In a private vote that concluded the monthly faculty meeting last night, members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) passed a motion to dismiss a graduate student, according to Secretary of the Faculty John B. Fox.
Although faculty members declined to comment on the case, Dean of the College Archie C. Epps III said a dismissal usually results from the falsification of transcripts, or a misdeed of similar gravity.
Earlier in the meeting, faculty members raised the minimum academic standards for undergraduates and debated the health care benefits in their contracts with the University.
In addition, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said that decreasing section sizes was among the Faculty's priorities.
Minimum Academic Requirements Stiffened
The Faculty unanimously passed a motion made by Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 to toughen the definitions of "minimum academic requirements" and "satisfactory academic record."
Under the rules adopted yesterday, a student may have, at most, one failing grade, which may not be accompanied by a unsatisfactory grade, in order to meet the minimum academic requirements in any term.
The student is also required to have at least two satisfactory grades, one of which must be a letter grade in any FAS course.
To have a "satisfactory academic record," a student must have satisfactory grades in all courses, and at least one letter grade in an FAS course.
Formerly, to meet the minimum academic requirements, a student must have had at least one satisfactory letter grade and could not have had more than one failing grade. To have a "satisfactory academic record," a student was allowed to have at most one unsatisfactory grade and no failing grades.
In both the old and new system, any grade from "C-" and up is deemed "satisfactory."
The requirements for first-years in their first term in the College remains unchanged.
Faculty Demand Freedom of Choice in Health Care
Relating personal experiences, members of the Faculty debated the Karel F. Liem, professor of biology and the master of Dunster House, told his colleagues that he recently underwent bypass surgery. He now requires a weekly blood test in Boston because the health care program he chose in his contract with the University does not include UHS services. Liem said it takes him an entire morning each time he commutes back and forth to Boston for the test. Read more in News