Fall 2009 Newsletter

Graduate School Policy & Practice Information

Graduate Faculty Status

Only faculty who have been awarded Graduate Faculty status may teach graduate classes, chair and/or serve on graduate committees, etc. Faculty without Graduate Faculty status may be granted permission from the Graduate School to teach graduate classes and serve as graduate committee members. Permission requests should come in the form of a memo, endorsed/supported by the faculty member’s Department Chair and Dean. Request memos need to include request specifics regarding teaching and/or committee membership, supporting rationale, and attach a copy of the faculty member's vitae.

Admission Correspondence

Official admissions correspondence is sent from the Graduate School to the applicant/ prospective student. Department and/or College correspondence can reflect Department/College admission recommendations.

Grading

Incomplete grades (I) may be given under specific circumstances. Such grading requires a Course Completion Contract signed by the student and instructor. Incomplete work must be completed within 1 calendar year. Change of grade forms are to be submitted by the instructor, within the 1 year timeframe or the Incomplete becomes permanent. In-Progress grades (IP) can be given in courses graded S/U. IP grades do not “expire”. Change of grade forms are to be submitted by the instructor (multiple thesis/ dissertation IP grades should be changed on a single change of grade form).

Petitions

Students and faculty (advisors) are responsible for providing needed petition support information (materials/ documents). Petitions are available in the Graduate School from Ms. Donna Plant and routed from the Student—Faculty/ Advisor, to the College Dean to the Graduate School. Once processed in the Graduate School, Department and STUDENT copies are sent to the Department. Departments are responsible for forwarding petition outcome information to students.

IT Update: What’s New?

BengalWeb is ISU's new web portal. It's a place where students can go to easily find information about what's going on at ISU. What you see in BengalWeb today is just a glimpse of things to come. In January 2010, students will be able to track the progress and status of their financial aid online. Students will start registering for Fall 2010 semester classes using a new registration tool in April 2010. And at the same time, faculty will begin using new tools for managing the classes they teach. Online fee payment will be available in July 2010. Students will be able to pay their fees online, which means no more waiting in long lines in the PSUB ballroom! Additional information will be posted in BengalWeb and will be sent to ISU student email addresses as we get closer to these dates.

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers...

Between 2006 and 2009, graduate school applications increased from 1062 to 1384, that's an increase of 322 applications (or closing in on a 30% increase)! Which means, we've significantly increased the pool from which quality Idaho State University graduate students can be selected.

Graduate Students Making an Impact…

Joachim J. Agamba, PhD Student in the Graduate Department of Educational Leadership & Instructional Design, presented his paper, Exploring Course Content in Moodle to Determine Learning Environment Efficacy over Face-to-Face Constraints at the E-Learn 2009: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education, October 26-30 in Vancouver, BC.

Excerpts from Mr. Agamba’s paper abstract describe this work as “…a review of literature and research into the effective use of Moodle as a Learning Management System (LMS)…to determine to what degree instructors take advantage of an LMS, such as Moodle, as an alternative learning environment to face-to-face instruction.” The following research questions were examined: (1) How does content in Moodle provide information as to whether an instructor is taking advantage of an e-learning tool to create a learning environment that is different from a traditional classroom with regard to learners’ experience? (2) How does interactive content in Moodle indicate whether an instructor consciously constructed learning tools with learners’ experience as a priority?” Moodle sites of three instructors of the same course in one educational department were examined, and learner perceptions surveyed regarding Moodle as an e-learning environment.

Mr. Agamba is from Northern Ghana, West Africa. Ghana is considered the gateway to West Africa largely due to its political stability and progressive economic reform. (Ghanaians hold presidential elections similar to that of the United States every four years in November).

Ghana, formerly called the Gold Coast, was the first country south of the Sahara to achieve independence in 1957. Ghana is about the size of the State of Oregon, and has a population of 20 million people, with about 100 ethnic groups, speaking approximately 58 different languages! English is, however, the official language. Ghana is the home of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Devshikha Bose, also a PhD Student in the Graduate Department of Educational Leadership & Instructional Design, likewise had her e-learning paper: Use of Podcast as a Reusable Learning Object to Teach the English Article System, accepted by the E-Learn 2009: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education, October 26-30 in Vancouver, BC.
Ms. Bose’s paper “…deals with the effectiveness of using podcasts as a mobile learning option and discusses the best practices of instructional design for the creation of Learning Objects (LOs) to be delivered as podcasts. It proposes to determine whether there is a significant difference in student performance and long term retention of rule knowledge and usage skills upon use of podcasts on English Articles, as Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs), in comparison to performance upon learning the same content through traditional face-to-face instruction, as measured by a researcher created posttest assessment instrument.”

Ms. Bose comes from the city of Kolkata, in India. Kolkata is the home of more than 14 million people and is famous for being the city of Mother Teresa. Devshikha has a Masters in English and a secondary school teaching degree, from the Universities of Jadavpur and Calcutta, in India. Apart from studying and research, Devshikha loves traveling, cooking, and social networking. She sees herself as a university professor in the next 5 years.

"Creating a Community of Connection"

Created by: Ms. Anna Siddoway

Message from the GSA President

Graduate Student Association

Graduate Council

Want to Know the latest ISU Graduate Council happenings? Click Here: Graduate Council Minutes

Dates and Deadlines

• December 18th, 2009 is the deadline for submission of final programs of study for students planning to graduate May 2010. Programs of study (with all appropriate signatures) are to be submitted to the Graduate School.

Apply for Graduation HERE!

Student Support Services

• Need writing and/or plagiarism information and/or student support? Go to: Center for Teaching & Learning

Graduate School FAQS

Frequently Asked Questions

Graduate School Staff