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.