UCGE Meeting Minutes – October 19, 2007 (DRAFT)
Medford Campus
Present: Barry Trimmer (chair), Arthur Donohue-Rolfe, Larry Feig, Vin Manno, Peter Uvin
Meeting convened 10AM
1) Minutes from Sept 2007 meeting were updated and approved for website posting.
2) Vin announced that the site of the Dec. 19 Provost Council meeting, which will include the UCGE, has been moved from Medford to Boston – still 9-11AM – more details to follow.
3) Operational Changes to Build Excellence in Graduate Education document
- Discussion of comments received from Arts & Sciences – L. Pepall letter, transcript of Spring 2007 A&S faculty meeting, and individual faculty comments.
- Council agreed that doctoral focus was appropriate, i.e. no modification of scope required but the Council might pay attention in the future to academic masters programs.
- Issue of the lack of a sufficient student focus in the original document was identified as significant. Subsequent discussion centered on including a separate section related to student expectations (what students should expect from an excellent doctoral program, the caliber and character of students that Tufts should recruit, etc.).
- Larry will circulate best practices from the Sackler programs for general benchmarks.
- Barry will update document with student-focused section and reorder some other sections. After review, the updated document will be posted and distributed.
4) Barry distributed copies of a review of Arts & Sciences and Engineering graduate programs from 2001 as background information for current UCGE activities.
5) Structuring Ph.D. Programs at Tufts document
- Discussion of document structure and the parsing of topics related to the distinct mission of doctoral programs and also the different challenges of disciplinary, not departmental, and interdisciplinary doctoral programs.
- Consensus that document needs to address faculty relationships to their doctoral program and their department more clearly.
- Members agreed that the process would be:
Ø Barry circulates an outline of modifications to the entire council
Ø Barry adjusts outline based on feedback and transmits modified outline along with meeting notes to Peter
Ø Peter drafts a revised document
Ø Email review and updating of document in time for consideration of a “final” draft at the Nov 14 UCGE meeting in Grafton.
Ø Document finalized at Nov meeting for distribution to Provost and deans in anticipation of Dec 19 Provost Council.
6) Vin announced that changes in the Provost Fellow program proposed by UCGE in September have met with universal approval. New procedures will be distributed to schools in November. Further analysis of Provost Fellow program assessment is a bit behind schedule because of the departure of the Institutional Research analyst who did the original study.
Meeting adjourned 12:45PM.
