ASCRC Minutes 4/15/14
Poetry Corner, Mansfield Library, 2:10 p.m.
Members Present: J. Deboer, L. Eagleheart, C. Henderson, L. Gillison, S. Samson, T.
Thibeau, M. Triana, E. Uchimoto, N. Vonessen, G. Weix
Members Absent/ Excused: K. Easwaramurthi, B. Holzworth, J. Laine
Ex-Officio Present: J. Hickman N. Hinman, B. Howard, A. Walker-Andrews
The minutes from 4/8/14 were amended and approved after the Degree Audit update.
Communication

Loey Knapp, the Information Technology Strategist provided an update on the degree
builder project. All degrees offered have been identified and mapped. There are 283
paths for undergraduates that include degrees, options, and tracks. Tracks do not
show on students transcripts. Lots of records were corrected in Banner and in degree
requirements. There were outdated degrees, and course changes that were not
updated in all listings of the course.
The degree builder web service has been developed and the 2014-15 dynamic catalog
is underway with lists, requirements, and query functions. The catalog will pull the
list of degree listings from Degree Builder, course listings from Banner, and faculty
listings from the Faculty Database created by Spectral Fusion. Some faculty may
need to be entered into the database.
Currently some degrees include a text degree-map in the catalog. Many of these
maps are likely to have errors. Programs will be proofreading the catalog information
in the next few weeks. ASCRC recommended that the degree-maps be removed
unless departments verify they are error-free.
The dynamic catalog was demonstrated. IT is working to tag key words so students
will be able to find programs that match their interests easier. The catalog should be
available mid-June. Graduate degrees will be mapped this summer. Then degreeaudit options will be evaluated. Currently none of the three software options are in
compliance with accessibility requirements. This requirement will be discussed with
the vendors. A review of possible curriculum-and-scheduling software will take
place as well in hopes of eventually removing the manual entry. There is no support
to develop e-Curr further.
An InfoGriz report will be available to find all instances of a course change. There
will also be a Web App so faculty and students can see how the course looks in
Banner.
One issue Loey would like ASCRC to consider is how the total credits for degree are
counted. This varies from department to department and is confusing to students.
There should be a template for counting.
The Office of Student success is creating a new advising manual for advisors. There
will also be a web resource.

ASCRC discussed the revised Credit Policy. There was considerable correspondence
via email. Associate Provost Walker-Andrews indicated that the accreditors were
surprised that the University did not have a policy and will put this into the report
recommendations. The compliance review should take place within the unit at the
time of program review. The unit could review a sample of syllabi and report the
findings in their self- study. The specifics of the requirement will be included in the
program review instructions on the Provost’s web site. The draft was revised slightly
and approved (appended below).

Interim Director Howard provided an update on the proposed changes to the Early
Alert system. In response to the discussion at ASCRC earlier this year, Julie Cannon,
Interim Director of Technology Solutions and Trevor Rehm, an MIS student intern in
the Office for Student Success have been working on enhancements to the current
Early Alert system. These include mechanisms for:
1. faculty to indicate that they use a mechanism for providing students with
feedback independent from the “Early Alert” system,
2. faculty to tie the notification window to organization of their course rather
than a universal schedule,
3. implementation via multiple channels including Moodle,
4. Ad hoc reports throughout the semester, and
5. providing feedback on multiple parameters, such as attendance, performance,
etc.
The enhanced system is much more flexible and responsive to faculty needs. It can
be implemented by fall semester. It was suggested that Interim Director Howard give
a presentation at the September Faculty Senate meeting to advertise the
improvements and encourage participation. The system will be used for all 100 and
200 courses. Howard will check with Julie Cannon to see whether it can be expanded
to all general education courses and whether faculty can request its use for additional
upper-division courses.
Business Items:

ARTZ 103 Art for Non Majors has finally completed the approval queue in e-Curr.
The department would like the course to be available to students next fall. A late
form for the Expressive Arts designation was also submitted to the General Education
Committee. ASCRC suggests that the course be offered experimentally given the
timing. Camie will check to see whether the catalog date can be changed on the eCurr form.

The Prerequisite procedure was briefly discussed. It was amended and approved with
the guide separated but linked to the procedure (appended).

The Editorial Catalog Language procedure was updated to include the reserved
course numbers that can be entered into the catalog without review by ASCRC
(appended).
Interim Associate Provost Hinman is in the process of notifying departments that use
the reserved course numbers incorrectly in the schedule.

The two –year colleges are working on workforce development for a Department of
Labor grant. Great Falls College is leading the effort. Missoula College is working
on a proposal for a welding certificate. The Board of Regents agreed to make an
exception to consider the curriculum items at the July meeting. Interim Associate
Provost Hinman requested that ASCRC also consider the proposal out of the normal
time line. It agreed to consider the Level I request if submitted prior to next week’s
meeting. Camie will communicate this to Associate Dean Stocking.

ASCRC briefly considered the items on the pending policy review list. Chair
Henderson spoke with Departments regarding the AP scores. There is no desire to
conform to the common standard, so this item can be removed from the list. He will
present his findings regarding alternative learning next week. Chair-Elect Deboer
suggest that e-Curr only require learning outcomes. A revision to the Graduation
Appeals Committee guidelines and a new Annual Review of Dual Enrollment
Courses procedure will be postponed until next academic year.

Faculty involved with the Global Leadership Initiative are requesting an internal
rubric be created for the seminar courses. This would be a multi-disciplinary rubric,
not subject to common course numbering. Currently the GLI courses do not show up
in the course schedule. This is confusing for both students and faculty.
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Procedure
Number:
Procedure:
Date Adopted:
Last Revision:
References:
Approved by:
201.35
Credit Hour Definitions
4/15/14
4/15/14
ASCRC Procedure 201.40, 201.55, BOR Policy 303.3, 309.1,
Code of Federal Regulations 34 (C.F.R.) 600.2
ASCRC, Graduate Council, Faculty Senate, Provost
Definition of Credit Hour
Credits for all coursework completed at the University of Montana shall be awarded in
accordance with the Department of Education's regulations as set forth in 34 C.F.R. §
600.2.
Credits awarded for short courses and workshops shall comply with ASCRC procedure
201.40 and BOR policy 309.1.
Laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and similar activities shall be
awarded 1 credit for 2 hours of organized activity per week.
Evaluation of Compliance
Compliance with the federal credit-hour policy is evaluated when a course is proposed,
when a course is changed, and as part of regular program review.
Procedure Number:
Procedure:
Date Adopted:
Last Revision:
References:
201.75
Prerequisites, Corequisites and Course Restrictions
12/5/12
4/15/14
BOR Policy 301.5.3 (Minimum Course Grades); Prerequisite and Course
Restriction Enforcement Technical Guide
Approved by:
Academic Standards and Curriculum Review Committee
To the extent possible, prerequisites, corequisites and other course restrictions are
automatically enforced in Banner at the time of registration. The Registrar’s Office has
prepared a guide that explains these technical terms (and the differences between
them) and gives detailed advice on writing clear prerequisite language that is
automatically enforceable in Banner.; this guide is linked above.
Note that not every prerequisite must be enforceable in Banner. While many if not
most prerequisites are automatically enforceable (if phrased correctly), there are
exceptions. Some courses have prerequisite language that in effect advises students but
cannot be automatically enforced (for example, a prerequisite requiring “some
computer programming experience”). The guide has various examples of
unenforceable prerequisites that simply get ignored by the automatic prerequisite
enforcement in Banner.
As faculty review prerequisites of existing courses or establish prerequisites for new
courses, they are asked to consider whether a given prerequisite could be enforced in
Banner, and, if so, to ensure that the prerequisite is phrased in such a way that it can
actually be automatically enforced in Banner.
Note that all course restrictions must appear in course descriptions. Restrictions enforced
at the time of registration such as such class standing (JR/SR etc.), major, college,
campus, as well as consent of instructor must be stated in the course description in
Banner.
Procedure Number:
Procedure:
201.3.3
Editorial Catalog Changes
Date Adopted:
May 2003
Last Revision:
Approved by:
4/8/14
ASCRC and Graduate Council
The following changes are considered editorial and do not need to be submitted for
curriculum review. These changes can be made directly on the catalog copy sent from the
Registrar's Office.
 Opening paragraph(s) describing the
program or school/college. This usually is a
definition of the discipline, degrees offered, employment opportunities and
such. It precedes the section called Special Degree Requirements or in some
programs the section called Admission Requirements.
 Typographical errors.
 Grammatical errors or other composition errors.
 Changes in punctuation for clarification.
 Reorganization for clarification if no effect on requirements.
 Changes in the semester(s) a course is offered.
 Minor changes in terminology (not affecting course focus) used in course
descriptions.
 Changes in faculty listing.
 Simple course number, rubric, title changes to abide by common course
numbering.
 Restrictions such as degree majors only, class standing, or consent of instructor
*Note* Reserved course numbers that do not require ASCRC review include:
(see procedure 201.80)
90
91
92
94
95
98
Research
Special topics/Experimental Courses
Independent Study
Seminar/ Workshop
Field work / clinical / practicum / student teaching / studio
Internship / externship / cooperative education I
Courses with these numbers can be requested by departments and are assigned
automatically by the Registrar.