Cover/Signature Page - Abbreviated Template
Institution Submitting Request: Utah Valley University
Proposed Title: Minor in Ethics
School or Division or Location: College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department(s) or Area(s) Location: Department of Philosophy and Humanities
Recommended Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code1 (for new programs): 38.0103
Proposed Beginning Date (for new programs): Fall, 2013
Institutional Board of Trustees’ Approval Date: 03/28/2013
Proposal Type (check all that apply):
Regents’ General Consent Calendar Items
R401-5 OCHE Review and Recommendation; Approval on General Consent
Calendar
SECTION NO.
ITEM
5.1.1
Minor*
5.1.2
Emphasis*
5.2.1
Certificate of Proficiency*
5.2.3
Graduate Certificate*
New Administrative Unit
Administrative Unit Transfer
5.4.1
Administrative Unit Restructure
Administrative Unit Consolidation
New Center
5.4.2
New Institute
New Bureau
5.5.1
Out-of-Service Area Delivery of Programs
Program Transfer
5.5.2
Program Restructure
Program Consolidation
5.5.3
Name Change of Existing Programs
Program Discontinuation
5.5.4
Program Suspension
Reinstatement of Previously Suspended Program
5.5.5
Reinstatement of Previously Suspended Administrative Unit
*Requires “Section VI: Program Curriculum” of Abbreviated Template
Chief Academic Officer (or Designee) Signature:
I certify that all required institutional approvals have been obtained prior to submitting this request to the
Office of the Commissioner.
______________________________________
1
CIP codes must be recommended by the submitting institution. For CIP code classifications, please see http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/Default.aspx?y=55.
Signature
Printed Name: Ian Wilson
Date: 04/01/2013
Program Request - Abbreviated Template
Utah Valley University
Minor in Ethics
10/20/2012
Section I: Request
Utah Valley University requests approval to offer a Minor in Ethics within the Department of Philosophy and
Humanities, effective Fall 2013. This minor will allow students to augment their degrees with an additional
academic credential in Ethics, which will benefit students entering the work force, professional schools, and
graduate degree programs. It is anticipated that this minor will draw on established programs, courses and
faculty expertise that focuses on essential aspects of ethics. Students are currently able to enroll in a
variety of ethics courses and this minor will offer students a focused credential in Ethics.
Section II: Need
The study of ethics is an area of increasing emphasis in colleges and universities around the country and
Utah Valley University has exhibited strong leadership in this academic area. In his 2005 State of the
College Address, President Sederburg stated: “we already have a wonderful national reputation for our
ethics program at UVSC [UVU]. The recommendation is to build on this program…” The minor in Ethics will
advance this initiative.
UVU has received many national and international awards and recognitions, most notably the prestigious
Thomas Hesburgh Award which was conferred in 2001 for excellence in ethics education offered to
students and faculty. UVU is poised to offer a formalized minor in Ethics to students interested in
augmenting their ethics education.
Along with the G.E. required Ethics and Values course (PHIL 2050 and PHIL 205G) taught in the
Department of Philosophy and Humanities, the minor will require additional courses that address topical
and contemporary issues in Ethics. In addition, the Ethics minor will be supplemented by the rich offerings
of speakers, colloquia, seminars, and events brought to campus by the distinctive and internationally
recognized Center for the Study of Ethics. An academic center that supports ethical instruction and
discourse across campus, the Center hosts such activities as Ethics Awareness Week, Monthly Ethics
Forum, Excellence in Ethics Award, Annual Ethics and Public Policy Symposium, Annual Ethics Across the
Curriculum Summer Seminar, Annual Conference by the Faculty, Annual Environmental Ethics
Conference, and the Annual Kirk R. Englehardt Business Ethics Keynote Address.
The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics lists career and employment opportunities in the
following areas: Accounting, Bioethics, Biotechnology, Business, Education, Communication, Engineering
Ethics (the fastest growing sub-area of Ethics), Environmental Ethics, Human Resources, Health Care
Policy, Journalism, Law, Management, Media, Military, Public Health, Public Relations, Research Ethics,
Social Sciences, Sports, and Public Policy (www.indiana.edu~appe).
Local, state, and federal government entities, corporations, and research laboratories are hiring Ethics
Officers to help institutions and employees deal with ethical dilemmas. Often, managers responsible for
human resources, legal services, or basic workplace operations are also charged with such pursuits. The
Ethics and Compliance Officer Association (http://www.theecoa.org) reports current membership in the
thousands world wide; prodigious growth for an organization that began in the 1990s with a total of
nineteen members. The Association notes that its members’ job titles include the following: Accountants,
Audit Professionals, Ethics Officers, Compliance Officers, Government Regulatory Officers, Human
Resources and Risk Assessment Managers representing such industries as: aerospace/defense, financial
services, health care, hospitality and restaurant services, telecommunications, transportation,
enterntainment, and construction, to name a few industries that hire ethics experts. Job listings for ethics
and compliance officers include managers of research labs, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory,
which staffs an entire department of ethics and compliance officers.
The public service sector is also concerned with ethical issues at every level of government, and
government agencies hire personnel who address ethical and compliance issues, administering related
policies and procedures. Colleges and universities also focus on ethical issues at the administrative and
academic levels, with Institutional Review Boards (and the institutional oversight of them) becoming a
staple of the academic environment. In 2010, a large organization, Public Responsibility in Medicine and
Research, devoted to ethical compliance and the oversight of research that involves human subjects,
hosted a national confererence of 5,000 attendees2 (http://www.primr.org). This organization brings
together people from all corners of the globe who are concerned about advancing ethical practices in
human studies research and public health policy. Attendees included attorneys, hospital and university
administrators, institutional review board members, academics, biomedical, pharmaceutical, medical, and
social science researchers, military ethicists from every branch of the armed services, and professional
administrators and bureaucrats. Interestingly, this particular organization began with a small group of
people devoted to developing such ethical protocols at Boston University in 1974. In a little over thirty
years, it has become a very large and influential organization that focuses on developing and maintaining
evolving ethical standards for research involving human beings.
The University of Utah offers a minor in Applied Ethics, but the proposed Ethics minor at UVU will be
slightly different in structure. Both programs emphasize theoretical and meta-theoretical approaches to the
study of ethics and focus on the application of ethical concepts in real-world situations, the professions, and
the workplace. The proposed minor in Ethics however, is designed in a way that can augment courses and
baccalaureate majors offered at UVU, outside of the Department of Philosophy and Humanities. An Ethics
minor is complimentary to UVU programs and majors such as, Biology, Botany, Communications, Nursing,
Legal Studies, Business, Accounting, History, Political Science, Education, English, Emergency Services,
Aviation, Physical Education and Recreation, Computer Science, Deaf Studies, and so on.
Furthermore, the philosophical treatment of ethics is foundational to the reflective and critical discussion of
ethics in fields such as Education, Medicine, Business, Religion, Science, Technology, and Law. Students
who seek employment or admission to graduate and professional schools are increasingly required to
demonstrate fluency in both theoretical and applied ethics. The minor in Ethics is designed to allow
students to tailor a program that reflects their theoretical and practical interests and supports the ethical
component of diverse baccalaureate degrees.
UVU students have expressed an interest in strengthening their ethics education. The Department of
Philosophy and Humanities received approximately 600 unduplicated responses to two survey questions
Held in December, 2010, this was a conference of approximately 5,000 attendees, with a publicized membership of 3,000 persons from 1,000
institutions in 30 countries. http://www.primr.org
2
administered in January, 2011 at the UVU Main and Wasatch campuses. Students enrolled in classes
offered through the College of Humanities and Social Sciences were asked to answer the following
questions: 1) Should UVU offer a baccalaureate minor in Ethics? and 2) If UVU offered a minor in Ethics,
would you enroll in it?
With respect to the first question, 538 students (87%) stated that UVU should offer a baccalaureate Minor
in Ethics. 80 students (13.25%) stated that UVU should not offer the Minor. In response to the second
question, 126 students (21%) stated that they would enroll in the minor if it were offered; 474 students
(79%) stated they would not enroll in the program, and 15 students (2.5%) stated they might enroll in the
program.
Students who matriculate into the ethics minor will find their ethics education increasingly marketable in
their careers, professions, education, and vocations.
Section III: Institutional Impact
Current academic and administrative structures are in place to support a minor in Ethics, which is a subdiscipline of Philosophy. Elective courses will be managed such that existing faculty (salaried and adjunct)
will cover the courses within their existing workload. Adjunct faculty will be hired to handle two lowerdivision courses. No additional full-time faculty, staff, or facilities are required. The proposed minor will be
administered by the Department of Philosophy and Humanities and will require six credit hours in
theoretical and applied ethics, which are currently taught as part of the regular curriculum offerings. In
addition, because the minor emphasizes interdisciplinarity, students will enroll in twelve additional credit
hours in Ethics, which may be discipline-specific (e.g., Biology, ASL, Computing, Communications,
Nursing), allowing flexibility in course selection.
Section IV: Finances
Resources are already allocated to the Department of Philosophy and Humanities through existing
Academic Affairs budgets and through the PBA funding process. The Ethics Minor is grounded upon
already existing courses, so no additional resources are required to support it.
Section VI: Program Curriculum
All Program Courses (with New Courses in Bold)
Course Prefix & Number
Title
Required Courses
PHIL 3550
Moral Philosophy
PHIL 481R
Internship
PHIL 130R
PHIL 3010 or COMM 3000
PHIL 3450
PHIL 3460
PHIL 3510
PHIL 3520
PHIL 3530
PHIL 3540
PHIL 357R
PHIL 3700
PHIL 3710
PHIL 450R
PHIL 451R
PHIL 490R
ASL 4370
BIOL 4260
CS 305G
LEGL 3190
NURS 3410
PJST 3000
Sub-Total
Elective Courses
(12 credits from the following)
Ethics Forum
Media Ethics
Philosophy of Childhood
The Ethics of Human/Animal
Relationships
Business and Professional Ethics
Bioethics
Environmental Ethics
Christian Ethics
Moral Reasoning Through Case
Studies: Ethics Bowl
Social and Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Law
Interdisciplinary Senior Ethics
Seminar
Ethical Theory Seminar
Independent Study
Ethics for Interpreters
Ethical Issues in Biology
Global Social and Ethical Issues in
Computing
Legal Environment
Professional Standards of Nursing
Introduction to Peace and Justice
Studies
Credit Hours
3
3
6
1
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
1
3
Other advisor-approved course
Sub-Total
Total Number of Credits
12
18
Program Schedule
Fall of First Year
ENGL 1010 (GE)
Fine Arts (GE)
Biology (GE)
Humanities (GE)
MATH 1050 (GE)
Course Title
Introduction to Writing
From list
From list
From list
College Algebra
Semester total
Spring of First Year
ENGL 2020 (GE)
PHIL 205G (GE) (G/I)
PHIL 1250
HIST 1740 (GE)
HLTH 1100 (GE)
Course Title
Intermediate Writing – Science and Technology
Ethics and Values
Logical Thinking and Philosophical Writing
US Economic History
Personal Health and Wellness
Semester total
Fall of Second Year
Behavioral Science
(GE)
PHIL 3550 (Required)
Phys. Science (GE)
Major
Major
Spring of Second Year
Major
Major
Major
Major
PHIL 3700
Fall of Third Year
Major
Major
Major
Course Title
Credit Hours
3
3
3
3
4
16
Credit Hours
3
3
3
3
3
15
Credit Hours
From list
3
Moral Philosophy
From list
From list
From list
Semester total
3
3
3
3
15
Course Title
From list
From list
from list
from list
Social and Political Philosophy
Semester total
Course Title
From list
From list
From list
Credit Hours
3
3
3
3
3
15
Credit Hours
3
3
3
Major
PHIL 3010
Spring of Third Year
Major
Major
Major
Major
PHIL 3520
Fall of Fourth Year
Major
Major
Major
Major
PHIL 450R
Spring of Fourth Year
Major
Major
Major
Upper Division Elective
PHIL 481R
From list
Media Ethics
Semester total
3
3
15
Course Title
from list
From list
From list
From list
Bioethics
Semester Total
Credit Hours
3
3
3
3
3
15
Course Title
From list
From list
From list
From list
Interdisciplinary Senior Ethics Seminar
Semester Total
Course Title
From list
From list
From list
From list
Internship
Semester Total
Total required credit hours for degree
Total required credit hours for Minor in Ethics
Credit Hours
3
3
3
3
3
15
Credit Hours
3
3
3
3
3
15
121
18