All Curriculum Committee Minutes
September 13, 2011
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE September 13, 2011 Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek,; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: Student Government Representative Agenda and Minutes: None Discussion: 1. MFA Creative Writing Proposal – Tabled after Academic Affairs review. Proposal appeared to be policy related, rather than curricular. Proposal may be reconsidered at a later date, if necessary. 2. Curriculum Based System Issues – Registrar, Debra Clark, suggested a systems-based list be created and posted to faculty considering proposals. This list would be used concurrently with the style sheet to remind faculty that ambiguous terminology may be unenforceable systematically, and to consider potential scenarios when developing proposals. All were in agreement that the list created should be posted with the style sheet and faculty could be reminded at the beginning of the academic year. 3. NCA Self-Study Subcommittee – Wally Lewis and Paul Edwards are serving on the Self-Study subcommittee concerning ‘Acquisition, Discovery and Application of Knowledge’ and wanted to include the Committee as having a role in this charge. Consensus was comfortable including the Committees impact primarily influencing students, rather than faculty or staff. Those with additional afterthoughts were to email Wally or Paul later. Action Items: None Announcements: Some departments may be submitting 500-level course proposals, not within the current MA/MFA tracks. Faculty Senate is forming a CADRE of advisors for undeclared majors. In doing so, a member of the Academic Resource Center may be joining the Committee in an ex officio status. ENVS may submit a proposal to increase their Standard major to have more than 39 credits, and include some of their ‘hidden prerequisites’ into the major requirements. The Committee is not scheduled to meet next week unless a proposal is received tomorrow. The meeting adjourned at 4:03 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk. September 27, 2011OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek,; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Student Government Representative Guests: Kathleen Kinkema, Andy Keck, Robert Cohen Agenda and Minutes: Agenda and minutes were approved unanimously. Discussion: 1. Exercise and Sport Science Proposal –Kathleen Kinkema presented a summary of the proposal. a. ESS has been using 100 as an umbrella to offer credit to athletes participating in NCAA recognized organized athletics. This designation has caused problems differentiating between different sports within the Banner system. The proposal separates each sport by number (103, 104, 105, etc). Athletes may only receive credit for a sport once. Roster management will be the responsibility of coaches assigned to the individual sport, and the Athletic Compliance Officer. b. ESS 145 has not been offered in several years, and there are no immediate plans to offer it. The course content could be offered under ESS 112 in the future if needed. 2. Mathematics/Computer Information Science Proposal –Heidi Keck began presenting a summary of the proposals, and was later joined by colleagues Andy Keck and Robert Cohen. a. MATH 275 & CIS 275 are cross-listed courses, sharing the same curriculum. The course descriptions were changed to reflect changes in technology relevant to the course. b. The proposal includes MATH 213 into the core requirements. MATH 213 is a pre-requisite for MATH 300, required of all MATH majors. MATH 314 and 330 were added to the list of possible electives c. MATH 314 has previously been taught as a Special Topics course. The proposal suggests there is a demand, for its career preparatory content and focus on real world application, to add 314 to the regular curriculum. This course will also allow more diversity in Math upper division electives, which student exit surveys suggested the department was lacking. d. MATH 390 would allow students to receive credit for tutoring Mathematics. By structuring tutoring into a regular course, it more parallels the Writing Center tutoring, and allows more structure for training. Calculus I and Instructor Permission listed as pre-requisites will allow for a diverse population much-need qualified tutors. 3. Bill Niemi started a side discussion on re-visiting how many credits maximum should be allowable for a Standard major. The practice has been that a Standard major should not be more than 40 credits. The state had previously enforced a cap to allow for the scenario of a transfer student to come in with 60 credits and still graduate within two years. With articulation agreements between Colorado institutions of Higher Education the state has since lifted its cap. Bill suggested faculty representatives discuss Standard major parameters within their departments before the Committee meets again.` Action Items: None Announcements: Curriculum proposals to be considered for the 2012-13 catalog must be submitted by November 1st. The Committee Chair suggested we meet at various locations on campus this year and is open to suggestion. The Committee is scheduled to meet again on October 11th. The meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk.
October 11, 2011OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: Student Government Representative Guests: Anthony Micolli, Alina Luna, John Hausdoerffer Agenda and Minutes: Agenda and minutes were approved unanimously. Discussion: 1. Philosophy Proposal – Anthony Micolli, Alina Luna, John Hausdoerffer were present to answer questions about the Philosophy proposal submitted last week. a. The proposal seeks to change the current minor by replacing SOC 380 & COTH 370 with PHIL 315 & PHIL 325 respectively. The proposal also adds PHIL 401 to the list of upper division electives to select from. All three courses have previously been successfully offered as Special Topics courses. Additional library or faculty resources will not be required. b. By integrating the SOC & COTH courses into the PHIL program, the curriculum would be taught from a more focused philosophical approach, which meets student demand for more upper division PHIL electives. The proposal opts to keep ENG, ENVS, & POLS as the content of these areas compliment the current curriculum. Keeping these courses also lends to the Philosophy minor truly being an interdisciplinary program. c. The proposal also changes the title of PHIL 201 to ‘Logic and Epistemology’, more accurately reflecting course content. This also addresses an issue in titling, and expectation, that some transfer students experience. d. The Philosophy program has been growing since its inception in 2007. The department has no plans to offer Philosophy as a major. 2. Standard major maximum credits discussion –Committee members brought departmental feedback on how many credits maximum should be allowable for standard majors. Many departments felt that keeping a cap on standard majors would support a Liberal Arts curriculum, to encourage diversity. Also, comprehensive majors should be significantly larger than standard majors. 42 seemed to be an agreeable maximum. The Committee agreed that this discussion could best be resolved by Academic Policies. A request was sent to Academic Policies for consideration. Action Items: 1. ESS Proposal –Tabled until feedback is received from the Athletic Director concerning credits for organized sports. 2. Adding electives to MATH minor - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 3. MATH 314 - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 4. MATH 390 - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 5. CIS 275 - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). Announcements: The Committee is scheduled to meet again on October 25th in Borick 216. The meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk. October 25, 2011
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY October 25, 2011, 3:30 p.m. Borick 216 Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; Student Government Representative: Nicole Real; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: None Guests: Laura Tuthill Agenda and Minutes: Agenda and minutes were approved unanimously. Action Items: 1. ESS 100 – Proposal was submitted to Greg Waggoner and Scott Groom, who determined change would have no impact on Athletics. Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (10-0). 2. ESS 145 - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (10-0). 3. PHIL proposal to add three courses to discipline – Concern was raised that the changes submitted could cause scheduling difficulties as the program would become less interdisciplinary and staffing would not increase. Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (10-0). 4. PHIL proposal to replace two electives within the minor - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (10-0). 5. PHIL 201 - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (10-0). Discussion: 1. Education Proposal – Laura Tuthill and Jim Woytek were present to answer questions about the Education proposal. a. Add EDUC 420 to non-English Secondary and K-12 Licensure undergraduate program, per changes from the state in teacher education licensure requirements. Music: K-12 students currently need 125 credits to graduate. Music plans to add a course to their program, and concern was raised that students would not be able to finish within 126 credits, per state requirements. It was later discovered that it must be possible for students to complete all requirements within 126 credits, but it isn’t required. b. Add ENG 620 to Masters Program, per changes from the state in teacher education licensure requirements. This change will then standardize all programs to 43 credits. c. Park Principal Leadership Track –Enrollment numbers have been down and a primary faculty member is retiring. With their retirement, the low enrollment doesn’t justify hiring new staffing. Current students will be able to complete their track. Most MA programs within the state have a similar program. The addition of the Online Teacher Leadership Track will help maintain overall enrollment. d. Add Online Teacher Leadership Track, including three new courses: EDUC 621, EDUC 622, and EDUC 623. Proposal meets hybrid style, combining class and online teaching, trend in Education. This new program would be the first of its kind in the state. The MA Program works with an existing articulation agreement with CSU Global, who does not currently have the capacity to offer licensure tracks and refers many students to Western. The Online Leadership Track would also be available as a certificate program for non-degree seeking, current MA students with EDUC 521, EDUC 522, and EDUC 523 through the Teacher Institute. A side conversation started describing how the Teacher Institute is being restructured to move from Extended Studies to the Education program with the intention to possibly be offered year-round. The program would remain self-funded. The certificate program would not be required of any students; the Education department suggested students may seek to add this certificate to enhance a resume. Question was raised that EDUC 523 and 623 appeared to be field-based mentoring, and wanted to know how that would be accomplished if the student was not currently placed. Laura explained that these courses are more of a practicum and have no employment pre-requisite. Students could still complete the work through volunteering and utilizing existing relationships between the department and schools. e. Add prerequisites to EDUC 680 and 693, so that they must be taken consecutively in the student’s final year. f. Remove EDUC 670-679, the Principal Leadership Track courses. g. Change the names and descriptions of EDUC 407, 607, and 681 to better align with standard terminology used by the state. h. Minor edits were noted. The Committee asked what the content difference was between 500 and 600-level courses, 600-level courses include more theory and research as application. The 500-level certificate courses do not apply toward MA requirements; this should be addressed during advising. Students could stop MA program and pick up Online Teaching certificate. More information needs to be found to determine how cohort schools apply 500-level courses. Announcements: The Committee is scheduled to meet again on November 1, 2011 in the College Center Board Room. The meeting adjourned at 4:44 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk.
November 1, 2011OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE November 1, 2011, 3:30 p.m. College Center Board Room
Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; Student Government Representative: Nicole Read; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: None Guests: Laura Tuthill, Nella Bea Anderson, Erica Boucher, John Hausdoerffer, David Marchetti, Paul Tame, Agenda and Minutes: Agenda was approved unanimously. Minutes required a minor edit, will be revisited next week. Discussion: 1. Education Proposal – Laura Tuthill and Nella Bea Anderson were present to answer any additional questions about the Education proposal. a. The Committee requested clarification on parking the Principal track. Nella Bea reiterated the fact that due to low enrollment and current faculty retiring, hiring new faculty at this time would be difficult to justify. It would be a better allocation of resources to further enhance the current teaching tracks. All currently enrolled students, pursuing the Principal program will be able to complete their track. b. Clarification was also presented on why the 500 level Online Teaching Certificate courses could not be used toward the graduate program. The Graduate Program Policy specifically outlines that 500 level coursework would not be applicable toward a Masters program. Students who opt to pursue the Online Certificate could still successfully pursue the Masters program by selecting an alternative track. Whether the 500 level courses would be transferrable to other institutions would be determined by the transferring institution. Action Items: 1. Education Proposal – Motion was made to approve the proposal as a whole, the proposal passed unanimously (10-0). Discussion (continued): 2. Environmental Studies Proposal –John Hausdoerffer presented the details of the proposal. a. The proposal changes the course description of HWTR 398 to better reflect content and application of the course. The proposal also allows students to repeat the course up to four times for credit, as the topics always vary. Repeatable courses can be easily managed in Banner. b. Changing ENVS 397: The Water Planet to a regularly offered course, ENVS 373. This course has been successfully offered in the past and would make a good complement to the Water program by offering an additional ENVS upper-division elective. The course would be offered every other year. A side conversation began surrounding the fact that HWTR 398 does not have any pre-requisites. Part of the Committee’s charge is to consider justification as to why a course should be offered at the upper-division level. The Committee decided to take this conversation into their Departments to discuss whether first year students should be allowed to take upper- division courses without completing some kind of pre-requisite. Ultimately this issue would need to be addressed by Academic Policies, but the Committee believes this topic warranted consideration. 3. Recreation and Outdoor Education Proposal –Paul Tame presented the details of the proposal. a. The proposal suggests re-wording the preamble of the ROE program description to better clarify that students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 in their major courses in order to participate in the program, and to graduate from the program. It was noted that this policy could not be enforced by Registration Services and would need to be managed within the department. It was also noted that BUAD had a similar policy a few years ago and it was retracted as it was so difficult to manage. Announcements: The Committee is scheduled to meet again on November 8, 2011, in Borick 206. The meeting adjourned at 4:18 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk.
November 8, 2011
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY November 8, 2011, 3:30 p.m. Borick 206 Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; Student Government Representative: Nicole Read; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: None Guests: Erica Boucher, Roger Hudson, John Peterson, Dan Schuster, Becky Weidman-Winter Agenda and Minutes: The CALL Proposal was removed from the Agenda, postponed until next week. The revised Agenda and Minutes from October 25 and November 1 were then approved unanimously. Discussion: 1. CIS 450 – John Peterson and Dan Schuster presented the proposal to add a new course to the program. a. Mobile device programming is an area of study that would help students keep up with modern technology demands and trends. Preliminary polls show that most college students use smartphones. The course would work with other departments to develop projects for students to develop apps for smartphones. Lab space would be shared with the ART department in Quigley, working around existing ART schedules. CIS 450 would be repeatable for credit by utilizing different programming platforms. Suggestion was made to re-title the course to allow the various platform languages to list. This would enable the different courses to be easily identifiable on a transcript. DegreeWorks will not be able to differentiate the titles for auditing purposes. 2. BUAD Proposal – Roger Hudson summarized the BUAD Proposal and fielded Committee questions. a. Change BUAD 485 to two distinct courses; 311, for one credit and 312, for two credits. The proposal suggests lowering the level and pre-requisites of the course to make it more available to various disciplines on campus. By dissecting the course into two parts students could take 311 for 5 weeks and earn Microsoft Excel certification, then opt to continue into 312 for the following 10 weeks. The alternative scheduling is expected resound well with students. 311 would also be appealing to community members seeking certification. Concern was raised that in limiting the prerequisites the 300-leveling of the course wouldn’t be justified. The Committee pointed out how Excel is taught in BUAD 220 and sought clarification as to how content wouldn’t be duplicated. b. Add CIS 160, COTH 351, and COTH 372 to the available Marketing concentration electives to keep the program current by utilizing today’s marketing mediums. Proposal would work with existing COTH courses, as well as the new proposals expected next week. 3. Park BUAD 329 as the course has not been recently offered and current faculty resources are unavailable. 4. MUS Proposal – John Wacker and Becky Weidman-Winter summarized the MUS Proposal and fielded Committee questions. a. Add MUS 120 to better prepare students interested in the Music Education program, as many students have begun the required courses in the program only to find out later it wasn’t what they had expected. The course would be introductory and expose students to career options and academic expectations of the program. MUS 120 would also be added as a prerequisite to the Music Education courses: 360, 365, and 370. b. Reinstate MUS 312 to all Music concentrations. A recent NASM Conference suggested an increased demand in adding technology to existing curriculum. The department currently has all of the necessary software to support this change. c. Change all Methods courses to 2 credits for consistency. 5. ART Proposal - Al Caniff and Chase Hutchison summarized the ART proposal and fielded Committee questions. a. Remove ART 283 from required Graphic Design curriculum to keep up with current trends in ART. The airbrush technique is no longer as widely utilized, being replaced by more digital mediums. ART 283 will still be available as an elective. b. Add ART 472 as a more appropriate fit within the Graphic Design curriculum to better expand students' portfolios. c. Change the course description of ART 422 to better reflect actual course content. Prerequisites do not inhibit non-ART majors or minors to take the course. Common practice has been that non-ART majors and minors have been restricted from taking ART courses beyond those offered as General Education. Instructor discretion allows any student to take 422, and similar, courses without having artistic application courses as prerequisites. 6. The discussion on whether Freshman-level students should be allowed to take upper division courses continued, after Committee members had the opportunity to discuss this issue with their Departments. Consensus indicated that freshmen should not be allowed to take upper division courses without meeting some prerequisites as a standard. Experience has shown that most Freshmen do not yet possess the critical thinking skill set required to manage the sophistication of upper division courses. Action Items: 1. The HWTR 398 was to be sent back to the department to consider offering the content at two different levels, lower and upper, to accommodate freshmen. 2. ENVS 375 – Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 3. ROE Proposal - Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0).
Announcements: There will be a late submission to consider a First-Year Experience Proposal. The Committee is scheduled to meet again on November 15, 2011 in Borick 206. The meeting adjourned at 4:58 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk.
November 15, 2011
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY November 15, 2011, 3:30 p.m. Borick 206 Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; Student Government Representative: Nicole Read; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: None Guests: Erica Boucher, John Hausdoerffer Agenda and Minutes: The CALL Proposal was rescinded from the 2012-13 catalog proposals. It may be revisited next year. The revised Agenda was approved. The Minutes from November 8 were noted for minor edits and approved. Discussion: 1. HWTR 398 – John Hausdoerffer was again present to address additional questions from the Committee prior to voting. a. The Committee had suggested creating two sections of the Headwaters course to accommodate freshmen vs. upper- level work. John indicated that offering the course at a lower level was not an option. The purpose of this course was to challenge incoming students by allowing them the opportunity to experience a Junior/Senior level learning experience. Some expressed concern that such a challenging experience would deter freshmen, affecting retention. John countered that it is the duty of faculty to responsibly engage students, and that this program tends to retain students. b. The Catalog does not specifically state that freshmen cannot take upper-division courses. The current language suggests that upper-division courses are usually taken by upper- class students. John stated that if the Committee chose not to approve the original proposal he would amend the proposal to add prerequisites of Junior Standing or Instructor Approval. Adding prerequisites would set a precedent for other disciplines offering upper-division courses without prerequisites. Action Items: 1. HWTR 398 – Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed (5-3-1). 2. CIS 450 – Tabled until proposal is resubmitted with new title. 3. Revise BUAD 485 to two courses, 311 & 312– Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 4. Add CIS 160, COTH 351 & 372 as electives to Marketing emphasis – Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 5. Park BUAD 329 – Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 6. MUS Proposal – Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). 7. ART Proposal – Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (9-0). Announcements: The First-Year Experience Proposal will be considered at the next meeting. The course is designed to support the President’s initiative by setting a foundation for increasing retention. If the Committee opts not to pass the proposal, it will be offered as an alternate course. As Western operates under shared governance, the course cannot be forced into existence; however, offering a First-Year program to incoming students is in the best interest of the campus as a whole. The Committee will meet again on November 29, 2011 in Borick 206. The meeting adjourned at 4:32 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk.
November 29, 2011
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY November 29, 2011, 3:30 p.m. Borick 206 Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; Student Government Representative: Nicole Read; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: None Guests: Mary Hudson, John Hausdoerffer, Dale Orth, Scott Cohn, Caroline Mitchell, Dan Cress, Greg Haase Agenda and Minutes: The Agenda and Minutes from November 15 were unanimously approved. Discussion: 1. ACC 410– Mary Hudson presented the details of the proposal. a. The proposal seeks to standardize the language in the course description to satisfy State requirements for specifically including “Generally Accepted Auditing Standards” (GAAS) reference. Without this language the department has needed to provide supplemental letters to the State, often causing delay for students applying for the Accounting exam. 2. First Year Experience Proposal –John Hausdoerffer, Dale Orth, and Scott Cohn presented the details of the proposal and fielded Committee questions. a. The First Year Experience course would be housed under the Headwaters discipline to support the interdisciplinary design for the course. The premise being a student’s Headwaters to their education, rather than a gateway to HWTR or ENVS student recruitment. b. The goal of the course focuses on student retention by creating a comprehensive, engaging learning environment. HWTR 100 would be taught by instructors from various disciplines, allowing each faculty member the opportunity to create a unique learning experience based on the instructor’s individual interpretation of what Headwaters means to them. In this way, the course could change every year. The proposed syllabus is loosely structured to include lecture, convocation, community service projects, and field experience. The Committee recommended a panel discussion be considered in an effort to further engage and interest freshmen. c. Committee members expressed concern that the Arts, Math, and ‘hard’ sciences weren’t equally represented in the proposal. Presenters acknowledged the current structure of the syllabus reiterating that it was to be used as an example. Faculty have three options for teaching this course, 1) utilizing extensive academic experience, 2) integrating personal passion, unique to the valley, outside of their discipline, 3) work with a more standardized curriculum. All agreed that interested, passionate faculty would provide the best foundation to recruit and retain interested and engaged students. d. Additional concern was raised of requiring freshmen to attend two events on campus without required assignments. The library contains many critical tools for academic success that many students don’t realize until they’re given an assignment. This causes library staff to frequently tutor students on an individual basis, as well as anxiety and frustration for students who are unable to complete assignments autonomously. The library would like an opportunity to be integrated into the program as well.
3. POLS Proposal – Bill Niemi presented the details of the proposal. a. When the original POLS Proposal was submitted to the Committee last year, POLS 360 was inadvertently omitted from the list of electives for the Pre-Law emphasis. POLS 360 was successfully added to the standard program last year. 4. SOC Proposal – Dan Cress, Greg Haase, and Caroline Mitchell presented the details of the proposal and fielded Committee questions. a. Sociology is currently undergoing a program review, and with the President’s Initiative for departments to consider growth opportunities, the proposal was designed to enhance the existing program and build upon the existing Criminal Justice emphasis. The EMT and Firefighter coursework has been offered through Extended Studies and taught by professionals in the community. Creating a program wherein a student could earn a degree, and practical experience, meets existing student demand. b. Questions were raised on how some courses met required academic content, where they appeared more technical in their description. The courses were designed to cover theoretical application, and the broader human element involved. c. The Committee pointed out minor edits in the required course credits, and the sequential nature of the science electives. These notations would require the addition of 4 science credits to the emphasis. It was noted that the required Math course is higher than the rest of the program requires. The department anticipates increasing the Math requirement for the entire program next year. 1. CIS 450 –Motion was made to approve the proposal, the proposal passed unanimously (8-0). Announcements: Offering a First-Year program to incoming students is in the best interest of the campus as a whole. The Committee will meet again on December 6, 2011, in Borick 206 to vote on the remaining proposals. The meeting adjourned at 5:09 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk.
April 9, 2012Official Minutes of the Curriculum Committee Present: Faculty Representatives: Paul Edwards, Pete Gauss as proxy for Shan Hays, Chase Hutchinson, Heidi Keck, Wally Lewis, Ashwin Patel, John Wacker, Jim Woytek; Library Representative: Nancy Gauss; Student Government Representative: Nicole Read; Academic Affairs: Bill Niemi; Registration Services: Ginny Hayes, Debra Clark; and Committee Chair: Cindy Drexel. Absent: None Guests: Heather Thiessen-Reily Agenda and Minutes: None Discussion: 1. Heather Thiessen-Reily presented an overview of the work being done by the General Education Council. The General Education Council agrees that a change needs to be made to the current structure being used. The courses available are all guaranteed transfer, as defined and approved by CCHE. Given the limited resources on a smaller campus, it can be argued that Western is doing the students and faculty a disservice by creating a curriculum that encourages students to transfer out. Also, because General Education courses pull faculty away from their chosen discipline and there is no additional compensation or recognition, staffing can be unappealing for some. Heather proposed that the Committee be open to considering non-traditional General Education proposals in the coming year. If a course is rejected by CCHE as a guaranteed transfer course it could still be used as a General Education option at Western. Such courses could allow for more creative freedom and personalization of the course, while still following the criteria defining GE. By expanding the curricular options, additional disciplines, upper division, and hybrid courses may be considered.
The Committee expressed concern that previous attempts to change General Education have been unsuccessful. They also emphasized their concern that in broadening the definition of Western’s General Education may ultimately dilute the program. Heather argued that the role of the Council would be to assist departments in developing appropriate options that would ultimately be considered by the Curriculum Committee. It would not be the role of the Council to pass GE curriculum proposals. 2. The Committee was reminded of expiring terms. Chase Hutchison will be replaced next year by Casey Krawczyk. Cindy Drexel’s term as Committee Chair is also expiring.
Action Items: 1. Nomination and second was made to re-elect Cindy Drexel as Curriculum Committee Chair. Motion passed unanimously (10-0).
Announcements: None The meeting adjourned at 4:16 p.m. Presented by Cindy Drexel, CC Chair and prepared by Ginny Hayes, Curriculum Committee Clerk. |