Chapter 5
Academic Programs

 

5.4 Graduate Education at SVSU

All graduate programs at SVSU share a common mission to provide excellent masters level professional education, in the areas of business administration, K-12 teaching, K-12 educational leadership, multi-media communication, nursing, leadership and public administration, and scientific and technological processes.

As SVSU has matured over the past decade, it has expanded its graduate curriculum from three major programs to eight, with a subset of specializations within College of Education Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and Education Leadership (EdL) programs bringing the number of concentrations to 20. Consequently, SVSU is now considered a Masters I institution in the Carnegie Classification. In Fall Semester, 2003, 612 graduate students were admitted; that number includes 33 international students. With the exception of those international students, most students enrolled in SVSU’s graduate programs are drawn from the immediate region the university serves. Graduate programs at SVSU are part-time professional programs serving non-traditional students who tend to be employed full-time in their respective fields and seek to enhance their credentials and move into leadership positions. These programs are research-oriented in the context of professional programs (e.g., needs assessment and program evaluation skills are taught). They are organized, not around faculty research interests, but around community need. The programs are not directly attached to any doctoral-level study. These professional programs meet the same community needs as the undergraduate professionally accredited programs; their creation is often prompted by local business and community leaders.

Programs vary in admissions policies; those enrolling international students have English language requirements. All graduate programs at SVSU are designed to promote the following:

Because SVSU graduate programs are developed to meet regional needs, they are subject to a shifting market; and because students are local recruits, markets for these programs can be easily saturated, leading to declining enrollments. Three years ago, the number of graduate students entering the College of Education was rising dramatically. Due to changes in the economic environment of the state, however, the demand is showing some decline, while the Nursing program, which experienced some decline in enrollments, is now seeing a resurgence. Consequently, flexibility is an important attribute for addressing concerns of graduate programming at SVSU. To address the issue of declining enrollments in Graduate Programs, the President has charged program task forces to study the issue and make recommendations.


Administrative Structure for Graduate Programming

As noted in Chapter 3, Graduate programs at SVSU follow a unique model. Program development and governance fall within the purview of Academic Affairs, carried out by Program Coordinators, while recruitment and financial aid fall within Enrollment Management. Graduate Program Coordinators report to their college deans (who report to the Vice-President of Academic Affairs). Goals and objectives and the associated assessment measures are developed by the individual programs and their effectiveness measured within the college. Instructors are drawn from the undergraduate teaching faculty and must make application to the Graduate Committee, as defined in the Faculty Contract. The Graduate Committee reviews faculty credentials and grants approval for faculty to teach graduate courses; faculty are approved for five years and must reapply when their terms expire.

Graduate Admissions: The Director of Graduate Admissions reports to the Assistant Vice President and Director of Undergraduate Admissions, who reports to the Vice-President for Student Services & Enrollment Management. The Director works closely with the Graduate Program Coordinators and occasionally brings issues to the Graduate Program Advisory Council.

The Graduate Admissions Office develops and distributes marketing materials to promote the programs, in consultation with the Coordinators, and is responsible for student recruitment and other enrollment-related issues. This office receives transcripts and letters of reference and compiles the folders to be delivered to the graduate Coordinators for actual admissions decisions. The office also provides information on financial assistance for students and oversees funding. Aid is provided through graduate assistantships, and criteria for these awards are defined in consultation with the Vice-President for Student Services & Enrollment Management.

The International Programs Office, which also reports to the VP for Student Services & Enrollment Management, provides support to international graduate students, from obtaining their visas before arrival through graduation, and sometimes with work opportunities following graduation. The office helps Graduate Program Coordinators deal with issues specific to international students, such as English language competencies and transcript evaluation. Recruitment of international students can occur out of the International Programs Office, the Graduate Admissions Office, and the colleges.

Graduate Committee: As previously noted, graduate programs are the responsibility of the respective college deans and are administered by Program Coordinators, who are appointed by the deans from their respective faculties. The Graduate Committee, one of four major committees defined by the Faculty Contract, provides oversight to these programs, just as the Curriculum and Academic Policies Committee oversees undergraduate curriculum and policies. The Graduate Committee is responsible for curriculum and academic policies/procedures pertaining to graduate programs, including the approval of faculty and adjunct faculty credentials for graduate level teaching. The Committee may also hear appeals on matters of graduate admissions or dismissals.

Graduate Program Advisory Council: Established by the Vice-President for Academic Affairs to discuss common issues, the Graduate Council provides additional coordination and collaboration among the Graduate Program Coordinators as needed. This body is advisory only. Policy proposals or proposals for curriculum revision must go to the Graduate Committee for any action to be taken.

Graduate Program Coordinators: As previouslyindicated, individual graduate programs are administered by Program Coordinators appointed by the respective college dean. These Coordinators manage the graduate programs on a day-to-day basis. In some colleges the Coordinators are assistant deans; in other colleges these functions are separate. Release time or extra compensation is provided to Coordinators for their services. Their duties include the following:

Graduate assistants are available to assist the coordinators in day-to-day management of their offices, including some reception work and filing. These assistantships serve as a source of financial aid for students.

Some Coordinators have indicated that budgeting processes are unclear. While some programs have budgets for faculty training and special project needs such as software, the Coordinators receive no budget reports. While communication about needs is generally cordial, Program Coordinators have no real control over equipment and personnel. Lab equipment may be moved around or changed in response to the needs of one program without taking account of its impact on others, even at the level of having to change classroom assignments for a scheduled and enrolled course without knowing whether appropriate software will be present. An additional complication cited is that the hardware and software budget, critical to the Multi-Media program, is controlled by the Office of Instructional Technology, which does not report to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

New Program Development: Graduate program development first emerges from proposal initiatives designed by the undergraduate department faculty in consultation with both the dean of the college and the Vice-President for Academic Affairs. The graduate curriculum procedure is set out in F5 of the Faculty Contract. A new program proposal must be presented through the official curriculum forms and presented to the Graduate Committee. This body deliberates and, if the proposal passes, it goes on to the full faculty for ratification. Such ratification is contingent on approval by the Presidents’ Council for the State of Michigan, and, in the case of College of Education programs, the additional approval of the State Board of Education.