Graduate Program Council

March 11, 2010

Present: Bob Lloyd, Dennis Falk, Joyce Strand, Ken Gilbertson, Bruce Munson (ex officio)

Absent: Faith Loven could not make the meeting, but provided email support for the curriculum proposal

• SW 8235
• Changes to proposal item #13 (repetition) was discussed.
• #21, recommendation that reference to ‘Moodle’ be eliminated and a more generic phrase, such as ‘course management software’ be inserted.
• Unanimous approval with minor changes
  
  
• Graduate Council Executive Committee
• A brief report provided by Joyce Strand
• July 1 is still the implementation date
  
  
• UMD graduate committee

• Sign-offs on graduate student forms and recommendation for degree will be moving to electronic signature.
• College and departmental masters’ curriculum approval is now going before the Graduate committee. This represents a change from past practice.
  
  
• Graduate student writing skills
• Denny identified a need for assessing, tutoring, and supporting graduate students who need assistance with their writing skills. He has proposed a writing center for graduate students.
• The GPC identified punctuation, grammar, paragraphs, parallel construction, and development of logical arguments.
• Ken noted the importance of continuity in developing students’ writing skills.