THE
UPDATE

Summer 1999
Vol. XIX * * * NOTES FROM THE DEANS * * *

Last year I urged the Graduate Council to become actively involved in discussing several key issues facing our campus. In this issue I want to report on our progress in these three areas:

The Role of Graduate Education in a Metropolitan University .

During the past academic year the Graduate Council and the newly-formed Research and Creative Activity Task Force held thoughtful discussions about the need to underscore the importance of graduate education and research in the strategic and academic plans. Both of these bodies sent written feedback to the Chancellor and to the Vice Chancellor, and significant changes were made to both plans reflecting the sense of the graduate faculty that various forms of peer review were important measures of quality in both basic and applied research. Both plans refer to the importance of developing new graduate degree and certificate programs. The Outreach Task Force report also stresses the importance of graduate certificate programs.

Support for New Graduate Programs .

During the past academic year progress was made on developing new graduate certificate proposals. A proposed certificate in Geographic Information Science is now in a subcommittee of Committee B; proposed certificates in Technical Writing, Human Resources and Training, and Instructional Technology are in various stages of development. During the past year the Department of Public Administration and HPER completed a joint proposal with UNMC for a Master of Public Health which will be referred to a joint committee of the two campus Councils this fall. Finally, work continues on a doctoral program in computing and informatics, although discussions now include the UNL College of Engineering and Technology as part of a proposed joint PH.D.

Criteria for Graduate Member.

During the past academic year the procedure for nominating members of the graduate faculty changed as a result of a vote of the UNOmaha graduate faculty. The graduate faculty of each college are in the process of submitting college-specific criteria to the Dean for Graduate Studies, who will review nominations from departments and colleges using these criteria as a guideline and justification in forwarding nominations to the Dean of the Graduate College. Committee C will continue to make recommendations regarding Graduate Fellow. Committee C approved a xfast trackx process for Fellow nominations (see policy in this issue of the Update).

While The Update has traditionally reported on the activities of the Graduate Council, it also provides me with the opportunity to report on our progress in advancing research on our campus. In March of 1999, Chancellor Belck appointed a Research and Creative Activity Task Force whose charges are to advise her on 1) how UNOmaha can best present itself and the research and creative activity of its faculty to the Omaha community; and 2) how UNOmaha might beter support faculty research and creative activity, including efforts to secure outside funding. Dr. Jack Shroder and I chair the Task Force which also includes one representative from each college (Drs. Chase, Grandgenett, Pol, Phaneuf, Spohn and Stoyen.) The Task Force provided feedback on the strategic and academic plans last spring, and will address the two major charges when it reconvenes this fall.

Several major interdisciplinary research programs are underway, each one coordinated by an interdisciplinary, intercollegiate planning committee which I chair as Assoc VC for Research. The GLIMS project (Global Land Ice Monitoring from Space) involves Drs. Bishop and Shroder from Geography/Geology and the Complex Systems Simulation Lab; Drs. Stoyen and Craiger from CMIT/IS&T; Dr. Bowen from the Aviation Institute (as NASA EPSCoR coordinator for Nebraska); Drs. Grandgenett and Topp from Teacher Education; and Drs. Chen and Sharif-Kashani from Engineering & Technology. GLIMS is a NASA and US Geological Survey project to analyze GIS images of glaciers taken from space and to develop predictive models of global warming. Faculty from the Colleges of IS&T and Engg are using GLIMS as a xgrand challengex research application in distributed computing and advanced network infrastructure (Internet2) which will assist in the development of the IT industry in our metropolitan area, as well as benefit our campus.

A second major interdisciplinary, intercollegiate initiative is an urban environmental field facility to be located on a proposed expansion of the Allwine Preserve. Dr. Bragg heads this effort and is joined by colleagues with interests in environmental chemistry, geography, geology, biology, philosophy and ethics, civil engineering, and economics and public policy. A third initiative is a new civic education project which includes colleagues from public administration, dramatic arts, political science, communications and teacher education. These interdisciplinary committees meet to coordinate major grant-writing campaigns supported by the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research. Graduate certificate proposals may also emerge from these working groups.

Finally, collaborative efforts between our campus and UNMC extend beyond the proposed Master of Public Health to include working groups in the areas of bioinformatics/computational biology and tele-health. All of these collaborative projects hold great promise for major new research applications and for significant extramural funding, and they contribute to our strategic mission to become xNebraskaxs metropolitan university, a university with academic and scholarly values common to all universities, as well as interactive relations with the urban and regional environments.x (UNOmaha Strategic Plan).

Christine M. Reed
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Dean for Graduate Studies

1. Revisions to the UNO section of the Governance Document to reflect change in title from the Dean for Graduate Studies & Research to “Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Dean for Graduate Studies.”
   
   
2. Students who have been dismissed for quality of work standards and then apply as non-degree students
   
   Students will be placed on stop enrollment for the department/school from which they were dismissed unless they request and receive permission in accordance with departmental/school graduate program policy to enroll as a non-degree student in that program.
   
   

   NOTE : This statement will be placed in the non-degree, quality of work standards, & the graduate grade appeals section of the 1999-2000 graduate catalog.
   
   

   September 14, 1998

3. Appeal of Grades in Graduate-Level Courses
   
   Appeal of grades in graduate-level courses shall be made through the graduate student grade appeal procedures for the campus through which the grade was awarded. Students who believe their evaluation in a course has been prejudiced or capricious must first attempt to resolve the matter with the course instructor and then the department through which the course was offered.
   
   In cases where a grade lower than a “C” will result in dismissal from the graduate student's program, the Dean for Graduate Studies will notify the Graduate Program Committee Chair and student that the student will be automatically dismissed from his/her graduate program. The student will have a two week grace period from the date of the dismissal notification to the date of the request to the Registrar for disenrollment in all graduate course work. This two-week period allows the student an opportunity to present his/her case informally to the course instructor and, if necessary, to the chair of the graduate program committee before being terminated from the program and disenrolled from courses. A student who has been dismissed from a graduate program and disenrolled from course work may still file a formal appeal to the campus Dean for Graduate Studies, but is no longer a student in good standing and is prohibited from taking graduate courses until the formal appeal has been resolved.
   
   If the matter is not resolved, the student may file an appeal in writing to the campus Dean for Graduate Studies who shall inform the student of the grade appeal procedures approved by the Graduate Faculty or by their duly elected representative Graduate Council for that campus, and shall forward the appeal to the student-faculty committee or council which is designated to hear graduate-level course grade appeals on that campus. Since awarding grades in courses occurs at the individual campus level, the decision of the campus committee or council designated to hear the case on behalf of the campus Graduate Faculty shall be final and is not subject to further appeal.
   
   

   October 12, 1998
   

4. Approval of Revisions to the Computer Science program

   January 11, 1999

5. Graduate Faculty Member Nominations
   
   Resolution
   
   Whereas the primary responsibility for hiring qualified faculty to carry out the mission of a department or school rests with the department or school, and ...
   
   Whereas the department or school that hires the faculty member is in the best position to determine the overall competence of this individual for teaching and research at the graduate level, and ...
   
   Whereas, UNL and UNMC college deans forward their graduate faculty member nominations directly to their campus dean for graduate studies ...
   
   Be it resolved that graduate faculty member appointments at UNO be made by the Dean of the Graduate College upon recommendation by the UNO Dean for Graduate Studies, the dean of the college and the faculty of the department or school seeking such appointment.
   
   

   NOTE : This resolution was approved by the Graduate Faculty via a mail ballot.
   

   January 26, 1999
   

6. Committee C Confidentiality
   
   Committee members were informed that according to university policy, personnel related matters dealt with in committee should not be discussed outside of the committee, even if a name is not mentioned, but the person is recognizable by the description. Committee members should contact the chair of the committee if they feel a violation has occurred.
   
   

   March 1, 1999

7. Graduate Council Resolution on the Academic Plan
   
   Whereas the encouragement of research is crucial to UNO's goal of improving its academic quality and increasing its national visibility, and
   
   Whereas, it is appropriate that a metropolitan university values professional activity in the form of “applied research, contract research, technology assessment and program evaluation and other forms of non-traditional research and creative activity”, and
   
   Whereas, a preference for such professional activity does not exclude the continuing encouragement and rewarding of traditional scholarly activity, and
   
   Whereas, the most reliable measure of quality of applied research is publication of the research in peer-reviewed refereed applied journals,
   
   Therefore, be it resolved that:
   
   The Graduate Council recommends that the Academic Plan retain refereed research or juried creative productions as important criteria for all decisions concerning reappointments, tenure and promotion, and
   
   The Graduate Council recommends that the Academic Plan insert the following sentence (Goal 6, second paragraph, after definition of professional activity): “ However, UNO remains committed to encouraging and rewarding refereed research or juried creative productions.”
   
   The Graduate Council recommends that the Academic Plan revise the second paragraph under Goal 6, Delivery Methods, to read as follows:
   
   “All forms of applied research will be valued, including professional reports, grant writing, conference presentations, and pragmatic applications of research that contribute to an improved quality of life in our metropolitan community. Although we will encourage and reward non-refereed applied research by considering professional activity in those programs that have a particular mission to educate and serve the metropolitan community, publication in refereed journals and other forms of refereed research or juried creative productions will continue to serve as the most important criteria for considerations of reappointment, promotion and tenure. We will recognize applied refereed research as different from, but not inferior to, basic refereed research.
   
   

   NOTE: This resolution was forwarded to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee.
   

   March 29, 1999
   

8. Revisions to the Procedures for Meetings of the Graduate Faculty
   
   
   1. The Graduate Faculty of UNO shall meet once each semester in regular Session; the last week of November and the last week of April. The agenda will be drawn up by the Dean for Graduate Studies at UNO and Committee A of the Graduate Council with input from Committees B and C. The agenda will be distributed to all graduate faculty at least one week prior to the meeting .
      
      
   2. Robert's Rule of Order will serve as the parliamentary authority for meetings of the Graduate Faculty of UNO.
      
      
   3. The quorum for meetings of the Graduate Faculty at UNO will be 10% of the voting membership of the Graduate Faculty of UNO.
      
      
   4. Any Member/Fellow of the Graduate Faculty may petition to place items on the agenda for meetings of the Graduate Faculty if they are presented in writing to the Dean for Graduate Studies two weeks prior to the meeting. All items to be voted on must appear on the agenda . Items to be voted on must be submitted as written motions with proper supporting material.
      
      
   5. Any ten Members/Fellows of the Graduate Faculty of UNO may petition for a special meeting of the Graduate Faculty of UNO. The petition must state a rationale for such a meeting. The agenda for special meetings will consist only of the item or items addressed by the petition.
      
      
   6. There will be an alphabetical master list of Graduate Faculty Members and Fellows available at the Meetings of the Graduate Faculty of UNO for sign-in purposes.
      
      
   7. The Procedures for Meetings of the Graduate Faculty of UNO will be sent to the Graduate Faculty for information at the same time as the request for agenda items is sent.
      
      
9. Revisions to the Executive Graduate Council members and alternate election procedures
   
   
   • Each year, the Graduate Faculty shall elect by mail ballot one faculty member who will serve on the Graduate Council as the campus representative (or alternate) to the Executive Graduate Council. The Graduate Council Advisory Committee will prepare a slate of six (6) graduate faculty members/fellows, one from each college not currently representing UNO as an Executive Graduate Council member (or alternate) , after determining if these candidates are willing to stand for election.
     
     The person receiving the greatest number of votes shall serve as the representative (or alternate) on the Executive Graduate Council for a three year term, commencing on August 15 in the year of the appointment.
     
     
   • The alternate's role is to take the place of an EGC representative, if the representative cannot attend a meeting. It is not the role of the alternate to replace a representative.
     
     
   • When UNO vacancies on the Executive Graduate Council occur other than as a result of expiration of the term, they may be filled as follows :
     
     
   • If the remainder of the term is one year or a portion of one year, the Graduate Council Advisory Committee will nominate, for approval by the Graduate Council, a Graduate Faculty Member to fill the remainder of the term. If the remainder of the term is more than one year, the Dean for Graduate Studies will hold an election to be held as provided for an expired term .
   
   
10. Graduate Faculty Fellow Fast-Track Option
    
    Effective Fall 1999, a fast-track option for Graduate Faculty Fellow nominations will be available. This option is designed for distinguished, newly-hired faculty and the nomination must be submitted within six months of hire. The fast-track option procedure is initiated on recommendation of the nominee's graduate program committee chair and must then be supported by the individual's:
    
    

    1. Department chair/school director, and
    2. Cognizant dean.
    

    
    Documentation in support of the nomination must include:
    
    

    1. Graduate Fellow nomination form,
    2. Department/school nomination letter,
    3. Department chair/school director & dean endorsement form, and
    4. An updated vita, including full citations* to all of the nominee's refereed publications.
    
    *Additional documentation may subsequently be requested.
    

    
    Documentation is forwarded to the Graduate Studies Office for consideration by Committee C and recommendation to the Dean for Graduate Studies.
    
    
11. Draft statement to guide departments/schools, etc. in submitting graduate faculty fellow nominations
    
    PREAMBLE:
    
    The intent of the following guidelines for Graduate Faculty Fellow nominations are (1) to provide guidance to Departments/Schools on the general criteria by which Committee C of the UNO Graduate Council evaluates nominations for Graduate Faculty Fellow and (2) to promote year-to-year continuity in Committee C's evaluation of nominations for Graduate Faculty Fellow. The term research is intended to include all peer-reviewed publications, grants and creative activities; other considerations may include invited or contributed papers.
    
    GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING GRADUATE FACULTY FELLOW NOMINEES:
    
    The general question that guides Committee C's consideration of the suitability of an applicant for Graduate Faculty Fellow status is:
    
    

    Does the record of performance of the nominee reflect both (a) sufficient research and (b) the potential for future research such as would enable that faculty to successfully guide a Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree student in completion of his/her degree?
    

    
    Various factors are considered in answering this question. For example, while there is no minimum number of publications, grants or creative activities defined by the committee, the Graduate Studies Office keeps a matrix of these activities that helps establish the level of research experience needed to guide a Ph.D. student.
    In addition to publication numbers, Committee C relies in part on the nominating committee's assessment of the quality of the research activities. Specific expectations will vary depending on the nominee's discipline.
    
    

    April 12, 1999

    
    
12. Proposed Thesis Option in Public Administration
    
    Committee B approved the proposed thesis option in public administration.
    

    NOTE : This will be placed on the first Graduate Council agenda in the fall.
    

    April 26, 1999

1. Dual Level Courses
   
   A student may have no more than two 3--0/8--5 courses on his/her approved plan of study (candidacy form).
   
   

   *NOTE : This policy was approved by the Graduate Council on February 10, 1997. To give departments/schools time to adjust their programs, a 2-year delay was implemented. This policy becomes effective with the beginning of the Fall 1999 semester.

2. Elton S. Carter Revisions
   
   
   1. The theses and accompanying material must be initially submitted to each department/school. Letters sent to the students by the Graduate Studies Office request materials be submitted to each department/school no later than September 6, 1999* .
      
      

      *(Please note this date is considerably later then in the past due to revisions to the guidelines. Those eligible for the 1999 award include: Summer 98, Fall 98, Spring 99, and Summer 99 .
      
      Next year, we will begin a new eligibility cycle; eligibility will include Fall 99, Spring 2000, and Summer 2000. This change will place us on the same eligibility cycle for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Distinguished Master's Thesis Award.
      

      
      
   2. Each department/school will then select one thesis from the submitted theses which they feel truly merits the Award and submit it to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Dean for Graduate Studies.
      
      
   3. In order for their nominee to be eligible for the award, each department/school must forward the following to the Graduate Studies Office:
      
      
      1. The nominee's completed "Information Form"
         
         
      2. Six copies of the nominee's thesis abstract (not to exceed 300 words)**
         

         **The limitation of 300 words on the thesis abstract is a requirement for the MAGS Distinguished Master's Thesis Award. This change will ensure we can submit a thesis to this competition by their deadline.
         

         
         
      3. Two copies of the nominee's thesis (one copy must be bound)
         
         
      4. A memo from the Graduate Program Committee Chairperson supporting the nomination
         
         
      5. A one-page resume***
         

         ***Additional MAGS requirement.
         
         

      6. The names of two referees . These people must have already agreed to serve as referees and not have served on the thesis committee of the submitted thesis. The referees should have knowledge in the area that the thesis was completed.****
         
         ****Please note reviews external to the university are often viewed by the Selection Committee more favorably.
         
      
      
   4. The deadline for departments/schools to submit their nominee's materials to the Graduate Studies Office is September 20, 1999 .

1. A proposal for a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) from Geography/Geology has been received in the Graduate Studies Office; a subcommittee of Committee B will review the proposal during the summer.
   
   
2. A proposal for a graduate certificate in Technical Writing from the English department is under development.
   
   
3. A proposal for a graduate certificate in Organizational Communication from the Communication department is under development.
   
   
4. A proposal for a Ph.D. in Computing and Informatics from the College of IS& T and the department of Computer Science is under development.
   
   
5. A proposal for a Master in Public Health in conjunction with UNMC, Public Administration, and the School of Health, Physical Education & Recreation is under development.
   
   
6. The graduate admissions operations will be moving up to the Graduate Studies Office beginning September 1, 1999.
   
   
7. The Graduate Studies Office is working on implementing On-Course (also known as Degree Audit); an SIS operation which allows students and faculty to see how far along they are in a degree program. Once this operation is fully implemented, candidacies would no longer be needed.
   
   
8. The Executive Graduate Council (EGC) approved the deletion of the Speech Communication MAED degree at UNK on September 24, 1998.
   
   
9. The EGC approved a new proposal for an MS degree in Engineering from UNL on September 24, 1998.
   
   
10. The Board of Regents approved a new faculty appointment title of “Senior Lecturer” on July 25, 1998. On September 28, 1998, the EGC approved a change in the governance document that would allow “Senior Lecturers” to apply for Graduate Faculty Member status. This change in the governance document was further approved by a vote of the entire graduate faculty (from all 4 campuses) on March 24, 1999.
    

Theresa Barron-McKeagney, Social Work
Michael Carroll, Goodrich/English
Karen Kangas Dwyer, Communication
Denise Herz, Criminal Justice
Joan Latchaw, English
Carol Mitchell, Teacher Education
Tatyana Novikov, Foreign Languages
Dan Peak, Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis/CMIT
John Price, English
Brigette Ryalls, Psychology
Jeannette Seaberry, Counseling
Andrew Smallwood, Black Studies
Nicholas Stergiou, Health, Physical Education & Recreation
Karen White, Music
Sharon Wood, History

FELLOWS

John Aberth, History
Richard Box, Public Administration
George Engelmann, Geography/Geology
Joel Gordon, History
Derek Hodgson, Chemistry
Charles Johanningsmeier, English
Alan Kolok, Biology
Shuanglin Lin, Economics
Richard Lomneth, Chemistry
John Maloney, Mathematics
Robert Meier, Criminal Justice
Peter Ng, Computer Science
Patrice Proulx, Foreign Languages
Shireen Rajaram, Sociology
Laura Schulte, Educational Administration & Supervision
Douglas Stack, Chemistry

NEW GRADUATE COURSE SYLLABI

COMMITTEE A - Committee on Policy and Planning

Akers, James - SPED
Crisara, Cina - MUS
Deffenbacher, Ken - PSYC
Diamond, Art - ECON
Lorsbach, Tom - SPED
Mande, Vivek - ACCT
Reed, B.J. - PA
Smith-Howell, Deborah - COMM
Specht, Pamela - ISQA
Graduate Student - TBA

COMMITTEE B - Committee on Courses, Programs, and Evaluations

Chase, Bruce - BIOL
Harland, Lynn - MGMT
Lloyd, Carol - TED
Maguire, Ed - CJUS
Mitchell, Carol - TED
Roncek, Dennis - CJUS
Stolen, Justin - ISQA
Thurber Talmadge, Frances - ART
Valle, Angela - FLANG
Zand, Mansour - CSCI
Graduate Student - TBA

COMMITTEE C - Committee on Faculty and Student Affairs

Bragg, Tom - BIOL
Bruckner, Martha - EDAD
Day, Gary - ART
Hagen, Beverly - SOWK
O'Hara, Michael - FBL
Peckham, Irv - ENGL
Shi, Yong - ISQA
Squires, Sandra - SPED
Frank Zahn - FBL
Graduate Student - TBA

CHAIR OF THE GRADUATE COUNCIL

Reed, Christine - Dean for Graduate Studies