ACADEMIC PROGRAM APPROVAL

CHECKLIST

This form is a routing document for the approval of new and revised academic programs. Page 2 will serve as an attachment to the Faculty Senate agenda. Proposing department should complete form, attach as a cover page and forward to the college dean. Documentation should include copy of curriculum as it is to appear in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog. Proposals must arrive to the Undergraduate/Graduate Committee by November in order to reach the Faculty Senate by March 1. Proposals received after this date cannot be implemented the following year nor included in the catalog for that year.

1. Proposed change leads to the degree of

( ) Bachelor of Arts ( ) Master of Arts ( ) Doctor of Philosophy

( ) Bachelor of Science ( ) Master of Science ( ) Other ______________________________________

2. ( ) New major/curriculum Title to be entered in record of students who select this program

( ) New minor Title to be entered in record of students who select this program

( ) Change from provisional to permanent status.

3. ( ) Revision of existing: ( ) major ( ) minor ( ) concentration

Present title

Records System Program Code

( ) Add/delete required courses/credit hours

( ) Add concentration Title

( ) Delete concentration Title

4. ( ) Deletion of existing/disestablish: ( ) major ( ) minor ( ) other _______________________________

Title Code______________________

5. ( X) Policy Change: Graduate Program Policy / Department of Biological Sciences

Title/Department

ROUTING AND APPROVALS: (Please do not remove supporting documentation.)

Department Chairperson Date

Dean of College Date

Chairperson, College Curriculum Committee___________________________________Date_____________________

Chairperson, Senate Com. on UG or GR Studies Date

Chairperson, Senate Coordinating Com. Date

Secretary, Faculty Senate Date

Date of Senate Resolution Date to be Effective

Registrar Program Code Date

Vice Provost for Academic Programs & Planning Date

Provost Date

Board of Trustee Notification Date

a. Rationale for creation, revision, or deletion:

Many of the revisions to the Graduate Program Policy were done to improve the organization and clarity of the document, and they are not justified in detail here. Substantive changes to the policy include:

---changing the fall admission deadline from July 1 to April 15--experience has shown that good applicants apply before April.

---changing the recommended deadline for fall applications to January 15. This is similar to the deadline for many similar departments at other universities. The result of this policy change is that most applications can be evaluated in late January, which is better than having the evaluation process spread over several months.

---establishing an Oct. 1 deadline for spring admission--we get a few applicants for spring, and didn't have an explicit deadline for them before.

---making the document consistent with University procedures for dismissing students, specificying that the departmental Graduate Affairs Committee may recommend dismissal to the departmental Chair, who may recommend dismissal to the Office of Graduate Studies, who formally decides whether to dismiss

---clarifying the role of departmental Graduate Tracks, groups of faculty in particular subdisciplines of biology who recommend the curriculum and run the preliminary exam for students in that area. Currently we have the Cell and Organ Systems track, the Ecology and Evolution track, and the Molecular Biology and Genetics track. The option of "custom tracks," analogous to customized interdisciplinary majors for undergraduates, is newly established. In the previous document, it was not clear who recommended the curriculum for students who chose not to use one of the track curricula, and it was not clear that students who failed the requirements set by a track were subject to dismissal from the program. This left open the awkward possibility that a student could fail the prelim exam or coursework set by a track, then be kicked out of that track but still be a student in the department's graduate program. The new policy makes it clear that a student who chooses to follow an individualized curriculum must decide this when they start, not after they have failed some of the requirements of a track.

---making it clear that it is the student's responsibility to find a willing thesis or dissertation advisor, and that failure to do so may result in dismissal. This is in response to students who have either lacked the initiative to identify an advisor, or have performed so poorly during their tutorials that no one wants them as an advisee.

---prohibiting a Ph.D. student's advisor from serving on the qualifying exam committee. This has been a policy of most of the graduate tracks in the department, and because they report that it assists the honest evaluation of a students qualifications if the advisor is not there to help bail them out, we decided to adopt this rule for the department as a whole.

---eliminating December 1 and July 1 deadlines for informing students that they would be dismissed or have financial support removed before the following semester. The December 1 deadline, in particular, was impractical, because one of the most common reasons for dismissing a student is failure to achieve the necessary grades in a class, and fall grades are not available until early January.

b. Summary of program:

AUTHORIZED DEGREE TITLES

Please check the appropriate degree:

( ) Bachelor of Applied Science

( ) Bachelor of Arts

( ) Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies

( ) Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies

( ) Bachelor of Chemical Engineering

( ) Bachelor of Civil Engineering

( ) Bachelor of Computer Engineering

( ) Bachelor of Electrical Engineering

( ) Bachelor of Environmental Engineering

( ) Bachelor of Fine Arts

( ) Bachelor of Liberal Studies

( ) Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering

( ) Bachelor of Music

( ) Bachelor of Science

( ) Bachelor of Science in Accounting

( ) Bachelor of Science in Agriculture

( ) Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

( ) Bachelor of Science in Education

( ) Bachelor of Science in Nursing

( ) Master of Applied Sciences

( ) Master of Arts

( ) Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

( ) Master of Business Administration

( ) Master of Chemical Engineering

( ) Master of Civil Engineering

( ) Master of Education

( ) Master of Electrical Engineering

( ) Master of Environmental and Energy Policy

( ) Master of Fine Arts

( ) Master of Instruction

( ) Master of Marine Policy

( ) Master of Materials Science and Engineering

( ) Master of Mechanical Engineering

( ) Master of Music

( ) Master of Physical Therapy

( ) Master of Public Administration

( ) Master of Science

( ) Master of Science in Nursing

( ) Doctor of Education

( ) Doctor of Philosophy

This document will be retained permanently in the Faculty Senate Office.

Revised 04/23/01