Share:

Senate News, November 21, 2022

University Senate met on November 21, 2022 in 111 Harrison Hall.

Senators heard a Special Report from Rosemary Pennington on the new process for honors course recertification.

The following items were received on the Consent Calendar:

  1. LEC Meeting Minutes_11.01.2022  
  2. LEC Meeting Minutes_11.08.2022
  3. Grad Council Curriculum Only Meeting _11.08.2022


Minutes of the University Senate meeting for November 7, 2022 were approved along with the following resolutions:

SR 23-03

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that University Senate endorses the proposed degree. Music Composition/Bachelor of Music.

AND FURTHERMORE, that the endorsement by University Senate of the proposed degree will be forwarded to the Miami University Board of Trustees for consideration.

 

SR 23-04

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that University Senate endorses the proposed degree, CSE-Cybersecurity, Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity.

AND FURTHERMORE, that the endorsement by University Senate of the proposed degree will be forwarded to the Miami University Board of Trustees for consideration.

SR 23-05 Proposal for Graduate Academic Integrity Policy

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that University Senate endorses the proposed Graduate Academic Integrity Policy amended from the Academic Integrity Policy as set forth below.

General

Miami University is a scholarly community whose members believe that excellence in education is grounded in qualities of character as well as of intellect. We respect the dignity of other persons, the rights and property of others, and the right of others to hold and express disparate beliefs. We believe in honesty, integrity, and the importance of moral conduct. We defend the freedom of inquiry that is the heart of learning and combine that freedom with the exercise of judgment and the acceptance of personal responsibility. 

Miami demands the highest standards of professional conduct from its students, faculty, and staff. As a community of scholars, our fundamental purpose is the pursuit of knowledge. Integrity in academic study is based on sound disciplinary practices and expectations, as well as a commitment to the values of honesty and integrity. 

The faculty have the right and the obligation to set standards for ethical and honest academic study.The graduate faculty are responsible for communicating and discussing these standards with their graduate students. Students are also responsible for knowing and understanding these standards and misunderstanding does not justify the violation of academic integrity. If a student is in doubt about appropriate academic conduct in a particular situation, they should consult with the instructor in the course, the department chair/program director, or the Dean of the Graduate School in order to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty.

SR 23-06

Proposal for Graduate Summer Fellowship Policy

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that University Senate endorses the changes for the Graduate Summer Fellowship Policy as set forth below.

Graduate Summer Research Fellowships (Students who started Fall of 2020) 

The purpose of the Graduate Summer Research Fellowship is to provide financial support for full-time graduate students to engage in meaningful scholarly activities during a 6-week summer period. The summer research fellowship is intended for students who have no additional means of summer support during the six-week summer period (e.g., grant-funded assistantship; external, paid internships; teaching assignments, etc.). The awarding of these fellowships is competitive and subject to availability of funds. 

Eligibility 

To be eligible for a Graduate Summer Research Fellowship, a student must have fulfilled the following requirements: 

  • Student held a full-time (18-20 hour per week) graduate assistantship, residence hall personnel assistantship, or a dissertation scholarship/fellowship for at least one full semester during the fall or spring semester preceding the summer research fellowship period.
  • Student completed at least nine (9) graduate credit hours in each of the two semesters prior to the summer research fellowship period.
  • Student has made satisfactory progress toward the graduate degree, including: Earned a 3.0 GPA or above (cumulative and in each of the fall and spring semesters prior to the summer research fellowship period)

Met departmental milestones on time, including for example: plan of study, research proposal defense, and comprehensive exams, etc. The completion of milestones needs to be documented by the student’s department or program 

  • Student must not be receiving additional Miami University funded support, from the following sources:

Externally-funded research assistantship that already pays the student in the summer 

Full-time, paid external internship that already pays the student in the summer Teaching course(s) in the summer and the student was paid for teaching the course(s) 

  • Student must either (a) be pursuing a thesis master’s program, specialist program, or doctoral program, or (b) be enrolled in a program that has a required research project or experience.
  • Student must be engaged in meaningful research activity as described below in Fellowship expectations

Time Limits 

  • Master thesis-track (and specialist-track) students are eligible for a total of two years of summer support.
  • PhD candidates are eligible for a total of four years of summer support including their years as master’s degree candidates.

Maximum Number of Awards 

Up to 300 graduate summer research fellowships will be awarded per academic year pending available funds. 

Fellowship Expectations 

The student must commit to a minimum of 6 weeks of full-time summer study for the activities described below: 

  • Student must be engaged in one or more of the following meaningful activities over the summer they receive support:

Research activities related to degree requirements that will result in a publication, completion of thesis/dissertation and requirements, or provide preliminary data for grant applications 

Mentoring of undergraduate students in research 

Other important activities related to degree completion (e.g., unpaid research related internships or research independent studies) 

  • Students must either:

For students whose degree programs encourage summer session credits, register for 0–9 credit thesis or dissertation hours during the first summer session. 

Students who do not need summer session credits to graduate in a timely manner are encouraged to enroll in a 0 credit-hour internship or independent study (i.e., thesis or dissertation credits). 

Note: Courses taken for P, S, and CR1 grades count toward eligibility for the summer research fellowship; they are not, however, computed in students’ grade point averages. Students who receive F, U, or NCR in such courses will not receive credit towards the summer research fellowship. 

Through an online Graduate School form, students are required to submit a 1 paragraph description of what was accomplished to the Graduate School before the start of fall semester classes. Students who do not submit this description will not be eligible to apply for a future Graduate Summer Research Fellowship. 

Full-Time Summer Study Defined 

Full time study for graduate students is defined as 20 hours per week to fulfill the fellowship expectations (see above). 

Graduate Summer Research Fellowship Payments 

Eligible students who are selected for a fellowship will receive $1,500 (if GA for 2 semesters) or $750 (if GA for 1 semester) for engaging in full-time study as defined by the Graduate School and their academic department. The Graduate Summer Research Fellowship does not come with a tuition waiver; therefore, if a student chooses to register for more than 0 credit hours in the summer, they are responsible for paying all tuition and fees unless their division or department decides to cover these. 

Summer Research Fellowships will be paid on or before June 30th. 

Processing of Graduate Summer Research Fellowships 

Graduate students who wish to be considered for a Graduate Summer Research Fellowship must apply through an online Graduate School form no later than February 1 for the upcoming summer. Late submissions will not be considered. The Graduate School will share the application data with graduate programs and work with them to verify eligibility and select the students who will receive the Graduate Summer Fellowship (incorporating feedback or ranked lists from the graduate program if they choose to provide them). When more eligible students apply than there is funding to support, the following may be used to select recipients: (a) ranked lists submitted by the graduate program, (b) the importance and impact of the proposed activities as described in the application, and (c) whether the student has received a Graduate Summer Research Fellowship previously (those who have not will be prioritized).Students will be notified as soon as possible in the spring semester if they are receiving a Graduate Summer Research Fellowship.

SR 23-07 Proposal to Change the Natural Science Requirements in the Miami Plan

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that University Senate endorses the proposed change to the Natural Science Requirements in the Miami Plan as set forth below. 

Students complete at least six credits of natural science courses with at least one course being a laboratory course. Natural science courses may include courses from the biological and/or physical sciences.


We concluded the meeting with an update from Provost Mullenix about our student crisis response and a summary of the Boldly Creative initiative.