Third Week Graduate School Enrollment: The official third week enrollment data were released on September 20, 2006.  The UND Graduate School reported a Fall 2006 enrollment of 1,978.   The third week headcount was distributed as follows:  Doctoral Students (Ph.D, Ed.D., D.A.), 388; Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.), 137;  Specialist Diploma, 8; Master’s, 1,259;  Graduate Certificate, 53; Non-degree students, 129.  Sixty percent of the students currently enrolled in the Graduate School are women. A more detailed data set is available from the Office of Institutional Research (http://www.und.edu/dept/datacol/thirdwk/). 

UND Joins Global Consortium for Irrigated Area Mapping and Assessment: Dr. Santhosh Seelan, Professor, Space Studies and Bethany Kurz, a Space Studies student attended the International Workshop on Global Irrigated Area Mapping 2006 at Colombo, Sri Lanka from Sept 25 to 27. The workshop, organized by the International Water Management Institute(IWMI) and attended by participants from around the globe, focused on remote sensing based approach to mapping irrigated cropland globally on a regular basis. Bethany Kurz presented a paper on "Evaluation of Temporal Trends in Irrigated Agriculture Overlying the Ogallala aquifer, United States" authored by Bethany Kurz, Santhosh Seelan and Tanya Justham. The research was initiated by Dr. Seelan and is part of Bethany's thesis work, which in progress. The paper evaluates the accuracy of IWMI estimates of irrigated cropland in the Great Plains, based on the field work carried out last summer by Tanya Justham, a
graduate student of UND's Geology department.

Irrigation, which was primarily responsible for increased food output in the past few decades to meet the growing population' needs, has shown signs of decline in major food producing areas of the world in recent years, causing alarm. The decrease is attributed to decline in water availability and competing uses for water. Mapping and monitoring irrigated cropland on a regular basis has therefore gained importance in the recent years. IWMI, a World Bank funded organization head quartered in Colombo, is the lead agency for this effort. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is a key partner.

During the workshop, a Consortium for Irrigated Area Mapping and Assessment (CIAMA) was formed and the University of North Dakota became a founding member of the consortium. The relationship between UND and IWMI has been nurtured over the past few years which has resulted in research collaboration and student exchanges and this consortium effort further strengthens this initiative.

Santhosh K. Seelan, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Space Studies
John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences

UND Graduate School Scholarly Forum: The 2007 Graduate School Scholarly Forum is scheduled for February 27 – March 1, 2007.  As always, the forum will feature your scholarly work.  Abstracts for individual presentations will be due on February 5, 2007.  In addition  we are accepting proposals for sessions that feature the scholarly work of students and faculty.  Sessions may be oral presentations, panel discussions,  poster presentation, art exhibits, or performance.  Oral sessions will be limited to two hours and should feature original scholarship. Panel discussions will  limited to two hours and should promote an in depth discussion of a scholarly topic.   Proposals should be submitted to the Graduate School and include the following information:  1) a brief description of the proposed session, 2) name of session moderator(s), and 3) names and affiliations of presenters along with tentative titles of the presentations.  All presenters should have a current UND affiliation.  Every effort will be made to accommodate all session requests.  The deadline for session proposals is December 15, 2006.  Please contact me by phone or email (joseph.benoit@und.edu) if you have questions.  I look forward to receiving your session proposals.

2006-07 Graduate Committee Faculty Roster Announced:The Graduate Committee roster  for 2006-07 is listed below. The member’s name is followed by the academic area which s/he represents.  Graduate Committee minutes are available on the Graduate School WEB site, usually within one week of being approved. 
 
Duane Helleloid (Committee Chair),  Business and Public Administration
Bryon Grove, (Vice-Chair),  Basic Medical Sciences
Hossein Salehfar,  Engineering
Cindy Juntunen,  Human Development
Anthony Bevelacqua,  Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Santhosh Seelan,  Aerospace Studies
Mary Ann Laxen,  Allied Health
Donna Morris,  Nursing
Xiaozhao Huang,  Speech and Language (interim)
Kimberly Porter,  Humanities
Bruce DiCristina,  Social Sciences
Shelby Barrentine,  Education
Patrick Luber,  Fine Arts
Joseph N. Benoit, Graduate School (ex-officio)
Wayne  E. Swisher,  Graduate School (ex-officio)

Inform Graduate School of Your Address Change: Change of Address? Please remember, if you change your address in PeopleSoft you will also need to change your address at the Graduate School to ensure our database records are kept up to date.

Graduate Teaching Internship in the Sciences Available in Spring 2007: The North Dakota Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program supports a graduate teaching internship (GTI) to provide intensive teaching experiences for advanced graduate students in the biological and physical sciences at NDSU and UND.  This is an outstanding opportunity for students to develop their teaching skills and enhance their resumes.  Graduate students will teach in the sciences at a participating North Dakota tribal college.  They will receive $13,000 for one semester and will also be eligible for a $2,000 room and board supplement.  Approximately 20 hours/week of teaching service (including laboratories, course preparation, teaching, and other academic service) is expected.  Six positions are available for spring semester of 2007, in the subject areas of biology, chemistry, and physics.  Interns are being recruited from the graduate programs at both NDSU and UND.  Preference will be given to applicants who are nearing completion of their Ph.D. degrees, although applications will be considered from all graduate students in the sciences.  Graduate credit is being arranged from NDSU or UND for this service. 

For further information, contact:
Dr. Katherine Sukalski, UND at 777-4049 or
sukalski@medicine.nodak.edu 

FALL Career Fair Will Be On OCT. 18: The Fall Career Fair will be held Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hyslop Multipurpose Gym. The Career Fair is designed to showcase several local and national businesses to allow students networking possibilities. This all-day event is a great opportunity for students to connect with employers to obtain a job, internship, or co-op. The full list of employers is placed on the Career Services web site located at http://www.career.und.edu. Career Services is a department designed to further the professional growth within education. Career Services is determined to work to empower students to realize their dreams. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact Career Services.

Graduate Faculty Constitution Now Online: The Graduate Faculty Constitution is now available on our website (http://graduateschool.und.edu). Hard copies will be mailed out to all graduate faculty once they are printed.

Graduate Committee Deadlines for Receipt of Curriculum Changes/New Courses, etc.: The Graduate Committee will be reviewing curriculum changes at the 1st and 2nd meeting of each month.  Requests received by the 3rd Friday of each month will be placed on the 1st-Monday meeting agenda.  Requests received by the 4th Friday of each month will be place on the 2nd Monday agenda.  This schedule allows us to get approved information to the University Curriculum committee in time for the next scheduled Senate meeting.  Keep in mind that Graduate Committee approval on curriculum related matters will have to occur on or before April 16, 2007 in order to receive Senate approval by at their May meeting.  Please plan accordingly.

Appointment Deadlines for Spring Graduate Assistantships: Please note the following deadlines for appointment of Spring Assistantships. No extensions to the January 12 and January 19 deadlines will be granted. 

Graduate Program Review Schedule: The Graduate School will be conducting periodic program evaluations of the following programs during the Fall 2006 semester:  Communication/Communication & Public Discourse (M.A., Ph.D.), Geology (M.A., M.S., Ph.D.), Atmospheric Science (M.S.), Industrial Technology (M.S.), and Physical Therapy (D.P.T.).  The members of the review teams are available at the following WEB site:  (http://www.und.edu/dept/grad/html/assessment.html).  Programs slated for Spring 2007 review are: Biology (M.S., Ph.D.), Business Administration (M.B.A.), Mathematics (M.S., M.Ed.), Communication Science & Disorders (M.S., Ph.D.) and Sociology (M.A.).  Review teams will be reading the program self-evaluation, scheduling meetings with faculty and graduate students in the program as well as soliciting input via surveys.   Please take time to provide thoughtful answers to their questions.  While these evaluations are mandated by the state, we are developing ways to incorporate the review findings into resource allocation models, ongoing assessment activities as well as student and faculty recruitment initiatives.  Remember, “Never do anything for only one reason”.   

UND Representatives Attend 2006 American Indian Graduate Center Annual Meeting: The 2nd Annual Meeting of the American Indian Graduate Center was held in Albuquerque on September 22-23.  UND representatives attending were Joseph Benoit, Donna Brown and Linda Neuerburg. The Graduate School purchased exhibit space during the conference and received numerous inquiries from prospective students.  Drs. Neuerburg and Brown presented an excellent workshop on “Retaining and Supporting American Indian Students in Higher Education”.  The discussion highlighted the multitude of services available on our campus that are designed to promote retention and completion of American Indian students.  For more information regarding these programs visit the UND American Indian Student Services WEB site (http://www.und.edu/dept/aiss/).  For more information regarding AIGC programs and scholarship opportunities, visit their WEB site (http://www.aigcs.org).

Ongoing Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes and Formal Graduate Program Evaluation: This fall semester Department Chairs, Graduate Program Directors, and faculty in graduate programs are experiencing more demands on their time and efforts devoted to program evaluation and assessment activities than ever before.  Although preparing and implementing assessment programs can be time consuming for the faculty and program administrators, the nature of on-going program assessment should be an activity that is part of a program’s and faculty’s routine activities. At the Higher Learning Commission Annual Meeting in April, 2006, Randy Humphrey, V.P. for Academic Affairs, and Jennifer Jackson, Director of Accreditation, from Ozarks Technical Community College presented a workshop entitled “Meaningful Program Review: Never Do Anything for Only One Reason”. The presentation described the College’s methods in bringing about program reviews and assessment across their campus and the successes they had in helping program faculty and administrators see the benefit of ongoing program assessment and the continuous quality improvement that resulted.  One of the major points of this presentation was that program evaluation can be, and should be, part of what programs do routinely, and should not be seen as add-on, extraneous work to an already full workload. That is, program assessments should be “the common thread that binds together” institutional goals, institutional and programmatic accreditations, department level and institutional planning and budgeting, and the goals and objectives identified in each program’s mission statement, with the ultimate goal being continuous quality improvement of the programs. This model can be applied to the ongoing assessment of student learning outcomes and program goals as well. Assessment data are used to inform programs about student successes in meeting learning outcomes and program goals, which in turn can be used by programs to make informed decisions about the need, if any, for changes in curriculum, laboratory exercises, performances, exhibits, practica, externship opportunities, etc., which can also be used in supporting institutional reviews pertaining to program needs, e.g., budgets, space, equipment, faculty, etc., i.e., “closing the loop”.

 In a recent publication from the Council of Graduate Schools, “Assessment and Review of Graduate Programs: A Policy Statement”, the importance of integrating ongoing program assessment with a program’s formal evaluation is discussed.  The authors state that “Whatever the specific methods of integration, it is important that formal review and continuous outcomes assessment be seen as parts of the same whole, with the common goal of improving the quality of graduate education.” (Baker, Marilyn J. (Revised and Updated by Margaret F. King, Duane K. Larick, and Michael P. Carter, 2005. p. 9)  The authors also stress that ongoing assessment of graduate programs “should inform and enhance formal program review.  Ideally, the incremental improvements that result from ongoing outcomes assessment will mean a stronger program and fewer “surprises” at the time of the formal review”, and the formal review process , in turn “may suggest additional or revised program outcomes to be measured in the next assessment cycle.” (Baker, Marilyn J. [Revised and Updated by Margaret F. King, Duane K. Larick, and Michael P. Carter], 2005. p. 9)

So, as Department Chairs, Program Directors, and faculty are collecting and analyzing student learning outcome data, preparing Strategic Plans, Annual Reports, Institutional and Professional Accreditation reports, etc., it might be helpful to plan how one overall assessment activity can be designed to serve the many needs of the Institution, the Department, the Faculty, and the students, all of which are designed to improve the quality of graduate education.  That is, “Never Do Anything for Only One Reason.”

References:
Baker, Marilyn J. (Revised and Updated by Margaret F. King, Duane K. Larick, and Michael P. Carter), (2005). Assessment and Review of Graduate Programs: A Policy Statement. Council of Graduate Schools. 

Humphrey, Randy, and Jackson, Jennifer, (2006). Meaningful Program Review: Never Do Anything for Only One Reason. Paper  presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the Higher Learning Commission, April 3, 2006, Chicago, Ill.

Wayne E. Swisher, Ph.D.
Associate Dean

October 11: Spring 2007 course schedule is available on the WEB

October 13: Unsatisfactory Progress (Deficiency) Reports due (noon)

October 24: Last day for students to sumbit incomplete work from Spring 2006 and Summer 2006 or to petition for an extension

October 30: General Graduate Faculty Meeting, Memorial Union Lecture Bowl, 3:00-5:00

October 31: Last day for instructors to turn in removal of incomplete paperwork to the Registrar's Office

November 3: Last day to change to audit grading for a full-term course

November 6 - December 1: Spring 2007 early registration

November 10: Veteran's Day Holiday (No Classes)

November 16: Last day to submit "Preliminary Approval of Thesis or Dissertation" to the Graduate School

November 23-24: Thanksgiving Holiday (No Classes)

November 30: Last day to submit final copy of thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School.

December 7: Last day of classes

December 7: Last day to submit " Final Report on Candidate" form in the Graduate School Office.

December 8: Reading and Review Day

December 11-15: Semester Examination Period

December 15: Commencement Day (10:00 a.m., Graduate School Ceremony; 2:00 p.m., Undergraduate Ceremony)

December 19: Grades Due (noon)

Februrary 27-March 1, 2007: Graduate School Scholarly Forum

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