Minutes of the Graduate Academic Council meeting on 10/4/21, 11:30 AM via Zoom
https://albany.zoom.us/j/93081726775?pwd=SDVjNFZEMUhPR2FWWExUL1h2SCsrdz09
Approved by the Council by vote of 8-0-0 on 11/2/2021.
In attendance: G. Berg (Chair), S. Appe, A. Dawson, K. Colvin, O. Lunin, G. Massara, J. Napoleon, E. Pacer,
E. Rich, K. Stanwicks, K. Williams (ex officio member), S. Kent (staff), J. Deden (staff), C.
Davis (staff)
Guests: Bob Griffin and Alex Greer (EHC); Tim Sergay, University Senate Chair; Jessica Lansing and Ashley
DeSantis (Registrar’s Office); Kathie Winchester (UGE), Rachael French (Registrar’s Office)
1.
Introductions of all in attendance
2.
Approved this GAC Agenda
3.
Approval of the minutes of the GAC meeting of 5/3/2021 - 10-0-0
4.
Dean’s Report – Dean Williams welcomed the returning and new GAC members for this
academic year. There has been a great start to the term. He indicated that there is no new
information other than what has been reported during the various town halls and President and
Provost’s council meetings. No questions asked by GAC.
5.
Chair’s Report – Chair Berg indicated that he would come back to his report after we have
reviewed the agenda items. He discussed the importance of GAC and encouraged members to
bring any issues to our meetings and consider leadership positions in the future.
Time Sergay spoke and encouraged members to consider committees and councils
within Senate.
1.
GAC Standing Committees and Chairs for 2021-22
Colleen discussed the committee memberships for both CCI and CA&AS. She will
circulate the membership to GAC. A chair is still needed for CCI; Kabel is willing to
continue as chair of CA&AS, unless someone else is interested. We will discuss at our
committee meetings and notify GAC.
2.
Proposal Review: Emergency Management and Homeland Security MS
Due to the chairs position in CEHC, Susan Appe served as temporary chair regarding the
proposal.
Alex Greer from EHC discussed the proposal briefly, along with Dean Bob Griffin.
Questions from GAC were asked. There was a concern regarding cross-listed courses and
how it would affect Rockefeller programs. All the core courses are offered through
CEHC; within the concentrations, students have options of complete cross-listed
Rockefeller courses, but the rest are through CEHC. This new program was built with the
EHC Certificate in Graduate Study (CGS) in mind; the intent was to cross-list all possible
courses, but have the core courses be offered through CEHC. The program allows for
flexibility and to obtain a tailored degree through the concentrations. The next question
concerned available faculty funding based on the projected enrollment numbers. CEHC
is currently recruiting tenure track faculty now, but will supplement with fulltime
lecturers and adjuncts as needed. The numbers are realistic; there is a pent up demand
for this program. If tenure track positions are not available, CEHC will backfill sections
with adjuncts. They have built the courses to be taught consistently from section to
section, regardless of who is teaching the course. Because CEHC grew quickly at the
undergraduate level, they have a deep list of adjuncts they can utilize.
Vote to approve program: 9-0-1
There was a follow up question after the vote regarding possible decline in enrollment
numbers for the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) program. Kevin indicated that
we can watch for this, but feels the recent changes to the MPA program should help
recruitment in the MPA program, so that possible movement of potential students from
MPA to CEHC would be negligible. The program was designed not to poach from other
schools or colleges at UAlbany. George suggests keeping an open line of communication
with the deans to discuss if potential enrollment numbers are affected.
3.
Transfer Credit Policy Proposal
Colleen presented this proposal (full proposal at the end of meeting minutes). There
was discussion on what constitutes “post-matriculation.” It was suggested to add the
GPA requirement (define good standing) within the policy and potentially add that it
must be within the term they are taking the course. There was further discussion on
potential scenarios for students.
Vote: 8-0-1
4.
Incomplete Grade Time Limit Policy Proposal
Colleen presented this proposal (full proposal at the end of meeting minutes).
Discussion on the exceptional courses that would not have an expiration (proposal
included thesis and dissertation; suggestion was to include all capstone courses). There
are students who receive incomplete grades in labs and the lab may not be offered
again for possibly 2 years. Exceptions would exists where faculty could request
additional extensions. Colleen provided the history of thesis courses and why they are
currently excluded from the semester Incomplete Grade Reports.
Colleen requested the proposal be tabled so she could review it again in conjunction
with the Registrar’s Office, to incorporate the questions/concerns of GAC. She will
recirculate to GAC for feedback. It was suggested that the new document include
written policy, so it can be sent to the Senate for review.
5.
Any Other Business
Meeting adjourned at 12:31PM without opposition.
Next meeting 11/2/21 10:30am
GAC 2021-2022 Membership Roster
Senator?
Name
Council/Committee
TF/PF
Title/Rank
School/Unit
Ter
m
Start
Term
End
* GAC: Graduate Academic Council: 6 - 8 TF (2 of whom must be Senators and 1 must be a
member of the library staff); 1 PF; 1-3 GSA; 1SA
Senator
Dawson, Alec
GAC
TF
Professor
CAS/History
2020
2022
Library/
Senator
Stanwicks, Kabel
Nathan
GAC
TF
Senior Assistant
Librarian
University
Libraries
2020
2022
Senator - 1yr
term re:chair
Berg, George
(Chair)
GAC
TF
Associate Professor
CEHC
2021
2022
Rich, Eliot
GAC
TF
Associate Professor
ISBA, School
of Business
2021
2023
Colvin, Kim
GAC
TF
Assistant Professor
SOE/Ed
Psychology &
Methodology
2021
2023
Appe, Susan
GAC
TF
Assistant Professor
Rockefeller
voluntee
r
Lunin, Oleg
GAC
TF
Associate Professor
CAS/Physics
voluntee
r
Napoleon, Jaclyn
GAC
PF
Director of
Graduate
Recruitment &
Admissions
Rockefeller
College of
Public Affairs
& Policy
2021
2023
Gill, Andrew
GAC
GSA
Graduate Student
2021
2022
Massara, Gregory
GAC
GSA
Graduate Student
2021
2022
Pacer, Emily
GAC
GSA
Graduate Student
2021
2022
Support
Colleen Davis
GAC
Support
Dean of the
Graduate School's
designee
N/A
N/A
ex officio
GAC
ex officio
(non-voting)
Dean
Graduate
Studies
N/A
N/A
Williams, Kevin
Graduate Academic Council
2021 – 2022
9-13-21
Committee Memberships
Draft for GAC consideration
GAC Committee on Curriculum & Instruction (CC&I)
Assistant Graduate School Dean Colleen Davis, staff
Susan Appe
Teaching Faculty
Public Administration & Policy
GAC Member
Andrew Gill
PhD Student
Philosophy
GAC Member
Haijun Chen
Teaching Faculty
Biology
Returning Volunteer
Kim Colvin
Teaching Faculty
Educational Psychology
GAC Member (willing to
chair)
Eliot Rich
Teaching Faculty
ISBA, School of Bus
GAC Member
Jeannette Sutton
Teaching Faculty
CEHC
Returning Volunteer
Ilka Kressner
Teaching Faculty
Spanish
Returning Volunteer
(Fall only)
GAC Committee on Admissions & Academic Standing (CA&AS)
Assistant Graduate School Dean Shanise Kent, staff
Kabel Stanwicks **
Teaching Faculty
University Libraries
GAC Member
Alec Dawson
Teaching Faculty
History
GAC Member
Oleg Lunin
Teaching Faculty
Physics
GAC Member
Jaclyn Napoleon
Professional Staff
Rockefeller
GAC Member
Emily Pacer
Graduate Student Association
GAC Member
Sylvia Roch
Teaching Faculty
Psychology
Returning Volunteer
Ryan Torn
Teaching Faculty
ATM
Returning Volunteer
** Chair
Transfer Credit Policy Proposal
Proposal: Add language to the existing policy, indicating that students must be in good academic
standing if they are pursuing transfer credit after matriculating into a graduate program at
UAlbany.
Justification: Graduate students who are not in good academic standing have GPAs below the 3.0
requirement. Since transfer credit does not transfer the grade back into the student’s program, the
student’s GPA is not affected by the transfer credit. To raise the GPA, students need to take
graded courses at the University at Albany. The transfer credit may fulfill the overall credits
required for the program but will not help the student achieve the 3.0 GPA requirement. By adding
this language to the existing policy, we hope to deter students from potentially wasting resources
and time on courses that will not raise their GPA to the 3.0 requirement.
Existing policy with suggested language in red:
https://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/requirements_degree.htm#transfer_credit_regulations
Transfer Credit Regulations
1.
Courses completed before entering graduate study at this University for which transfer credit is
desired should be presented to the program faculty for consideration upon admission.
2.
Candidates in graduate programs at this University are requested to receive the approval of their
advisors or of the Dean of The Graduate School before registering for courses at other colleges if
they plan later to present them for transfer credit.
3.
Candidates in graduate programs at this University must be in good academic standing if they are
requesting to pursue transfer credit post matriculation.
4.
Courses presented must be appropriate to the student's graduate program.
5.
Courses presented must have been given by an accredited institution authorized to grant
graduate degrees.
6.
Courses presented must be graduate courses, that is, applicable to a graduate degree at the
institution offering them.
7.
Graduate courses presented for transfer credit completed while the student was in undergraduate
status shall be eligible for transfer only upon receipt of documentation from the institution
certifying that such course work was not used to fulfill undergraduate degree requirements at that
institution.
8.
Courses presented must be completed with grades of B or better.
9.
Unless submitted as part of the application for program admission, an official transcript of the
student's record in the course(s) presented for transfer credit should be sent to The Graduate
School, State University of New York at Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York
12222.
10. An official description of the course(s) should accompany the request for transfer credit.
11. Courses accepted for transfer credit are not used in computing the student's academic average.
12. Requirements for the satisfactory completion of research seminars, theses, field courses, clinical
courses, student teaching, internships and practicums may not be satisfied by courses taken at
other institutions, and they are not eligible for transfer credit for these purposes.
13. Subject to Resident Study Requirements as defined above, no more than 30% of the graduate
program credits required in one pursued (or concurrently pursued) graduate degree or certificate
program shall be accepted/applied from an initial program at that same credential level.
14. If a graduate program requires an earned master's degree as an application requirement (from a
regionally accredited institution of higher education or from an institution authorized by the Board
of Regents to confer degrees), transfer credit cannot be granted from that master’s program into
a University at Albany graduate program. Such master’s credits are considered preparatory for
entry into the graduate program and therefore cannot additionally be used to satisfy curricular
requirements for that graduate program. Prior graduates of University at Albany master’s degree
programs who have taken coursework included in the newly admitted graduate program
curriculum as part of the earned master’s used for admission will need to register for more
advanced coursework to fulfill the curricular requirements.
Incomplete Grade Time Limit Policy Proposal
Proposal: Institute an overall time limit of 1 year for all Incomplete grades, except Master’s
thesis or Doctoral dissertation courses.
Justification: Faculty members who have assigned incomplete grades to students have to
continuously extend the incomplete grades each semester after the initial incomplete grade was
assigned. Students have extenuating circumstances that require extended time to complete the
course requirements, but extending it beyond the initial time frame requires continued faculty
resources.
Graduate I grade definition in the Graduate Bulletin:
Incomplete: A tentative grade given only when the student has nearly completed the course
but due to circumstances beyond the student's control the work is not completed on schedule.
The date for the completion of the work is specified by the instructor. The date stipulated will not
be later than one month before the end of the session following that in which the Incomplete is
received. The grade I is automatically changed to E or U unless work is completed as agreed
between the student and the instructor.
Discussion Points:
Incomplete grades should only be assigned when the student has nearly completed the
course. By extending beyond a year, students may not retain the course competencies
necessary to complete the missing requirements. Students should not be informally
attending the course again in future semesters in order to finish incomplete grades from
prior terms.
Continued faculty resource obligations
An undergraduate policy exists, so creating a graduate policy would be consistent. The
undergraduate policy appears below, with the relevant text highlighted.
There is no time limit regarding grade changes.
Undergraduate Bulletin Policy:
Incomplete Grade Policy (amended effective Fall 2020 and will apply to all undergraduate
Incompletes issued Fall 2020 and thereafter)
I: Incomplete. A grade of I is a temporary grade assigned at the discretion of the instructor when
a student has been unable to complete a class for reasons which are considered to be
extenuating and beyond the student's control. These reasons must be documented at the time
of the request. Incomplete grades do not count toward graduation.
Undergraduate students taking graduate level classes will be subject to the Graduate
Incomplete Policy for the graduate class.
Incomplete grades should ONLY be assigned:
1. When a student makes a direct request to the instructor;
2. The student's work to date is passing;
3. An illness or other extenuating circumstance prevents completion of required work by the due
date;
4. Required work may reasonably be completed in an agreed-upon period (not to exceed the
maximum allowable time for the completion of work as stated in the Timeline for Incomplete
Grades), and does not require the student to retake any portion of the class.
If all of the above four criteria are not met, the student should be graded according to the work
completed for the class, even if this means recording a failing grade.
Students and instructors should be mindful that making up work can be extremely difficult given
the workload of a new semester.
Incomplete grades should NOT be assigned:
• To students who do not make a direct request to the instructor
• As a substitute for a failing grade
• Where the student's performance to date clearly indicates an inability to complete the class as
defined in the original syllabus
• If the student did not attend or stopped attending
• As a means of allowing a student to raise their grade by completing additional work not
assigned to other students
• If re-enrollment is required for successful completion of the class
Timeline for Incomplete Grades
The maximum allowable time for the completion of work related to an Incomplete is:
• Fall and Winter: convert to failing grades in April of the following Spring semester – dates and
deadlines to be communicated by the Registrar’s office
• Spring and Summer: convert to failing grades in November of the following Fall semester –
dates and deadlines to be communicated by the Registrar’s office
Dates and deadlines will be listed on the Academic Calendar and communicated by the
Registrar’s Office.
Instructors may require that work be completed in advance of the deadline.
Questions about incomplete grades should be addressed to the instructor. If an incomplete
grade is agreed upon, the instructor is responsible for entering the incomplete grade in the
grade roster during final grading, as well as changing the grade to a final grade by the
incomplete grade deadline. See Guidelines for Instructors for more information on entering and
changing grades. If an instructor is no longer available, the chair of the department or dean of
the school/college, in which the class was offered, is authorized to supervise completion of the
work and to submit the appropriate grade change request.
Any grade of I existing after the stated deadline shall be automatically changed
to E or U according to whether or not the student is enrolled for A–E or S/U grading. Except for
extenuating circumstances approved by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Education, these converted grades may not be later changed.
(NOTE: Students receiving financial assistance through state awards should refer to Academic
Criteria for State Awards in the expenses and financial aid section of this bulletin before
requesting grades of I.)
