Received by Undergraduate Coordinating Council—October 1, 2009
COMMITTEE ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM (CUC)
First Meeting/2009-10 Academic Year
September 10, 2009
Approved
i of v
PRESENT:
G. Aase (BUS/OMIS), K. Millis (LAS/PSYC, chair), G. Schlabach (EDU/KNPE), F.
Solares-Larrave (LAS/FL--), R. Tatara (EET/TECH), M. Lenczewski (LAS/GEOL), R.
Schneider (VPA/THEA), M. Valle (HHS/NHS)
ABSENT:
E. Seaver (Vice Provost, ex officio)
CONSULTANTS: D. Smith (Catalog Editor/Curriculum Coordinator), A. Byrd (Registration and Records)
FIRST MEETING ENCLOSURES
The following informational items were sent to committee members: 2009-10 meeting schedule;
2009-10 CUC membership; electronically approved minutes of April 16, 2009; CUC Annual Report
2008-09; CUC bylaws; Subcommittee on the Review of Contract Majors and KNPE 101 LetterSuffixed Courses; Working Rules for Presentations to the CUC by Units Holding Conflicting Points
of View on Curricular Items; Nonduplication and Impact on Other Units, Guidelines for Certificates
of Undergraduate Study; and Guidelines for the Development of Interdisciplinary Courses.
Introductions were made.
ELECTION OF CHAIR
Keith Millis was elected chair by acclimation.
A motion was made and seconded to APPROVE THE AGENDA. Motion carried unanimously.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. CUC members were reminded that if they are unable to attend a CUC meeting, they can name a
substitute to represent their constituency. If they know who that person will be prior to the
mailing of the agenda packets, they should inform Donna Smith (753-0126, dsmith@niu.edu) so
the packet can be sent directly to the substitute; otherwise, they should give their packet to the
substitute.
New CUC members should note that the consent agenda is used to expedite the consideration of
some college curriculum committee minutes and other straightforward and/or noncontroversial
curricular items. If a CUC member has a question/concern about or wants to discuss any item on
the consent agenda, he or she should ask to have that item removed from the consent agenda and
added to the items for discussion prior to the approval of the consent agenda.
The CUC is the curricular body for interdisciplinary undergraduate curricular material not
located in an academic college or colleges, specifically UNIV 101 and curricular offerings from
the Division of International Programs and the Center for Black Studies. This responsibility
includes usual curricular activity (new, revised, and deleted courses as well as other catalog
Received by Undergraduate Coordinating Council—October 1, 2009
COMMITTEE ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM (CUC)
First Meeting/2009-10 Academic Year
September 10, 2009
Approved
ii of v
changes), general education submissions/resubmissions, and review of these units’ overall
curricular offerings.
2. A report of items receiving further approvals was distributed to committee members. Note that
some curricular items need to receive further approval from other committees such as APASC
(Admissions Policies and Academic Standards Committee), CITC (Committee on Initial
Certification), or the GEC (General Education Committee). There are also items that need
further approval from President Peters, the Board of Trustees, and/or the Illinois Board of Higher
Education. Once these approvals are received, Smith prepares this report for the CUC.
3. A report of items reported for inclusion in the Undergraduate Catalog by another standing
committee of the Undergraduate Coordinating Council (UCC) was distributed to committee
members. This report often includes other catalog items from committees such as APASC and
GEC.
CONSENT AGENDA
It was noted that college minutes with no controversial items are included in the consent agenda.
Aase made a motion, seconded by Schlabach, to RECEIVE THE COLLEGE MINUTES WITH NO
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULAR ITEMS. The motion passed unanimously. The following
college minutes with no undergraduate-level curricular items were so received.
College of Business #12 (AY 2008-09)
College of Education #15 (AY 2008-09)
College of Engineering & Engineering Technology #10 (AY 2008-09)
College of Engineering & Engineering Technology #13 (AY 2008-09)
College of Engineering & Engineering Technology #14 (AY 2008-09)
College of Engineering & Engineering Technology #15 (AY 2008-09)
Schlabach made a motion, seconded by Aase, to RECEIVE THE COLLEGE MINUTES WITH
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULAR ITEMS. Tatara pointed out in CEET #12, page 2, the actual
title for TECH 436 is Design and Administration of Industrial Safety Program, and on page 3 the
ampersand in the title for TECH 398W should be “and.” Millis asked if there should be a rationale
for the item on page 3 of these minutes. Smith responded that curricular changes should have
rationales, but if the CUC is willing to accept the changes without rationale, that is their prerogative.
Lenczewski asked about the change on page 2 of CBUS #14 and the deletion of a number of courses.
Aase responded that students are required take general education courses and the college determined
they had no rationale for listing these courses in their program. Millis had a question about a catalog
change in CHHS #12 and the requirement of “a B or better.” It was noted that in the future, college
minutes with items for discussion should be removed from the consent agenda. Schlabach amended
the motion, seconded by Aase, to REMOVE CHHS #12 FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND
RECEIVE THE OTHER COLLEGE MINUTES WITH UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULAR
ITEMS. The motion passed unanimously. The following college minutes with undergraduatelevel curricular items were so received.
Received by Undergraduate Coordinating Council—October 1, 2009
COMMITTEE ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM (CUC)
First Meeting/2009-10 Academic Year
September 10, 2009
Approved
iii of v
College of Business #13 (AY 2008-09)
College of Business #14 (AY 2008-09)
College of Education #14 (AY 2008-09, pending CITC approval)
College of Engineering & Engineering Technology #11 (AY 2008-09)
College of Engineering & Engineering Technology #12 (AY 2008-09)
College of Health and Human Sciences #11 (AY 2008-09, pending CITC approval)
COLLEGE MINUTES AND OTHER CURRICULAR ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
College of
Engineering &
Engineering
Technology, #16 (AY
08-09)
In these minutes are two new courses, IEET 491 and IEET 492. Smith reported that
since the rationale states that these courses are required for the new master’s in
integrated systems, she contacted the college for clarification. She distributed an email response from the college providing the new rationale: “As a means to have
undergraduate participation in the integrated systems engineering program, we have
created the undergraduate counterparts to IEET 591 and IEET 592.” Tatara
explained that the long-term plan in the college is for a doctorate in engineering, and
the master’s degree is one step toward that goal. He also confirmed that there is
demand for this program and these courses. There was discussion on whether or not
the course description for the 400-level courses needs to be different from that of the
500-level courses. Smith will check on this for the CUC. Most CUC members
noted that they differentiate between undergraduate and graduate courses with
different syllabi. Aase made a motion, seconded by Solares-Larrave, to TABLE
THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULAR ITEMS IN ENGINEERING AND
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY #16 (4/23/09) PENDING CLARIFICATION OF
THE COURSE DESCRIPTION. A question was raised as to whether or not
students enrolling in the undergraduate courses would not be able to take the
graduate courses for credit and if this should be so noted in the course description.
The CUC felt that if this is the intention of the college, this should be clearly stated.
The motion was amended to read: TABLE THE UNDERGRADUATE
CURRICULAR ITEMS IN ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING
TECHNOLOGY #16 (4/23/09) PENDING CLARIFICATION OF THE COURSE
DESCRIPTION AND WHETHER OR NOT STUDENTS TAKING THE COURSE
AT THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE THE
COURSE FOR CREDIT AT THE GRADUATE LEVEL. Motion passed
unanimously.
College of Health and
Human Sciences, #12
(AY 08-09)
Millis pointed out new text on page 1, which states “Post baccalaureate students
requesting DPD verification must complete a minimum of 9 semester hours of
approved course work at NIU with a grade of B or better.” He added that it’s not
clear what students need to earn a B or better in. It was asked if this had been
approved by APASC and Smith stated that these minutes had yet to be seen by
APASC. Aase made a motion, seconded by Lenczewski, to RECEIVE THE
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULAR ITEMS IN HEALTH AND HUMAN
SCIENCES MINUTES #12 (4/3/09) PENDING CLARIFICATION OF THE “B OR
BETTER” REQUIREMENT AND APASC APPROVAL. Motion passed
Received by Undergraduate Coordinating Council—October 1, 2009
COMMITTEE ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM (CUC)
First Meeting/2009-10 Academic Year
September 10, 2009
Approved
iv of v
unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
EDU #13
New certificate of undergraduate study was tabled for clarification of upper-division courses. Smith
explained that in the proposal for the new CUS, one of the proposed requirements is “One upperdivision course in the department of history, philosophy, or sociology.” When the CUC initially
reviewed this proposal, they asked for a definition of “upper-division.” The CUC has since been
provided with an e-mail correspondence confirming that “upper-division” is 300- or 400-level.
Schlabach made a motion, seconded by Aase, to RECEIVE THE NEW CERTIFICATE OF
UNDERGRADUATE STUDY IN FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES, WITH THE
CHANGE FROM “UPPER-DIVISION” TO “300- OR 400-LEVEL.” Motion passed
unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
OTHER BUSINESS
A couple of issues were brought up by CUC members. The first issue is that there doesn’t seem to
be a clear definition of the minimum number of hours required for a second major and/or minor,
despite what is outlined in the undergraduate catalog. Using credits both towards the 120-semesterhour graduation requirement and for a minor or an additional degree seems to be allowed and many
CUC members had problems with this and were aware of colleagues who also had problems with
this. One example is a forthcoming proposal of a minor that a student can earn without taking any
extra course work. Along with this, there seems to be no policy that defines the minimum number of
hours for a minor.
The second issue is that subsequent divisions of a major aren’t clearly defined. There is emphasis
and specialization, but if a department wants to further divide up a major, there doesn’t seem to be
definitive terminology. Some departments use area of study, but a new master’s proposal in CEET
using “focus area” (not yet seen by the GCCC), led some CUC members to question consistency of
language. Part of this issue is that use of “area of study” or “focus area” doesn’t require a separate
CIP code, where adding a new emphasis would.
CUC members discussed if it is their role to further discuss these issues. Smith read from the bylaws
that the CUC can “recommend general policies regarding the design of the undergraduate
curriculum.” However, the CUC asked Smith to check with Seaver on procedure and other
governing bodies which should be involved in the discussion.
Received by Undergraduate Coordinating Council—October 1, 2009
COMMITTEE ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM (CUC)
First Meeting/2009-10 Academic Year
September 10, 2009
Approved
v of v
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
The next meeting will be October 8, 2009, 12:30, Altgeld 225.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna M. Smith