Graduate Council

Article I

• Name
  The name of this standing committee shall be The Graduate Council of the University of North Florida. It serves as the faculty’s representative body for governance of the Graduate School at the University of North Florida.

Article II

• Purpose: Section I

  The Graduate Council is vested with the responsibility of formulating, reviewing, disseminating, and monitoring the implementation of policies and procedures concerning graduate education at the University of North Florida, including but not limited to:

  1. graduate admissions requirements and policies, 
  2. graduate completion requirements, 
  3. graduate curriculum standards, 
  4. graduate instruction standards, and 
  5. graduate faculty standards.

  To that end, the Council has the authority to initiate new policies and changes to existing policies related to graduate education, and to review and approve new policies and revisions of existing policies initiated by other units, subject to Purpose: Section II below.

• Purpose: Section II
  Graduate Council policies, including all policy and procedural information published in the Graduate Catalog and other university documents, are subject to review and approval by the College Deans, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the President. They may also be subject to review and approval by the Faculty Association.

Article III

• Membership: Section I

  The Graduate Council is composed of voting and non-voting members. The membership is determined as follows:  

  1. Voting members.
     • All voting members must be Research Graduate Faculty. Each department or school responsible for the management of one or more graduate programs shall be represented by one member. The Dean of the Graduate School shall automatically serve. Voting members may select designees to attend and vote in their absence.
  2. Non-voting members.
     • The Faculty Association President, the Dean of the Library, the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services, and the Director of the Graduate School, or their designees, will serve as ex-officio, non-voting members of the Council. The President of the Graduate Student Organization, or her/his appointed delegate, will serve as the graduate student representative. Program Directors otherwise not appointed by their department to serve as voting members are encouraged to attend as non-voting members of the Graduate Council.
  3. The Dean of the Graduate School.
     • Will serve as chairperson of the Council.
• Membership: Section II

  The following guidelines prescribe the designation of Council members. A list of departments offering graduate programs may be found in Appendix A. 

  1. Existing program representatives.
     • Each department or school responsible for the management of one or more graduate programs will, according to that department’s policies and procedures, designate a representative for the Graduate Council. New representatives for existing graduate programs will take office at the first regularly scheduled after their appointment as program director.
  2. New department representatives.
     • As new graduate programs are approved, the Council membership may grow in accordance with the bylaws. Such growth will not require revisions to the bylaws so long as the changes affect only the membership. Appendix A will be revised as necessary, the revision date noted on that page. New programs within departments or schools already represented on the Council shall be represented by the existing Council member. Departments or schools otherwise not represented will designate a representative to serve on the Council. New representatives may take office at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
  3. Student representative.
     • The Chairperson of the Graduate Student Organization or her/his appointed delegate, in accordance to that organization’s constitution, will represent the graduate student body on the Graduate Council.

Article IV

• Conduct of Business: Section I
  The Council will meet monthly during the academic year. Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson or by a majority of the membership.
• Conduct of Business: Section II
  The minutes of each council meeting shall be made available to council members, college deans, and graduate program directors.
• Conduct of Business: Section III
  For any meeting a simple majority of the voting members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
• Conduct of Business: Section IV
  The Chair will report activities of the Graduate Council to the Faculty Association at such times as requested by the Faculty Association President. The Chair shall ensure that minutes of meetings are posted on the Graduate Council Web page in a timely manner.
• Conduct of Business: Section V
  The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall be the parliamentary authority for the Council when applicable and when not inconsistent with these bylaws or any special rules of order the Council may adopt.

Section V

• Committees

  The Council shall have the Chairperson form or cause to be formed such special committees as it needs. Each special committee shall have a charge which includes its organization, responsibilities, term of existence, and method of meeting and reporting.

Section VI

• Amendment of Bylaws

  These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Council by two-thirds of the votes cast, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to the membership at the previous regular meeting.

Appendix A

• Brooks College of Health
  Department of Clinical & Applied Movement Sciences
  Department of Health Administration  
  Department of Nutrition & Dietetics
  Department of Physical Therapy
  Department of Public Health
  School of Nursing
• Coggin College of Business
  Department of Accounting and Finance
  Department of Economics & Geography
  Department of Management
  Department of Marketing & Logistic
• College of Arts & Sciences
  Department of Biology
  Department of Chemistry
  Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice
  Department of English
  Department of History
  Department of Mathematics & Statistics
  Department of Music
  Department of Physics
  Department of Political Science & Public Administration
  Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
  Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work
  School of Communication
• College of Computing, Engineering & Construction
  Department of Construction Management
  School of Computing  
  School of Engineering
• Silverfield College of Education & Human Services
  Department of Leadership, School Counseling & Sport Management
  Department of Exceptional, Deaf & Interpreter Education
  Department of Teaching, Learning, & Curriculum
• History: Authorization by majority vote of the Graduate Council
  Originally adopted April 14, 1998
  Revised and adopted October 11, 2002
  Revised and adopted January 23, 2004
  Revised and adopted November 23, 2004
  Revised and adopted May 23, 2006
  Revised and adopted April 29, 2015
  Revised and adopted October 10, 2019
  Revised and adopted October 14, 2021