Graduate Council Terms of Reference

Graduate Council’s primary function is to advise the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) regarding matters related to Graduate Studies at Carleton. Graduate Council is responsible for developing and recommending academic regulations and policies pertaining to graduate studies at Carleton University. Additionally, Graduate Council serves as a forum for planning, information sharing, and advocacy regarding graduate studies to ensure the continued excellence of graduate education at Carleton.

Responsibilities

• To act as an advisory body to the Provost and Vice-President (Academic);
• To develop and revise the General Regulations (Graduate) in the Graduate Calendar for submission to the Senate Committee on Curriculum, Admission, and Studies Policy (SCCASP);
• To develop proposals for and revisions of policies regarding graduate studies at Carleton on topics including but not limited to admissions, graduate supervision, thesis defenses, etc., for submission to the Vice-Presidents’ Academic and Research Committee (VPARC) for approval;
• To disseminate information regarding graduate studies at Carleton to various stakeholders across campus;
• To provide a venue for the Graduate Students’ Association and faculty to advocate on behalf of the concerns of graduate students;
• To act as a forum to share best practices related to graduate student experience, recruitment, retention, supervision, and administration and to use this forum to create an equitable graduate student experience across all Faculties at Carleton;
• To serve as a venue to discuss sector-wide developments and trends in graduate education.

Membership

The Graduate Council is constituted annually as follows:

• Vice-Provost (Graduate Studies) (Chair);
• Deans of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Public and Global Affairs, Faculty of Engineering and Design, Faculty of Science, and the Sprott School of Business (or their delegates);
• Two members elected by and from Senate from amongst the elected faculty members of Senate;
• GSA (Graduate Students’ Association) representatives (x5) (elected by GSA):
  • Two representatives shall be doctoral students and three shall be master’s students, and at least four shall be registered full-time;
  • Graduate student representatives are to be elected annually by the GSA according to such procedures as established by Senate;
  • Graduate student representatives are to be registered and in good academic standing.
• Graduate Supervisor/Chair from each Graduate Program:
  • Each distinct graduate program (not necessarily each academic unit) is entitled to one representative [1];
  • Cross-Faculty Programs and Collaborative Specializations, which typically lack a Graduate Chair, are entitled to appoint one representative, as determined by their governance structure (Collaborative Specializations must have sufficiently different governance from their home academic units for distinct representation);
  • Representation on this Council shall be determined annually following these conditions by the Chair and the Secretary. If a degree program feels it is not represented on this Council, it may appeal to the Council for representation subject to simple majority.

Resources

• Executive Assistant to the Vice-Provost (Graduate Studies) (Secretary)
• Associate Vice-Provost (Graduate Student Affairs)
• Associate Vice-Provost (Graduate Awards and Professional Development)
• Director, Graduate Services/Registrar
• Manager, Graduate Finance and Planning
• Graduate Communications & Strategic Enrolment Officer
• Graduate Curriculum and Calendar Officer
• Coordinators of Graduate Professional Development
• University Librarian or delegate

Quorum and Voting

Quorum is 30% of voting members. The Chair shall not vote except to break a tie.

Meeting Procedures

• The Graduate Council shall be scheduled to meet at least three times in both the Fall and Winter terms. A schedule of meetings shall be published by the beginning of each Fall term;
• Meetings may be cancelled by the Vice-Provost (Graduate Studies) if there is insufficient business. Notice for such a cancellation shall be provided to members of the Council, in writing, at least one week prior to the scheduled meeting;
• Unscheduled meetings may be called, with 10 days’ written notice by the Vice-Provost (Graduate Studies);
• The agenda for the meeting is to be set by the Chair and the Secretary and made available to all members at least one week prior to the meeting;
• Minutes of meetings shall be archived by Graduate Studies and shall be made available to members of the Graduate Council in a timely manner;
• Meetings of the Graduate Council shall be conducted according to Senate Rules of Order;
• Meetings of the Graduate Council are typically open to graduate students, staff, and faculty of Carleton University, but Graduate Council may declare any portion of a meeting to be closed, such as for discussion of confidential matters.

Reporting

Other than as described above, Graduate Council (through its Chair) shall report the content of discussions and advise the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) on behalf of Graduate Council.

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[1] For example:

1. International Affairs sends only one representative despite having both an MA and a PhD.
2. Film Studies and Music are distinct graduate programs that are administered in the same academic unit and thus have distinct representation on this Council.
3. Teaching English as an Additional Language and Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies are two different types of degree offered by the same graduate program, so they share one representative.