ACADEMICCOUNCIL
TexasTechUniversity
Meetingof
March8,2016
MINUTES
Present:KathyAustin,ToddChambers,ClaudiaCogliser,CathyDuran,Genevieve
DurhamDeCesaro,KeithDye,StephenEkwaro-Osire,SheilaGrayforEthanLogan,
MelanieHart,SheilaHoover,LynnHuffman,PatrickHughes,JorgeIber,Michelle
Kiser,SavannahLeonardforCindyAkers,RobinLock,JustinLouder,FeliciaMartin,
SheilaGrayforEthanLogan,BrendaMartinezforBobbieBrown,PatMcConnel,
RandyMcBee,GarrettMcKinnon,JeffreyMercer,AlisonMyhra,WilliamPasewark,
ElizabethInskip-Paulk,SeshadriRamkumar,DavidRoach,BrianSteel,RobStewart
chair,KevinStoker,PatriciaVitela,JanessaWalls,MaryWeatherly,VickiWest
Guests:BrentGuinn,LoriRodriguez,AndrewSwift,AndrewVernooy
StewartcalledthemeetingtoorderandintroducedtheminutesfromFebruary
meeting.Withnocorrectionsoramendmentssuggested,Huffmanmovedtoapprove
theminutesaspresented,Chambersseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
DurhamDeCesaropresentedanumberofcurricularitems.Firstwasaproposed
decreaseintherequiredsemestercredithoursforaBachelorofSciencein
Architecture,to128from131.Stokermovedtoapprovetheproposalaspresented,
Ramkumarseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
TheCouncilalsoheardaproposalforanincreaseinsemestercredithoursforthe
M.S.B.A.inHealthcareAdministration,to39from36.Theproposedincreasewould
consistofaninternship.Chambersmovedtoapprovetheproposalaspresented,
Ramkumarseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
Adual-degreeJ.D.andM.S.inSportManagementwasproposed.Thecombineddualdegreeprogramwouldnotchangethehoursrequirementsforeitherdegree,but
combinethembysharing12hoursbetweenthedegrees.Inall,114totalhours
wouldberequiredforbothdegrees.Roachmovedtoapprovethedual-degree
programaspresented,Ramkumarseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
TheCollegeofEngineeringpresentedarequesttodeletethegraduatecertificatein
PetroleumEngineering,whichhadnostudentsenrolled.Huffmanmovedtoapprove
therequest,Ekwaro-Osireseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
TheCouncilheardanumberofinformationalitems.Aproposedgraduatecertificate
inEnergyEconomicswastabledbytheCollegeofBusiness,whilea15-hour
graduateminorinBusinessStatisticswithintheAreaofInformationSystemsand
QuantitativeScienceswasannounced.
Huffmanannouncedanew18-hourminorinHumanSciencestobeofferedbythe
CollegeofHumanSciences.Shenotedtheminorwouldbeusefulforstudents
earningaB.G.S.degreewithinthecollege.Sincetheminorwouldbeofferedboth
face-to-faceandonline,LouderrequestedthattherequestberoutedthroughtheeLearningcouncilbeforefurtherconsiderationbyAcademiccouncil.
Ekwaro-OsirediscussedarevisedGPArequirementforMechanicalEngineeringand
PetroleumEngineeringmajors.Thenewstandardswouldrequirea3.0GPAfor
admissionintotheprograms,whichhenotedwereamongthehighestenrolling
programsoncampus.HesaidtheincreasedGPAstandardswouldassistwith
keepingstudent-facultyratiosmanageable,whichwouldalsohelpwith
accreditation.
Inasimilarvein,HuffmandiscussedanincreaseinGPArequirements(to3.0)for
studentsseekingaNutritionScienceandDieteticsdegreeandaNutritiondegree
withapre-professionalconcentration.Shenotedthatthemovewasnotexpectedto
impactenrollment,butwouldensurethatstudentswerepreparedfortherigorof
theprograms.
Thecouncilheardaninformationalitemonachangeforthedoctoralconcentration
ofBiochemicalandMolecularNutrition,whichwasupdatedtoNutritional
BiochemistryandPhysiology.
GalyeanpresentedaproposalfortheestablishmentofaDepartmentofVeterinary
SciencewithintheCollegeofAgriculturalSciencesandNaturalResources.Henoted
thedepartmentwouldformthenucleusfortheeventualdevelopmentofaSchoolof
VeterinaryMedicineandBiologicalSciences,whichwasplannedtobecontained
withinTexasTechUniversityHealthSciencesCenter’sAmarillocampus.Galyean
saidtheDepartmentofVeterinaryMedicinewouldbeagraduatedepartmentwitha
researchfocus.Longterm,hesaiditwouldserveasaliaisonbetweentheCollege,
theSchoolofVeterinaryMedicine,andtherestoftheTexasTechUniversitycampus.
Henotedthatthecollege’spre-veterinarymedicinecurriculumwouldbe
unchanged.Thedepartment’sformationwouldrequirethehiringofthreenew
facultymembersandjointappointees,buthenotedthatthedepartmentwould
includefacultyfrombothTTUHSCandtheSchoolofPharmacywithanimalhealth
backgrounds.Galyeansaidthatwhiletheveterinaryschoolwouldultimatelyfocus
onanimalfoodproductionandruralanimalhealth,theDepartmentofVeterinary
Sciencewouldprovideanimportantresearchavenueinveterinarymedicine.
RepresentativesfromtheTTULibraryexpressedconcernthatmaterialsregarding
thetopichadnotbeencollected,andGalyeanindicatedthathewouldmeetwith
libraryrepresentativestodiscusstheneededmaterials.TheCouncilwasalso
apprisedthatTeddMitchell,presidentofTTUHSC,wasfullyinsupportofthe
establishmentofboththeDepartmentofVeterinaryScienceandtheSchoolof
VeterinaryMedicine.Afterabriefdiscussion,Chambersmovedtoapprovethe
formationofthedepartment,Ramkumarseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
McKinnonpresentedthecourseapprovals.Withnochangesnoted,Huffmanmoved
toacceptthecourseproposalsaspresented,Stokerseconded,andthemotionwas
approved.
HughesgavetheCouncilanupdateontheRetentionSymposiumhostedbythe
university,whichattractedalotofregionalinterestandwasattendedby
representativesfrommorethanadozencollegesanduniversities.Hughesnoted
thattheideassharedreflectedmanyhigh-tech/high-touchsolutions,andstrategies
toincreasestudentretentionandsuccesswereshared.
Inotherbusiness:
•JamesupdatedtheCouncilonthestatusofprogramsbeingconsideredby
SACSCOC,andremindedthemembersthatnoprogramsmaybeclosedwithout
approvalfromSACSCOC,andneithermaynewprogramsbeofferedwithout
approval.Healsocautionedthatwhileapprovalwasoftenastraightforward
process,ifSACSCOCdecidedtoreviewaprogram’sprospectusindetail,itcouldtake
manymonthsforapprovaltobeissued.Henotedonerecentprogramrequired17
monthsbetweensubmissiontoSACSCOCandfinalapproval.Hefurthernotedthat
submissiontoSACSCOCcouldonlyoccurafterprogramshadbeenapprovedbythe
THECB.
•LoudernotedthatTHECBregulationsforofferingface-to-facecoursesonremote
campusesrequiredareporttobesubmittedtohisofficebyApril1,andifcolleges
intendedtoofferremoteface-to-facecoursesorgroupteleconferencecourses,his
officewouldneedtobeadvised.
•Stewartnotedthatanumberofgraduateproposalsandcourseshadbeen
submittedforconsiderationbyAcademicCouncilatalatedate,andproposeda
secondAcademicCouncilmeetingonMarch22,2016toconsiderthoseproposals.
Withnootherbusiness,theMarch8meetingwasadjourned.
Meetingof
March22,2016
Present:AdrienneCarnes,ToddChambers,ClaudiaCogliser,DavidDoerfert,Cathy
Duran,GenevieveDurhamDeCesaro,KeithDye,CliftonEllis,RyanGibbs,Sheila
Hoover,LynnHuffman,PatrickHughes,JorgeIber,DarrylJames,MichelleKiser,
SavanahLeonardforCindyAkers,RobinLock,EthanLogan,JustinLouder,Pat
McConnel,GarrettMcKinnon,AudraMorse,AlisonMyhra,WilliamPasewark,
SeshadriRamkumar,DavidRoach,LindaRodriguez,TerryRogerforVickiWest,Rob
Stewartchair,PatriciaVitela,AlizaWong
Guests:AndrewSwift,MarcusTanner
Stewartcalledthemeetingtoorderandnotedthatforexpediency’ssake,the
minutesfrombothMarchmeetingsofAcademicCouncilwouldbecombinedand
reviewedduringtheAprilmeeting.
DurhamDeCesarogaveanupdateonthenewprogramswebsite,notingthatTHECB
hadpublishednewformspertainingtonewprogramsandprogramalterations.She
notedthattheProvost’swebsitehadbeenupdatedwiththenewformsandrouting
sheets.
AtrioofnewminorswasannouncedbyLouder.Apoliticalscienceminorwouldbe
offeredonlineandatregionalsites,whileanagriculturalleadershipminorwouldbe
offeredonlineandatTexasTech’sregionalcampusinWaco.Finally,anatural
resourcesmanagementminorwouldbeofferedattheWacocampus;Loudernoted
thatthisminorwouldbehelpfulforstudentswishingtopursueacareerasagame
warden.HesaidtheminorswereopentostudentspursuinginterdisciplinaryB.G.S.,
B.A.A.S.orB.U.S.degrees.
Huffmanpresentedaproposalforapairofacceleratedbachelors-plus-masters
degrees.TheB.S.inApparelDesignandManufacturingwouldbepairedwiththe
M.S.inEnvironmentalDesign(ApparelDesignandManufacturingtrack),whilethe
B.S.inRetailManagementwouldbepairedwiththeM.S.inHospitalityandRetail
Management.Bothsetsofaccelerateddegreeswouldrequire150hourstotal,and
wouldconsistofa4-houroverlap.Morsemovedtoapprovetheaccelerateddegree
plans,Chambersseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
TheCouncilalsoheardaproposalforacombinedB.A.orB.S.inUniversityStudies
andanM.A.orM.S.inInterdisciplinaryStudies.Theproposalwouldallowstudents
totakegraduatecoursesduringtheirsenioryearintheUniversityStudiesprogram,
andwouldconsistof157hourstotal.(Note:Aspartoftheproposal,twonew
courses—INTS5100andatandemINTS4300/5300—wereincludedforapproval.)
TheCouncilwasreassuredthattheB.A.degreewouldbefusedwiththeM.A.,while
theB.S.wouldbefusedwiththeM.S.Afterabriefdiscussion,Huffmanmovedto
approvetheprogramandcoursesaspresented,Wongseconded,andthemotion
wasapproved.
Morsediscussedaproposedon-campusandonlineM.S.inManufacturing
Engineering,tobeofferedbytheDepartmentofIndustrialEngineering.Shenoted
thedegreehadbeencarefullyvettedbytheCollegeofEngineeringintermsofjob
prospectsforstudents.Doerfertmovedtoapprovethedegreeaspresented,
Ramkumarseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
HuffmandiscussedtheproposalforaPh.D.inAddictionDisordersandRecovery
Studies.ShenotedthatasfarastheCollegeofHumanSciencesknew,thedegree
wouldbetheonlyoneofitskindinthecountrysinceitsfocuswasondisordersand
recovery.Shesaidapoolofstudentswasalreadyeagertoentertheprogram,and
sheprojectedthatultimatelyasmanyas20studentscouldjointheprogram.She
alsonotedthattheCollegeofHumanScienceshadsufficientexistingfacultyto
handletheprogram,whichshesaidthecollegehopedtostartinthefallof2017.
Stewartnotedthattheprogramhadreceivedsupportfromamajorityoffacultyin
thecollege.Afterabriefdiscussion,Coglisermovedtoapprovethedegreeprogram
aspresented,Morseseconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
McKinnonpresentedthecourseapprovals,whichconsistedofapairofgraduate
courseproposals.Doerfertmovedtoapprovethecoursesaspresented,Chambers
seconded,andthemotionwasapproved.
Stewartdiscussedongoingeffortsbythepresident’sofficetoencouragestudentsto
take30hoursofcourseseachyear.Henotedthattheexecutivecouncilwaslooking
atmethodstoencouragestudentstodoso,andthattheeffortdidnotnecessarily
consistoffocusingonthetraditional15-hourcourseloadinthefallsemesterand
15-hourcourseloadinthespringsemester.Henotedthatonlinecourseswereone
possibility,andsaidthatsomeresearchexistedtosupportthecontentionthat
studentswhotook30hoursofcoursesannuallyfinishtheirdegreesatahigherrate
thanthosewhodidnot.Roachinquiredaboutthepossibilityofincludingafinancial
considerationtotheproposal,suchasoffering15hoursofcoursesforthepriceof
12,similartothemannerinwhichsomesmallercollegesdid.Chambersinquired
aboutthecurrentaverage,andStewartnotedthatitwasabout13.4hoursper
semester.Aftermorediscussion,StewartencouragedtheCouncilmembersto
considertheissueandbringideasforconsiderationduringafuturemeeting.
DurhamDeCesarodiscussedtheTeachingExcellenceandStudentSuccessForum,
whichwasscheduledforMarch23.ShenotedthattheProvost’sofficehadinitiated
adialogueregardinggivingteachinga“voice”inadditiontotheresearch“voice”
alreadyprevalentoncampus.Shesaidpanelistsattheforumwoulddiscussthe
issues,challenges,etc.ofpromotingteachingexcellence.Shealsosaidasecond
forumhadbeententativelyscheduledforApril22.
Inotherbusiness:
•MorselaudedtheProvost’sofficeforsupportingtheTEMPOteachermentorship
program,whichshenotedwouldbestartingitsfourthyearinthefall.
•Councilmemberswereremindedaboutthedeadlineforapplicationtothe
TeachingAcademy.
•StewartrevisitedthefactthatthedirectoroftheQEPprogrampositionwasstill
open,andencouragedapplications.
•DurannotedthatdiversityweekatTexasTechUniversitywasongoing,and
encouragedfacultysupport.
Withnootherbusinessontheagenda,Stewartadjournedthemeeting.
SubsequenttotheMarch22meeting,theCollegeofHumanSciencesproposed
anotheraccelerateddegree,thisoneaB.S.inRestaurant,HotelandInstitutional
ManagementwithaM.S.inHospitalityandRetailManagement.Theprogramwould
bea150-houraccelerateddegreeprogramsimilartotheothersapprovedduring
theMarch22meeting.Stewartcalledforavoteviaemail.Dyemotionedtoapprove
theprogramaspresented,Wongseconded,andthemotionwasapprovedviaemail
voteperStewart.