Academic Programs Committee of Council
Course Challenge August 18, 2009
The following curricular changes are being circulated for approval through the University Course
Challenge:
College of Graduate Studies & Research
Page 1
For approval: new courses in Computer Science, Curriculum Studies, Electrical & Computer Engineering,
Environment & Sustainability, Physical Therapy, Public Policy
College of Veterinary Medicine
For approval: new courses
Page 4
Item for Information: Pre-requisite and co-requisite equivalents
Page 6
Schedule for approval:
Date of circulation: August 18, 2009
Date by which Challenge must be received: Sept. 1, 2009
Date by which changes will automatically be considered approved in the absence of Challenge: Sept. 15,
2009
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES & RESEARCH
August 2009 Course Challenge
Computer Science
New Graduate Course:
CMPT 868.6 – Social Computing
Prerequisite: Experience in web-programming or web-based information systems, permission of
instructor
Calendar Description:
The course covers a variety of topics related to the emerging area of Social Computing and Participative
Web. It will discuss theories, technologies and human issues of Web 2.0: how people network online,
what networks and communities they form, why they participate and contribute, how to design
infrastructures for successful social applications.
Rationale:
The course reflects a new very active research area with strong impact on web technology development.
The new course will improve the department offering, equip the graduate students with cutting edge
knowledge and familiarize them with a wide-range of interdisciplinary research directions. The course
has already been taught for two years as a special topics course (CMPT 898) and has attracted 12 graduate
students (4 in the 2007/08, 8 in 2008/09) and an audit from local industry
Contact Person:
eric.neufeld@usask.ca
Approval: Joint Master’s/PhD Committee June 23, 2009
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Curriculum Studies
New Graduate Course:
ECUR 835.3 – Teacher’s and Children’s Identity in Curriculum Making
Prerequisite or Corequisite:
ECUR 801.6 or ECMM 802.6
Calendar Description:
Considers the ways curriculum is created as teachers and children live alongside each other in educational
settings. Students will also examine the ways curriculum making in relationship with other individuals
shapes identity in teachers and children.
Rationale:
Considers the ways curriculum is created as teachers and children live alongside each other in educational
settings. Graduate students will also examine the ways curriculum making in relationship with other
individuals
Contact Person:
len.proctor@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 17, 2009
New Graduate Course:
ECUR 844.3 – Narrative Inquiry
Prerequisite:
Admission to the College of Graduate Studies
Calendar Description:
This course explores Narrative inquiry as a qualitative methodology for understanding experiences in
diverse research settings. Students will develop an understanding of narrative inquiry as both a method
and phenomenon for generating field texts and research texts. Attention to ethics will be an integral
aspect of the course.
Rationale:
Many students are developing an interest in narrative inquiry as a methodology and an increasing number
of students are using narrative inquiry as their methodology in their research. Dr. Pushor and Dr. Murphy
have been asked to be involved on committees where students are using narrative inquiry. Also both Drs.
Pushor and Murphy have offered reading courses in narrative inquiry over the last few years. In response
to this demand, we are developing a formal course in narrative inquiry.
Contact Person:
len.proctor@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 17, 2009
Electrical and Computer Engineering
New Graduate Course
CME 862.3 – Multimedia Signals and Systems – Audio and Video
Prerequisite:
EE 461
Calendar Description:
Covers the principles of multimedia signal processing related to sound, image and digital video, and
extends the knowledge to digital video formats in MPEG.
Rationale:
This course has been offered as a Special Topics class for two years now and now needs to be regularized.
This will be the first formal Computer Engineering graduate course.
Contact Person:
david.dodds@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 22, 2009
Environment and Sustainability
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Graduate Course Modification:
ENVS 831.3 – Current Issues in Land Reclamation and Remediation
Old Prerequisite: none
New Prerequisite:
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, permission of the instructor.
Calendar Description:
No change
Rationale:
The previous approved proposal presented a standalone course. The intention is to offer this course
simultaneous with an existing undergraduate course, ABE 432 Soil and Water Conservation. This will
improve ability of the instructor to offer the graduate course. Graduate students will have a different
weighting of marking, will be expected to do a project report in addition to about half of the problem sets
of the undergraduate course, will have a separate seminar session, will be expected to contribute to
discussions, will have to do additional readings, and will be expected to go into greater depth of selected
subject matter.
There will be no changes to the undergraduate course, ABE 432.
Contact Person:
Karsten.liber@usask.ca
Approval: Joint Master’s/PhD Committee June 23, 2009
Physical Therapy
New Graduate Course
CLR 801.3 – Introduction to Systematic Reviews
Prerequisite:
Bachelor’s Degree, permission of the instructor.
Calendar Description:
Online distance education based course which provides practical skills in developing and executing a
systematic review on a health science topic. Students will work in teams to learn and practice established
procedures for conducting secondary research (a systematic review) and meta-analysis.
Rationale:
The proposed course will:
• Provide students with the skills necessary to be informed critical consumers of the health
literature and to independently perform systematic reviews.
• Emphasize practical skill development in linking clinical research to the knowledge translation
continuum.
• Complement the existing core course requirements for the program while still providing a
valuable skill set that is currently not offered at the U of S.
• Provide flexibility for students who have time constraints.
• Provide student flexibility to choose a topic of interest from a wide spectrum of health issues for
the course research project.
• Provide students with an opportunity to produce a publishable paper.
Contact Person:
angela.busch@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 17, 2009
New Graduate Course
PTH 868.3 – Physical Therapy Theory and Practice – Advanced Musculoskeletal I
Prerequisite:
None
Calendar Description:
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Advanced course in Physical Therapy designed to enhance knowledge and practical skills in patient
centred interprofessional and primary care in the area of Musculoskeletal conditions. A practicum or
internship may be one of the learning methods used.
Rationale:
This course will allow continuing development of competencies in Physical Therapy practice in the area
of Musculoskeletal conditions.
Contact Person:
angela.busch@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 23, 2009
Public Policy
New Graduate Course
PUBP 813.3 – Higher Education Policy
Prerequisite:
Admission into Master of Public Administration (MPA) or Master of Public Policy (MPP)
Calendar Description:
This course will examine the broad context of in which higher education policy is made and evaluate a
variety of policy initiatives launched by governments around the world. Students will become acquainted
with the principal objectives of government in the higher education sector and the major policy challenges
they confront.
Rationale:
This course fits clearly into one of the Johnson-Shoyama School’s areas of expertise: science,
technology, and innovation. It is anticipated that it will be a popular and sought-after elective for students
in the MPA and MPP programs, as well as other graduate programs on campus.
Contact Person:
michael.atkinson@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 17, 2009
New Graduate Course
PUBP 815.3 – Innovation Policy
Calendar Description:
This graduate course is designed as a course in the theory and practice of innovation policy, including
science and technology. Students will investigate the theory, methodology, and applications of
innovation policy through primary readings, discourse, and writing.
Prerequisite:
Admission into Master of Public Administration (MPA) or Master of Public Policy (MPP)
Rationale:
This course fits clearly into one of the Johnson-Shoyama School’s areas of expertise: science,
technology, and innovation. It is anticipated that it will be a popular and sought-after elective for students
in the MPA and MPP programs, as well as other graduate programs on campus.
Contact Person:
michael.atkinson@usask.ca
Approval: C.G.S.R. Programs July 17, 2009
WESTERN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
Following are two courses to go through Course Challenge. Both courses have been approved at a
WCVM Third Year Teachers and Examiners Committee meeting and a WCVM Curriculum Committee
meeting both held on June 24, 2009. These courses are both third year elective that will be offered in the
2009-2010 academic year.
Contact: Dr. Bruce Grahn, Associate Dean (Academic)
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Large Animal Clinical Sciences
VLAC 451.1 – Advanced Bovine Palpation Lab
Total Hours: Lab 15 hrs
Restrictions: Successful completion of Year 2 of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program.
Calendar Description: This course is designed to improve the palpation skills beyond that which was
obtained in the Core course. In addition, students will obtain experience performing vaginoscopy,
transrectal ultrasonography of the bovine reproductive tract, and artificial insemination techniques. There
will also be the opportunity to apply knowledge related to such things as estrous cycle manipulation,
treatment of cystic ovarian disease, and the diagnosis and treatment of endometritis.
Rationale for this course: This course is intended for students considering careers in mixed and bovine
veterinary practice. The course will enhance skills learned in the core palpation lab, but will also provide
students with skills related to the use of modern technologies used by progressive cattle practices.
Veterinary Interdepartmental
VINT 440.2 – Mindful Veterinary Practice
Total Hours: Seminar 24 hrs
Restrictions: Successful completion of Year 2 of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program.
Calendar Description: This course is a practical, experiential, and academic exploration of mindfulness as
it relates to the practice of veterinary medicine. Upon completion, students will be able to implement
mindfulness-based strategies to enhance interpersonal communication, mitigate stress and improve
attention and working memory capacity, thereby facilitating patient care and enhancing their own career
satisfaction.
Rationale for this course: The veterinary medical curriculum is a rigorous academic program that causes
significant stress to students from the heavy workload and intense time demands. Although veterinary
students experience high rates of stress, depression and related comorbidities, veterinary medical
education has tended to ignore training in self-care skills. The 2008 “Student Stress in Veterinary
Medicine: Examining the College’s Role” survey carried out by the University of Saskatchewan’s Student
Counseling Services found 45% of veterinary students to be highly stressed or overwhelmed. The
conclusion of this report recommended that the College offer the students ways to increase their range of
coping skills. The mindfulness based stress reduction program (MBSR) developed at the University of
Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979 is a novel and practical way to develop life balance and self-care
for health care professionals. Over 100 North American medical schools such as McGill University and
the University of Rochester have integrated mindfulness programs into their curricula with documented
benefits, including reduced psychological distress, increased empathy, increased working memory
capacity, improved patient care and reduced medical errors. Veterinary students are expected to receive
similar benefits to medical students from training in mindfulness. MBSR teaches a broad skill set of
formal and informal techniques that are readily applied within the course of a typical school or work day.
The program provides a supportive group experience that strengthens relationships among participants.
Historically, mindfulness has been a foundation practice of many spiritual traditions but it is
unencumbered by any sectarian belief system and is readily taught within a secular, biomedical culture.
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ITEM FOR INFORMATION: PRE-REQUISITE AND CO-REQUISITE EQUIVALENTS
The registration period beginning in June, 2009 was the first time that automatic prerequisite checking
has been applied, so that only those students with acceptable pre-requisites and co-requisites were
permitted to register in courses.
To improve flexibility and avoid unnecessary delays in registration, departments may now need to update
the text and rules for pre-requisites and co-requisites during registration periods, to allow equivalents to
be used by the automatic checking software.
For the information of other departments and colleges, the following editorial text and rule changes for
pre-requisites and co-requisites were made during the June and July, 2009 registration period:
ABE 395 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): ABE 295
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): RCM 300.3 & ABE 313 & ABE 327 & 66 credit units from
(EN Four Year Common Core & ABE Program Core)
ABE 432 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): ABE 212 or (BIOL 120 and CHEM 115 and GEOL 121) or (BIOL 120 and 6
credit units from CHEM 100-299, GEOG 100-299, EVSC 210).
ABE 431 – prerequisite rule and text updated to:
Prerequisite(s): ABE 212 or (BIOL 120 and SCSC 240)
ABE 495 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): ABE 395.
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): ABE 422 and 6 credit units from ABE 400-499.
BMSC 240 – added BIOC 212 as an equivalent course
BPBE 342 – change prerequisite from AGEC 315 to BPBE 315; AGEC courses were changed to BPBE
but AB did not change the prerequisite rules to reference the new courses.
CE 417 – prerequisite rule and text updated to:
Prerequisite(s): CE 311, CE 328 (taken) and CE 329
CE 495.6 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): CE 295.3
Prerequisite or Corequisite(s): CE 420 and 6 credit units from CE 400-499
CMPT 360 – prerequisite rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): CMPT 260 and CMPT 280 and 6 cu from the following list: MATH 211,
MATH 223, MATH 224, MATH 225, MATH 226, MATH 238, MATH 258, MATH 264,
MATH 266, MATH 276, MATH 277, STAT 241, STAT 242, STAT 245, STAT 246.
ECUR 291 – Change Prereq from ENG 110 to “ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114,
and 115.”
ECUR 335 – Pre/Coreq is ECUR 200 & 234; rule had 234 twice. I changed one rule to 200.
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EE 395 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): EE 323 or EE 331.
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): RCM 300.
ENG 290 - Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 or LING 111 or
112, or a senior course in a language. Note: Students with credit for ENG 390 may not take this
course for credit.
ENG 365 - prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): 6 credit units of 100-level English.
ENG 390 - Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 or LING 111 or
112, or a senior course in a language.
FREN 304 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): FREN 218.
FREN 252 –prerequisite text and rule updated to :
Prerequisite(s): FREN 125 or 128 or equivalent
GEOE 466 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): (GEOL 108 or 121) and 42 credit units from EN Senior Courses.
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): EN Three Year Common Core.
GEOL 206.3 – prerequisite rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): One course from GEOL 121, 122, GEOG 120 (formerly 111
or 112), BIOL 108, 120, 121, ARCH 112, CHEM 112, or PHYS 111 *or 115*,
or permission of the department. (change is the addition of ‘or 115’ )
GEOL 282 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s:) MATH 112 or 116 or 124; PHYS 115 (PHYS 111, 121); 117 or 125 (PHYS
111, 121, 128) or PHYS 155 (EP 155).
GEOL 334 & GEOL 335 – changed EP 155 to PHYS 155; EP 155 is not a current course – is on as
equivalent to PHYS 155.
LIT 261 - Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 or LIT 100.
LIT 262 - Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 or LIT 100.
LIT 263 - Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 or LIT 100.
LIT 264 - Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 or LIT 100.
PHAR 200: Restriction(s): Only open to students in the B.S.P. program.
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): PHAR 201, 203.
Corequisite(s):</B> PHAR 216 and 280.
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PHAR 216: Restriction(s): Only open to students in year one of the B.S.P. program.
Prerequisite(s) or Corequisite(s): PHAR 201, 203.
Corequisite(s): PHAR 200 and 280.
PHAR 203 was added to the pre/coreq.
POLS 443 – changed to “6 credit units from POLS 222, 225, 226, 322, 323, 328”
POLS 461 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): POLS 246, 260 or ISO 200 or permission of the department.
PHYS 356 – change MATH 338 from corequisite to Pre or Co requisite
RUSS 234 - Prerequisite(s): RUSS 117; ENG 110 or 6 credit units from ENG 111, 112, 113, 114, 115;
and LIT 100. Note: Students with credit for RUSS 334 may not take this course for credit.
STAT 344 & 345 – changed STAT 242, 245 AND 246 to STAT 242 OR STAT 245 OR STAT 246.
STAT 245 – prerequisite text and rule updated to:
Prerequisite(s): MATH 100, 101, 110 or STAT 103.
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