GACproceduresresponse
Jim and Jim:
There are few written GAC procedural documents to share, other than the section of the Senate Charter
defining the GAC responsibilities:
http://www.albany.edu/avail/files/2015-16_Charter_of_the_University_Senate_-
with_2014_and_2015_amendment_changes-YG.doc
X.4. GRADUATE ACADEMIC COUNCIL
X.4.1. Composition:
X.4.1.1. The Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education or designee, ex officio [title changed
by amendment 04/27/15]
X.4.1.2. At least six but not more than eight Teaching Faculty (two of whom must be Senators
and one must be a member of the library staff), representing a balance of disciplinary areas.
X.4.1.3. One Professional Faculty member
X.4.1.4. At least one but not more than three graduate student(s) (one must be a Senator)
X.4.1.5. No more than one undergraduate student
X.4.1.6. No more than 2 voting members selected from Faculty or Staff who are not students or
Voting Faculty.
X.4.2. The staff support person for the Council shall be a designee of the Dean of Graduate
Education. [title changed by amendment 04/27/15]
X.4.3. The Council shall have the responsibility for the conduct of the University’s graduate
educational program.
X.4.4. The Council as a whole shall review all proposals for new graduate programs. It shall
submit recommended program approvals to the University Senate for consideration.
X.4.5. The Council as a whole shall review proposals that would affect the continuation of
graduate programs
X.4.5.1. It shall consider assessment reports pertaining to graduate programs including those
from the Council on Academic Assessment and shall recommend changes it deems desirable.
X.4.5.2. After due consideration, the Council may bring a recommendation to suspend or
discontinue of a program to the Senate.
X.4.6. The Council, through its Committee on Curriculum and Instruction, shall have
responsibility for the graduate academic curriculum. The committee shall have no more than
eight members and shall include at least five Teaching Faculty, at least two of whom are on the
Council.
X.4.6.1. The committee shall consider all revisions to existing graduate degree programs and
shall submit all recommended changes to the Council for final approval.
X.4.6.2. New graduate courses and changes to existing graduate courses receive final approval
from the schools and colleges, subject to appropriate notification, but the Graduate Academic
Council shall have the power to review new courses and changes to existing courses and require
reconsideration by the schools and colleges. Notification should be made to the Graduate
Academic Council, to the Office of the Dean of Graduate Education, [title changed by
amendment 04/27/15] the Office of the Vice President or Dean of the affected college or school,
and to all other interested parties. [Section X. 4.6.2 revised by amendment 5/2/05]
X.4.6.2.1. Courses offered at the graduate level must be approved by the faculty of a school or
college. An interdisciplinary or cross-listed graduate course may be proposed by more than one
school or college. Such a course must be approved by the faculty of each sponsoring school or
college.
X.4.6.2.2 A graduate course must remain the responsibility of at least one school or college
during the course’s lifetime.
X.4.6.2.3 Because Study Abroad programs are centrally approved by SUNY System
Administration, requiring home campus registration regardless of the SUNY campus that is
administering the program, they are not included under these provisions. (Sections X.4.6.2.1
through X.4.6.2.3 added by amendment, 02/09/09)
X.4.7. The Council, through its Committee on Admissions and Academic Standing shall
establish criteria for determining academic standing and admissions policy and its application.
The committee shall include no more than eight members, including at least five Teaching
Faculty, at least two of whom are on the Council, and no more than 2 voting members selected
from Faculty or Staff who are not students or Voting Faculty.
X.4.7.1. It shall review changes to standards and procedures for admission to graduate study
recommended by the schools, colleges, and departments.
X.4.7.2. It shall review changes in standards and procedures for admission to candidacy for
graduate degrees recommended by schools, colleges, and departments.
X.4.7.3. It shall review such actions of the Dean of Graduate Education [title changed by
amendment 04/27/15] or of school deans and department chairs dealing with academic standing
or academic grievances as are brought before it by any interested party.
X.4.7.4. The committee shall submit all recommended changes and actions to the Council for
final approval.
X.4.8. The Council, through its Committee on Educational Policy and Procedure shall
provide recommendations on policies concerning the administration and the conduct of graduate
programs. The committee shall consist of no more than eight members, including at least five
Teaching Faculty, at least two of whom are on the Council, and no more than 2 voting members
selected from Faculty or Staff who are not students or Voting Faculty.
X.4.8.1. The committee shall recommend to the Council such graduate academic regulations as it
deems necessary.
X.4.8.2. The committee shall insure and review procedures for individual student academic
grievances at school and college levels.
X.4.8.3. The committee shall submit all recommendations to the Council for approval. Policy
changes are then brought to the Senate for consideration if approved by the Council.
As regards consideration of petitions considered by the GAC Committee on Admissions & Academic
Standing, I can provide three procedural references:
http://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/requirements_degree.htm#academic_grievance
Procedures for Resolving Academic Grievances
Students who seek to challenge an academic grade or evaluation of their work in a course or seminar, or
in research or another educational activity may request a review of the evaluation by filing an academic
grievance.
The Graduate Academic Council (GAC) and the Undergraduate Academic Council (UAC), through the
work of their respective Committees on Admission and Academic Standing (CAAS) are responsible for
insuring that approved procedures exist within the schools, colleges, departments (if applicable) and
programs of the University for students to file academic grievances. Copies of established grievance
procedures shall be filed by each academic unit with the Offices of the Dean of Graduate Education and
the Dean of Undergraduate Education and available to students at each school/college dean’s office.
It is expected that the grounds upon which an academic grievance may be based should be clearly
identified. Such grounds may include variance from University grading standards/policies, grade
calculation inconsistencies with that announced in published course syllabi, procedural abnormalities, or
other factors that are alleged to have denied the student a fair evaluation. It is not expected that
grievances will propose that the professional obligation of faculty to fairly evaluate academic material
within their field of expertise will be supplanted by alternate means without procedural cause.
A student who seeks to dispute a grade or evaluation must initially pursue the matter directly with the
faculty member involved. If not satisfactorily resolved directly with the faculty member, a written grievance
may be filed with the program/department, or directly with school/college for units that are not
departmentalized.
Should the grievance not be satisfactorily resolved at this initial level of review, students may pursue
further consideration of the grievance at the next organizational level until such time as the grievance is
considered at the University level by the GAC or UAC CAAS, as appropriate. Action on an academic
grievance by the appropriate CAAS, upon acceptance by the GAC or UAC, as appropriate, is final and not
subject to further formal review within the University. Only at this final level of grievance determination by
the CAAS may a grade or other such evaluation be changed against the will of the faculty member(s)
involved. In such rare cases, the Chair of the GAC or UAC, or its respective CAAS, as appropriate, may
consult at his/her discretion with departmental faculty and/or appropriate scholars to determine an
appropriate grade and authorize its recording by the Registrar.
In reviewing an academic grievance, the CAAS will consider the formal written petition from the student
and corresponding written response/comment from the faculty, along with all records of consideration of
the matter at prior levels of review. Although rare, the CAAS reserves the right to conduct a hearing with
all parties present or it may decide to meet with each party separately. The nature and number of the
representatives attending any such meeting will be at the discretion of the CAAS. These procedures
adopted are those which the University believes will provide all parties involved the opportunity to present
complete and factual information as necessary for the CAAS to render a fair decision.
http://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/requirements_degree.htm#academic_standards
Graduate students who are not in good standing academically and who have been denied the privilege of
further study on those grounds may petition the Graduate Academic Council for reinstatement provided
extenuating circumstances were involved which, in their opinion, warrant review.
http://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/requirements_degree.htm#reinstatement
Reinstatement
A graduate student whose authorization to register for further study has been terminated officially by the
Dean of Graduate Education and who seeks reinstatement should submit a formal request for
reinstatement along with a supporting statement to the Dean of Graduate Education.
The Dean of Graduate Studies will refer such a request to the Graduate Academic Council and its
Committee on Admissions and Academic Standing for review and action.
The processes for consideration of academic program and curricular proposals, involving GAC acting as a
committee of the whole or upon the recommendation of its Committee on Curriculum & Instruction, are
defined in a series of web pages beginning at:
http://www.albany.edu/graduate/program-development-procedures.php
Hope this info is helpful.
Jon
*****************************
Jonathan T. Bartow
Vice Dean for Graduate Education
Office of Graduate Studies, UAB 121
http://www.albany.edu/gradstudies/
University at Albany, SUNY
Albany, NY 12222
Email: bartow@albany.edu
Phone: 518-437-5062
Fax: 518-442-3922
