University Studies Advisory Committee: Minutes
March 17, 2010
4pm – 5:30pm
Attendance: Boomershine, Cilano, Cox, Gurganus, Hall, Moore, Orton, Pemberton, Sawrey, Siefert,
Taylor
Issues:
1. Upper-division courses as part of University Studies
o few or no prerequisites preferred, but this should be a 4-year curriculum
o ‘Common Requirements’ courses and ‘Diverse Nation’ and ‘Global Society’ make sense
at the 400-level
o this may narrow their experience if a student takes a course for many components
o need language perhaps that will limit courses in the major as counting toward University
Studies (non- “Common Requirements” courses)
o HPA ‘introduces’ students to… but AIL ‘fosters’… while CAP ‘integrates’…
o the intent was not to have students complete University Studies with just 5 courses
o HPA, AIL, SANW, UHIB are meant to be introductory courses – introductory level
discussion and treatment
o Writing Intensive: is it fine just to have the CAP be WI? Perhaps change the Writing
Communication learning outcome to be both in and out of the discipline – this would
ensure that WI be in and out of the major
2. Where will COM 110 (Public Speaking) fit in University Studies?
o Try to look for a spot where it might fit.
3. Sub-committees for reviewing?
o How well are we doing with scoring? Have we done enough norming? Yes
o More efficient process
o Entire group meets to discuss problematic submissions
o Currently 8 voting members on USAC – perhaps divide into 2 groups of 4
4. Will we have departments that disappear (such as History) if we allow all departments to submit
courses for HPA?
o Should our committee be larger? – restructured so that we have more representation
from disciplines that will be affected (we have no one from HPA)
5. Advising will have to be revamped
6. Statewide transfer articulation agreement requires that we designate our courses as lowerdivision and upper-division because transfer students with an Associate’s degree do not have to
take lower-division courses
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Course Submission Review:
• 19: BIO 170: needs more discussion
• 20: BIO 201: approved
• 21: BIO 202: need more scores
• 22: BIOL 345: needs more discussion
• 23: BIO 495 (CAP): needs more discussion
• 24: BIO 495 (IL): needs more discussion
• 25: SPN 120: approved
• 26 – 31: FRH 421: How can submitting this course as a CAP and an AIL/HPA course help your
students? Is it their first time seeing history/literary analysis?
o AIL: declined – introductory course or capstone?
o CAP: approved
o HPA: declined – introductory course or capstone? (HPA ‘introduces’ students to…)
o LGS: approved
o WI: approved
• 32: CRW 201: approved with revisions (needs to be submitted)
• 33: FRH 215: approved
• 6: CRW 203 (WI): need to combine score spreadsheets – missing scores now
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