Overview
The LSU System Rules & Regulations calls for a Campus Graduate Council that advises the Vice Provost & Dean of the Graduate School on academic affairs and policies of the Graduate School. The rules and regulations states that each campus shall formulate a policy regarding the operation of the Graduate Council, including membership, length of terms, and functions.
The Graduate Council reviews, evaluates, and provide recommendations to the Vice Provost & Graduate School Dean on proposals for new graduate programs, and on existing programs on a continuing basis; promote quality in graduate programs; develop University-wide policies on graduate students; and develop an agenda for graduate faculty meetings.
Membership
Faculty Senate Resolutions 10-03 and 11-17 called for the Graduate Council to be an elected, not appointed, body. The Graduate Council voted to become an elected body on May 1, 2019. The Graduate Council consists of faculty members elected by the graduate faculty within each college or school offering course work and awarding graduate degrees. The number of representatives allotted to each college or school is determined by the graduate student enrollment, as outlined in the Policy document. Elected members serve for a five-year term. The alternate serves if the member is on sabbatical or leaves LSU before the end of the five–year term.
The Vice Provost & Graduate School Dean, the Associate Dean of the Graduate School, and the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Support Services serve as ex-officio members; the Assistant to the Vice Provost & Graduate School Dean serves as Meeting Secretary.
Standing Committees
The Graduate Council has four standing committees. The Graduate Council Chair serves in an ex-officio capacity on each committee but does not vote except to break a tie. Each committee selects a member to serve as chair. The following standing committees act on the matters indicated and on others, as charged by the Graduate Council Chair.
The Graduate Faculty committee is charged with making recommendations about who should hold affiliate graduate faculty status based on nominations from the departments.
Also referred to as the Provost Advisory Committee.
The Promotion & Tenure committee serves as a campus-wide faculty committee to evaluate recommendation for promotion of faculty.
The Awards committee serves as reviewers for the awards managed by the Graduate School.
The Modality committee was formed in November 2020 to review a university-wide approval process to change modality for degree programs.
The Graduate Council may create, by a majority vote, or the Chair may appoint, other ad-hoc committees as they deem necessary to conduct the business of the Graduate School.