Because there is no university-wide graduate faculty status, Ohio University is the only school in the state that has to evaluate professors’ qualifications every time one is selected for a graduate advising position.
Graduate Council is working with Faculty Senate to finalize a plan to determine graduate-faculty status for the entire university. The plan would simplify and solidify the process of evaluating the eligibility of professors in charge of directing and reviewing graduate students’ dissertations and theses.
“Graduate faculty status is really to indicate both within the university, but also way more importantly to people outside the university, that a faculty member has the ability to direct graduate student thesis and dissertations,” Graduate Council Chair Stephen Bergmeier said.
The status would not only make it easier for the university to approve advisors, but also make it easier for OU to get new graduate programs approved by the state. In order to approve new graduate programs, The Board of Higher Education must ensure that faculty at the university have the ability to direct that type of program.
“When Ohio University goes to the state and has to do this, they always have to say 'Well we don’t have graduate faculty status,' ” Bergmeier said. “So it’s more work on our part to have these types of graduate programs approved because we have to spend more time showing that faculty member X has the experience and the knowledge, etc. to direct a graduate student.”
Because each graduate program at OU has different requirements for accreditation and licensure, Faculty Senate has been pushing to endorse a plan that would support the concept of graduate faculty status. Senators want to leave specific policy writing to the department heads.
“(Faculty senators) didn’t want the most complicated set of circumstances to become the template for every single program on campus,” McLaughlin said.
Private Council approved a version of the proposal last fall, but now Faculty Senate’s Education Policies and Student Affairs Committee is reviewing the guidelines.
“I think where Faculty Senate is going to end up on this, and we’re continuing to have conversations with the Graduate Council, is a resolution that we discuss and vote on that basically puts fairly general language in the Faculty Handbook about graduate-faculty status, but then give latitude to schools, departments, colleges, to make decisions about how they are going to determine or classify graduate-faculty status,” McLaughlin said.
Although the graduate-faculty status has little direct effect on graduate students, it will speed up graduate committee approvals because it will streamline the process of determining which professors can serve on graduate committees and be advisors.
The concept of graduate-faculty status sparks some concerns regarding the amount of education and expertise of various faculty members. However, different programs have varying levels of rigidity regarding expertise.
“There are some professors who do not have a Ph.D. There probably can’t be someone without a Ph.D on a committee that is granting a Ph.D,” McLaughlin said.
The Faculty Senate may leave decisions regarding minimum educational requirements up to the Committee on Committees.
“I’m guessing that would also be a Committee to Committee decision,” Maria Modayil, Graduate Student Senate president said.
