MINUTES OF THE GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING
Fidel Center – Collaboration Room – Graduate Office
The Graduate Council Meeting was called to order at 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday, September 8, 2015
in Fidel Center – Collaboration Room – Graduate Office. Members present: Lorie Liebrock, Chairman,
Snezna Rogelj, Penny Boston, Nikolai Kalugin, Andrei Zagrai, Navid Mojtabai, Corey LeClerc, Mark Samuels, Michelle Creech-Eakman, Claudia Wilson, Steve Simpson, Ivan Avramidi, Frank Reinow, Dongwah Shin, Aly El Osery, Sara Grijalva, William Stone, Kevin Wedeward & Bryan Watson. Guests: Michael Voegerl, Titia Barham, Peter Mozley, Jamie Kimberley.
The Chairman called for approval of minutes of April 14, 2015. Rogelj made the motion to approve, Creech-Eakman seconded the motion, all approved and the motion passed.
Liebrock sent all the council DE course requirements & recommendation letting them know to
circulate for everyone to see.
Liebrock asked for updates regarding the PhD development from Biology and Engineering:
Biology: Rogelj let the council know Tom Keift is leading this project on the PhD development of
Bio-Technology. Secretary Damron toured the department during her recent visit and was very
excited about what was going on and added she would be willing to help out if needed getting
Engineering: Wedeward let the council know that after the meeting with secretary Damron things have
changed, she let him know that the department of finance will not approve any program that would
be a duplication in the state. So now we are back to the drawing board for general engineering. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Wedeward and Liebrock will meet with Dr. Ostregren and
Dr. Lopez to continue the PhD development.
Liebrock had a discussion regarding graduate admission time frame & date for acceptance with support:
Liebrock let the council know that the graduate office had received a file 2 days before classes were going to start for an international student, which is not acceptable. International students need more time to get their paperwork for visa ready. The deadlines are all posted on the Center for Graduate Studies website. Files should not be out for longer than a month. Boston mentioned that her department will hold on to files waiting for funding. Liebrock suggested to admitting student with no support and if funding comes available at later time, CGS will issue a new admission letter. The CGS will be sending out weekly reports of all files that have been sent to the department.
Liebrock, Voegerl, Barham spoke to the council regarding international deadlines:
We should have all files with decisions by the end of April for fall admission. There are some sensitive countries that getting a visa is a longer process. Voegerl also mentioned that sending out I-20 can also be time consuming due to mailing issues. Voegerl has worked hard helping students get all the necessary paperwork to attend NM Tech.
Liebrock,Voegerl, Barham wanted to discuss with the council the 3 year BS degree/international
evaluation: these degrees are offered from Europe and Asia. Basham informed the council the
foreign evaluation usually go through WES but they do not have descriptions of courses, which
are needed. Students are requested to get this information but usually end up making up the
course descriptions themselves. The council agreed that each department would be responsible
for doing their own evaluation on transcripts.
Snezna Rogelj reviewed the catalog course deletions for Biology: Snezna Rogelj made the motion
to approve the catalog changes. Penny Boston seconded the motion; the changes were approved
BIOL 531, Virology, 3 cr, 3 cl hrs
Molecular biology of viral infection, replication, and pathogenesis. Animal viruses emphasized Shares lecture with BIOL 431, but is graded separately and additional graduate-level work is required.
BIOL 587, 587L Advanced Virology, 3–4 cr, 3 cl hrs, 3 lab hrs
Prerequisite: BIOL 431 or 531
An in-depth study of one or two viruses, viral vectors for gene therapy; and herpes or hemorrhagic fever viruses. The laboratory section of the course will include viral propagation in tissue culture and methods to investigate the molecular biology of viral infection. Shares lecture and lab with BIOL 487, 487 L, but is graded separately and additional graduate-level work is required.
BIOL 588, Biology of Cancer, 3 cr, 3 cl hrs
Prerequisites: BIOL 331 and 333
Principles and molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Involves elements of cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, immunology, biochemistry, virology, pharmacology, physiology, developmental biology, and pathology. Graduate students are required to write a grant proposal.
Liebrock wanted to discuss with the council, general master requirements and competence:
This is a requirement at the graduate level any changes would need to be changed through the
university policy. Boston stated the catalog is not very clear. Boston would like for this decision
to be at a department level. Stone made the comment that math has a spread sheet that the
committee checks for deficiencies. Liebrock suggested that each department develop their own
form for student to fill out and the department must sign off. Mozley suggested the graduate office
add a section to the current course program form; This has now been done.
Liebrock wanted to have a discussion regarding plagiarism: Megan showed the council
a couple of plagiarism issues that were found while running through the iThenticate
process and also answered questions from the council. Simpson suggested it would be a
good idea to print some errors from iThenticate to show graduate students visually.
The cost of iThenticate was brought up. Liebrock let the council know that we are charged per page. Mozley proposed to set up a computer with a log in at the graduate office for advisors to check thesis. Mozley suggested a committee for plagiarism and to research other institutions guidelines regarding this topic.
Academic advisors are to bring thesis and dissertation to CGS for iThenticate testing after the
defense, to eliminate plagiarism cases being found by CGS. Academic advisors will then sign a
certification, after any issues have been addressed, that states all work by others is properly cited
and any copyright releases have been obtained (they must be attached to the NMT copyright form
Lieborck stated that the plagiarism policy needed to be updated. Some plagiarism issues are not
caught by advisor but by the graduate office. Liebrock said there is no time frame to revoke a
degree from a student who has graduated if plagiarism is found after the fact. Best practices will
be reviewed before proposing changes.
Bryan Watson from GSA let the council know that they had money available for travel grant
For guest speakers any suggestion please let GSA know.
Adjournment – The Dean made the motion to adjourn the meeting 5:25 P.M.