Graduate Council

1. General Counsel Request via the Graduate School

The Graduate School brings a request from the University’s General Counsel. They would like the Graduate Council to examine a policy regarding the process for handling a graduate student who is unable to find or maintain a major advisor or form a thesis committee when they are technically in good academic standing. OSU does not have a written policy in this situation, but actions by previous Graduate School Deans may have set a precedent in similar cases that a legal challenge would reference. Please review the attached two documents and come prepared to discuss this on Wednesday.

• Responsibility to find a graduate committee or advisor for graduate students in good standing #1 
• Responsibility to find a graduate committee or advisor for graduate students in good standing #2 

2. Discussion Items

Discussion items from February 22:

1. A student may only transfer in courses in which they have earned a grade of B or better. Does this make sense if graduate students can earn a grade of C in an OSU course while enrolled and have it count?
2. Why is someone not allowed to earn two PhD degrees at OSU?

3. PAC Courses

PAC courses count toward the overall GPA for graduate students. Should they? The Council initiated discussion of this item on February 22 and decided that members would check with their respective colleges and return to the discussion at a later date. It’s not anticipated to discuss this item on March 1, but it’s being kept on the agenda so it isn’t forgotten.