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By-Laws Food Science Graduate Program

(Revised on February 15, 2019)

  1. ORGANIZATION
    1. The Graduate Director is the administrative officer of the program.
    2. The membership shall consist of Members, Associate Members, and Affiliate Members of the Faculty of the School of Graduate Studies. The definitions of these classes of membership are incorporated by reference to the Graduate Faculty Nomination Form.
  2. MEMBERSHIP
    1. An individual may be proposed for a specific membership level by any member of the program faculty. Upon endorsement of a majority of the members either (a) present at a duly announced meeting of the Program or voting by electronic ballot, the nomination shall be forwarded to the Dean by the Director.
    2. All categories of membership may vote and may serve on committees of the Program.
    3. Membership in the Program is for five years and otherwise criteria for full, associate or affiliate status membership conforms to those of the School of Graduate Studies. To maintain faculty membership in the Program, participation in at least one of the activities below is required. The Graduate Program Director monitors participation and membership expiry dates.
      1. Attend 25% of the graduate program faculty meetings.
      2. Teach or co-teach a course in the food science graduate program.
      3. Serve on student thesis or dissertation committees.
      4. Serve on program committees (admission, written or oral PhD qualifying exams, various ad hoc committees).
    4. The Graduate Program Director will ask members not meeting these criteria to resign from the program. Members who desire to remain associated with the program must appeal in writing to the Graduate Program Director. The Graduate Program Director will assemble an ad hoc membership committee to review any written appeals.
    5. Should a student‚s major advisor leave the University, the student must consult with the Graduate Program Director concerning the appointment of a new major advisor. The advisor may also request that their membership be continued for up to four years or until their students have graduated. Each request will be reviewed by the Graduate Program Director. Former members whose requests are denied must appeal in writing to the Graduate Program Director. The Graduate Program Director will assemble an ad hoc membership committee to review any written appeals.
    6. Retiring Faculty must contact University Human Resources directly regarding current policies and procedures.
  3. MEETINGS
    1. The Graduate Program shall hold at least two meetings per semester. Additional meetings may be called by the Director or any three members of the faculty.
    2. A quorum shall consist of 10 members. Voting is by simple majority.
    3. An agenda should be circulated prior to the meeting.
    4. Student Representatives:
      1. One Food Science Graduate Program student representative and two alternate student representatives shall be selected annually by the Food Science graduate student association.
      2. Voting by students will be permitted in all areas except for personnel matters i.e. matters involving individual faculty or students.
      3. No student may be present at a faculty meeting unless she/he is an elected representative or alternate or has specifically been invited to the meeting.
      4. Only the student representative or alternate student representatives may vote.
  4. GRADUATE DIRECTOR
    1. The Graduate Director is nominated by majority vote of the Program Faculty and recommended to the Academic Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. The position has a three-year term with unlimited opportunities for re-nomination. The appointment is made by the Academic Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
    2. Duties of the Graduate Director, (with the assistance of the staff member assigned duties of the graduate secretary):
      1. To preside at graduate faculty meetings.
      2. To process all applications for matriculation.
      3. To maintain student records including: (a) holding all applications for two years; (b) maintaining a file on each current student; (c) maintaining permanent records on all past students.
      4. To keep a running log on all current students and their progress towards a degree; to process all applications for transfer of credit, admission to candidacy, etc.
      5. To monitor student academic status and alert the major advisor of potential problems.
      6. To ensure that students meet all requirements of both the School of Graduate Studies and the Program.
      7. To assist students with crisis management as needed.
      8. To advise the department chair on Teaching Assistant and Part Time Graduate Lecturer appointments.
      9. To advise the department chair on scheduling of graduate courses and graduate faculty teaching responsibilities.
  5. STUDENT AFFAIRS
    1. Advising: Entering students register for classes on-line. Should a student have selected a major advisor prior to or upon entry to the program, then course registrations should be planned with the advisor. If an entering student has no major advisor, the student is encouraged to obtain one as soon as possible and may be temporarily assigned a course advisor by the Graduate Director.
    2. Thesis and Dissertation Committees: Thesis and Dissertation committees are selected by the major advisor in consultation with the student. Disagreement related to composition of Thesis and Dissertation committees may be settled by the Graduate Program Director.
      1. The MS thesis committee consists of the major advisor and at least two other Full, Associate or Affiliate Members of the Food Science Graduate Faculty.
      2. The Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Exam Committee must have at least four members. These can be four members of the Food Science Graduate Program faculty or three members of the Food Science Graduate Program faculty and one member from outside the Food Science Graduate Program faculty.
      3. The final Ph.D. defense committee must consist of at least three members of the Food Science Graduate Program faculty and at least one member from outside the Food Science Graduate Program faculty.
    3. Admissions Committee: The admissions committee consists of three members of the program with the Graduate Program Director serving as chair. Members serve on staggered three-year terms and shall be rotated amongst the Members.
    4. Curriculum: All major curricular reviews are undertaken by the members acting as a committee of the whole. Special curriculum committees are appointed by the Director to make recommendations to the program Members. Topics to be considered by such committees include recommendations on new courses, course revisions, dropping of courses and distance learning activities.
    5. Reviews of Students' Progress: Students' academic performance may be reviewed by the Director. Major advisors should be notified of academic problems. A student who receives a grade below "B" is reviewed by the Graduate Director. Should a student receive, one "F", three "C"‚s, or two "U" grades during their program, their aptitude and ability to remain as a graduate student will be reviewed by the Graduate Director, their advisor and their committee. If a student has no committee, the review will be conducted by the graduate faculty. The final decision as to continuation as a graduate student in the program rests with the faculty of the Graduate Program in Food Science.
    6. Appointments
      1. The Graduate Program Director works with the Department Chair to nominate prospective Ph.D. students for Excellence Fellowships available from the Academic Dean of School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
      2. Graduate Assistantships funded by grant/contract monies are awarded by the individual faculty having the funds. The pool of accepted applicants and current students seeking support is available to faculty from the graduate secretary.
      3. Teaching assistantships are assigned by the Department Chair in consultation with the Graduate Director and the undergraduate Curriculum Coordinator.
  6. STUDENT APPEALS AND GRIEVANCES:

    7. Students with problems and concerns should speak to the Graduate Director who will then reviews them with the Program Faculty, and where applicable, with the Department Chairman. If a student has differences with other students or with a faculty member, the student should speak in confidence with the Graduate Director, the Chairman of the Department, the Academic Dean of School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, or appropriate personnel in the School or Graduate Studies.

  7. RULE CONFLICTS:

    8. Should any information in these by-laws be found in conflict with the policies and procedures of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, the School or Graduate Studies or Rutgers University, those policies and procedures will take precedence.

  8. AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS:

    9. By-laws may be amended either at the next graduate faculty meeting following the meeting at which the amendment was proposed or via electronic ballot. Amendments must have approval of two-thirds of those members voting.