THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

 

                                                                   FACULTY SENATE

 

 Senate Document Number     3908S

 

 Date of Senate Approval      04/10/08

 

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

 

FWDC Document 4:                  Changes to Graduate Council

                                                (Revision to SD0292F; Faculty Handbook 10.3.9)

 

 

Effective Date:  Fall 2008

 

1.  Under Faculty Handbook section 10.3.9 Graduate Council:  delete Membership section.

 

Replace with proposed change:

 

Membership

The Graduate Council will be composed of seven members:

  • Director of the MLA Program, ex officio, voting
  • Associate Director of MLA, ex officio, voting
  • Director of the Humanities Program, ex officio, voting
  • Director of the Asheville Graduate Center, ex officio, non-voting
  • Three faculty members with MLA teaching experience, one from each of the program areas: Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

 

Faculty terms will be for three years, with one faculty member rotating off each year. The faculty members will be elected by the Senate, and one will serve as Chair of the Graduate Council.

 

2.  Under Purpose:

 

Delete: 

 

            2. Approving MLA projects and theses. 

 

Add:

11.  The MLA Director will submit an annual report to the Graduate Council that will cover enrollment trends, capstone projects completed, new classes offered, new faculty participation, and use of the Program’s state and non-state budgets. 

 

 

Rationale:

The current size of the Graduate Council, together with the selection/election process, has led to some difficulties over the years. The selection/election process, split between the VCAA office and the Senate, has not always been smooth and timely. Some faculty who are elected to the Graduate Council have no prior experience teaching in the MLA Program and require time to fully engage the issues. The MLA Program wishes to establish a closer partnership with the Humanities Program, thus it is important to keep the Humanities Director on the council. The MLA Associate Director is a new position. He/she will teach one course each year in the Program and advise students. Finally, the responsibilities of the Graduate Council will no longer include approval of capstone project proposals and final products. This key responsibility will shift to the MLA Director, the instructor of MLA 680, and the project advisor. Faculty Senate has already approved this latter change.