Untitled Document
Minutes
ADCOM meeting, January 10, 2007
The meeting was convened at 4:05 PM
ADCOM members attending:
Jim Collawn
Erica Pryor
Richard Gray
Kyle Grimes
Kent Keyser
Mary MacDougall
Bryan Noe
Stephen O’Connor
Alan Randich
Susan Rich
Steve Watts
ADCOM members unable to attend:
Jack Barnette
Jeff Engler
Melody Lake
David Macrina
Guests: Members of the Resource Allocation Review Committee from 2005
Yogesh Vohra, Committee Chair
David Graves
Gregg Janowski
David Bedwell
Tim Kraft
ADCOM members who also served on the Allocation Committee:
Kyle Grimes
David Macrina
Jim Collawn
Agenda Item 1: Graduate School Stipend Allocation Procedure
Dr. Noe indicated that we are now in the second year of the current 3 year funding cycle; a goal of the Grad School is to evaluate and revise the allocation procedure to make it more formulaic, less cumbersome and more equitable prior to determining the allocations for the next funding cycle. Ideally, a modified process should be in place by fall semester 2007.
Dr. Vohra, the other guests, and ADCOM members who served on the Allocation Committee discussed pros and cons of the procedure that was employed in 2004-2005. A number of deficiencies in the current process were identified. Among these were some applications were not as complete as others; too few lines to fund – in order to augment the allocation to one program, that to another had to be reduced; reviewers had difficulty in assessing program quality due to a lack of quantifiable data; more evaluative data should be provided by the Grad School; Masters and PhD programs were reviewed together – perhaps different criteria should be employed; the same evaluative criteria were applied to science and non-science programs; quality and depth of applicant pools was not considered; a summary letter that concisely outlines
specific history, strengths and program milestones form all programs would have been very useful; need more individual fellowships and training grant stipends; key data could be provided in tables, e.g. – recruitment strategies, publication/presentation record of enrolled students, grant applications to secure outside funding for student support, placement of graduates, etc.; difficulty in evaluating feeder/portal programs compared to degree granting programs.
ADCOM will continue on a regular basis to discuss ways in which the process can be improved with a goal of developing revised procedures prior to the next funding cycle. Dr. Noe thanked the guests for taking time from their busy schedules to discuss the process with ADCOM members.
Agenda Item 2: Discussion of admissions and course credit issues in the information Engineering Management (IEM) program.
Dr. Dale Callahan met with the committee to present the case for altering admissions requirements for applicants to the IEM program. Most applicants to the program have a number of years of significant work experience which serve as a more relevant indicator of success in the program than performance on the GRE. Dr. Callahan also brought to the attention of the committee a problem that had arisen as a misunderstanding on his part regarding the number of credits taken in non-degree status that could be allowed to count toward earning a Masters degree if a student subsequently enrolled in a degree granting program. After discussing the issues with Dr. Callahan the committee recommended that the IEM should program submit a petition requesting discontinuance of the GRE as a requirement for admission into the IEM program and a proposal for resolution of a course credit problem for several students.
Agenda Item 3: Facilitating Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Dr. Susan Rich presented a draft document that outlines prescribed procedures for accommodating undergraduates who wish to obtain research experience. She requested that the committee members review and provide feedback on the draft.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM