Curriculum Committee Minutes
February 27, 2001
Present: Barry, Beck, Breitenbach, Clark, Kirkpatrick, Kontogeorgopoulos, Lenderman,
Livingston, Mehlhaff, Neff-Lippman, Pasco-Pranger, Pinzino, Stevens, Tomhave, Warning (chair),
Washburn
Visitor: Ricigliano
Warning called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of 2/20/01 were approved as posted.
Physical Therapy Curriculum Review
Barry reported that the Subcommittee found the Physical Therapy’s program review very thorough and “terrific”; he particularly noted the strength of the Program’s assessment policy and plans and of its answer to the self-study’s question about Writing in the Major. The biggest change to the Program’s curriculum arising from the review is an adjustment in the workload so that the 2 nd
and 4 th
semesters of the Program are more evenly balance; this was accomplished without major structural changes. All of the Subcommittee’s minor quibbles with syllabuses were answered satisfactorily by the Program. ACTION: Barry M/S/P approval of the Physical
Therapy Program’s Curriculum Review.
Politics and Government Department Curriculum Review
Kontogeorgopoulos reported that the Subcommittee was very pleased with the Politics and
Government Department’s Curriculum Review, praising its thoroughness and the Department’s quick and thoughtful responses to the Subcommittee’s questions. The Department requested the following course changes as part of its review:
•
The Department will stop cross-listing History 315 and History 374 as Politics and
Government courses. This is a response to changes in the staffing and offerings of the P&G
Department.
•
The Department plans to restore P&G 411, the Senior Research Seminar in Public Law, as an alternative to the seminar in the US Politics concentration. The latter has yet to be taught, as it is part of the new curriculum P&G instituted two years ago.
ACTION: Kontogeorgopoulos M/S/P approval of the Politics and Government Department’s curriculum review and the changes to its curriculum listed above. There were two abstentions.
Mehlhaff asked whether a review of all the Department’s Core Courses was supposed to be part of the Curriculum Review process. Washburn answered that it was customary that appropriate
Subcommittees review only new Core Courses proposed as part of Curriculum Reviews.
Mehlhaff inquired about the large number of courses in some departments that are on the books but not taught every year; he wondered whether this was a good thing, and how students planned their courses in the face of the consequent uncertainty about yearly offerings. Stevens pointed out that statements about how often a course is offered appear in the Bulletin. He also explained that some courses would not receive sufficient enrollments if they were taught every year, but do if they are taught every two or three years. Washburn pointed the Committee to the policy on page 11 of the Bulletin regarding this issue. Warning suggested that this practice allows

departments to offer a richer curriculum than they might otherwise be able to. Stevens reflected that this practice also allows for the offerings to be driven in part by student interest.
Assignment of Occupational Therapy Subcommittee
Warning announced the assignment of the following to the Subcommittee: Barry, Kirkpatrick
(chair), Mehlhaff, Tomhave.
At 9:19 Stevens M/S/P adjournment.
Respectfully submitted,
Molly Pasco-Pranger