Actions of the Graduate Council generally begin in committee, where most of the detailed work is done prior to deliberations by the full Graduate Council. The committees fall into two broad categories: a) Standing Committees that have membership and duties defined in Graduate Council's standing rules and b) Ad Hoc Committees that are created to examine and recommend action on specific problems that may require particular urgency or additional expertise.

Each year, the Graduate Council forms a set of recommended committee priorities. Committees may prioritize these recommendations and examine other items at the discretion of the committee chairs, who are responsible for setting committee agendas.

Standing Committees

Committee on Academic Standards

1. Investigate if further flexibility for programs regarding English proficiency exam requirements for applicants is possible.
   1. GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students. Date of Last Review: 2023.
2. Consider a change to admission policies concerning admission of applicants with 3-year international degrees.
   1. GCAC-301 Qualifications for Admission. Date of Last Review: 2024.
   2. GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students. Date of Last Review: 2024.
3. Continue identifying stress points in Graduate Council policies (lots of exception requests, high administrative burden) and review. General guidelines for policy review: i) minimize administrative burden, especially on programs, lending trust to programs as a first assumption but including verification measures when needed (trust but verify); ii) eliminate redundancy with Senate policies; iii) make the policy/procedure split in GC policies more uniform.
   Beyond this, we recommend reviewing the following policies, as they have not been reviewed in a while:
   1. GCAC-207 Degree Program Options
   2. GCAC-212 Postbaccalaureate Credit Certificate Programs
   3. GCAC-215 Common Course Numbers
   4. GCAC-309 Transfer Credit.

Committee on Committees and Procedures

1. No items beyond normal committee assignment tasks anticipated.

Committee on Fellowships and Awards

1. As an implementation committee, this committee typically does not receive additional charges beyond its usual workload.

Committee on Graduate Research

1. Investigate how faculty across all of PSU’s campuses can contribute to graduate education. How can we leverage faculty expertise at the campuses to support graduate students by serving on committees, teaching select classes, supporting research endeavors, grant collaboration, etc.?
2. Look into ways to establish more robust research proposal support at lower funding amounts.
3. Start a conversation around policies to guide graduate faculty in the proper and improper use of AI in graduate education. To what extent do we need to address graduate issues differently from undergraduate ones?
4. Consider recommendations from the report on the impact of COVID-19 on graduate research and education.

Remainder of the agenda to be set by the Faculty Senate Committee on Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity.

Committee on Graduate Student and Faculty Issues

1. Graduate Student Survey - Finish preparation of survey questions and conduct survey in Fall 2024. Results from the survey can be presented to Graduate Council as an informational report, possibly together with other investigations and suggestions regarding student mental health (see next topic).
2. Student mental health - Many concerns have been raised by colleges and programs about our ability to attend to graduate student mental health. Some questions include: Is this topic receiving proper attention? Is the grad ombudsperson program working? Would one ombudsperson/college be more effective? Are student mental health resources sufficient for the demand?
3. Career and professional services for graduate students - Review the state of career and professional services offered to graduate students. What can be added or improved? How can more cooperation between the grad school and colleges be achieved?
4. Faculty mentoring training - What, if any, mentoring training could be adopted or promoting to improve the ability of faculty to adapt to the expectations and norms of today’s grad students?
5. Parental Leave Policy - Finish recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School on a parental and personal leave policy for graduate students (note that this is an administrative policy).
6. Review GCAC-802 Procedures for Resolution of Problems, Section 4 (Other Situations).
   1. Policy: GCAC-802 Procedures for Resolution of Problems. Date of Last Review: 2007.
7. Graduate Funding Task Force - Offer assistance and advice to the Graduate Funding Task Force if requested.

Committee on Program Review and Evaluation

1. No charges beyond conducting review of programs in line for review 2024-25.

Committee on Programs and Courses

1. Degree policy updates:
   1. GCAC-207 Degree Program Options – recommend review for clarity on what constitutes “base program.” This is currently required by policy but has been applied inconsistently in the past due to lack of clarity on definition of “base program.”
   2. GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs - investigate ways to make it easier for programs participating in dual-title programs to offer related stand-alone degrees.
   3. GCAC-212 Postbaccalaureate Credit Certificate Programs / GCAC-201 Scholarly and Professional Goals for all Graduate Degree Students – recommend review to clarify requirement for certificates to have program learning objectives. At the degree level, this is tied to the goals in GCAC-201 which are explicitly for degree students. As a requirement for Middle States accreditation, OPAIR has encouraged extending these goals to include certificate students or otherwise indicating a requirement for learning objectives in GCAC-212.
   4. GCAC-213 Residency and Related Policies for Off-Campus Degree Programs – recommend review of expedited review process for limited off-campus course offerings. This process allows up to three courses be offered online as part of residential graduate degree program but has not been reviewed in many years. Opportunity to consider value of this review process and potential revision for increased efficiency.
   5. GCAC-217 Degree Titles – recommend review of provision 3 regarding uniform use of M.P.S. degree title. Many programs have been switching away from the use of MPS and towards “Master of…” titling. It would be worthwhile to examine the stance regarding the use of M.P.S. and revising appropriately to reflect Council’s current views on degree titles.

Executive Committee

1. Consider improving the functionality of Graduate Council committees. Options to consider:
   1. Develop training for committee chairs and their Grad School liaisons.
   2. Get lessons from the Faculty Senate on “forensic reports” and other informational reports. How are they used, when are they effective?
   3. Divide and make progress. Help committees, when tasked with large issues, to identify finite subsets where progress can be made in a realistic time frame.

Ad Hoc Committees

Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Integrity

1. We recommend that the Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Integrity finish its initial tasks.
2. Additionally, the committee should study how artificial intelligence is affecting and potentially reshaping graduate education.

Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Graduate Education

1. We recommend that the Ad Hoc Committee on DEI resumes its work. We request an initial informational report to be submitted to Graduate Council in the fall of 2024. This report should include recommendations for future actions.

Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Faculty Status

1. Do the GCAC-101 revisions respond to the range of concerns raised by Faculty Senate study groups? What issues of concern, if any, are not yet addressed? This item is in progress.
2. Is there possible benefit of modifying or eliminating the categorization system (P, Q, R) for graduate faculty membership?
3. Assess the effectiveness of GCAC-101 changes regarding the unit-specific GFNEC qualifications once implemented.
4. Finish overhaul of the websites related to GCAC-101.

Ad Hoc Committee to Protect and Advance Graduate Education at Penn State

1. In addition to the tasks outlined in the committee charge, we suggest the committee look at issues with graduate faculty recruitment and retention in relation to budget challenges and program changes at Penn State, focusing on its impact on graduate student quality of life and academic success.