Curriculum Committee Minutes
September 19, 2000
Present: Barry, Beck, Breitenbach, Clark, Hale, Kerrick, Kontogeorgopoulos, Lenderman,
Livingston, Neff-Lippman, Neshyba (chair), Pasco-Pranger, Pinzino, Stevens, Tomhave, Warning,
Washburn
Neshyba called the meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. The minutes for the meeting of September 5
were approved as posted.
Announcements
The following new members were introduced: Ken Clark (Geology), Cathy Hale (Psychology),
and Terry Beck (Education).
Tomhave announced that the revised schedule for spring semester courses is due at the
Registrar’s Office on September 27. New Core courses proposed for the spring must be
reviewed by subcommittees and approved by the Curriculum Committee before that date.
Subcommittee Assignments and Process
Washburn distributed a table listing subcommittee assignments. Barry briefly described the
subcommittee process. He anticipated that subcommittees for reviewing newly proposed Core
courses might be able to conduct much of their business by email, but that subcommittees
charged with five-year departmental reviews would likely need to hold meetings. Washburn
indicated that in departmental reviews she would be distributing syllabi only for new courses or
courses with substantial changes; syllabi for all other courses are available for inspection in the
Associate Deans’ Office.
Warning asked what the subcommittees should be looking for in the five-year departmental
reviews. Barry replied that the questions contained in the self-study guide for departmental
reviews will guide the subcommittees. He further noted that the subcommittees, which are
composed of “outsiders,” try to be respectful of departments’ efforts to shape and explain their
own curricula. Livingston observed, and Barry concurred, that the real value of the five-year
reviews is the opportunity they provide for departmental self-reflection. Neff-Lippman commented
that we have had abundant opportunity of late for such self-reflection. She stated that her
department intends to use the work done two years ago for the outside assessors, modifying it
only to note changes made since then. Barry agreed that it is reasonable and appropriate to use
documents already prepared, but he also noted that the departmental reviews are not redundant,
because the Curriculum Committee did not receive the reports that went to the outside assessors.
Washburn reminded members that these five-year reviews are a way for the faculty collectively to
own the college’s curriculum, which might otherwise be nothing more than the aggregation of
autonomous departments’ curricula. She urged members of the Committee to consider
themselves the agents of the faculty as a whole, and she promised them that their work as
reviewers would reward them with a richer knowledge about the University.
Report of the Comparative Values Subcommittee
Barry reported that the subcommittee recommends approval of History 340 (“Tolstoy, Gandhi,
and King: A History of Non-Violent Social Change in the Twentieth Century”). The instructor had
provided assurances that students would have opportunities to reflect on their own values.
ACTION: Barry M/S/P to approve History 340 as a Comparative Values Core course.
Departments’ Requests for Deferrals of Five-Year Reviews
The Geology Department requested a postponement of its scheduled five-year review until 20012002, citing the curricular uncertainty occasioned by the hiring of a new tenure-line professor.
ACTION: The Committee agreed to grant the Geology Department’s request for a deferral
of its five-year review until 2001-02.
The Classics Department requested a postponement of its scheduled five-year review until 20022003, citing several recent changes: Classics now offers a major; it is now a department; it has
just hired a new tenure-line professor. The Classics Department would like to delay its review
until its initial group of undergraduate majors has progressed through the department’s
requirements. ACTION: The Committee agreed to grant the Classics Department’s request
for a deferral of its five-year review until 2002-03.
Academic Calendar
Washburn distributed materials relating to the Academic Calendar. She noted that the
Curriculum Committee bears the responsibility for determining calendar guidelines and for setting
the basic dates of the calendar four years in advance. She asked the Committee to approve the
basic dates for 2003-2004 and for 2004-2005, to approve the full version of the calendar for 20012002, and to modify the calendar guidelines so as to permit the School of Education to add
another term to the summer session. Warning M/S to accept the calendars presented by
Washburn, which are based on the calendar-setting guidelines. Stevens M/S/P to table
Warning’s motion briefly in order to permit the Committee to amend the calendar guidelines.
ACTION: Stevens M/S/P to amend the Guidelines for Setting Academic Calendar by
adding to the Summer term the following sentence: “Term D shall begin on a Monday two
weeks after the start of Terms A and B and shall end six weeks later on a Friday.” Stevens
M/S/P to remove Warning’s motion from the table. ACTION: Warning M/S/P to accept the
calendars presented by Washburn (i.e., basic calendars for 2003-2004 and for 2004-2005;
full calendar for 2001-2002), which are based on the calendar-setting guidelines.
At 9:50 a.m. Kerrick M/S/P to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
William Breitenbach
Secretary