Vol. 38, No. 18

2-1-2006
By: Julia Harris

Beck Committee says keep Graduate School where it is

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

That, in a more grammatically correct nutshell, is the initial finding released by the committee charged with evaluating the structure of the Graduate School at Ohio State.

In Part I of its report, released last November, the Graduate School Review Committee wrote, "We see no compelling reason to change from the present structural arrangement whereby the dean of the Graduate School oversees graduate studies and reports to the executive vice president and provost."

The review committee, informally named for its chair, Dean Paul Beck of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was charged eight months earlier by Provost Barbara Snyder with considering the current and optimal structure and functions of the Graduate School and recommending necessary changes to bridge any gap.

The committee looked at a number of issues, including the appropriate mission of a graduate school in a research institution, the desired interaction between Ohio State's Graduate School and colleges and departments across the university, and the optimal interaction between the Graduate School and the Offices of Academic Affairs and Research. The evaluation process involved meetings with deans, associate deans and campus groups, review of Graduate School data on issues such as budget and examination results, and surveys of 18 peer institutions.

"We released the first part of the report in an attempt to trigger the search for a new dean of the Graduate School," Beck said. "We see the dean as the champion of excellence in graduate education and as someone who is able to credibly raise graduate program needs and concerns within the university.

Implementation of the recommendations in the report will require someone with a strong commitment to raising Ohio State's national standing in graduate studies, especially at the doctoral level, by taking bold moves that may not be well received in all quarters."

In response to the release of Part I, Barbara Pletz, president of the Council of Graduate Students, said she was pleased with how the Beck Committee comprised many different stakeholders, including professors and graduate teaching associates. "I am impressed that Dean Beck sought different opinions from many people, including graduate school deans and other key administrative officials around the country," she said.

Pletz is eager to see how the recommendations of Part II will mesh with those of the Freeman Committee, which was charged in 2004 with assessing the funding in relation to quality of doctoral programs and devising a plan for cyclical evaluation of those programs.

Beck said Part II, expected before the end of winter quarter, will contain detailed recommendations concerning the functions of the Graduate School and ways that Ohio State can best support a high-quality graduate experience. "Part II deals with fellowship programs, oversight of graduate education, basic services and, above all, how to promote excellence in graduate education."

To read Part I of the report of the Graduate School Review Committee, visit http://oaa.osu.edu/documents/GradSchoolReviewCommRptPart1.pdf

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