Dec 07, 2024  
2021-2023 Graduate Catalog 
    
2021-2023 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Administration of Graduate Programs


The Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies is the administrative officer for all graduate programs and is responsible to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The Graduate Council is the advisory body for the Graduate School. The members are graduate faculty elected by the graduate faculty in departments or academic units offering graduate degrees, the Dean of the Library, and the Graduate Dean. Additionally, the Graduate Dean serves as the chairperson for the Graduate Council meetings.

The Graduate Council has four standing committees: Appeals and Petitions, Curriculum Course and Program Review, Graduate Faculty Membership Committee, and Policies and Procedures. The Appeals and Petitions Committee reviews the appeals and petitions submitted by students that have been routed to the student’s advisor, department chair, and college dean. Student appeals are filed for readmission after graduate suspension. Student petitions are filed for time extensions as a matter of retention when the timeline to complete the degree is nearing expiration. The Curriculum Course and Program Review Committee reviews and makes (1) recommendations on course additions, deletions, and modifications and (2) programmatic proposals, modifications, admissions standards, and retention policies. The curricular proposals are evaluated via the university’s online curriculum approval system. Additionally, this committee supports the Dean of the Graduate School in preparing and updating revisions of the Graduate Catalog.The Graduate Faculty Membership Committee reviews and evaluates credentials of faculty recommended for membership with the support of the department chair and college dean. The levels of graduate faculty membership range from adjunct, to new faculty and faculty seeking recertification are detailed in subsequent sections of this handbook. The Policies and Procedures Committee reviews all proposed actions pertaining to policies and procedures guiding the operations of the Graduate School. Any policy and procedure modification or new policy and procedure must be approved for recommendation by the Graduate Council and submitted to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for approval.

The graduate coordinator for each college, department, or program is the general advisor for students in the department. A student may be assigned a specific advisor by the graduate coordinator based on the major and concentration. The graduate coordinator is responsible for evaluating the student’s credentials as submitted in the application process. Decisions to accept or not accept are made by the graduate coordinator using one of the following: a) accept and recommend admission unconditionally, b) accept and recommend admission with conditions that are stated specifically and inclusive of prerequisites, c) not accept based on the applicant’s credentials do not meet the minimum requirements for acceptance. The graduate coordinator notifies the Graduate School of the college, department, or program decisions. The Graduate School reviews and verifies the recommendation prior to sending an official letter of admission signed by the Dean of the Graduate School.

NOTE: while the assigned program advisor guides the student’s academic progress, it is the responsibility of the student to observe all regulations to meet the requirements for completing the degree. Graduate students can access the Banner Application - Degree Works available through the myTSU portal to check progress toward degree completion.