Academic Standard Committee Meeting
Feb 17, 2011
Present: Bill Barry, Tim Beyer, Debbie Chee, Betsy Kirkpatrick, Emily Levandowski,
Marcus Luther, Gary McCall, Sarah Moore, Amy Odegard, Jack Roundy, Brad Tomhave,
Paula Wilson.
Organization. The meeting convened at 9:00 am in Wheelock Room 201.
Business: The minutes from the last meeting (Feb 3, 20011) were distributed shortly
before the meeting, so it was decided that these minutes would be approved at the next
meeting to allow more time for comments.
Petitions Report.
Brad Tomhave reported on the petitions for the period 01/29/2011 – 02/11/2011
The Petitions Sub-Committee met on February 4, 2011, and cancelled its scheduled
meeting for February 11, 2011, with the following results:
2 Approved Late Registrations
1 Denied Change of Grading Option for Pass/Fail to Graded
2 Approved waivers of Independent Study Minimum GPA Requirement
5 Total Petitions
Registrar Approved: 2
Preview Team Approved: 0
Sub-Committee Approved: 2
Total Approved: 4
Sub-Committee Denied: 1
Total Petitions: 5
For the year to date, 120 petitions have been acted upon with 17 involving late
registration and 24 involving registration with a schedule conflict. (For comparison, by
February 10, 2010, 151 petitions had been acted upon with 34 involving late registration
and 29 involving a schedule conflict.)
Of the 120 total petitions this year, 24 were denied and 7 of those denials were for
schedule conflicts, 2 for late registration, and 6 for undertaking an internship prior to at
least junior class standing.
Credit-by-Examination Policy. Brad Tomhave distributed the revised language for the
credit-by-examination policy (attached as Appendix 1)
Bill Barry asked if it would be possible to delete the text “for a student who completes
examinations in both programs.” It was agreed that this line could be deleted without
changing the intended meaning.
Barry asked if the word “same” should be changed to “similar” in the final sentence
stating, “credit will not be awarded for two examinations in the same subject.” Tomhave
explained that this text was intended to refer to two different exams in a similar subject
area. For example, in Economics there is an advanced placement exam in
Macroeconomics and a separate advanced placement exam in Microeconomics;
students can get credit for both even though the subject is similar. It was agreed that the
language would be not be changed and students can refer to the Advanced Placement
Policy for further clarification.
Changes to the Pass/Fail Policy.
Tomhave reported that the pass/fail policy for fall 2011 registration has been modified to
limit the number of students who can register pass/fail for a particular class. Sarah Moore
clarified why the policy was changed. She explained that some faculty wanted to control
the number of students taking the class pass/fail because it changes the dynamic of the
class.
The question was raised as to what a student can do if they want to take a class pass/fail
if the limit had already been met. The student could always ask permission of the
instructor or petition to the Registrar. However, if a student asks the instructor to
allow another pass/fail student, the student loses anonymity and if a student
petitions, it will be difficult to convince the Committee they should override the
instructor’s limit when faculty policy specifically allows individual instructors to set
their own limits.
It was also asked whether the number of available pass/fail slots will be posted on
Cascade. Tomhave clarified that this information will not be posted on Cascade. Students
won’t know whether they can take a class pass/fail until they try to register. A message
will appear at the time of registration if the limit has already been reached.
Bill Barry asked if there will be an invitation to faculty to make this decision for their own
classes. Tomhave said that when schedules go out, there will be an option for instructors
to limit the number of pass/fail students.
News from the Senate.
Barry reported that there is no report from the Senate. The Senate has not met since the
last ASC meeting.
Update on staff reporting incidents of academic integrity.
McCall reported the subcommittee has not yet met.
Review of courses pre-approved for Foreign Language Requirement Substitution
The foreign language requirement states, “Students with a documented learning disability
which affects the ability to process language may petition the Academic Standards
Committee for alternative arrangements for Foreign Language Substitution courses which
meet the Puget Sound language requirement. Your petition must include recent
documentation from a qualified learning disabilities specialist showing evidence of this
language-specific disability.”
It was pointed out that trying to determine whether a course is a legitimate substitute it is
an ongoing issue. Currently, there is a list of courses that are considered reasonable
substitutes and have already been approved by the ASC. The list can be modified year to
year. It is difficult to determine whether a class can serve as a substitute because there
aren’t any criteria. Barry asked whether the group excludes American and European
culture. Tomhave responded that it was not a conscious decision to exclude American
and European culture, these classes were excluded because they were upper level.
Moore added that students cannot use the same class to fulfill core requirements the
foreign language requirement.
McCall asked if any ASC members are aware of new courses for consideration? McCall
also asked if there is a better way to identity new classes. Jack Roundy pointed out that
Alyce DeMarais already distributes a list of new courses each year. It was suggested that
Demarais’ report and recent petitions would be the best sources of information when it
comes time to review the list. Moore added that a Latin American Studies class was
recently approved and should be added to the list.
Discussion of on-line study and note-sharing websites.
McCall asked if anyone would like to form a subcommittee to explore note-sharing sites.
Moore pointed out that educating students about academic integrity is much more
effective than trying to “police” students using these websites. Roundy added that it
would be useful to understand what is out there so faculty can understand and pitich
assignments appropriately.
Betsy Kirkpatrick moved to adjourn the meeting.
Notes taken by Amy Odegard
Appendix 1: Credit-by-Examination
The University of Puget Sound does not offer examinations for the purposes of awarding
credit but does recognize two credit-by-examination programs:
A.
Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations.
B.
International Baccalaureate (IB) Examinations.
The scores required and credit awarded for specific AP and IB examinations are listed on
the University’s website and may be found by searching for “Advanced Placement Policy”
or for “International Baccalaureate Policy.”
A student may receive a maximum of 8.00 total units earned through Advanced
Placement or International Baccalaureate Examinations and, for a student who
completes examinations in both programs, credit will not be awarded for two
examinations in similar subjects.
This is the new paragraph to be inserted into the Pass/Fail policy in recognition of the
authority in effect for Fall 2011 that was established by the faculty to allow individual
instructors to set a limit on the number of students in their respective classes who may
select the pass/fail grading option.
Beginning in Fall 2011, an instructor may prohibit the pass/fail grading option or may limit
the number of students who select the pass/fail grading option. This authority does not
apply to instructors of courses with mandatory pass/fail grading.