5. POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION

5.1. The NGSP Committee

Administrative responsibility for academic aspects of the operation of the NGSP rests with the NGSP Committee. Members perform their responsibilities as assigned by the Graduate School’s Graduate Council.

The NGSP Committee is comprised of a Director, two student representatives (one junior and one senior), and no fewer than nine faculty representatives. A quorum exists when at least six (6) voting members of the committee are present. The Director and each faculty representative have one vote and the two student representatives have one collective vote. With the approval of the program committee, the Director may wish to appoint a Co-Director from among the NGSP committee members who will share leadership responsibilities and chair meetings in the absence of the Director. This shared leadership approach may be especially appropriate if the co-directors represent different sub-disciplines within neuroscience. The NGSP committee will strive to maintain communication with the faculty and students on issues pertaining to program content, development, and reviews. Continuous re-evaluation of program requirements, curriculum, and administrative structure is deemed important especially for our discipline, which rapidly changes.

The Director(s) serves a term of three years, faculty representatives a term of four years, and student representatives a term of two years (the first year as a junior representative and the second year as a senior representative). Student representatives must have successfully completed or be in the process of completing the Candidacy Exam before they may serve as the “senior” representative. Student representatives shall attend all Committee meetings and are encouraged to contribute to the Committee’s discussions and deliberations. It will be the responsibility of student representatives to disseminate information from the meetings and to raise issues on behalf of the students.

5.2. Election of the Director/Co-Director and Other Committee Members

The faculty representatives on the NGSP Committee are elected by a majority vote of the entire NGSP faculty, whereas the Director(s) is elected by majority vote of the NGSP Committee. The election of a Director(s) will take place every three years whereas the election of faculty representatives will take place annually as vacancies arise. The terms of the faculty representatives will be staggered so that two or three positions become vacant each year.

This election of faculty representatives will be held prior to the NGSP Annual Meeting. Faculty will be required to rank all the candidates in order of preference. For each ballot, the top-ranked candidate will be assigned a score of one, the second ranked candidate a score of two, etc. The scores from all the ballots will be summed for each candidate and the candidate(s) with the lowest aggregate scores will be elected. The number of candidates elected will depend on the number of vacancies.

Candidates for the position of Director or faculty representative must have Graduate Faculty P status and must be members of the NGSP in good standing. Candidates may nominate themselves. Candidates for the position of Director may be members of the NGSP Committee, but this is not a pre-requisite. Candidates must confirm their willingness to serve before they can be placed on the ballot.

A meeting of all NGSP students will be called each Spring Quarter by the existing student representatives to nominate and subsequently elect a new “junior” representative to a two-year term. Ballots will be distributed to all NGSP Students before the 9th week of the quarter.

All newly elected members of the NGSP Committee begin their terms on July 1.

5.3. Duties of the Director/Co-Directors

In addition to those duties specified in the Graduate School Handbook, the Director/Co-Directors of the NGSP will:

• call and chair all NGSP Committee meetings as needed;
• appoint other sub-committees, such as a recruitment sub-committee, as needed;
• appoint one NGSP faculty member to serve as a First Year Advisor to all new students until those students have selected a permanent advisor. This member will also serve as an advocate/ombudsperson for all students;
• represent the NGSP at various college, university, national, and international forums;
• investigate funding opportunities (grants, fellowships, etc.);
• coordinate student and minority student recruitment efforts with the assistance of the chair of the recruitment subcommittee;
• supervise the Program Administrator who oversees the daily operations of the NGSP office;
• authorize purchases of equipment, resources for teaching, and travel expenditures.

5.4. Duties of the Committee

In addition to those duties specified in the Graduate School Handbook, the Graduate Studies Committee will:

• develop and evaluate the NGSP curriculum;
• establish program policies, standards and procedures;
• screen applications for admission to the program and make final determinations on admission;
• nominate candidates for fellowships;
• approve programs of study (as to general program requirements) for students in the Program;
• approve Candidacy Examination Committees;
• conduct annual student reviews;
• receive and act on petitions from graduate students;
• hear and respond to graduate student grievances;
• develop standards for initial and continuing graduate faculty membership in the NGSP;
• approve applications for faculty membership in the NGSP;
• conduct a review of all NGSP faculty every four (4) years and make decisions concerning continuing membership;
• oversee student teaching assignments;
• conduct any other Program business that may arise, as assigned by the Director.

5.5. NGSP Handbook of Policies and Procedures

It is the responsibility of the NGSP Committee to compile and maintain the NGSP Handbook of Policies and Procedures, which lists rules and practices by which the NGSP is to be managed. The NGSP Committee will accept recommendations from faculty and students for revisions to the Handbook at any time. Revisions to the Handbook require approval by unanimous vote of the Committee. If the Committee vote is not unanimous, the changes must be approved by a majority vote of the entire NGSP faculty.

The NGSP Committee will be responsible for updating the NGSP Handbook of Policies and Procedures to conform to changes in the Graduate School Handbook or other University policies. A current copy will be kept on file in the NGSP office and made available to all faculty and students on the NGSP web site.