3.0 Introduction
The Graduate Faculty are those members of the general faculty approved to conduct graduate education at Ohio State. Appointment to the general faculty must precede appointment to the Graduate Faculty and is a condition of it. A faculty appointment, however, does not in itself confer Graduate Faculty membership.
Graduate Faculty play a significant role in the graduate student’s academic experience, and collaboration between student and committee members is an integral component of the degree completion process.
3.1 Eligibility
Tenure-track faculty and research track faculty are eligible for appointment as Category M and P Graduate Faculty in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. Clinical faculty are eligible for appointment as Category M Graduate Faculty. Graduate Faculty accept the responsibilities of that role as detailed in Section 15 of the Graduate School Handbook.
Emeritus Faculty. The designation “emeritus” may be conferred at retirement upon recommendation by the regular faculty member’s chair, dean, and the executive vice president and provost. See University Faculty Rule 3335-5-19.
Emeritus Faculty who remain active in research and scholarship must request the Graduate School to retain their Graduate Faculty status. The request must be based on the same criteria used by the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee to appoint regular Graduate Faculty and must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee, the department chair, and the dean of the college. The request must specify a fixed term, not to exceed five years, after which it may be extended by another request following the same process.
Emeritus faculty who do not request to retain Graduate Faculty status are subject to the rules pertaining to faculty who retire or leave the university.
Other faculty who retire or leave the university. The Neuroscience Graduate Program must approve a request to continue graduate committee service prior to a Graduate Faculty member’s retirement or resignation. A Committee and Examination Petition form is initiated by the student on GRADFORMS to begin this approval process. With the approval of the graduate program and the Graduate School, such faculty (including emeritus faculty who do not wish to retain Graduate Faculty status):
- May continue to serve as the advisor for their students who are in candidacy at the time of the faculty member’s retirement or resignation. A current Ohio State Graduate Faculty committee member with contractual obligation to the university must be named to serve as the student’s co-advisor
- May remain as a regular member of a dissertation committee of a student in candidacy at the time of the faculty member’s retirement or resignation for a period up to the expiration of the student’s initial five-year candidacy status. Only one such member of any dissertation committee can be identified as counting toward the required number of valid committee members
- May serve as an extra member on new dissertation committees for students who are pre-candidacy or for students not in progress at the time of resignation or retirement
- May not serve as the advisor for a new student
3.2 Membership Status and Guidelines
Graduate Faculty who are active in the Neuroscience Graduate Program may serve as Mentoring or Participating members.
3.2.1 Mentoring Status
Mentoring members are eligible to mentor graduate students either as a rotation advisor or primary advisor. The Faculty Mentor is expected to provide the primary source of support for the NGP graduate student after their first year in the program. At least two years of funding is to be established by the Faculty Mentor at the time a graduate student is accepted into the lab. Newly employed Assistant Professors with funds to support a graduate student are encouraged to serve as Faculty Mentors.
Faculty Mentor requirements:
PI or Co‐PI role on an extramural grant for neuroscience research during any of the 5 years since the last review by the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee.
A productive research program. To satisfy this criterion, a faculty member must regularly publish peer‐reviewed articles on neuroscience‐related topics; the expectation is an average of two or more publications per year during the five‐year review period. Graduate student contributions should be recognized by authorship.
Engage in at least two of the following activities during any part of the five‐year review period:
Serve as an advisor and /or co‐ advisor to one or more NGP graduate students
Participate in NGP recruiting events
Serve on an NGP candidacy/dissertation committee
Direct a seminar series, or moderate the Student Seminar
Direct a course or give a lecture(s) in a graduate‐level course
Serve on the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee
3.2.2 Participating Status
Participating members make specific contributions to graduate education and/or administration in the NGP without serving as a primary advisor to graduate students.
Participating Member requirements - A faculty member must engage in at least two of the following activities during any part of the five‐year review period:
Serve as a co‐advisor to one or more NGP graduate students
Participate in NGP recruiting events
Serve on an NGP candidacy/dissertation committee
Direct a seminar series or moderate a student seminar
Direct a course or give a lecture(s) in a graduate‐level course
Serve on the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee
Participating faculty who wish to serve as the primary advisor to one or more NGP graduate students are eligible to convert to Faculty Mentor status upon fulfilling the eligibility criteria, as delineated above.
3.3 Application for Graduate Faculty Membership
Faculty who wish to be appointed to the Graduate Faculty in the NGP must submit a formal written request to the Director(s) of the NGP, accompanied by a current CV and a statement of purpose indicating how they will contribute to the mission of the NGP. This material will be evaluated by the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee which will decide on the disposition of the application. During their deliberations, the graduate studies committee will consider the potential of the applicant to meet the review criteria described above. If the decision of the graduate studies committee is favorable, the Director(s) will submit a nomination for appointment with Category P status to the Graduate School.
Faculty applying for NGP membership who do not meet criteria 1, 2, and 3 to serve as Faculty Mentors are eligible for Participating Member status in the program.
3.4 Functions and Responsibilities
NGP Graduate Faculty members with Category P status and qualify for mentor status are authorized to perform one or more of the following functions:
- serve as advisor for doctoral degree students
- direct doctoral dissertations or D.M.A. documents
- serve as Graduate Faculty Representative on candidacy examination and final oral examination committees
- participate in the governance of graduate education at all levels within the university
All NGP graduate faculty are responsible for following the guidelines specified in the Graduate School Handbook and the NGP Handbook of Policies and Procedures.
3.4 Review
Every five years, the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee will review each faculty member to determine whether or not they are qualified to continue in the NGP. The purpose of this periodic review is to maintain the highest standard of quality in the categories of scholarship, training, and productivity. This is important not only for the quality of the graduate training that we provide, but also to maximize our National Research Council (NRC) rankings when compared to other neuroscience programs across the nation. An active and productive faculty is necessary in order to recruit the highest quality student applicants and in order to ensure that the Program remains competitive for national, state, and intramural funding. Nevertheless, the NGP explicitly recognizes that there are multiple ways in which faculty members can contribute to the success of the Program. To this end, continued membership in the NGP requires that faculty satisfy the membership guidelines outlined in section 3.2 of this handbook during the five year review period.
Graduate Faculty members are responsible for providing the necessary review materials to the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Committee.
Review outcomes:
- If the Graduate Faculty Mentor has satisfied the criteria listed in section 3.2.1, that faculty member will continue as a Graduate Faculty Mentor for an additional five years.
- If the Participating faculty member has satisfied two of the six review criteria listed in section 3.2.2, that faculty member will continue as a Participating Member of the program.
- If a faculty member has not satisfied the review criteria, that faculty member will not retain membership in the NGP. These faculty may re-apply for membership at a later date.
3.5 Annual Meetings
An annual meeting of all faculty members of the NGP will be called each year to discuss programmatic issues.
The Director will set the agenda and chair the meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order will prevail. The number of faculty in attendance at this meeting will be considered a quorum.
Graduate student attendance and participation at this meeting is expected. Although graduate students cannot vote at this meeting, their input is considered critical. Additional faculty meetings may be called from time to time, at the discretion of the Director(s). The Graduate Faculty may also conduct its business by e‐mail ballot, at the discretion of the NGP Committee.