Guidelines for the Formal Identification of Tracks within Degree Program

(Approved by the Graduate School Executive Committee, 5/28/97. Revised 11/28/00).

Under certain circumstances it may be necessary or desirable to clearly identify on the transcript a student’s area of focus within the major field. For example, in the case of merged programs, it may be important to formally recognize specializations within the larger program that are academically unique and have distinct coursework requirements beyond a common core curriculum. In other cases, accreditation requirements or market considerations may dictate inclusion of a subfield of study on the student’s official University record. The term "track" shall be restricted to an area of specialized study within the major field that is formally recorded on the transcript. The following processes, procedures, and conditions apply in such instances.

1. Documentation, process, and implementation

The adoption of a track, or tracks, within a program requires a proposal to the Graduate School in much the same way that new degree programs and major programmatic modifications do. Such proposals should include the following elements at minimum:

• assurance of support by the program’s graduate faculty
• identification of the particular track, or tracks, to be implemented
• a cogent rationale for the adoption of a particular track, or tracks
• a description of the program’s admission, curricular, and graduation or completion requirements and standards
• possible changes in graduate program administration that may result from track adoption (e.g., although the Graduate School’s contact will ideally be with one individual, the DGS, the faculty may elect to designate coordinators to assist with program administration)
• if a track label is similar to another program's name or disciplinary content, evidence of consultation with other departments/programs and the result of that consultation
• if a track label represents an added focus of study within the program, documentation of student demand and placement opportunities
• assurance that students enrolled in the program, or programs, prior to track implementation will be given the option of completing their degrees under either the old program name and structure or the new one, recognizing that the latter may entail fulfillment of additional degree requirements
• for umbrella programs that result from program merger, and for tracks that represent an added focus of study within a program, written assurance of support from the budgetary units that will contribute resources to the umbrella program and/or track

The option of track organization should be extended to both existing programs as well as to new umbrella programs that result from program merger. The option should be extended automatically to programs of the latter type, which should clearly indicate their intent to adopt tracks as part of their request for merger.

Proposals to establish formal tracks within degree programs must be considered by the relevant Policy and Review Council(s) and the Graduate School Executive Committee and, if approved, subsequently by the Board of Regents. Multiple new tracks within a program may be proposed at the same time with a single proposal that addresses each track.

2. Admission to a program with identifiable tracks

The admission application form should list the individual tracks associated with an umbrella program (e.g., Applied Plant Sciences: Agronomy, Horticulture, Plant Breeding). Admission will normally be to a specific track within an umbrella program; however, admission should also be possible to the umbrella program without track specification to accommodate students who are not yet sure of their area of specialization. If no track is indicated on the admission appraisal form returned to the Graduate School, the student will be admitted to the umbrella program without track.

A single admission fee should be charged for application to an umbrella program, and the completed admission application should be sent to a single contact in the program. The same fee should be charged for admission to umbrella programs as is charged for admission to any other Graduate School program.

Consistent with the Graduate School’s policy document on program mergers, umbrella programs should normally utilize a single admissions committee and DGS.

3. Change of Track

Students admitted to one track who wish to change to another track should apply for a "Change of Status" and pay the associated fee, currently $40. Students admitted initially to the umbrella program without track should be permitted one change to a specific track without paying the fee; however, any subsequent change of track should require the customary "Change of Status" fee.

Students who change tracks should be required to file a new program. However, a student could not effect a change in track by simply filing a new program.

4. Transcript and diploma issues

The track name is printed at the top of the transcript under "Current Information" after the heading "Subplan:" It also appears below the major field name under each term header.

5. Organization of graduate faculty

Graduate faculty appointments should be made only in the umbrella program, not in the program’s individual tracks. Internal (i.e., program) monitoring will be required to ensure the appropriate assignment of advisers and examining committee members, based on the program’s knowledge of faculty members’ expertise in the various subfields. Proposals seeking to establish tracks should include as an appendix a list of the initial faculty members who will be associated with each track.

6. Degree program structure and examining committee issues

The more wide spread adoption of tracks has implications for the concept of minors, related fields, and supporting programs, as well as for the composition of student examining committees. For newly combined programs, where an umbrella program results from a merger of two or more previously distinct major fields, the notion of minors should continue as at present. Thus, if a student wishes to pursue a designated minor, it should be outside the area of the umbrella program. However, at the discretion of the adviser and DGS, a related field or supporting program may be developed within the disciplinary scope of the umbrella program. The correct assignment of committee members to reflect a program of study that is internal to the umbrella program will be the responsibility of the student’s adviser and DGS. A student majoring in a field external to the umbrella program would declare the umbrella program, not the specific track, as his/her minor.

7. Graduate School data management and reporting

Under the Graduate School’s current data management system, enrollment and registration statistics are reported separately for each track within an umbrella program (e.g., following the Applied Plant Sciences example cited above, program statistics appear under four distinct headings, and in some cases, as four distinct reports; the structure of the current system does not provide for aggregate program statistics).

8. Graduate School funding and governance issues

Umbrella programs should be treated as a single entity with respect to award of Graduate School funds (e.g., block grant funds should be allocated to the umbrella program to be dispersed across the various tracks according to internal criteria; the umbrella program, not its individual tracks, should be invited to submit a stipulated number of nominations for first-year fellowships). Umbrella programs should also be considered as a single entity with respect to Graduate School governance and should have one DGS and one faculty representative on a designated Policy and Review Council. This structure requires the DGS and Council representative to communicate clearly and frequently with program coordinators (if applicable) and other program faculty.

9. Formal Tracks Versus Informal Emphases

As noted above, program tracks are formally designated, distinct content areas within a single, broader program. Program tracks are recorded on the transcript, whereas informal emphases (or informal concentrations, or specializations) are not. For an elaboration of some of the differences between formal tracks and informal emphases, see p.9, Part III. Of the companion document, "Developing New Academic Programs and Formal Tracks under the Aegis of the Graduate School."

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