Graduate Education Infrastructure

In lieu of a graduate dean, infrastructure for graduate education is shared across several key entities, and is summarized below, both within the colleges and programs, as well as centrally.

Infrastructure within the colleges, departments, and programs includes the following:

• Faculty in the departments/programs have oversight of the design and delivery of the programs, and provide outreach and recruitment, advising, academic support, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for students in their programs.
• College deans help ensure that departments/programs have the resources necessary to conduct appropriate outreach and recruitment activities in alignment with college enrollment plans, and to deliver their programs effectively.
• When academic programs housed within the academic colleges are delivered through University Extended Education (UEE), UEE provides additional support for outreach, recruitment, application and admission processes, student communications, and budgeting and fiscal management.

Centrally, support for graduate education is distributed across the following entities: Admissions and Outreach Services; Admissions Communications; Enrollment Services; Financial Aid Office; Center for Excellence in Graduate Education; Office of Research and Sponsored Programs; University Library; Enrollment Management Committee; Institutional Research; Office of Assessment; Office of Academic Programs; Graduate Council; and the AVP for Academic Affairs. The Distribution of Centralized Components of Graduate Education at Stanislaus State provides a description of centralized functions and corresponding entities facilitating the functions. However, the three entities most directly responsible centrally for oversight and support of graduate education are described below. 

• Graduate Council serves as the hub for the network that supports, promotes, and advocates for graduate education, with its constitutional charge as listed above.
• The Center for Excellence in Graduate Education, led by a faculty director, provides academic support for students, and in conjunction with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, provides enrichment programs that promote a scholarly graduate culture.
• The central administrator responsible for supporting graduate education, among other responsibilities, is the AVP for Academic Affairs, with the following key graduate education-related responsibilities: facilitate planning processes that support high quality academic programs and services to students; support and facilitate curricular review and approval processes through oversight of the Office of Academic Programs (with the Curriculum Specialist) and in conjunction with governance processes; collaborate with deans, chairs, and program directors in support of program-level assessment, and facilitate institutional-level assessment through oversight of the Office of Assessment (with the Assessment Specialist and Faculty Fellow for Assessment); oversee the Center for Excellence in Graduate Education led by the CEGE Director, and secure resources to enable appropriate support of graduate students, working with University Advancement as appropriate; oversee the university-wide MA/MS Interdisciplinary Studies program led by the Director; make recommendations to the Provost regarding graduate student petitions, discipline, probation, disqualification, and waivers to university-wide requirements; serve as the Executive Secretary for the Graduate Council; and serve as the campus representative at CSU system Graduate Deans meetings and other professional meetings.

While this infrastructure design is relatively new, and is being piloted while the University continues to explore and determine under new administrative leadership and organization the most effective and efficient allocation of resources, including the allocation of resources to a graduate dean position, some important accomplishments have been achieved, as are identified in the 2017/18 Graduate Education Action Plan Progress Report. Some of those key accomplishments include: Graduate Council’s development of the Graduate Education Action Plan, approved Spring 2018, and corresponding Graduate Education Action Plan Progress tracking chart; Graduate Council’s development of the Graduate Education Assessment Plan approved Spring 2018; CEGE Director’s and ORSP Director’s procurement of $71,500 increase in Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) Fees funding for the Student Engagement in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (SERSCA) Program, now totaling $139,100 in IRA funds for the program; and the AVP for Academic Affairs’ collaboration with University Advancement, establishing in Fall 2017 a fundraising plan for CEGE and SERSCA programming (Exhibit #), with $20,000 secured as of Summer 2018.

Supporting Student Success

From Application to Graduation, and Beyond

From Application to Graduation, and Beyond

Supporting Student Success: Detailed Graduate Education Information