University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Letters and Science 2002-2003 Graduate Program Committee Meeting: Thursday, September 26, 2002, 10:30 a.m. Holton Hall 241 Minutes No. 2
It was moved, seconded, and approved to suspend the agenda to accommodate the guests. Douglas Ihrke gave a summary of the demand for the Non-Profit Organization Management Certificate. He informed members of the Committee that the interdisciplinary certificate program was designed with the participation of several colleges at the university. Rita Cheng, Steven Percy, and John Palmer-Smith explained that similar programs across the country have been developed with the involvement of the surrounding communities. Doug explained that our community, in collaboration with the university, already has invested 2 million dollars in developing the program. The courses, offered mainly in the evening, accommodate members of the workforce already employed in non-profit organizations as well as students in such areas as Urban Studies, MPA, Social Welfare, and the Arts who eventually will work in the non-profit sector as managers. John Palmer-Smith indicated that the planning committee envisioned the eventual creation of a master's degree in this area of study. Swarnjit Arora and Ed Mabry expressed concern that the program, as currently structured, does not reflect participation of areas of the university other than Business Administration. Rita Cheng explained that, although the majority of the courses are offered by Business Administration, the content of those courses is very interdisciplinary. At this point in the discussion, most GPC members felt that the program should require 18 credits, with more electives from areas other than business. Steve Percy explained that faculty members designed this program looking at guidelines locally and nationally; the courses selected are comparable to those required at other colleges. Jeffrey Hayes questioned whether the capstone course provides enough of a foundation in theory. It was moved and seconded to recommend approval of the proposal as a 15 credit program. After much discussion, the Committee tabled the motion by a 5-2-0 vote and asked that the proposal be revised to emphasize the program's interdisciplinary nature. Committee members suggested this could be done by increasing the number of required credits to 18 to accommodate more credits outside of Bus Adm, jointly offering some of the Bus Adm courses with L&S, and/or including in the proposal a more detailed description of the interdisciplinary content of the majority of the required courses. A straw vote showed a consensus in favor of allowing the proposal to go forward as a 15 credit certificate. Representatives of the Program will meet soon to revise the Certificate proposal. GPC members agreed to reconvene the meeting to reconsider the proposal when the revisions were done. It was moved and seconded to return to the order of business. Tuesday, October 15, 2002 The suspended meeting was reconvened at 1:30 p.m. in Holton Hall 241.
The motion to recommend to the Dean approval of a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management was brought from the table. Rita Cheng distributed a packet of information for members of the Graduate Program Committee to review. She indicated that the revised proposal, distributed earlier, gives a broader view of the interdisciplinary content of the program. The most significant change is the addition of a new political science course as an option for meeting one of the requirements. This addition would permit students to complete the certificate with 9 credits in non-business courses. The motion on the floor was amended "to recommend to the Dean approval of the revised proposal for a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management." Swarnjit Arora then moved that the motion be amended to add the following to the end of the motion: "contingent on the addition of a statement that no student may take more than 9 credits in one college." The motion to amend died for lack of a second. Steve Percy pointed out that the proposal contains a provision that no student may take all 15 credits in one college. Jeffrey Hayes opined that the academic credibility of the certificate is the only issue the Committee needs to consider. He asked what is the normal number of credits for a graduate certificate. Connie Jo responded that the current certificates are approved for 12-15 credits. John Palmer-Smith added that the national norm for graduate certificates in nonprofit management is 15 credits. Edward Mabry asked if cost and time to completion had influenced the choice of 15 credits for this certificate. Rita responded that cost and time are factors to students drawn from the working community. The program was designed to permit students to complete the certificate in one year by taking 6 credits each in the fall and spring semesters and 3 credits in summer. Swarnjit asked if required courses are offered regularly enough to make this possible. Certificate representatives responded that these courses already are offered on a regular basis. If, for some reason, a professor is not able to teach a particular course in the designated semester, an instructor can be selected from a backup list of instructors for the required courses. Swarnjit asked if the proposal had been reviewed and recommended by a faculty committee. John and Steve explained that the Nonprofit Leadership Council, officially formed in June, was the review body for the proposal. That council consists of 6 members of the university, 6 members of the community, and the chancellor. The question was called, and the motion was approved with one abstention. The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted Connie Jo Special Assistant to the Dean Secretary to the L&S Faculty D:comm./gpc/minutes #2 Distribution: Dean Richard Meadows Associate Deans Harris, Miller, O'Bryan Assistant Deans Horstman, Kissinger, Olfe Secretary of the University L&S Faculty (via web - http://www.uwm.edu/letsci/committees/index.html) |
