Program Revision Guidelines
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
OUTLINE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS TO REVISE PROGRAMS
Use this outline to prepare proposals to revise existing programs, including undergraduate majors and minors
and graduate degree programs and certificates. Proposals for revising programs should be submitted in
narrative form, using the following outline. Guidelines are on the following page.
PROGRAM NAME AND SUBJECT CODE: SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE FAMILY INTERDISCIPLINARY MINOR
(SPF)
REVISED PROGRAM NAME AND SUBJECT CODE (IF APPLICABLE):
DEGREE:
FAMILY STUDIES MINOR
(FS)
SOCIOLOGY MINOR
DEPARTMENT(S)/SCHOOL(S):
CONTACT PERSON:
SAC
COLLEGE(S):
DENISE REILING
CONTACT PHONE:
CONTACT EMAIL:
REQUESTED START DATE: TERM FALL
CAS
YEAR
7-0012
DREILING@EMICH.EDU
2015
I. Rationale
II. Description of Current Program
III. Proposed Revision
IV. Impact
V. Budget
VI. Action of the Department/College
1. Department/School:
Vote of faculty:
For
18
Against 0
(Enter the number of votes cast in each category.)
I support this proposal. The proposed revision can x
cannot
Department(s)/School(s) without additional College or University resources.
Department Head/School Director Signature
Abstentions
0
be implemented within the affected
Date 4/24/15
2. College/Graduate School:
A. College
I support this proposal. The proposed program can
College without additional University resources.
Miller, Program Revision Guidelines
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cannot
be implemented within the affected
Program Revision Guidelines
College Dean Signature
Date
B. Graduate School (Graduate Program Revisions ONLY)
Graduate Dean Signature
Date
VII. Approval
Associate Vice-President for Academic Programming Signature
Date
VIII. Appendices
A. Market Analysis/Needs Assessment
B. Mandates
C. Request for New/Revised Course Forms
D. Letters of Support from Impacted Departments
E. Cost Analysis (Complete only if the revision cannot be implemented without additional University resources. Fill in
Estimated Resources for the sponsoring department(s). Attach separate estimates for other affected departments.)
Estimated Resources:
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Faculty / Staff
$_________
$_________
$_________
SS&M
$_________
$_________
$_________
Equipment
$_________
$_________
$_________
Total
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$_________
$_________
$_________
Program Revision Guidelines
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARING PROPOSALS TO REVISE DEGREE PROGRAMS
Departments/Schools intending to submit proposals for revising programs are encouraged to consult with the
Course and Program Development Office and, if appropriate, the Graduate School prior to submitting such
proposals. Proposals for program revisions should be submitted in narrative form, according to the following
guidelines:
I. Rationale: Explain completely the rationale for the proposed revision. If it is the result of a market analysis or needs
assessment, include documentation as Appendix A. If the revision is the result of state of Michigan, federal or accrediting
agency mandate, attach documentation, including required implementation date, as Appendix B.
The proposed revision is in response to feedback from our students in the Sociocultural Perspectives on the Family
Interdisciplinary Minor program and the tracking of trends in students choosing this minor. Despite a high demand for this minor,
we had a low number of students complete the minor due to an infrequent and irregular offering of three of the required courses:
ANTH 309 Culture & Personality, SOCL 204 Marriage & Family, and SOCL 450 The Family. This problem resulted in students
completing the general Sociology Minor instead of the Family minor, which resulted in dissatisfaction and disappointment for
students interested in a focus on the family. Because students completing the Family minor are preparing for family-related career
fields, the title of their minor mattered to them. The problems also reflected poorly on our Department. The scheduling problems
resulted from staffing issues. For reasons described below (section III), issues associated with staffing of SOCL 204 and SOCL
450 have been cleared, and we do not anticipate the problem to reoccur. SOCL 450 remains as a required course under the
proposed revisions, but students are now informed that the course has a set rotation to which we are committed and of which they
are informed. Staffing was also an issue with ANTH 309 Culture & Personality. Because there was not a similar ability to
commit to ANTH 309, that course has been removed as a requirement, as described below.
II. Description of Current Program: Describe the current program as it appears in the most recent University catalog.
Include information about major/minor requirements, restricted and general electives, and the minimum number of total credit
hours students completing the program will have taken by the time they graduate.
The Sociocultural Perspectives on the Family Interdisciplinary Minor currently requires 21 hours. It consists of seven required
courses, with no electives allowed.
SOCL 105 Introductory Sociology (3 hrs)
ANTH 135 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (GEKS) (3 hrs)
ANTH 309 Culture & Personality (3 hrs)
SOCL 204 Marriage & Family (3 hrs)
SOCL 303 Sociology of Childhood & Youth (3 hrs)
SOCL 344 Sociology of Gender (3 hrs)
SOCL 450 The Family (3 hrs)
III. Proposed Revision: Provide a complete description of the revised program, organized so that the current and revised
programs can easily be compared. Include a list of any new or revised courses. Indicate whether the proposed revision will
increase the number of credit hours in the program, and provide a rationale for any increase.. Attach completed Request for New
Course and/or Request for Course Revision form for each proposed new or revised course as Appendix C.
The proposed revised program would retain the 21 hours of minimum credit. The revisions would allow students to choose two
courses from a list of restricted electives rather than the current case of no electives allowed. Another significant change
would be that the minor would now be comprised of 18 hours at the 300+ level rather than the current circumstance of
only 12 hours at the 300+ level.
Three courses from the current arrangement would be removed from the offerings. ANTH 135 Introduction to Cultural
Anthropology would be removed for two reasons: 1) to allow for a 300+ course, and 2) because it is our impression that
Miller, Program Revision Guidelines
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Program Revision Guidelines
most students who complete this minor complete ANTH 135 as part of their General Education program. SOCL 204
Marriage & Family would be removed as a requirement for two reasons: 1) to allow for a 300+ level courses, and 2)
because students report a significant amount of overlap between this course and SOCL 450 The Family. ANTH 309
Culture & Personality would be removed for two reasons: 1) we believe that other courses exist that offer more to the
understanding of families than ANTH 309, and 2) ANTH 309 has not been offered with any regularity for many years,
which has resulted in a great deal of stress for students and a higher then desired number of course substitutions.
One course from the current arrangement, SOCL 344 Sociology of Gender, would be moved to the menu of restricted electives to
allow for other courses that we believe are more central and critical to a current understanding of families: SOCL 311W
Aging Across the Life Course and SOCL 312 Sociology of Health & Illness, each of which address the issue of gender
within families.
The subsequent proposed program would offer student some flexibility in that they could choose two courses from a menu of
restricted electives. Having a menu of restricted electives would strengthen our curriculum and would benefit faculty as
it would allow for and encourage new course development related to families, particularly as junior faculty join our ranks.
All in all, the proposed revisions would allow students and faculty a vibrant, dynamic experience with flexibility to allow
for growth and change that would better reflect current issues facing families:
Required Courses
SOCL 105 Introductory Sociology (current program)
SOCL 303 Sociology of Childhood & Youth (current program)
SOCL 311W Aging Across the Life Course (added in response to important demographic changes occurring
within the United Stated related to age)
SOCL 312 Sociology of Health & Illness (added in response to increasing importance of health matters
within the family system)
SOCL 450 The Family (current program)
Elective Courses (choose two from the following)
SOCL 307 Sociology of Work
SOCL 310 Social Stratification
SOCL 334 Populations
SOCL 344 Sociology of Gender
ANTH 437 Kinship, Marriage, & Social Organization
Other Anthropology courses with family content as their primary focus may be considered by Faculty
Advisor and Department Head for substitution as elective course content.
IV. Impact: Indicate whether and how the proposed revision will impact other University programs. Attach letters of support
from affected departments as Appendix D.
Other than Sociology, Anthropology is the only program affected by these changes. The Anthropology Curriculum Committee
was given an opportunity to consider the proposed revisions prior to bringing the matter to the full Department. The ACC
signaled their approval of these changes via email, which is attached as Appendix D, as well as their vote within the larger
Departmental body.
V. Budget: Describe the budgetary impact of the proposed revision. If new resources will be needed, indicate their source.
If the revision will require resources beyond those the department/school or college can provide, attach a cost analysis as
Appendix E. (Note: If a significant portion of the cost of the revised program will be borne by Continuing Education, include
evidence of Continuing Education’s willingness to bear those costs.)
The proposed changes will not have any budgetary impact.
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Program Revision Guidelines
APPENDIX D
Hello everyone,
Thanks to Liza and the ANTH CC for approval our the SCC proposal to revise
the Family minor! Kristine, I would like to request that the attached proposal to
revise the Family minor be put on the agenda for this Tuesday's meeting. It's
understandable if this is not possible, though, given the much more pressing work
of deliberating the question of our next Department Head. Thank you for
consideration.
dr
From: "E. L. Cerroni-Long" <liza.cerroni-long@emich.edu>
To: "Denise Reiling" <dreiling@emich.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2015 4:06:39 PM
Subject: ACC feedback on SCC proposal
Dear Denise:
As promised, I asked the ACC to review the SCC proposal and to send
me by email any objections/suggestions as quickly as possible. I received
no responses at all by the set deadline, and then Brad sent the message I
also forward below, which is not an objection.
This implies that you can count on the support of the Anth faculty
regarding the program changes, and you may still be in time to ask
Kristine to place the proposal on the agenda of next Faculty Meeting.
Best wishes,
Liza
---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Bradley Ensor <bensor@emich.edu>
Date: Wed, Apr 15, 2015 at 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: Finalizing ACC work (item #1)
To: "E. L. Cerroni-Long" <liza.cerroni-long@emich.edu>
Cc: Xianghong Feng <xfeng@emich.edu>, Maria Garcia
Miller, Program Revision Guidelines
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Program Revision Guidelines
<mgarci21@emich.edu>, Megan Moore <mmoore86@emich.edu>, Kevin
Karpiak <kkarpiak@emich.edu>
I'm a day late but if it matters, I see no problem with the proposed changes to the
SOCL Family Minor. The SCC is aware that ANTH437 includes ANTH135 and
ANTH210 as prerequisites so that may lead to a discussion with the ACC at some
point. Off hand, I can't think of any courses to add to the electives.
Thanks,
Brad
From: "E. L. Cerroni-Long" <liza.cerroni-long@emich.edu>
To: "Bradley Ensor" <bensor@emich.edu>, "Xianghong Feng"
<xfeng@emich.edu>, "Maria Garcia" <mgarci21@emich.edu>, "Megan
Moore" <mmoore86@emich.edu>, "Kevin Karpiak"
<kkarpiak@emich.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2015 11:59:00 PM
Subject: Finalizing ACC work (item #1)
Dear ACC colleagues:
With the end of term just a few weeks away, and with the final DH
interviews taking up much of our time outside the classroom, it looks like
we may have to try and finalize urgent ACC work by email.
To simplify matters, I plan to send the most urgent items still needing your
collective review one by one, with separate messages.
I am beginning with the Program Revision proposal sent by Denise quite a
while ago. Would you be so kind to take a look at it (in terms of content,
rather than format) and please let me know in writing of any objections
and/or suggestions you may have by midnight of Tue (4/14)?
I will then summarize your feedback and send it to Denise, so that she
may, if necessary, revise the proposal in time to present it to the entire
faculty at the last general meeting (of 4/21). If I do not hear from you at all
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Program Revision Guidelines
by the deadline I will assume that there are no objections from the ACC
to the proposal, and I will inform Denise of our support.
Many thanks,
Liza
-Denise Reiling, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
EMU Certified Academic Advisor
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at
the end of the day saying 'I'll try again tomorrow.'" - Mary Ann
Radmacher
Miller, Program Revision Guidelines
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