University Graduate Council Minutes

Wednesday, November 20, 2024 

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
LJH 325

Council in Attendance: 
Marc Giullian (Business)
Rollin Beamish (Arts)
Kari Perry (Student Representative)
Craig Ogilvie (Dean of The Graduate School)
Katey Franklin (Health & Human Development)
Anna French (Student Representative)
Rob Maher (Faculty Senate)
Catherine Dunlop (Letters)
Stephan Warnat (Engineering)
Ezgi Balkanay (Architecture)
 
Also in Attendance: 
Emily Peters (Graduate School) 
Lauren Cerretti (Graduate School) 
Rebecca Koltz (Counseling Department Head)

Absent:
Akash Gulati (Student Representative)
Brennan Reeves (Office of International Programs)
Sarah Mannheimer (Library)
Wade Hill (Nursing)
Amy Reines (Sciences)
Sweeney Windchief (Education)
Ryan Thum (Agriculture)

November 6, 2024 minutes

• Motion to approve by Giullian, Beamish 2^nd, 6 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstained
  
  

Announcements

• Update from the Dean
  • 700 graduate students attended graduate fair last week (in person and virtual)
    • Receive admission application fee waiver for attending
  • University Council meeting reviewed budget
    • State funding is approximately 1/10th of total university expenses (including research, facilities, academics, etc.)
    • Discussion on budget model
  • Q: Update on goal to bring in 1000 international students for non-research master’s programs?
    • A: Current estimate is 200 new students for Fall 2025, mostly in in course-based Engineering programs
  • Faculty Senate update
    • Board of Regents meeting at MSU this week
    • Faculty pay at 77% of average compared to peers, added issue of cost of living in Bozeman, difficulty to retain and recruit
    • Human Resources policy updates
    • University discussing renting 4-5 cars from Enterprise to have available for students/faculty to rent from campus
    • JAGS meeting scheduled for next week

Old Business

• Using “suspended” or “dismissed” in failed comprehensive/defense policy
  • Pending feedback, JAGS has not reviewed yet

New Business

• Graduate Student Representatives
  • Graduate Student Leadership Council: graduate students that are serving on various councils across campus coordinate to promote the voice of graduate students at MSU
    • Councils: UGC, ASMSU, Faculty Senate, Research, Budget. Working on membership in diversity council
  • Feedback from GSLC Awareness Forum
    • Housing
      • Rent increasing faster than stipends
        • Option to sign multi-year contracts?
        • Stipend-based housing vouchers?
      • Increase graduate student spots in campus housing
      • Challenges regarding requirement for payment in advance
      • Neglected maintenance in campus housing
      • Discussion
        • New graduate student housing?
          • Not moving forward at this time
        • Housing is a basic need
      • GRA/GTA stipends and fees
        • Not meeting cost of living demands
        • Pay inequities across departments
        • Lower pay and out of pocket fees for GTAs despite higher responsibilities
        • Discussion
          • Suggest moving some fees into tuition, e.g. health
        • Health Insurance
          • Often a covered benefit at other universities
          • Increase student awareness of marketplace plans
        • Student safety
          • Student awareness of Montana winter climate
          • “Welcome kit” for arriving new students to campus housing
          • Deferred maintenance on lab vehicles
          • Fellowship students not covered by worker’s comp
          • Support for unrepresented students in changing political climate
          • Holiday loneliness and grad student connection
          • Discussion
            • GS wellness week theme for spring: Connection
            • Worker’s compensation options, maybe self-pay for fellowship students
          • Grad School Orientation
            • Increase awareness of support options for grad students
            • Familiarity with Union (allow intro at orientation?)
            • First semester GTA training suggestions
              • Expand D2L onboarding
              • Overview provided during graduate school in-person orientation
              • Require faculty leading courses to meet with GTAs and prepare first two weeks of material together prior to start of semester
                • Already happens in most cases, but formalize this requirement
              • SmartBuy
              • Graduate students want to be involved in President’s search, informed of opportunities to provide feedback
              • Master’s Thesis Formatting
              • Club funding: loss of funding from the Office of Student Engagement. Why the change (required volunteer hours) and is there potential to supplement with GS funding?
              • GSLC communication: include “GSLC corner” in Grad School Newsletter?
            • Reviewed survey data from Ecology – 2023 survey on student expenses
              • Discussion on budget and how to address the financial aspect
            • UGC will address these concerns and bring forward ideas in spring semester

• Ed. in School Counseling online option (Franklin, Koltz)
  • Overview of School Counseling program
    • Proposing an online option of the existing School Counseling program, provide access to fill the need across the state
    • 25-60 open school counseling positions in the state, mostly in rural schools
    • Department has two related grants:
      • 4-million-dollar grant focused on rural counseling
      • 3-million-dollar grant funding tuition for individuals interested in joining the online program
    • Goal to start online option by Summer of 2026
    • Program structure:
      • In-person component during the summer, requirement to maintain accreditation
      • Internship, practicum during the school year
      • Most coursework online over the summer
    • Beamish to provide letter of endorsement from Graduate Council

Public comment

Adjourned at 11:01 am

Next scheduled meeting – December 4, 2024