Time: Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Location: Microsoft Teams
Meeting was held online only.
Timothy O’Brien, 2025-2026 GCC Chair
Members Present: Itziar Lazkano, Maria Novotny, Timothy O’Brien, Wilhem Peekhaus, Katie Vater
Absent: Qingsu Cheng, Sara Vanderhaagen, Victoria Moerchen (Ex-Officio, Graduate School); Bryan Porter (Graduate School Dean)
Guests: Shabnam Nikravan (Zilber College of Public Health); Ryoichi Amano (College of Engineering & Applied Science); Nadine Kozak (College of Engagement and Professions); Amy Kalkbrenner (Zilber College of Public Health); Shane Haensgen (Graduate School); Kathleen Olewinski (School of Biomedical Sciences & Health Care Administration); Linda Wesp (School of Nursing); Ora John Reuter (College of Letters & Science); Taylor Levandoski (School of Biomedical Sciences & Health Care Administration); Susan Wolff (School of Nursing); Jeana Holt (School of Nursing); Kathryn Scholz (College of Letters & Science); Julia Snethen (School of Nursing); Kerry Korinek (College of Community Engagement and Professions); Emily Kuhnen (Registrar’s Office); Nora Miller (College of Health Professions & Sciences); David Clark (Division of Academic Affairs); Sara Benesh (College of Letters & Science); Alessandra Gillen (College of Letters & Science);Tiffany Nation (Graduate Programs Coordinator, Graduate School); Joan Hayes (Program Service Representative, Office of Grad Education); Riley Harrison (Policy and Appeals Coordinator, Graduate School)
- Call to Order
- Announcements
- Pending Policy (Associate Dean Moerchen)
In Associate Dean Moerchen’s absence, Shane Haensgen, Graduate Academic Services Manager reported to the committee that there are upcoming changes to the prior learning assessment policy to clarify the graduate level process that has been delayed due to the priority updates to the Graduate Transfer Credit Policy which received approval in September. We are currently working on the final edits of the Prior Learning Assessment Policy which should be coming to the committee for review in February.
- Automatic Consent
The following automatic consent agenda items which include meeting minutes, and course action requests were approved.
- Approval of November 5, 2025 meeting minutes
- Course Action Requests (table below)
- New Business
- New/Substantially Revised Courses (table below)
- Program Changes
- Proposals Requesting Program Changes:
Adding substitutions for courses that have not been offered with the courses that have been allowed as substitutions, i.e., PH 763 or PH 831, PH 864 or HI 722, PH 870 or PH 769, and PH 960 or PH 808 & assigned readings. Replacing one required course PH 904 with the addition of a required analytic methods elective. Admin note: PH 810 in workflow effective Spring 2026.
A motion was made and seconded to approve this program change. Motion passed unanimously.
- Language, Literature, and Cultures, Translation MA / Library and Information Science, MLIS (GCC Doc. No. 2477)
Revising the MALLT curriculum; revising to align with name change of degree from MALLT to World Languages and Cultures, MA and moving to the department of World Languages and Cultures.
A motion was made and seconded to approve this program change. Motion passed unanimously.
- Nursing, PhD (GCC Doc. No. 2478)
Updating the PhD program description so that it aligns with course changes that were previously submitted in addition to some requirement updates. Admin note: NURS 806 is a new course in workflow effective Spring 2026.
A motion was made and seconded to approve this program change. Motion passed unanimously.
- Political Science, MA (GCC Doc. No. 2479)
The department of Political Science proposes to institute automatic admission for high performing undergraduate students. The program believes this change will boost enrollment in the program’s MA program and serve as an reward for outstanding undergraduates. This entails waiving most application requirements for UWM political science majors with GPAs higher than 3.5. Qualifying applicants will still need to fill out the graduate school’s online application and submit transcripts (in order to verify GPA), but test scores, letters, and personal statement are waived.
A motion was made and seconded to approve this program change. Motion passed unanimously.
- Curricular Codes:
- MALLT (Language, Literature, and Translation, MA/M.A. in Language, Literature, and Translation
All MALLT programs and courses are moving to the WLC curricular area.
A motion was made and seconded to approve this curricular code change. Motion passed unanimously.
- Information Only
- Suspension of Admission to Programs:
- Urban Education, PhD: Educational Administration (GCC Doc. No. 2480)
- Suspension of Admission to Programs:
- Nursing Practice, DNP: Nursing System Leadership: Nurse Executive (GCC Doc. No. 2481)
Suspending admissions to the DNP Nurse Executive Track for all entry points due to low enrollment. Proposed effective term is Fall 2026.
- Other Business
- Adjourn
1:01 p.m. Committee website: https://uwm.edu/secu/governance/faculty/standing-committees/graduate-curriculum-committee/
Course Action Requests
| Course | Action | Type of Change |
| HCA 333 (HCA 333G) | Change | Credits |
| NURS 760 | Change | Catalog Number, Course Rules, Prerequisites |
| SPANISH 768 | Discontinue | Discontinue |
New/Substantially Revised Courses
| Course Number | New | Course Title |
| MECHENG 727 | New | Sustainable Energy Systems |
| This is a new course, and no similar courses exist for the graduate courses. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Required for All Classes: (1) Full citation of required textbook. (2) Include meeting pattern (day/time) as placeholder. (3) Does the “TBA” refer to TA? If so, provide information. If not, remove. (4) Include full citations with ISBN for all required and recommended readings. (5) Clarify the “miscellaneous” and “references” listed immediately following course texts. (6) University policy link should be added. (7) Unless required for accreditation or credentialing, use only one course description. Having three (pages 2 – 3) seems unnecessary and potentially confusing for students. (8) Assignment policies (late penalties, scope, size, etc.) – more details about the work students will need to do. (9) Attendance is worth 10% of grade, but are there penalties for missing class? (10) Add attendance policy. (11) The out-of-class requirement should be better defined to help students understand how much time outside of class will be required of them. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Recommended for All Classes: (1) Clarify number and approximate due dates for assignments listed in table on p. 5. (2) The individual assignments could be more clearly described. (Not sure what “lecturing” means in this context, for example, and there are no descriptions.) This class is graduate only, it seems, so I don’t think the “learning opportunities specific to graduate students” applies unless it is G/UG. I’m not sure if the highlighting is meant to indicate which of these opportunities applied in the class. That section could be cleaned up. (3) AI statement included, but I would recommend that the instructor provided more detail about what they are or aren’t including in the category of “AI engine.” There is a lot of uncertainty about this among students. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Suggested for All Classes: (1) Question: Why are Gen Ed outcomes listed on a grad syllabus? These are fairly broad and would best be removed or amended to reflect more specific objectives. | ||
| NURS 794 | New | Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Practicum IV |
| This new course is to align with the updated DNP curriculum and to meet new accreditation requirements. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Required for All Classes: (1) A chronology of topics, including approximate due dates. (2) Is 135 hours sufficient for a 4-credit course? While the detail on time investment was helpful, there is certain about whether it meets the requirements for communicating time investment per semester. Specific information on the investment of time by the average student necessary to achieve the learning goals. (3) Remove note on p. 5 re: final exam. This appears to be for instructors rather than inclusion in final syllabus. (4) Grade percentages in table on p. 5 add up to only 95%. (5) Assignment policies (late penalties, scope, size, etc.). GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Recommended for All Classes: (1) AI is referenced in academic misconduct statement but separate statement should be included. | ||
| NURS 806 | New | Health Policy |
| The PhD program needs a health policy course specific to its program; the creation of a new course is needed. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Required for All Classes: (1) (TYPO) “Advocacy and Action” repeated in title of required textbook. (2) Required elements of course table repeated (p. 1 and p. 5.). (3) 180 hours seems very high for a 3-credit course (144 is typical minimum). Consider paring down or changing to a 4-credit course. (4) Grading table repeated—remove on p. 5. (5) Policy on late work appearing on p. 12 seems to contradict that on p. 5. Remove one to avoid confusion. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Recommended for All Classes: (1) No AI statement included. GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Suggested for All Classes: (1) This is a very long syllabus. While useful for the class, much of the detailed information about assignments and the schedule (p. 7 – 20) would be better communicated by being posted to course Canvas site. Also, there is some repetition in the syllabus that needs to be eliminated to avoid confusion. | ||
| NURS 825 | New | Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) Practicum IV |
The proposed new course is to align with the updated DNP curriculum and to meet new accreditation requirements.
GCC Feedback: The Following Information is Required for All Classes:
(1) It appears that the submitted syllabus is a draft/template. (2) Remove language about how to create the assignment and grading policies (not for students). (3) Remove comments / markup. (4) Add contact info for tech help. (5) A chronology of topics, including approximate due dates and exam dates, including the final examination date and time. (6) Assignment policies (late penalties).