Academic Standard Committee Meeting
April 14, 2011
Present: Tim Beyer, Lori Blake (for Brad Tomhave), Debbie Chee, Duane Hulbert, Robin
Jacobson, Betsy Kirkpatrick, Emily Levandowski, Gary McCall, Sarah Moore, Amy
Odegard, Kali Odell, Lori Ricigliano, Jack Roundy, Paula Wilson, Ivey West
Organization. The meeting convened at 9:00 am in Wheelock 101
Business
Emily Levandowski made a motion to approve the minutes from the 03/03/2011 ASC
meeting; Jack Roundy seconded the motion. The minutes from the 03/31/2011 were not
approved because they were still under revision.
Petitions Report
Lori Blake reported on the petitions for the period of 03/26/2011 – 04/08/2011
The Petitions Sub-Committee met on April 1, 2011, and cancelled its meeting scheduled
for April 8, 2011. The following actions were taken:
5 Approved Late Registrations (“class action” request from PE instructor)
1 Approved Registration Change from Audit to Credit
1 Approved Medical Withdrawal
1 Approved Waivers of the “Last 8 Units Rule”
2 Denied Waivers of the “Last 8 Units Rule”
1 Approved Concurrent Enrollment
1 Denied Concurrent Enrollment
1 Approved Second Repeat
1 Denied Transfer of Community College Credit as Upper-Class Student
1 Approved Application of Alternate Classes to the Foreign Language Requirement
15 Total Petitions
Registrar Approved: 6
Preview Team Approved: 4
Sub-Committee Approved: 2
Total Approved: 12
Sub-Committee Denied: 3
Total Petitions: 15
For the year to date, 149 petitions have been acted upon with 119 approved and 30
denied. (For comparison, by April 14, 2010, 169 petitions had been acted upon with 142
approved and 27 denied.)
Of particular note, the registration change from audit to credit was prompted by a
potential late tuition for auditing a second activity course when a for-credit registration
would not have been charged. The approval of the foreign language petition by the
Preview Team used the “Classics Option” by combining CLSC 222 Greco-Roman World
with an Anthropology course completed on a study abroad program in Rome.
Additionally, a student was placed on Academic Probation for a failing grade that
replaced an incomplete grade and another student was placed on Academic Warning for
3 incomplete grades replaced by 2 D grades and 1 failing grade.
General Announcements
McCall announced that a year-end report is due to the Senate on April 28th. Members
should let McCall know if they have any input.
Lori Ricigliano reported that the academic integrity tutorial is now available on the
welcome website for new students. 35 incoming freshmen have already completed the
tutorial.
News from the Senate.
At the last Senate meeting, the ASC presented the following two issues: proposed
changes to the attendance/participation policy and proposed changes to the university
honors policy (attached as Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, respectively, in the 03/31/2011
ASC minutes). The Senate responded by asking the same kinds of questions that the
ASC already raised. The Senate did not give ASC a charge, but there was some
discussion. It wasn’t clear how the Senate wanted the ASC to proceed.
McCall suggested that the ASC could include these issues in the final report and ask the
Senate for a charge. It was agreed that it is not efficient to draft a policy until we know the
Senate is on board. It was discussed how many details about these specific cases should
be included in the final report. It was agreed that Bill Breitenbach’s original memo
regarding the attendance/participation policy and a description of the academic integrity
case (with names removed) regarding the honors policy would be included.
Discussion of attendance/participation and honors policies
A discussion resumed regarding potential changes to the attendance/participation policy
that would allow faculty members to drop a student from a class if the student does not
complete the work, even if the student has regular attendance. Members of ASC asked
whether this it may be a viable alternative to include a statement in the syllabus stating
that a student can be dropped from a class if they don’t complete the work. Sarah Moore
pointed out that perhaps the classroom disruption policy, which already exists, could be
employed for such situations. Again, it was decided that it was best to wait until the ASC
is charged by the Senate before proceeding further with the issue.
McCall asked the committee if everyone was in support of the changes to the
attendance/participation and honors policies. Debbie Chee replied that she supports the
changes to the honors policy, but not the attendance/participation policy. Jack Roundy
and Emily Levandowski agreed with Chee’s sentiment. Levandowski commented the
changes to the attendance/participation policy remove student responsibility; it is
important for students to learn an academic lesson. Duane Hulbert added that it would be
very difficult to implement such a policy because ever professor has a different policy.
McCall clarified that it would not be a requirement to use this policy, but it would be there
if needed. It was agreed that the ASC would wait to hear from the Senate before
proceeding further with this issue.
Foreign language substitution policy.
Currently, there is a list of approved courses that students with documented learning
disabilities can use as substitutes for the foreign language requirement. Ivey West was
present to comment on her experience regarding the current policy. West stated that
even though there are 20 approved courses on the list, only 3 are taught next fall. Some
of this is due to the fact that there are not replacements for some professors on
sabbatical. West expressed concern that this will continue to be a problem. West pointed
out that part of the difficulty is that some students wait until the last minute and have
limited options; some students get diagnosed with a learning disability later in their
college career. Duane Hulbert asked if it is possible to hold seats for learning disabled
students. Betsy Kirkpatrick asked whether expanding the list of approved courses would
help.
It was noted that when the core was developed the faculty rejected an international
studies requirement for the core; international studies is not the same as foreign
language. Also, study abroad does not meet the foreign language requirement.
McCall asked, “what is the original intent of this policy?” Jack Roundy suggested that the
ASC should first consult with the curriculum committee to clarify the value/rationale for
this requirement. Moore agreed that some guidance would be helpful.
Hulbert asked how the university deals with students who can’t meet requirements in
other departments; for example, what if a student cannot meet the math requirement?
West replied that there is a special math class (Math 103) that students can take to meet
that requirement. Hulbert asked if it is possible to have a class like this to meet the
foreign language requirement. Moore added that in the past students were not allowed to
use two 101 language classes to meet the requirement. West also mentioned that study
abroad could be used as a substitute.
McCall summarized that there is not an immediate solution to the problem, and for the
time being, students will have to find alternatives or petition. It was agreed that ASC
would ask the Senate to charge the curriculum committee with this issue in order to gain
more clarity concerning the intent of the requirement. It was also noted that it should be
made clear that this is a high priority.
Emily Levandowski moved to adjourn the meeting.
Notes taken by Amy Odegard