To: Members of the UAMS Graduate Council
From: Dr. Antiño Allen, Chair
Subject: Graduate Council Meeting Minutes – April 15, 2024
Members Present: Drs. Antino Allen, Melanie MacNicol, Clare Brown, Martha Rojo, Isabelle Miousse, Mohammed Orloff, Nirmala Parajuli, Lin-Xi Li, Patty Wright, Lisa Jansen
Members Absent: Drs. Brooke Montgomery, Andrew James, Gregory Robinson, David Ussery
Non-voting Members Present: Drs. Sean Taverna, Latrina Prince, and Charlotte Gass (Recorder)
Approval of Minutes from the Previous Meeting: Dr. Antiño Allen started the meeting by asking for approval of the minutes from the last meeting. The minutes were approved (1st by Dr. Melanie MacNicol and 2nd by Dr. Martha Rojo).
Administrative Items – Dr. Sean Taverna
Admissions
Dr. Taverna gave an update concerning admissions for the Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (GPIBS) Program. The GPIBS recruitment cycle is now complete for the Fall 2024 term. The cohort consistent of approximately 21 students. Each student has accepted his/her admissions in GUS. 14 students of the 21 are training grant eligible students (TGE).
The Graduate School currently does not charge an admissions application for any program. All other UAMS charge an admissions application fee. Dr. Taverna opened up the floor for discussion concerning implementing an application fee for the Graduate School.
Admissions Application Fee Discussion
Dr. Patty Wright inquired if all professional programs charge at UAMS. She also inquired if we are reviewing incomplete applications. Dr. Sean Taverna said yes to both. He stated that the GPIBS Admissions Committee reviewed incomplete applications that had minimum requirements with a rubric.
Dr. Latrina Prince told the group that the Graduate School is receiving a large number of applications. The majority of these application are not being completed.
Dr. Taverna stated that at John Hopkins University, they offered waivers to applicants who participated in recruitment events or meet their financial support requirements.
Dr. Isabelle Miousse suggested that we do not charge for Arkansas Residents and only charge $20.00 for the admissions application fee.
Dr. Antino Allen said that he has seen an increase within his program for incomplete applications. His department admin/education coordinator reached out to many applicants to complete his/her application requirements. Applicants apply to multiple programs at UAMS. He stated that during this recruitment cycle that he saw a situation where 2 applicants were interviewed for 2 different programs.
Dr. Prince confirmed that the Graduate School manage all the incomplete applications. Also, the Graduate School manual reviews the GUS To Do List for each applicant per application. GUS provides automated emails to the applicants concerning how to access their GUS To Do List.
The consensus on voting was put on hold. Graduate Council would like to obtain feedback from students concerning implementing an admissions application fee. If approved, the admissions application would be configured and implemented for the 2026-2027 academic year.
Dr. Sean Taverna stated that if anyone had any additional feedback, please send him an email. If approved, he would like to see the Graduate School give X number of waivers out an academic year to students that met requirements (financial need, attended recruitment event/informational session, and/or attended a summer research program). The waivers would be completely transparent on our website, etc.
Administrative Items – Latrina Prince
Program Assessments
The Graduate School has a Program Assessment Template. The Graduate School – Program Assessment Template and process is similar to the Higher Learning Commission Review. The Graduate School must meet with the provost every 2 years to discus and review each program.
The Graduate School will meet with the provost in October 2024 to review each program. The Program Assessment Template has been sent to each program director. The Graduate School Program Assessment Templates are due back to Dr. Latrina Prince in August 2024.
Spring Awards Reception
The annual Spring Awards Reception will be on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 3pm located in Biomedical Research Building I, Helen G. Adams Atrium. No classes or exams between the hours of 3 pm – 5 pm. There will be a lot of awards to give out. Dr. Prince stated that she hopes everyone can attend.
Graduate School: Commencement Brunch
The Graduate School: Commencement Brunch will be on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 10 am – 12 pm at the Four Points by Sheraton in Little Rock, AR (midtown).
Four Points by Sheraton – Little Rock Midtown
925 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204
UAMS Commencement 2024
UAMS Commencement 2024 will be held Saturday, May 18, 2024 at Barton Coliseum on the Arkansas State Fairgrounds in Little Rock. The ceremony begins promptly at 3pm, and doors open to the general public at 1:00pm. Graduates must arrive no later than 1:00pm. The ceremony lasts approximately two hours (3-5p.m.). Graduates may not exit the ceremony before it concludes. For more information, please visit the commencement website at https://commencement.uams.edu/commencement-faq/.
August 2024 (Fall Term)
New Student Orientation – The New Graduate School Student Orientation is scheduled for August 14, 2024 in I. Dodd Wilson. The New Student Orientation is mandatory for all new Graduate School students.
New International Student Orientation – The New International Student Orientation will be scheduled the week before the Fall 2024 term begins. The New International Student Orientation is mandatory for all new International Students at UAMS.
2024-2025 UAMS Academic Catalog
Dr. Prince stated that we are in the progress of making updates to the 2024-2025 UAMS Academic Catalog. UAMS has one academic catalog. The Graduate School is the first college documented in the academic catalog. The 2024-2025 UAMS Academic Catalog is scheduled to be published by May 1, 2024. Dr. Latrina Prince stated that she is not able to make updates ad hoc to the academic catalog. Please make sure to review your program information. The only updates that are made happen at a Mid-Cycle update.
2024-2025 Graduate School Student Handbook
Dr. Prince stated that she is finalizing the 2024-2025 Graduate School Student Handbook. Please send her any updates needed. She has contacted the Program Directors and Track Leaders to obtain any updates. She did not contact each individual faculty member.
Elections
Dr. Sean Taverna would like to allow extensions if faculty would like to continue to serve on Graduate Counsel. We have several faculty members whose appointments end this year (2024). New memebers will need to be in place for the next meeting (May 2024). If you are not planning on staying, please help us by finding a representative. Along with Graduate Council elections, we will also need a chair for the Curriculum Committee and the Faculty Committee. We will be able to vote for these chair positions at our next meeting (May 2024).
Other Administrative Items – Latrina Prince
- New GC Member: Sam Atcherson
Committee Reports
Curriculum
- Dr. Latrina Prince will email reports from each committee.
Faculty Committee
- Dr. Latrina Prince will email reports from each committee.
Academic Senate
Dr. Isabelle Miousse stated that the Academic Senate needs a 2nd representative from the Graduate School/Graduate Council. Typically, the 2 representatives chosen for Academic Senate are also a part of the Graduate School.
The retrenchment policy was on the agenda for the Academic Senate. It detailed the updates of firing policies of faculty. The Academic Senate provided some feedback concerning the policy to the Board of Trustees. The Academic Senate needed some clarification on a few aspects of the policy and definitions. The policy needs to define the checks and balances of the process.
The survey results are currently being summarized. We are hoping to see the results from the survey soon.
The annual fall faculty Meeting will be on April 22nd from 3-5 pm in person and on Zoom. They will show the survey results at the meeting and have a speaker.
The new faculty handbook is in progress.
The UA System is working on the paid parental leave policy. Once established, it will be sent to the provost. After the provost review, it will be distributed to the academic senate (representatives). It was supposed to be sent to the provost in February 2024. It has an implementation timeline of July 1, 2024.
Election will open for more general positions within the Academic Senate. You should have received an email. The turnaround time is/was approximately one week.
Closing
There was no other business to discuss; therefore, the meeting was adjourned.
The meeting adjourned at 1:31p.m.