Received by the Graduate Council—May 7, 2012
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fifth Meeting/2011-12 Academic Year
April 9, 2012
Approved
p. i of iii
PRESENT:
G. Bennardo (LAS/ANTH), V. Demir (EET/ELE), V. Garver (LAS/HIST), S. L’Allier
(EDU/LTCY), M C. Smith (Graduate School), J. Umoren (HHS/FCNS), L. Zhou
(BUS/FINA), L. Zittel (EDU/KNPE)
CONSULTANTS: D. Smith (Catalog Editor/Curriculum Coordinator)
GUESTS:
K. Thurmaier (LAS/PSPA)
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
It was noted that the agenda should read “Fifth Meeting,” dated April 9, 2012. Zittel made a motion,
seconded by Garver, to APPROVE THE AGENDA AS AMENDED. Motion passed unanimously.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Minutes from the March 19, 2012, meeting were approved.
2. Section D, Items reported for inclusion in the Graduate Catalog by another standing committee
of the Graduate Council.
CONSENT AGENDA
L’Allier made a motion, seconded by Zhou, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. Motion passed
unanimously. The following minutes with no graduate curricular items were so received.
College of Business #9
College of Business #10
College of Engineering and Engineering Technology #8
The following minutes with graduate curricular items were so received.
College of Education #10
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences #9
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences #10
COLLEGE MINUTES FOR DISCUSSION
College of Education #11.
In these minutes is a proposal to change the name of the Department of Literacy to the Department of
Literacy, Learning, and Culture. L’Allier explained that because of the college’s reorganization last year,
Received by the Graduate Council—May 7, 2012
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fifth Meeting/2011-12 Academic Year
April 9, 2012
Approved
p. ii of iii
the department accepted the elementary education faculty, who primarily teach science and social studies.
The other Department of Literacy faculty (those in the department prior to the reorganization) primarily
teach language arts, children literature, reading,, bilingual education, and multicultural education. So the
proposed name reflects the variety of faculty who are now in the department. “Learning” covers an area of
focus for all the faculty, and “culture” focuses primarily on the ESL/bilingual and multicultural courses
taught in the department. The proposed name change was sent to all departments and there were no
objections. The use of “culture” was further explained; faculty in ESL teach bilingualism, ESL, and
multiculturalism courses which focuses on how teachers need to understand their students’ cultures and
diversity. Bennardo asked if Anthropology had any objections and L’Allier responded that none of NIU’s
departments expressed any objection to the name change. Bennardo felt that the name is ambiguous and
doesn’t describe what they are teaching. It was noted that many departmental names can be seen as
ambiguous. However, Bennardo felt that he needed to reach out to the faculty in his department
(Anthropology). M C. Smith also expressed reservations, since his department (Leadership, Educational
Psychology and Foundations) in the past has had issues about “Learning” in a department name. The role of
the GCCC was clarified; the committee is to approve this change. Committee members discussed tabling
this item and that it should be presented to all faculty, and a rationale for the addition of “learning” and
“culture” should be included. L’Allier stated that the elementary education faculty in the department do not
want the name to just be Literacy Education and the ESL faculty fell that “culture” represents what they do.
And adding “elementary education” to the title doesn’t represent the faculty who teach science and social
studies. They see themselves more as curriculum and instruction faculty rather than elementary education
faculty. Umoren made a motion, seconded by Garver, to TABLE THE NAME CHANGE FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF LITERACY EDUCATION UNTIL FACULTY IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS CAN
PROVIDE FEEDBACK. Motion passed with L’Allier abstaining. Zittel made a motion, seconded by
Umoren, to APPROVE THE REMAINDER OF THE GRADUATE-LEVEL CURRICULAR ITEMS IN
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION #11 (2/21/12). Motion passed unanimously.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences #10 Addendum
Thurmaier explained the process of creating a School of Public and Global Affairs, changing the Division of
Public Administration to a department, and placing that department, along with the Department of Political
Science and the Center for Non-Governmental Organizations Leadership and Development in the school.
Each unit’s degree programs will move to the school as well. Thurmaier stated that nationally, Public
Affairs programs are almost all located in schools or in stand-alone departments; not within another
department as it’s currently organized at NIU. He added that NIU’s public administration program has been
nationally ranked, but their ranking has been ebbing and the main reason is because the program is not its
own entity or at least part of a school. Thurmaier noted that there is also pedagogical reasoning behind the
reorganization and that is because public affairs is complex with a lot of different disciplines that can be a
part of it. The school could be a location where resources can be pooled to address a variety of global issues,
such as poverty. Thurmaier pointed out the bylaws, which were provided to GCCC members, and that the
bylaws should better illustrate the structure of the new school. L’Allier asked if there was a need for
additional resources and Thurmaier responded that this is simply a reorganization and no additional
resources are needed at this time. Bennardo asked about faculty and Thurmaier said that the bylaws outline
the faculty who will be assigned to the school. He added that faculty from other departments could become
Received by the Graduate Council—May 7, 2012
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fifth Meeting/2011-12 Academic Year
April 9, 2012
Approved
p. iii of iii
associates and he has already been approached by faculty who are interested. There could also be joint
appointments for faculty. Garver asked if there would be an added layer of administration, e.g., for
curriculum, and Thurmaier noted that in some cases, issues that aren’t routine would need to go through the
specific department and the school, then on up to the college level. Zittel made a motion, seconded by
L’Allier, to APPROVE THE GRADUATE-LEVEL CURRICULAR ITEMS IN COLLEGE OF LIBERAL
ARTS AND SCIENCES #10 ADDENDUM (PENDING BOT AND IBHE APPROVAL). Motion passed
unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
1. New interdisciplinary course proposal. M C. Smith reported that he made the necessary changes
to the proposal (renumbering a list and adding methods of course evaluation). Zittel made a motion,
seconded by Umoren, to APPROVE NEW COURSE IDSP 596. L’Allier suggested that the items
for course evaluation be added to the syllabus, and Smith agreed. Motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
1. APPM (Academic Policies and Procedures Manual) changes. Smith explained that the changes
before the GCCC came out of a curricular deans meeting. One of the curricular deans was not
receiving the college curriculum committee minutes from the other colleges. So it was decided to
change the APPM to add several other parties to whom the minutes need to be distributed (see
Appendix A). Garver made a motion, seconded by Zittel, to APPROVE THE CHANGES TO THE
APPM AS PRESENTED. Motion passed unanimously.
2. Election of Chair. It was decided to table this until the October meeting due to the uncertainty of
the membership of the GCCC for 2012-13.
A motion was made and seconded to ADJOURN THE MEETING. Motion passed by acclamation. The
meeting adjourned at 11:00.
The next meeting of the Graduate Council Curriculum Committee is October 8, 2012, 10:00, location to be
determined.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna M. Smith
Appendix A
Curricular Approval Procedures
Section III. Item 4.
B. College
1. The basic reporting instruments are the formal minutes of the college curriculum
committees. Curricular changes are to be reported in accordance with the standard
format. (See Section III, Appendix B, Guidelines and Sample Copy for College
Curriculum Committee Minutes and Attachments .)
2. Minutes should indicate the college, the committee, the date, and the year and
number of the meeting (e.g., LA&S College Curriculum Committee, September 6,
1988, 1988-89 #2).
3. Pertinent and related materials should be appended to the copies of the minutes.
4. Single copies of the minutes should be forwarded to:
a. curricular deans
b. curricular secretaries
c. administrative assistant to the vice-provost
d. the chair of each of the other college curriculum committees
e. the Director of Registration and Records
5. Thirty copies of college curriculum committee minutes and their appropriate
attachments should be forwarded to the Catalog Editor/Curriculum Coordinator for
distribution as appropriate.