitors: S. Gu.

The meeting was called to order by Chair Skeen at 2:05 p.m. in the University Center Room #203.

  1. Minutes. MSC to approve the Minutes of May 5, 2009.
  2. Agenda. MSC to approve the Agenda as distributed.
  3. Communications and Announcements.
    1. Dean K. Carey reported that the Graduate Research Symposium 2009 held on May 7th was a great success. Planning for next year will take place in an appropriate time.
    2. The Graduate Committee year-end luncheon date is changed to May 20th (at 11:30 am at BJ’s).
    3. S. Brown-Welty informed that 25 students have been selected for the Doctoral program for the next AY 2009-10.
  4. Civil Engineering Program Review - (Discussion and recommendation).
    The committee continued discussion on the Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) program.
    MSC to approve the Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) as a program for conditional continuation with the following recommendations:
    1. All Labs will be open by September 2009;
    2. Student Outcome Assessment Plan (SOAP) must be completed by December 2009;
    3. Faculty will agree to achieve the same mission and vision; and
    4. Improve retention and recruitment of students.
  5. Viticulture and Enology Program Review (2:20 p.m. time certain).
    Visiting faculty Dr. Sanliang Gu from Viticulture and Enology department arrived at 2:20 p.m. The members asked questions on the following points. Dr. Gu clarified the questions elaborately.
    1. The reason of decrease in the enrollment:
      • Part of the problem is due to faculty retirement. Two professors are not taking graduate students any more.
    2. The status of hiring new faculty members:
      • The search for the Director cum Chair position is ongoing. The department is expecting final approval from the university for the new faculty positions.
    3. Plan for the submission of conversion documents (Pilot MS program to a regular MS program):
      • The conversion documentation is ready. It will move forward in a week.
    4. The justification of flag-ship program:
      • The department is receiving strong support from the industry, although there is no federal support.
    5. 29.4 Million donation vs. Viticulture & Enology research plan:
      • The donation is for the college (to all the departments).
    6. Whether the undergrad and grad students take the same classes:
      • No
    7. Courses offered by the other departments: Any problem?
      • It works well. The other departments are very supportive in this respect. No problems.
    8. Publications in referred journals:
      • The faculty members and the student researchers are doing well.
        The committee continued discussion on the Master of Science in Viticulture & Enology. The following points were noted:
      •  Well written outcome assessment plan.
      • Remarkable achievements with limited resources.
        MSC to approve the Master of Science in Viticulture & Enology as a program of quality and promise with the following recommendations:

        a. Immediately submit the documentation to convert the program from a pilot program to a regular program;
        b. Improve student recruitment and retention; and
        c. Press for more faculty positions.

MSC to adjourn at 3:05 p.m.

The next scheduled meeting of the Graduate Committee will be Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in Thomas Administration #117.

Agenda.

  1. Approval of the Minutes of 05/12/2009.
  2. Approval of the Agenda.
  3. Communications and Announcements.
  4. Graduate Curriculum Subcommittee Appointment.
  5. Discussion of the Graduate Requirement Exam (GRE) waiver.
    Review of the interim policy. The following programs opted out:
    Counseling
    Creative Writing
    Education
    English
    Linguistics
    Nursing
    Rehabilitation counseling
    Social Work
    Spanish
    Special Ed.
  6. Spanish-Linguistic Option – Discussion.

Download the PDF

This PDF is provided as a print-only reference document and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. For more information, please visit Title II Rule on Digital Accessibility page.