ASCRC Minutes 11/5/13
Poetry Corner, Mansfield Library, 2:10 p.m.
Members Present: J. Deboer, L. Eagleheart, K. Easwaramurthi, C. Henderson, L. Gillison, T. Manuel, T.
Thibeau, M. Triana, E. Uchimoto, N. Vonessen, G. Weix
Members Absent/ Excused: S. Samson
Ex-Officio Present: J. Hickman B. Holzworth, N. Hinman, J. Laine
Guest: Robert Squires
The minutes from 10/29/13 were amended and approved.
Communication Items:

Robert Squires, Director of Instructional Design & Technical Support recently met with the
Sustainable Campus Committee to discuss the idea of greening UM courses. It suggested
that he meet with ASCRC for input. At a recent conference on IT in Higher Education there
was a presentation of the program at American University
(http://www.american.edu/ctrl/green.cfm). Duke and Baylor have also adopted the idea so
there may be opportunities for collaboration with other universities. The idea is to have
faculty self-evaluate the extent to which their course can be considered ‘green’ by
completing an online checklist. Faculty members are then awarded a badge that can be
placed on their course. The primary purpose of the self-evaluation is to raise awareness of
how everyone’s actions can make a difference. The focus of the self-evaluation is not course
content.
ASCRC is charged with the study of undergraduate academic standards and curriculum, so
the Committee did not feel it was the right body to collaborate on the project. However, the
project may be a good fit for UM given its strong Environmental Studies program, Climate
Action Plan, and Sustainability initiatives. There was some concern with using labels given
the possible unintended consequence of drawing focus away from the content. There was
also concern regarding possible monitoring of any information on the web by the National
Security Agency. The label may draw focus away from the course content.
Business

The Education and Fine Arts Curriculum Consent Agenda below was approved. Only one
item is pending follow-up.

Journalism agreed to add the prerequisite or corequisite of WRIT 101 to JRNL 160 Elements
of News Writing. It was approved by ASCRC.

The Humanities subcommittee members have not responded with regards to follow-up
information and the Mansfield Center course form revisions have not yet been received.

The necessary changes have been made to the e-Curr forms for the of the Social Science
courses. Therefore ANTY 336, ANTY 476 and COMX 292 were approved. Interim
Associate Provost Hinman has requested that OCHE get a syllabus for the PSCI 437.

ASCRC considered and edited the revised background / clarification for the general
education language motion. It was edited and approved with one member apposed
(appended below). Chair Henderson or Chair-elect DeBoer will meet with ECOS on
Thursday so the motion can be on the November Faculty Senate agenda as information for a
vote in December.

The issue of support service information for international students missing from the catalog
was discussed. It was last in the 2007-2008 catalog. It was removed through the catalog
copy review process. The catalog copy is sent to departments for review each February. In
this case admissions requested revisions to the language. Bonnie actually found the catalog
copy that was marked up for editing. The information was removed because it didn’t directly
relate to the admission process. It was however a policy that was approved by the Faculty
Senate quite some time ago (evidenced by the document retrieved from archives).
Information about the support courses is in the Linguistics section of the catalog, but not the
policy portion that required international students to take an ESL course and a reduced credit
load if they scored below 580 on the TOEFL.
ASCRC will need to meet with the Director of International Programs, Assistant Vice
President Sharon Alexander and perhaps others to investigate current practice with regard to
support practices for international students. The goal of the meeting will be to create a
policy / procedure that best serves the students. Chair Henderson will draft an invitation.
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 PM
Education and Fine Arts Curriculum Consent Agenda
Art
ARTZ 211A U
Drawing I
ARTZ 311 U
Drawing II
ARTZ 410 UG
Advanced Research- Drawing
Curriculum & Instruction
EDSP 463 UG
Consulting/Resource Teacher
EDSP 495 U
Student Teaching: Special Ed
EDSP 405 UG
Assess of Students with Excep
EDSP 456 U
Intro Mthds Low Incidence Dis
EDSP 426 U
Intro Transition & Community
SCI 350 U
Gen Sci: Conserv Ed
Change description, prereqs
Change description, prereqs, repeatability
Change description, prereqs, repeatability
Delete course
Change number
Change credits, prereqs
New course
New course
Change credits, description, title
EDSP 401 UG
C&I 452 UG
EDU 472 UG
EDSP 454 UG
C&I
Theatre & Dance
THTR 490 U
THTR 221 U
THTR 320 U
THTR 321 U
THTR 420 U
THTR 421 U
THTR 425 U
DANC 129A U
DANC 229A U
DANC 315 U
THTR 499 U
THTR 229A U
THTR 329 U
THTR 315 U
THTR 316 U
THTR 415 U
THTR 429 U
DANC 100A U
DANC 110A U
DANC 115A U
DANC 165A U
DANC 200A U
DANC 210A U
DANC 215A U
THTR 239A U
Intro Early Intervention
Measurement & Observation
Dev Digital Rich Workplace
Adv Academic Interventions
Spec Ed
Change description, number, title
Delete course
Change title
New course
Adding/Removing Course Requirements
Undergraduate Research
Acting II
Acting III
Acting IV
Acting V
Acting VI
Acting VII
Performance Lab I
Performance Lab II
Jazz III
Senior Project
Production Acting I
Production Acting II
Physical Performance Skills I
Physical Performance Skills II
Physical Performance Skills III
Production Acting III
Modern Dance I
Ballet I
Jazz Dance I
Dance Forms: African
Modern II
Ballet II
Jazz Dance II
Creative Drama/Dance: K-8
THTR 305 U
THTR 106A U
THTR 206 U
Program
Modification
Theatre Workshop III
Theat Prod I:Run Crew
Theat Prod II:Run Crew
Minor in Dance
Change level
Change description
Change description
Change description
Change description, prereqs, title
Change description, title
Change title
New course
New course
Change prereqs
Change credits, description
Change credits, repeatability
Change credits, repeatability
Change description
Change description
Change description
Change credits, repeatability
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: Corequisite
Change other: General-Education Designation,
prereqs
Change prereqs
Change credits, repeatability
Change credits, repeatability
Add course to requirements
Program
Modification
BA Dance
Add course to requirements
Program
Modification
Ba in theatre
Add course to requirements
Program
Modification
BA in theatre, Education
Endorsement Preparation
Specialization
Add course to requirements
Program
Modification
BFA in Theatre, core courses
Remove optional course
Program
Modification
BFA in Theatre, Area of
Specialization in Design
/Technology
Minor in Theatre
Add course to requirements
Program
Modification
Program
Modification
Minor in Dance, Area of
Specialization in Education
Add course to requirements
Program
Modification
BFA in Theatre, Area of
Specialization in Acting
Remove optional courses and two requirements.
DANC 310 U
Ballet III
DANC 410 U
Ballet IV
Health & Human Performance
KIN 425 U
Biomechanics
KIN 460 UG
ECG
Media Arts
MAR 301 U
Media Arts Pract.
MART 332 U
Intro to Film Scoring
MART 432 U
Tech of FIlm Scoring
Media Arts
BA degree
Media Arts
BFA degree
Music
MUSI 444 UG
Advanced Vocal Pedagogy
MUSE 123 U
Techniques: Voice
MUSE 497 U
Program
Modification
Methods: Choral & Literature
BME voice principals
Change repeatability
Change repeatability
Change number
Change credits
Change title
New course
New course
Add specialization in Integrated Digital Media
updates to required courses
New Course
Change description, other: change to offered
autumn, not autumn and spring
Change description, prereqs
Add course to requirements
General Education Language Requirement Motion
ASCRC 11/14/13
After several years of work and discussion, the General Education Committee forwarded to ASCRC
(Spring, 2013) a recommendation concerning the Modern and Classical Language requirement included
in the General Education Program. In doing so, GEC stated that “[T]he University of Montana, in
affirming its mission to provide a unique educational experience through the integration of the liberal
arts, should emphasize that the study of foreign language is an indispensable part of the core of a liberal
arts education.” The recommendation of the GEC was unanimous.
Having received that recommendation and carried out its own discussions, ASCRC informed Faculty
Senate in spring, 2013, that it was strongly inclined to approve the GEC recommendation but had
requested additional information with a view of presenting a supportive motion to FS this fall.
This fall, the Language Requirement Workgroup reported to ASCRC that the General Education
Committee recommendation anticipates loss of exception by only five programs likely to enroll a total of
approximately 200 entering majors (on the basis of 2010 figures); MCLL has had an average of 174 open
seats in 101 sections between 2009 and 2013. In addition, a search in the Office of Student Success
reveals that, of 1156 freshmen who completed the Academic Interest Questionnaire, 921 reported
having completed 2 or more years of foreign language study in high school. Thus, approved language
offerings should be able to accommodate the additional majors in these programs at current staffing
levels, particularly since numbers of new students are lower now than in 2010.
As a result of these further discussions, ASCRC presents to Faculty Senate the following seconded
motion (pursuant to last year’s General Education Committee’s recommendation):
Effective fall, 2015, undergraduate students must fulfill the general education modern and classical
language requirement (and cannot use a symbolic-systems exception to this requirement) unless
they are enrolled in a program of study requiring over 48 credits for a first baccalaureate degree,
subject to the following rules:
1. Courses that apply toward the 48-credit threshold include all requirements for the primary
major (including up to one option) and designated pre-requisite courses but exclude
required courses that the student can use to fulfill the general education requirements at
the University of Montana.
2. If the major requires one or more courses from a single general education group, only the
required course-work beyond the minimum credit requirement for that group counts
towards the 48 credit threshold. Example: If a major requires PHSX 205N-208N (totaling 10
credits), only 4 credits apply towards the 48 credit threshold since 6 credits are needed to
fulfill general education group XI (Natural Sciences).
3. Programs currently granted a symbolic-systems exception to the general education foreign
and classical languages requirement will have to reapply to keep the exception. The
application will require a detailed accounting showing that the 48-credit threshold is
exceeded; the procedure for this will be announced in Spring 2014.
4. In some cases, students completing a major without an option may be required to fulfill the
general education modern and classical language requirement, while majors completing the
same major with an option may be able to complete a symbolic-systems exception instead.