Graduate Program Committee Minutes

Date:November 1, 2004

Members Present:P. Cohen, P. Kuchment, J. Pasciak, J. Pitts, T. Schlumprecht (chair), F. Sottile, J. Ward

Members Absent: none

The meeting began at 8:30am. Topics for discussion: Expected funding for 2005-06, recruiting for 2005-06 and possible changes in graduate course offerings

Expected funding for 2005-06: The Chair put forward estimated funds available for the Graduate Program for the 2005-06 year. Overall budget cuts mandated by the State Legislature, the ending of a major grant and rising TA demands led the Chair to deduce that we would be dealing with a shortfall of 10% in the GAT/GANT budget for the coming year.

Recruiting for 2005-06: Based on the above scenario, the Chair concluded that we may be forced to bring in fewer students unless the program obtained additional funding. The Committee discussed how best to define the admittance criteria given that we typically receive 300+ applications. No consensus was reached at this time but the Committee agreed to think about the matter in private and reconvene for further discussion at a later date.

Possible changes in graduate course offerings: Fewer entering students will have an affect on the number of graduate courses that are offered during the year. A larger number of courses may not make due to not enough students enrolling. The Committee discussed the possibility of staggering more of the qualifying exam course sequences on an every other year rotation. However, it was agreed that this was something best put forward to the faculty as a whole and the Chair plans on presenting the topic at the fall 2004 Faculty Retreat.

The meeting ended at 9:40am

Respectfully submitted, Monique Stewart

Date:October 23, 2002

Members Present: K. Dykema, D. Larson, T. Schlumprecht (chair), P. Stiller, J. Walton, J. Zhou

Members Absent: J. Ward

The meeting began at 10:00am. Topics for discussion: M.S. in Financial/Industrial Mathematics, Qualifying Exam Requirments

M.S. in Financial/Industrial Mathematics: The Chair proposed making some changes in the courses required for this option since several of them are not offered every year. This makes it difficult for students to complete their Master's degree in two years. The Committee concurred and so changes were made to allow more flexibility in satisfying the course requirements for this option

Qualifying Exam Requirements: Based on suggestions from the external VIGRE Review Team, the Committee discussed changing the current Qualifying Exam requirements. Several ideas were explored and will be presented to the faculty at a later meeting.

The meeting ended at 11:40am

Respectfully submitted, Monique Stewart

Date:September 6, 2001

Members Present: D. Larson, P. Lima-Filho, R. Smith, T. Schlumprecht (chair), J. Walton, J. Zhou

Members Absent: J. Ward

The meeting began at 11:00am. Topics for discussion: the current passing rate of Qualifying Examinations, recruiting for Fall 202

The Current Passing Rate of Qualifying Examinations: The Committee discussed the current passing rate for Qualifying Examinations. Low passing rates have them very concerned and so a new policy was developed which would require students pursuing a Ph.D. to be more active in enrolling in Qualifier courses and taking Qualifying Examinations. The possibility of changing the Qualifying Examination sequence to May-August was discussed but the majority of the graduate student body responding to a Graduate Student Organization poll stated that they wished the sequence to remain as January-May. A full description of the new Qualifying Examination policies will be posted on the Graduate web pages.

Recruiting for Fall 2002: The Committee discussed ways in which to improve recruiting efforts for the coming year. It was suggested that Faculty members use their contacts at other universities as a means to disseminate information about our program to students. It is also hoped that the new design of the Graduate web pages will attract more inquiries.

The meeting ended at 12:00pm

Respectfully submitted, Monique Stewart

Date:January 30, 2001

Members Present: P. Lima-Filho, R. Smith, T. Schlumprecht (chair), J. Walton, J. Ward, J. Zhou

Members Absent: D. Larson

The meeting began at 4:00pm. Topics for discussion: proposal for M.S. in Mathematics through Distance Education, ways to improve departmental graduate program, Fall 2001 applications

M.S. in Mathematics through Distance Education: The Committee reviewed a proposal put together by several faculty members for an official M.S. in Mathematics through Distance Education. A number of departmental courses are already being offered through Distance Education but a formal Master's degree by this means has not been established. Several questions arose and it was decided that further discussion was needed with the faculty who put together the proposal. A meeting with all concerned would be set up at a later date.

Improvements for the Graduate Program: The Committee discussed various ways in which to improve the program. Among the ideas discussed were: hiring undergraduates to serve as graders in the 151/152/253 courses; allowing more travel allowances for students who want to attend conferences; increasing recruiting stipends so as to be more competitive with other universities. The implementation of these ideas will depend on the ability of the department to procure additional funds from the College of Science. The Committee Chair planned on investigating this possibility with the Department Head.

Fall 2001 Applications: The Committee began reviewing graduate applications for the Fall 2001 semester. This will be an ongoing task throughout the Spring semester

The meeting ended at 5:30pm

Respectfully submitted, Monique Stewart

Date: November 30, 2000

Members Present: D. Larson, T. Schlumprecht, J. Walton (chair), J. Ward, J. Zhou; GSO Officers S. Lowitzsch, S. Shauger

Members Absent: P. Lima-Filho, R. Smith

The meeting began at 10:00am. Topics for discussion: the opening of thesis defenses to all faculty, requiring Ph.D. students to give talks prior to their defenses, generic webpages for graduate students, VIGRE fellowship recipients for the spring.

Opening of thesis defenses: The GSO polled the graduate students for their views about adopting this policy. Most seemed favorable to the idea. Agreement was reached among the GSO officers and the Committee that the presentation portion of defenses should be open to all faculty and graduate students to attend (defenses would be posted on the departmental calendar). The question portion of the defense would include just the Ph.D. student and his committee members.

Requiring Ph.D. students to give a talk prior to the defense: The GSO polled the graduate students for their views about adopting this policy. A point was made by the Committee that this was something that should, and for the most part already is, happening. After further discussion it was decided that it was not necessary to make this a requirement. Thesis advisors would simply be strongly encouraged to see that their students give a talk sometime before the are ready to defend.

Generic Webpages for graduate students: The GSO polled the graduate students for their views about this and most were in favor of having generic webpages similar to those created for faculty. The Graduate Office will look into having this done.

VIGRE Fellowships: The Committee awarded VIGRE Fellowships for the Spring 2001 semester. A question was posed about the possibility of allowing fellowship students to have part-time assistantships as a means to ease them into performing TA duties. The University does allow for this and so it was noted that this option is available should the Committee wish to pursue it.

A general discussion on Calculus Lab duties ensued after the previous topics had been discussed. The question was raised as to how much time do graduates really spend on these duties. Some Committee members were concerned that graduates were putting in too much time and their duties were suffering. The decision was made to ask those students doing Calculus Labs to keep a log of how much time they spend on their duties. Once the Committee has that information, the matter will be brought forward again.

The meeting ended at 11:30am.

Respectfully submitted, Monique Stewart