First offering graduate instruction in 1893, the NCSU Graduate School today provides instruction and facilities for advanced study and research in a wide range of technological, scientific, and scholarly endeavors. Fields of graduate study include agriculture and life sciences, design, education and psychology, engineering, forest resources, humanities and social sciences, management, physical and mathematical sciences, textiles, and veterinary medicine.
The Graduate School's offerings currently encompass ninety-one fields of study at the master's level and fifty-four at the doctoral level. Degrees offered include Master of Science (sixty-eight areas), Master of Arts (six areas), Master of Education (sixteen areas), Master of a designated area (thirty-two areas), Doctor of Education (seven areas), and Doctor of Philosophy (forty-eight areas). Fourteen graduate programs are interdisciplinary or interdepartmental (see self-study library and Graduate Catalog for a full list of all graduate programs).
Since conferring its first doctoral degree in 1926, NCSU has conferred over 5,500 doctoral degrees and 16,000 master's degrees. There has been a significant increase in the number of graduate degrees awarded in the last ten years (figure 6.1).
In 1992-93, NCSU conferred 807 master's and 283 doctoral degrees. The average times to complete the degrees were 2.86 years for master's degrees and 5.50 for doctorates (table 6.1) (see self-study library for a table ranking average time to degree completion by program).
Degree Average Minimum Maximum ------ ------- ------- ------- Master's 2.86 0.71 14.71 Doctoral 5.50 2.29 13.50
In fall 1993 the graduate and professional student population was 4,834 students, representing all fifty states and ninety countries. Table 6.2 shows the graduate enrollment by college or school for fall semester 1992 (see self-study library for enrollment by program). This represents a significant annual growth rate over the last ten years (figure 6.2).
In addition to graduate programs offered through the Graduate School at NCSU, the College of Veterinary Medicine offers postgraduate professional training in two areas: a medical professional Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, which trains students to practice veterinary medicine; and a House Officer (Interns and Residency) program, which provides graduate DVMs with advanced clinical-specialty training. Students in the House Officer program, who receive a training certificate after two to three years, aspire to apply for board certification in one or more of the fifteen specialty areas of the profession.
Within the overall mission of the University, the specific mission of the Graduate School is to foster excellence in all dimensions of graduate education, from the admission of individual students through the maintenance, development, and evaluation of programs. In the context of this mission, the Graduate School has adopted the following three-to-five-year goals:
College or school Master's Doctoral All----------------- -------- -------- --- Agriculture and Life Sciences 333 409 742
Design 172 --- 172
Education and Psychology 393 402 795
Engineering 754 463 1,217
Forestry 130 50 180
Humanities and Social Sciences 390 --- 390
Management 210 39 249
Physical and Mathematical Sciences 191 248 439
Textiles 67 49 116
Veterinary Medicine 10 42 52
Total 2,650 1,702 4,352
The graduate programs are administered at the University level by the dean of the Graduate School, who maintains liaison on graduate programs and policies with appropriate officials of The University of North Carolina General Administration and its Graduate Council. Upon recommendation of the Administrative Board of the Graduate School, the dean reviews and approves all new graduate courses and recommends all new programs for further action by the provost and chancellor and, when required, the UNC Graduate Council (which consists of graduate deans and faculty from the campuses of the UNC system that offer graduate degrees), the UNC-GA, and the UNC Board of Governors. The dean of the Graduate School also acts on all department or program recommendations regarding graduate admission and all aspects of graduate programs leading to fulfillment of degree requirements. The dean is responsible for conducting periodic graduate program reviews and acts on recommendations for appointments to the graduate faculty.
Assisting the dean are two full-time associate deans and one half-time associate dean. The Administrative Board of the Graduate School serves the University by formulating policies, procedures, and actions of the Graduate School. The graduate dean chairs this board.
The associate deans of the Graduate School assist the graduate dean and serve the Graduate School in ways that reflect the goals of graduate education at NCSU. Some of the areas of responsibility include reviewing of applications (all African-American and all that do not meet published admissions standards); reviewing and approving graduate students' Plans of Work; conducting graduate program reviews; administering fellowships; facilitating the recruitment and retention of African-American graduate students and students from other under-represented U.S. populations; securing external funding to support graduate programs; serving as advisor to the Graduate Student Association; and maintaining direct communication with directors of graduate programs in departmental and program units.
The policies of the Graduate School are developed by the graduate faculty through the Administrative Board of the Graduate School, which is advisory to the dean of the Graduate School. The ABGS includes representatives from each of the colleges and schools offering graduate programs, a representative from the Faculty Senate, and the president of the Graduate Student Association, who has full voting privileges. Representatives are elected by the graduate faculty in the colleges and schools and serve a four-year term, with the exception of the Faculty Senate representative and the Graduate Student Association representative, each of whom serves one year. In addition, after consultation with the dean of the Graduate School, the chancellor may appoint additional members to the board, but the number of these appointees may not exceed one half the number of elected members. The chancellor's current five appointees represent the four colleges with the largest graduate enrollments and the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research.
In addition to the Administrative Board of the Graduate School, there is also a Graduate School Board of Advisors, which functions like a board of visitors and meets semi-annually. The Board of Advisors currently comprises four Distinguished University Professors and sixteen external members who are state and national leaders from business, government, and academia (see self-study library for a current list of the names and affiliations of the members of the Board of Advisors). The function of the Board of Advisors is to give the dean of the Graduate School the perspectives on graduate education of the constituencies they represent, to serve as advocates for NCSU's graduate programs among their constituencies, and to help identify and increase resources for NCSU's graduate programs, particularly through endowed graduate fellowships.
Each department or program offering graduate study is required to designate a director of graduate programs, who handles all correspondence between the Graduate School and the department or program and conducts the daily administration of graduate programs at the department or program level. In addition, the directors of graduate programs serve in an advisory capacity to students requesting admission to that graduate program. The director may also serve as advisor to a new graduate student until the student constitutes his or her graduate advisory committee.
In order for faculty to serve as members of a graduate advisory committee, they must be members of the graduate faculty. Associate membership status may be conferred on faculty who have at least the rank of assistant professor. Full membership status may be conferred when the faculty member has an established and distinguished record of research and/or service on students' committees (as judged by the full members of the graduate faculty of faculty member's department or program and the dean of the Graduate School). Appointment to the graduate faculty is made by the dean of the Graduate School on the recommendation of the faculty of the department or program.
The Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual describes the procedures employed in maintaining quality of programs and developing new programs through a well-established review and approval process.
Actions taken as a result of graduate program reviews are far-ranging. For example, in spring 1992 a review team recommended several changes in the Master of Technology in International Development (MTID) program. The team recommended that formal credit be awarded for the reports on students' required international experience. Reporting on the required international experience had previously been handled in a very informal way, and no academic credit was awarded for the reports. The committee also recommended that one or more core courses be developed for the program, that these core courses be given course prefixes indicating their place in the MTID program, and that these courses be taught by permanent faculty of the program. Prior to the review, only one course had been required of all students, and the requirement was imposed only if the course were offered at a time convenient to the students. That course had been offered as a special topics course in the Department of Crop Science and taught primarily by retired faculty on a volunteer basis. The MTID faculty responded to both of these recommendations and developed proposals consistent with both in spring 1993. The proposals were approved by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School and were effective in fall 1993.
Also in spring 1992, a graduate program review committee supported the Department of Curriculum and Instruction's interest in developing a program in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in elementary education. A proposal to develop the concentration was presented to the Administrative Board of the Graduate School in spring 1993. It was approved and was implemented in fall 1993.
As a companion to the in-depth program reviews, the Graduate School also provides an annual snapshot of graduate programs in its composite annual profile. Like the in-depth review, the annual profile provides a program with a chance to modify its mission and goals in light of changes in the department or program, college or school, university, or the general environment. In addition to quantitative information, the annual profile also provides the opportunity to reflect on customized measures of effectiveness developed by the program or department (see self-study library for a sample of an annual profile). In 1993 a category showing time-to-degree-completion for master's and doctoral students was added for each program. In the future, the results of surveys of students and former students, as described below, are expected to be included in the profile. The profile is used by departments and programs, colleges and schools, the provost, and the Graduate School to assess the status of graduate programs according to key objective indicators that are used nationally.
The Office of the Dean of the Graduate School conducts an exit survey to assess individual students' perceived effectiveness of their graduate experience (see self-study library for a copy of the survey instrument). This was initiated in fall 1992, and the data from the first exit interviews are currently being compiled for distribution to departments and programs. Early signs are that the exit interviews may be one of the most powerful ways to evaluate the graduate program from the point of view of individual students.
In addition to the assessment activities initiated by the Graduate School, each graduate program is currently developing an institutional assessment plan that integrates the mission statement and purposes of the program with intended student outcomes, develops measures and procedures to evaluate those outcomes, and uses the evaluation results for program improvement. Although certain aspects of each plan, particularly in the professional master's programs, are discipline specific, a number of intended outcomes are common to the majority of the plans: students should be able to conduct independent research; students should be able to communicate the results of that research effectively both orally and in writing; master's students should be well prepared for Ph.D. programs; students should be placed in jobs appropriate to their professional training; students should have a general (master's) or extensive (Ph.D.) knowledge of the key theories and principles of their disciplines; and students should be able to write proposals relevant to the disciplines that will result in project funding as well as articles or books that are published after peer review. As measures of these intended outcomes, the plans mention student grades on coursework; performance on preliminary and final written and oral exams; performance in capstone seminars; exit interviews; alumni surveys; and employer surveys. Evaluation results are to be reported to the graduate faculty for use in improving recruiting, admissions standards, individual course content, and graduate curricula.
NCSU's entire process for assessing the effectiveness of graduate program activity is generally highly regarded. After an informal review, it was assessed by an experienced Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reviewer as a model that might be adopted nationwide.
Subcommittee on Infrastructure for Graduate Education: Examine the infrastructure for graduate education at NCSU. Make recommendations for change and/or enhancement. Infrastructure issues of particular concern include graduate-student and graduate-program support.
Subcommittee on Dimensions of Excellence in Graduate Education: Identify the targets of opportunity for greater excellence in doctoral education over the next ten years. Indicate what changes are necessary to achieve that greater excellence.
Subcommittee on Graduate Administrative Policy Issues: Suggest ways in which the Graduate School can work most effectively with the programs, departments, and colleges to achieve shared goals.
The steering committee was charged with coordinating the work of the above three committees and with providing an interim report to the Graduate School in spring 1993 and a final report by December 1993. The steering committee submitted the interim report to the dean of the Graduate School on July 22, 1993, and the dean of the Graduate School submitted the interim report to the provost on July 23, 1993. Some general findings of the interim report will be mentioned later in this chapter.
The interim report of the Investment in Graduate Education Committee addressed issues of importance to graduate education in these areas:
An area of particular concern is the need for information systems that increase administrative efficiency. The Investment in Graduate Education Committee expressed concern that directors of graduate programs and Graduate School administrators were spending an inordinate amount of time generating information relative to NCSU's individual graduate programs or graduate programs in general. Both the Infrastructure Subcommittee and the Administrative Policy Subcommittee expressed concern about the access to and integrity of databases containing information about graduate students and graduate programs, noting that the present system is unacceptable for a technological university like NCSU.
To administer graduate programs efficiently, appropriate faculty and administrators must have quick access to all data they need to manage graduate programs. Although most of this information is available in various databases on campus, it is often difficult to access it quickly in the necessary format. The University should maintain information systems related to graduate students and graduate programs. These systems should contain databases that are accurate, up-to-date, and easily accessible, in a user-friendly format, by users with a legitimate need. To meet specialized needs, they should allow for downloading of data into computers at the user (department/program/college/university) level in a format that can be used with database software of the user's choosing. To develop and manage these systems, the University should add an information-specialist position to the Graduate School staff. The information specialist should work closely with other units (ACS, MIRC, UPA, departments, programs, colleges, etc.).
Recommendation 6.1: The NCSU Graduate School should improve its information systems to make more effective and efficient use of the resources allocated to graduate education.
