Graduate Council has completed a review of OU's graduate programs and hopes now to use graduate students and faculty members' input to develop a final agenda for improving graduate education.

"My goal is that every faculty and graduate student has the opportunity and takes the opportunity to look at the reports," said Carol Blum, vice president of research and graduate studies.

Last year, four All University Policy Review Committees recommended OU review its graduate education. The doctoral review conducted by the Ohio Board of Regents also had a similar recommendation.

Graduate Council formed three ad-hoc committees last spring to explore general aspects of the graduate programs. Each committee has prepared a report with its recommendations and is looking to graduate students and faculty members for feedback about the reports.

The committees focused on recruiting and retaining a diverse graduate student body, reviewing and possibly reconfiguring degree programs and improving an orientation and professional training program similar to Precollege.

Each committee included two members of Graduate Council, a representative from the Graduate Student Senate and a representative from each college offering graduate and professional degrees. The representatives were nominated by the corresponding college dean.

The committee members met during Fall and Winter Quarters to evaluate the programs and develop recommendations, which were completed last month.

Throughout May, responses from graduate students and faculty members will help form a final set of recommendations, which will be presented to OU President Robert Glidden and Provost Sharon Brehm in June.

Blum has presented the reports to graduate senate, the entire body of Graduate Council and the deans and chairpersons in each graduate department.

At the April 14 graduate senate meeting, Blum said graduate students are "our consumers, so we need to hear what (they) think."

"I believe deep in my heart that if grad programs are going to improve, they need the commitment of faculty and students," she said.

The committee reports addressed a variety of issues, including the following:

n Capacity for class-size growth, effectiveness of resources used to recruit students, quality of OU's website with information about graduate programs and the representation of cultural diversity.

n Establishment of orientation programs for both domestic and international students and programs to prepare students for future employment in faculty positions.

n Improvement of the timeliness and content of graduate program reviews and developing new program initiatives, such as interdisciplinary programs.

Some of the recommendations include: improving Internet access to OU's graduate program, ensuring stable and continuous funding for orientation programs and preparing graduate students for teaching positions.

This general report is only a starting point for improving graduate education, said Kenneth Hicks, recruitment and retention committee chairman.

"The administration has to have a global, overall set of recommendations from which to start, but my hope is the administration will seek feedback from each department to see what is or isn't working within each department."

Once Glidden and Blum review the reports, they will work with the new vice president for research and graduate studies, who will be selected by the end of the year, and the deans to prioritize the recommendations and set an agenda, Blum said.

The reports can be accessed at: http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~resgrad/gradcoun.htm.

Suggestions or questions about the Graduate Council's report can be sent to the council by e-mail: resgrad@www.cats.ohiou.edu.