Graduate Council

The Graduate Council is a standing committee of the Faculty Senate and reports to the Senate on graduate policy and curriculum matters. The Graduate Council deals with policy issues and standards for the university.

New graduate program requests, changes to existing graduate programs, additions, deletions and modifications to graduate courses, and new policies or changes to existing graduate policies are initiated and reviewed by the Graduate Council. New graduate program requests require final approval by the Board of Trustees, and for doctoral programs approval is required from the Board of Governors of the State.

The Graduate Council has three subcommittees that examine and formulate policies and procedures, hear petitions for variances from graduate programs, college, or university requirements, and review graduate Course Action Requests, among other matters. Each subcommittee consists of four senate members and at least three non-senate members.

Duties of the Graduate Council

• Reviews and recommends university-wide graduate policies and standards.
• Reviews all new proposals for planning and implementation of graduate programs, including deletion of existing programs.
• Reviews all matters referred by the Graduate Council subcommittees.
• Transmits its recommendations to the Faculty Senate Steering Committee, which normally submits these recommendations to the Division of Graduate Studies on behalf of the Provost.