UWM College of Letters and Science
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Letters and Science

2000-2001
Graduate Program Committee
Meeting: Wednesday, February 14, 2001, 1:00 p.m.
Holton Hall 241

Minutes No. 3

Present:   Allen Bell, Jeffrey Hayes, Connie Jo (ex officio), Diane Reddy, Kris Ruggiero, Bill Wainwright
Excused: Doug Cherkauer, Dave Heathcote
Guest: Richard Meadows

  1. Call to Order/Announcements
    1. Kris Ruggiero, Committee Co-Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. in HLT 241.
    2. Connie Jo announced that we had received the Philosophy Department's Master's Program data. Doug Cherkauer has updated the summary sheet. This will be sent to all members with the next agenda. Dave Heathcote has asked for information on the enrollments in master's programs for the past five years. Connie has requested these data from Sherry Kulhanek.

  2. Automatic Consent
    1. Minutes #2 (December 6, 2000) were approved as submitted.

  3. Procedural Matters
    1. The spring semester meeting schedule was affirmed.

  4. Special Order of Business
    1. At the Committee's request, Interim Dean Richard Meadows attended the meeting to address the same questions that had been put to Dean Goodman at his recent meeting with the GPC. Dean Meadows indicated that he agreed with Dean Goodman's comments for the most part, though his views might have different emphases. Bill Wainwright asked in what way those emphases might differ. Dean Goodman had stated that the issue of TA stipends was not popular with the legislature. Dean Meadows indicated that this point of view might be changing, particularly within the past two months. At the November economic summit, one felt an overwhelming sense of how important the UW System is to the economic health of the State. Many people worry that WI is in danger of becoming a high tech backwater, and the university must play a major role in preventing this. Some people see universities becoming wellsprings of new economic ventures. Thus, we might find more legislative support now. Dean Meadows agreed with Dean Goodman that we might be able to raise more money for stipends through the Foundation. Concerning recruitment of graduate students, Dean Meadows said that our recruitment and publications office will work with the units to develop more effective recruiting materials.

      Allen Bell asked if, at the economic summit, UWM was viewed as the poor relation to Madison. Dean Meadows indicated that Nancy (Zimpher), Marshall, and Charles (Kroncke) have been successful in wresting away some of the limelight from Madison, particularly in the international arena. There is much more legislative and regent support for UWM now. Tech Star may be very important for UWM since Milwaukee is the area where the implementation of tech development is most pronounced. The playing field for Milwaukee is a bit more level now. One individual from Madison suggested a joint Madison/Milwaukee research park in Waukesha County. Jeff Hayes stated that something he read recently indicated that Madison already has something underway with GE Medical. Dean Meadows stated that those kinds of links were what the joint research park would address.

      Dean Meadows outlined some of the initiatives relating to graduate education in the College. The entitlement to plan the History Ph.D. finally has been granted. There is an entitlement proposal for an Africology Ph.D. underway. System has requested more information, and we will be meeting with the Africology chair soon to discuss the next steps. We have been waiting to hear the Governor's address concerning his budget proposals. Word around campus has been that we will not get the $8,000,000 requested, but we will get something. Some individuals here think that Scott McCallum is a better friend to UWM than was Tommy Thompson. One of the new governor's interests seems to be the Honors Initiative, which includes a proposal to plan for guarantees of a baccalaureate and master's degree within four years for students who enter college with advanced placement credits. Bill Wainwright asked if this has been done elsewhere, to which Dean Meadows responded that he didn't know. Bill expressed concern that students from such programs might not be viewed as strong candidates for Ph.D. programs and indicated that we should try to find out if this would be the case before implementing any such programs. Dean Meadows said that the faculty committees planning such initiatives would try to identify other campuses that may have similar programs to see how their students fared in Ph.D. program admissions. Jeff Hayes said that some departments, such as his own, would want to ensure the pedagogical quality of combined baccalaureate/master's programs. Dean Meadows noted that education in general is changing dramatically. As more courses and programs go on-line, we are likely to see more students working through programs on-line at their own pace. We could experiment more with innovative scheduling patterns. He is quite open to exploring these kinds of arrangements. He says the College does have an interest in programs that raise tuition. Such programs fund some of the growth in our faculty. The Department of Communication is at the leading edge of moving on-line; it soon will have both the bachelor's and master's degrees available through that medium. Dean Meadows stated that he had urged Dean Goodman to push harder in this area. It is not easy to do, and there are pitfalls, but we owe it to ourselves to experiment with this. Jeff Hayes suggested that Communication is serving as an experimental model.

      Dean Meadows mentioned UWM's link with the GUA, noting that GUA's interest is in complete programs, not individual courses. But he would like to see us experiment with putting up individual courses. He would like to identify at least one faculty member in each department who would become involved in such efforts. Jeff Hayes said we may see more pressure for individual studies on-line, but he worries about quality and about issues such as credentials of those offering courses, how such credits transfer, etc. Dean Meadows said that he is supportive of increasing our links with other universities, especially with foreign ones. One gentleman at the University of Birmingham is putting together a network of researchers from all around the world with the same research interests. The scholars occasionally come together at "schools," bringing their students with them. Certainly, there are issues that need to be resolved in on-line education and foreign school linkages, but the College's long commitment to international study has been very valuable. Dean Meadows stated that one of the reasons he was so supportive of the BAGS degree is that it has generated a high degree of collegiality among those involved, both within and without the College. There is a spirit of community among those with teaching and research interests. Dean Goodman sometimes referred to the mineshaft mentality in a critical way. But, Dean Meadows stated, we need to be strong in our disciplines, and we need some people whose primary interest is in working in the core matters of the discipline. He does not favor interdisciplinarity for its sake alone. Allen Bell mentioned that whenever the issues of moving courses/programs on-line comes up, the criticism is that it is a lot of work with no compensation. Dean Meadows concurred that it is a lot of work, but he noted that some individuals who have done such courses state that they get to know their on-line students much better. Because of the work that goes into planning such courses, they often are of higher quality. He noted that we have been experimenting with a hybrid model, where most of the course work is on-line, but the faculty member goes out to another campus on occasion. We need to find a way to bring GTAs into assisting with the development of these courses. If we can make money on them, perhaps we can support more TAs.

      Co-Chair Kris Ruggiero had to leave for class, so at 1:56 p.m., Bill Wainwright assumed the role of acting chair.

      Allen Bell mentioned that one concern about GUA has been determining who actually will make money. Dean Meadows said he shared that concern. He noted that we have an enrollment revenue model imposed from System on down. We have not devolved this model to the individual department level. Success in one part of the College helps support the entire College. He stated that he has some concern about non-research based degrees, but there are various ways to define research. He does not support any graduate program that does not required the development of research skills in some context. Bill Wainwright said we must be careful not to define research so broadly as to make it meaningless. He does not wish to see us count almost anything just to gain students. Dean Meadows stated that we have faculty governance to protect against that happening. It is the responsibility of the governance groups to address this concern by not granting approval to a program that is submitted without an appropriate research component. Bill Wainwright mentioned that a related concern is that to some individuals it seems that the master's degree is becoming more of a technical certification degree. Dean Meadows responded that there is a great deal of variety in the nature of programs; some programs in L&S fit that descriptor more than others. But he does not have the sense that we have wholesale movement in that direction. At the same time, teaching certification requirements are becoming stricter. By 2004, they will be competency based, and L&S will need to respond with the modification of some courses to assist students in developing the academic competencies they will need. Jeff Hayes stated that there are ways other than the thesis to demonstrate research skills. Bill Wainwright opined that areas with a small faculty, especially areas like the foreign languages, will feel pressure to morph into certification units. Allen Bell said he found the discussion about research competency interesting because in mathematics most master's students do NOT do a master's thesis; they pass exams.

      Assuming an interim status of some duration, Jeff Hayes asked Dean Meadows if he had any personal goals. Dean Meadows said he really didn't know how long his service would last. The campus will begin to solicit applications in 1-2 weeks with the goal of starting interviews in April. He didn't feel confident that the search would be successful in the short run and felt it was likely he would be in his position up to a year and a half. A high priority for him will be getting the History Ph.D. finished. Dean Goodman was very supportive of the Africology Ph.D., and Dean Meadows indicated that he supports it as well, but it is clear that the department currently does not have sufficient faculty. It is the Graduate School's view that a department needs at least 12 faculty members to support a Ph.D. There are other faculty members on campus who could participate in the Africology Ph.D., and he would like to broaden our emphasis on using other faculty members. He also indicated that we are behind the curve in the use of technology, and we need to do more. Properly done, on-line courses can be as good as or better than in-person courses. We have to think harder about how students learn. We've made some commitments to doing some programs through GUA.

      The Committee members thanked Dean Meadows for taking the time to meet with them.

  5. Old Business
    1. Master's Degree Summary Data – discussion deferred.

  6. New Business
    1. Discussion item - Must a department/program have a member present at the GPC meeting when changes to that unit's program are considered? The Committee members agreed this would not be required but, as a matter of policy, departments will be urged to have someone at the meeting.
    2. Discussion item - On-Line Program Change system and the possibility of eliminating paper copy distribution of proposals. Connie Jo reported that the Course and Curriculum Committee agenda now reports the web site location of each program agenda item. Committee members review the proposals on-line. If they have concerns and believe there will have to be discussion, they contact her to ask that hard copies of the proposal be available at the meeting. The members of the GPC agreed they would try this system for awhile.

  7. Adjournment - As there was no other business before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 2:08 p.m.


Respectfully submitted,

Connie Jo
Special Assistant to the Dean and
Distinguished Advisor
Secretary to the L&S Faculty



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