Contents 1 Institutional Context 1.1 What is the stated mission and vision of CWRU? 1.2 What is the mission/vision of the Faculty Senate? Where is this information? 1.3 What is the mission/vision of the school of Graduate Studies? Where is this information? 1.4 What Programs does GSS have? How are these programs unique? What niche do they fill? 1.5 How does GSS interact with the units below? How does GSS extend the activities of these offices? 2 State Context 2.1 What role does GSS play within the state? [i.e. Board of Regents, NAGPS Regional conference, etc.?] What opportunities are out there for GSS/graduate students to get involved on a state level? 3 National Context 3.1 What are the national trends in graduate education? Are people earning advanced degrees? Where are these people going/living? What are the national trends for International students? How does CWRU compare?

[edit] Institutional Context

[edit] What is the stated mission and vision of CWRU?

Case Western Reserve University strives to be the most powerful learning environment in the world. We seek to have transformational impact on all who teach, learn, discover and work here so they are prepared and engaged to serve humanity. As a great research university, we must embrace responsible risk-taking in pursuit of bold aspirations for national and global leadership.

• We combine experiential learning with rigorous scholarship in our undergraduate and all educational programs to produce educated learners who are awake to new possibilities.
• We invest in the arts, humanities, and social sciences as important areas of scholarship and as an essential foundation for preparing morally and socially responsible life-long learners.
• We build on our existing strengths, including engineering, biomedical sciences and professional education, and pursue productive partnerships with other outstanding institutions.
• We are guided by our values at every level to promote a diverse, challenging, supportive, entrepreneurial, and interdisciplinary environment of openness, respect, accountability and academic freedom.

More:

Case Western Reserve University strives to be the most powerful learning environment in the world. We constantly challenge ourselves to create a culture of transformation so engaging that students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and even visitors to campus become passionate about moving beyond themselves to express creativity, to pursue innovation and discovery, and to serve humanity.

As a university guided in all of its labors by values defined and sustained by constant moral discourse, we hold ourselves accountable at every level of the institution for practicing our values of integrity and respect, excellence and innovation, mentorship and diversity, academic freedom and entrepreneurship, partnership and social responsibility, efficiency and effectiveness, and continuous personal and institutional improvement.

As an educational institution dedicated to leadership in teaching and learning, we seek to transform all learners - faculty and staff as well as students - and support their personal growth and mentorship throughout their lives. We seek to lead the nation as the research university where the challenges of creating new knowledge support the values of a liberal education, where rigorous theory and practical, real-world experiences come together.

As a research institution dedicated to leadership in scholarly investigation, we seek to transform knowledge itself, focusing resources into those areas of research and scholarship where we can have the greatest national and global impact. In addition to research targeted to specific ends, we also accept our responsibility - unique to research universities - to create and disseminate knowledge for its own sake, and we promote a culture of inquiry marked by rigor, creativity, curiosity, innovation, respect, sensitivity, open communication of ideas, and lifelong learning.

As a service-oriented institution dedicated to civic leadership, we seek individually and collectively to transform society by preparing our students to improve the human condition and by directing the benefits of discovery toward a better society. Our uniquely transforming environment is not limited to the university's own classrooms, laboratories, libraries, residence halls, and athletic fields, but includes partnerships with many other great institutions, including those concentrated in University Circle, Greater Cleveland, and Northeast Ohio, and beyond. To "think globally, act locally," we build these partnerships in the service of national and international leadership, believing that our ability to improve the human condition throughout the world should begin within our own community.

Case Western Reserve University strives to create a unique synergy among our education, research, and service missions, which we view as inseparable. Organizationally, this means that we eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy, striving to be the most efficiently run research university in the world in order to keep our focus on productivity and maximize opportunities for inter-departmental, inter-school, and inter-institutional collaboration. Educationally, this means that student experiences in cultural institutions, clinics, social service agencies, or industry are not viewed as "extra-curricular," but combine with the demands and rigors of academic theory to create the transforming learning experience that is a Case Western Reserve education.

http://www.case.edu/vision/background.htm

(Mike Rueschman)

[edit] What is the mission/vision of the Faculty Senate? Where is this information?

The Faculty Senate at Case is, "Charged with governing the policies of Case Western Reserve University faculty" (webpage). The Faculty Senate is comprised of: elected Case faculty members representing departments according to a specific apportion, one graduate student (usually the president of GSS), one undergraduate student and one professional student. The Faculty Senate meets once a month, and the majority of the work of Faculty Senate is carried out in its various committees which report back to an Executive Committee and teh Senate at-large when necessary. The Faculty Senate is the representative body charged with making recommendations to both the University Faculty and the University President for transmission to the Board of Trustees, (webpage). All of this general information is available on the Case website for the Faculty Senate, including other important information, such as: The Faculty Handbook, meeting dates, agendas and minutes, committee rosters, and the Faculty Senate By Laws.

http://www.cwru.edu/president/facsen/facsen.html

(Liz L)

[edit] What is the mission/vision of the school of Graduate Studies? Where is this information?

The School of Graduate Studies "is the unit of Case Western Reserve University through which graduate programs in the humanities and social sciences, biological and physical sciences, engineering, and selected disciplines related to professional fields are offered" (website). Though the School is attributed primarily to the administration of graduate degrees, it also oversees the administration of postdoctoral fellowships. This information, along with other useful materials, is available on the School's official Case webpage. The School of Graduate Studies: maintains the Graduate Student Handbook, oversees applications to programs of graduate study and postdoctoral fellowships, oversees the administration of programs for graduate and postdoctoral students, and oversees a number of institutional funding opportunities for students, in addition to a number of other critical functions performed by the School of Graduate Studies.

http://www.case.edu/provost/gradstudies/

(LL)

[edit] What Programs does GSS have? How are these programs unique? What niche do they fill?

Programs (uniqueness, niche filled) Diekhoff Award – only public recognition of graduate teaching at Case. The award provides an outlet for appreciation of faculty that is student driven.

Verhosek Fund – Only source of supplemental funding available to all graduate students. For students in disciplines with reduced or non-existent funding, the V Fund is essential.

Preparing Future Faculty – Supplemental resource for students heading into academia, the series provides an arena to begin professional development prior to “jumping into the fire” of a real job in academia.

Student Group Recognition – Avenue through which graduate student groups receive recognition, including rights to reserve rooms and the opportunity to request supplemental funding from GSS.

Social Events – Ice Cream Social, Day at the Farm, Baseball @ Jacobs Field, Jillian’s. Provides opportunities to meet grad students from departments other than your own. Purpose is to foster a larger sense of community among the grad students.

Orientation – Provide a student presence at a largely administrative driven event.

Food Drive – Graduate student community service opportunity, campus-wide.

General Theme – All of the GSS programs are geared towards the graduate student population as a whole, attempting to break up the highly department oriented culture that is predominant at Case.

(Meg)

[edit] How does GSS interact with the units below? How does GSS extend the activities of these offices?

Campus Units (GSS interactions, extension of activities)

School of Graduate Studies – our “parent organization”. Relationship is currently a good “give and take”. We provide input on policy and the dealings of the grad student body and they provide financial and administrative support.

Faculty Senate – GSS reps on most committees. Provide a voice for the grad student body within the dealings of the faculty. Probably one of our more important interactions. Have spreadsheet detailing represention.

Office of Student Activities – Partial contribution to our budget? (not sure on this) Definitely an uptapped resource in terms of organizational muscle (Definitely a much larger presence for USG)

The University Office of Student Affairs provides programs, facilities, and services designed to extend and enhance the student experience at Case. In all of our activities the University Office of Students Affairs seeks to:

1. Collaborate actively with students, faculty, and staff to develop and provide programs and services that enhance the quality of life at the university and foster a just and humane community.
2. Design opportunities that enable students to develop ethically, intellectually, socially, and physically.
3. Educate students to act as responsible members of the campus community and encourage leadership and involvement in the local, national, and world community.

Services and programs offered directly through the Office of Student Affairs include:

• Crisis Intervention. Crisis intervention is an important function of the vice president for student affairs and staff. The vice president and staff urge students who have personal or family problems to contact them. They will listen, intervene if appropriate, or refer the student to other resources. Students' concerns remain confidential.
• Cultural Activities Ticket Drawing. Ticket drawings, open to all Case students, are held weekly during the fall and spring semesters. Pairs of tickets areavailable for the Thursday evening performances of the Cleveland Orchestra. In addition, passes are occasionally available for "open rehearsals" of the Cleveland Orchestra on Thursday mornings. Students may sign up on Monday and Tuesday; drawings are held on Wednesday morning. The winner's list is posted in the Office of Student Affairs at noon on Wednesday.
• Judicial/Disciplinary Process. The Office of Student Affairs administers the University's judicial/disciplinary process which is described in later sections.
• Minority Affairs. The Office of Student Affairs works with students, faculty, and staff to coordinate programs and services that support the recruitment, retention, and placement of minority students.
• New Student Orientation. The office holds orientation to welcome new students to the campus and make their transition to University life as comfortable as possible. Upperclass students serve as coordinators and leaders for orientation activities.
• Student Research. The office designs and implements research projects about student life. The results are shared with students (and student organizations), faculty, and administrators.

Office of the Provost – Also one of the more important interactions. Provost is our most influential ally in terms of impacting policy

Office of the President – Within the last year, interactions have been fairly limited. Feels like most of the interest in the GSS has been politically motivated. Would be nice to have a more important point of view in the eyes of this group.

Undergraduate Student Government – Limited to no interaction. Included here because there should be improved lines of communication between the two bodies.

Professional Student Governments (i.e. Med School, Law School, etc) – Again, limited to no interaction, despite the fact that there is technically an umbrella group that we all operate under. Improved relationships between these groups (but not a full merger) may be a smart political move for all involved.

Additional organizations with which we can interact:

Charity Choice 2005 (http://www.case.edu/finadmin/humres/charitychoice/index.htm) Student Community Service (http://studentaffairs.case.edu/service/default.html)

(Meg/Cheryl)

[edit] State Context

[edit] What role does GSS play within the state? [i.e. Board of Regents, NAGPS Regional conference, etc.?] What opportunities are out there for GSS/graduate students to get involved on a state level?

Ohio Board of Regents – http://www.regents.state.oh.us/rgp/racgs.html There is a link to Case Western Reserve University School of Grad Studies web site.

From the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students website – http://www.nagps2.org

1. We are members
2. There is a Midwest section (somewhat inactive at this time) with significant OH representation (at least in the past; e.g., OSU, BGSU)

(Saad Alkazemi/Cheryl)

What are the educational trends within our state and our City? [i.e. how many people have advanced degrees? What are the growing industries that need require people with advanced degrees? Are young people moving to our state? Are people who earn their degrees here staying in the state?, etc.]

From http://www.city-data.com/city/Cleveland-Ohio.html

For population 25 years and over in Cleveland

• High school or higher: 69.0%
• Bachelor's degree or higher: 11.4%
• Graduate or professional degree: 3.8%

Cleveland compared to Ohio state average:

• Median household income below state average.
• Median house value below state average.
• Unemployed percentage above state average.
• Black race population percentage significantly above state average.
• Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.
• House age above state average.
• Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average.

http://www.odod.state.oh.us/research/files/S0/Cuyahoga.pdf - An excellent document containing some county statistics

http://www.regents.state.oh.us/perfrpt/2004index.html – The page on which I found the following documents 1. http://www.regents.state.oh.us/perfrpt/PerfRptFinal2004.pdf – A document containing details regarding state and national educational trends 2. http://www.regents.state.oh.us/perfrpt/Institutional%20Detail%20complete%20copy.PDF – our Bible…*cough cough ahem*…I mean…just the document we need! (…particularly section VII…)

http://stats.bls.gov/eag/eag.oh_cleveland_msa.htm – A site citing Cleveland labor force statistics

http://stats.bls.gov/oes/oes_dl.htm – Wages statistics downloaded from this site, once analyzed, will assist in determining what industries need/require advanced degrees (LOTS of culling required)…here is the same info in html form… 1. Cleveland – http://stats.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_1680.htm#b00-0000 2. Ohio – http://stats.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_oh.htm#b00-0000 3. US – http://stats.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_00Al.htm#othersoc

http://www.ohiomeansbusiness.com/# – A website with some useful information regarding OH businesses

Cleveland city website - http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/index1.html

(Cheryl)

[edit] National Context

National EC

The opportunity to serve on national committees is also present and our goal would be have at least one representative serving on a national committee or in leadership position. Also national conference held annually. A minimum of two delegates should attend these conferences. (Maureen G)

There is a national LISTSERV that allows GSS members to participate in discussions about critical issues facing graduate students. One GSS member should be assigned to report some of the critical issues facing students based on information on the LISTSERV and also submit information based on issues that Case students may be currently experiencing.(Maureen G)

[edit] What are the national trends in graduate education? Are people earning advanced degrees? Where are these people going/living? What are the national trends for International students? How does CWRU compare?

http://www.cgsnet.org/HotTopics/index.htm – The page on which the following articles were found (the Council of Graduate Schools website, overall – http://www.cgsnet.org/index.htm, appears to be a very useful resource) 1. http://www.cgsnet.org/pdf/GED2004Rep.pdf – An EXCELLENT document citing the national trends in graduate education 2. http://www.cgsnet.org/pdf/StewartBostonGlobe.pdf – An article about the brain drain out of our country 3. Decline in international student applications – http://www.cgsnet.org/pdf/PresRel_IntlStudSrvy.pdf 4. General decline in international student enrollment – http://www.cgsnet.org/pdf/CGS2005IntlAdmitIII_Rep.pdf

From NAGPS:

1. NAGPS members looking to survey schools regarding international student enrollment – http://www.nagps2.org/pubs/Feb05_newsletter.pdf

Data from the above websites need to be correlated with the Case data previously supplied

What is our role with NAGPS?

From the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students website – http://www.nagps2.org 1. We are members

(Saad Alkazemi/Cheryl)

List of Peer or next level institutions (see attached list) compare.

Needs: Meet, develop a list of questions for comparison, for example, do all of these institutions have a Grad Student association?, etc. assign individuals one university; individuals type up data gathered; send to Kim to collate/organize. Requires: Brain storming, perhaps meeting of group; need to find out how central admin picked these universities.

Tim Peshek Dec. 19, 2005

Questions: How does Case Western Reserve University relate to the surrounding areas? How does the university relate to the urban setting? How does the university relate to other nearby urban post-secondary institutions? How do the graduate students of the university interact in these settings? Do university graduate students have a positive impact on university / city relations?

List major post-secondary institutions within 30 min drive: John Carroll University, Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Cuyahoga County Career Center.

Strategic Planning Environmental Context: Regional Environment

Participation in regional and national activities is a goal of GSS. On the regional level there are a variety of positions that are open to serve in leadership. Our goal is to have at least one member of GSS serving in the regional leadership. Case GSS should also send a minimum of two delegates to the regional conferences. This will encourage the interaction with schools within our region and also enhance our ability to incorporate new programs that would benefit our students.(MG)

It is my hypothesis, that intimate relations with the city of Cleveland has benefits which overshadow both national and international relations the university is currently pursuing. These relations are manifest in several ways: 1. A greater representation of Cuyahoga county must be present in the student body. 2. Both native and non-native students of the university must be able to participate in city affairs (e.g. social events, sporting events, charities and the like…) 3. The university should encourage partnerships with other post-secondary institutions in the area. 4. The university should maintain strong ties with city leaders and encourage university architects/planners to cooperate with Cleveland urban planners, both private and civil.

The medical school offers some benefit on tuition for students who went to Case as an undergraduate. It is likely to be more important to professional/pre-professional students to have strong ties to the city, this idea is endorsed by WSOM students who feel their degree does not compete well with University of Chicago alumni, for example, in a national setting.

1/5/06: Topic: Regional importance of Case Western reserve University

It is likely that the university could do more to attract graduates from area universities for graduate study at Case. Likewise, it may turn out to be beneficial to recruit associate's degree candidates from the local community colleges to finish a four-year program at Case. In order for this to occur policy changes which would be beneficial to this demographic should be planned and implemented. It is likely that graduates from Cleveland State University, Kent State University, or John Carroll University are commuters. Therefore, the university should provide parking opportunities, particularly for graduate students which do not favor those who live on-campus. Agreements should be made with area community colleges which allow for credit transfer and impedance-free continuation of post-secondary education.