Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 17 January 18, 1996 - CGSP submits guidelines draft

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including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

CGSP submits guidelines draft

By Susan Trulove

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 17 - January 18, 1996

The Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies (CGSP) has submitted a draft of guidelines for compliance with Graduate Program Standards and Policies (Presidential Policy Memoranda 126/152) to the departments for response.

The guidelines call for each graduate program to annually submit to the Graduate School, to their graduate students, and to the college dean copies of their policies on admission, participation on graduate-student advisory committees, and the management of graduate students.

Management of graduate students includes advising, orientation, and assistantships.

The section on faculty participation on graduate-student advisory committees begins with the sentence: "Membership on advisory committees is a responsibility to be taken seriously by faculty." John Eaton, associate provost for graduate studies, commented at the November 15 CGSP meeting that he is concerned about how frequently faculty members cancel meetings with students.

The commission also heard from Danny Waddill, who reported that the Graduate Honor System heard 12 cases last year. He said there are three ways faculty members can help: by talking about the honor system in classes and laboratories and writing about it on their syllabus, by reporting suspected violations, and by serving on investigative boards or judicial panels. Training is provided, he said. About nine people are called on out of a pool of 80 for each case.

He said the system hears eight to 15 cases a year. Martha Johnson, advisor and assistant dean of the Graduate School, said the cases seem to be increasing in seriousness.

In addition to publishing results in Spectrum, Honor System representatives speak at graduate student and international student orientations, speak to departments when asked--about 30 times last year, and speak to faculty groups. The Constitution of the Graduate Honor System is in the back of the graduate catalog and on the web.

In other business:

Joe Merola reported that the joint CGSP/Commission on Research Committee on Academic Integrity is looking at the over-all issue of academic integrity and invited input regarding topics to bring to the academic community.

* The Graduate Curriculum Committee endorsed movement of Adult Learning from the College of Education to Family and Child Development.

* The Graduate Student Appeals Committee heard four appeals, which is the first time the committee has had that many appeals, Jim Burger reported.

* The library reported another service, Brittanica Online available through the library's homepage at http://refserver.lib.vt.edu. The library staff is also looking at 800 journals which may be available online in the future.