Graduate Council

Each of the colleges or schools offering graduate degree programs has at least one (1) elected faculty representative on the Graduate Council. The remaining faculty seats are apportioned among these academic divisions based on each unit’s full-time equivalent graduate faculty size determined by the number of Level A and B graduate faculty. Specifically, the method of major fractions is used to determine the faculty seats, taking into account the guaranteed seats. Three (3) graduate student representatives are also chosen by the Graduate Student Association to serve on the Graduate Council.

Faculty representatives to the Graduate Council must be faculty in the colleges and schools that offer graduate degree programs. To be eligible to vote in Graduate Council elections, faculty members must hold regular graduate faculty standing of Level A.

Each college or school selects several nominees; the number selected should equal twice the number of faculty representatives to be elected plus one, and cannot be fewer than three (i.e. if only one seat is to be filled). The names of these nominees will appear on the general election ballot.

The three-year terms of faculty representatives are staggered so that one-third of the representatives are chosen at each annual election, both for the Graduate Council as a whole and in the separate academic divisions that hold two (2) or more seats. The Dean of the Graduate School serves as chair of the Graduate Council, while the Associate Dean serves as acting chair in the absence of the Dean. The Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School serves as secretary. The three (3) graduate student representatives to the Graduate Council serve for one-year terms, with no limit on eligibility to serve successive terms. They are chosen according to procedures established by the Graduate Student Association. However, no more than two (2) graduate student representatives can serve from the same school or college. 

Two (2) graduate student alternates who represent two (2) different colleges or schools will be chosen by the GSA. Faculty alternates to the Graduate Council are chosen within each division. After determining the elected faculty representatives, each division re-processes the ballots to determine the alternate. Divisions with three (3) or fewer representatives have one alternate, while those with four (4) or more seats have two alternates.

Chair

Michael Crowder, Dean of the Graduate School

Secretary

Meggan Davison, Assistant to the Dean and Manager of Graduate Student Services

Ex Officio

Amity Noltemeyer, Associate Dean of the Graduate School
Elise Radina, Associate Dean of the Graduate School
Carol Jones, Office of the Registrar

College of Arts and Science

Cynthia Klestinec, Department of English
Elizabeth Kiel Luebbe, Department of Psychology
Rachel Morgan-Kiss, Department of Microbiology
Gaile Pohlhaus, Department of Philosophy
Vaishali Raval, Department of Psychology
Paul Schaeffer, Department of Biology

College of Education, Health, and Society

Jason Abbitt, Department of Educational Psychology
Robin Vealey, Department of Sport Leadership and Management

Farmer School of Business

Michele Frank, Farmer School of Business (Accounting)
Maria Weese, Farmer School of Business (Information Systems and Analytics)

College of Creative Arts

Dennis Cheatham, Department of Art

College of Engineering and Computing

Justin Saul, Department of Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering

College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science

Graduate Student Members

Shelby Exline, Student Affairs and Higher Education
Suraj Rajasekhar, Cell, Molecular, and Structural Biology
Nanci Reyes-Guzman, Geology

Alternates

College of Arts and Science
Elizabeth Wardle, Department of English

Farmer School of Business
Jay Shan, Department of Information Systems and Analytics

College of Education, Health, and Society
Joe Malin, Department of Educational Leadership

College of Engineering and Computing
Andrew Sommers, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

College of Creative Arts
Ricardo Averbach, Department of Music

College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science
Matthew Saxton, Department of Biological Sciences

Graduate Students
Ellie Armstrong, Department of Biology
Achintya Jena, Department of Biology

The Graduate Council meets at regular intervals or at the request of the Dean of the Graduate School.  The following are the duties and responsibilities of the Graduate Council:

1. Determining the standards of the graduate curriculum, graduate instruction, and the standards for selecting instructional personnel at the graduate level.
2. Deciding whether or not course content is appropriate to be offered for graduate credit.
3. Formulating standards, policies, and procedures for admitting students to graduate study. The Council also formulates standards for a student’s continuance in Graduate School. The Council has the authority to dismiss from the Graduate School those who fail to maintain these standards and to dismiss from the University any student found guilty of academic dishonesty.
4. Formulating academic regulations governing graduate students.
5. Certifying all candidates who are qualified to receive their respective graduate degrees to the University.
6. Considering petitions of graduate students.
7. Promoting the advancement and improvement of graduate study at Miami University in all appropriate ways.
8. Considering the approval of new graduate degrees and new graduate programs, including the following: a) new majors leading to existing degrees; b)structural modifications in and suspension or discontinuation of existing programs that originate from a department, Divisional Graduate Committee, School, or Dean. Requests for these programs or changes are given to the Dean of the Graduate School for review by Graduate Council. An appropriate Area Subcommittee may also review the proposals, making recommendations to the Graduate Council.  After compiling recommendations for new degrees and new programs, Graduate Council forwards its suggestions to the Council of Academic Deans and then the University Senate.

The Student Petitions Committee has five faculty members. It meets regularly to consider petitions and to make recommendations to the Graduate Council, which has the responsibility for final action. The following petitions are handled at the divisional level and reported to Graduate Council at the end of each semester: 

• First-time request for an extension of the time limit to finish a degree.
• Substitution of a course to fulfill degree requirements.
• Credit for coursework that is more than five (5) years old
• Transfer of hours from one (1) degree program to another.
• Registration with a combination of graduate and undergraduate credit hours.

All petitions not mentioned above should be sent to the Student Petitions Committee of the Graduate Council. Examples of petitions that will be handled by the Subcommittee are the following: 

• A second request for an extension of the time limit to finish a degree.
• Any request for a change to the academic record.
• A request to hold a graduate award without full graduate registration.
• A request to be reinstated in Graduate School.

Graduate Student Petition Form