Received by the Graduate Council—February 4, 2008
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fourth Meeting/2007-08 Academic Year
January 14, 2008
Approved
p. i of iv
PRESENT:
B. Bond (Graduate School), D. Changnon (LAS/GEOG), G. Cosenza (VPA/MUSC), B.
Hoffman (LAS/HIST), A. Rose (EDU/CAHE), C. Shaw (EDU/TLRN)
NOT
REPRESENTED: A. Azad (EET/TECH), C. Gowen (BUS/MGMT)
CONSULTANTS: D. Smith (Catalog Editor/Curriculum Coordinator)
GUESTS:
Helen Khoury and Mary Shafer, Mathematical Sciences
CALL TO ORDER
Changnon introduced guests from Mathematical Sciences, Helen Khoury and Mary Shafer.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Shaw made a motion, seconded by Cosenza, to APPROVE THE AGENDA. Smith asked that the report of
Curricular Items Approved by Another Committee of the Graduate Council be added. Changnon asked if
CLAS #8 minutes could be moved up to accommodate the guests. Motion passed with unanimously
with changes.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Minutes from the November 12, 2007, and November 19, 2007 meetings, approved electronically.
2. Follow-up on the placement of the CGS in Museum Studies. Smith reported that she spoke with Amy
Levin, director of the CGS in Museum Studies, about moving the program to an interdisciplinary
section of the catalog. Smith also spoke with Rathindra Bose about creating a new section in the
catalog for interdisciplinary certificates. Currently the CGS in Homeland Security is listed in the
section of the catalog titled Interdisciplinary Academic Centers and the CGS in Museum Studies is
listsed in its entirety in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Now both the CGS in Homeland
Security and Museum Studies will be located in a section titled Inter-college Interdisciplinary
Certificates. Each college participating in the CGS in Museum Studies will still have a paragraph
about the certificate in their college sections that will direct students to the entire program listing in the
new section.
3. Items previously in a section B attachment, but now reported for inclusion in the Graduate Catalog.
4. Items reported for inclusion in the Graduate Catalog by another standing committee of the Graduate
Council.
CONSENT AGENDA
There were no curricular items on the consent agenda.
Received by the Graduate Council—February 4, 2008
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fourth Meeting/2007-08 Academic Year
January 14, 2008
Approved
p. ii of iv
COLLEGE MINUTES FOR DISCUSSION
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences #8
Changnon noted that the college is proposing a new degree, Master of Science in Teaching, with a
specialization in Middle School Mathematics Education. Shafer explained that the department of
Mathematical Sciences received a grant from the Department of Education under the No Child Left Behind
Act, funneled through the Illinois State Board of Education, to create a new degree for math teachers in
middle schools. Faculty in the math department have been working with teachers in Rockford District
#205 and the new program will initially reach teachers in this district who are teaching math in the middle
schools, but without a math endorsement. Khoury added that the new master’s degree has been developed
along with several new courses. The program will also require students to take two courses from the
College of Education, EPS 508, Theories and Research in Adolescent Behavior and Development, and
TLCI 537, Improvement of Instruction. Math faculty have received approval from the chairs of these two
departments to include the courses. Khoury added that College of Education Dean Lemuel Watson is also
aware of this proposal. The plan is to have a new cohort begin this summer, enrolling in electives. The
intent of the new program is to move these teachers to highly qualified status as well as make them more
effective educators. Khoury continued by stating that the department has followed two paths to put
through the program. The first path was working with the administrative program proposal process:
through the department, college, and provost’s office. The second path was through the regular curricular
process: through two departmental committees, the college curriculum committee, then to the GCCC.
Khoury reported that the planning phase involved 12 faculty. Over the next three years, the grant will
support 25 school teachers with plans to attract more teachers. She added that this is a high needs area at
the regional, state, and national levels. The program will not only provide teachers with methods for
teaching math at the middle school, but will also provide them with better understating of the characteristic
of middle school students. Cosenza noted that it’s very important to have teachers who will engage
students at this level. Khoury added that middle school students need to realize the importance of
mathematics. Rose asked if the department offered a master’s degree in secondary education and Khoury
said that they did, but its focus is for high school teachers. Changnon asked if regular math students would
be allowed to take these new courses and Khoury responded that the new courses would only be available
for certified teachers. She also noted that there is a writing and reading thread throughout all the courses
and their faculty have been working with specialists in the College of Education to develop lessons in
writing and reading. Changnon pointed out that this is a similar program to the one the College of
Engineering and Engineering Technology is proposing and gave GCCC members time to review the math
proposal. He pointed out three new courses, MATH 509, MATH 526, and MATH 527. Shaw provided
some additional background. She noted that she has been working with the math faculty in the same way
she has been working with the engineering faculty. The grant will provide for a cohort of teachers who are
currently teaching students from diverse backgrounds. Changnon asked if Shaw was pleased with the
selection of the College of Education courses included in the program and she said that she was.
Discussion followed regarding adding a course in multicultural education and it was determined that either
MATH 512 or MATH 509, already in the program, would cover that area. There was additional
discussion regarding why there were science and engineering courses as electives and why calculus was
Received by the Graduate Council—February 4, 2008
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fourth Meeting/2007-08 Academic Year
January 14, 2008
Approved
p. iii of iv
required when these teachers would probably not be teaching calculus. It was determined that the science
and engineering courses would provide the teachers with more real-life academic experiences and that
courses like calculus would provide the teachers with higher-level thinking skills and make them more
effective instructors. Changnon agreed that the applied approach is good. Cosenza made a motion,
seconded by Hoffman, to APPROVE THE GRADUATE CURRICULAR ITEMS IN COLLEGE OF
LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES #8 (12/12/07) PENDING APPROVAL BY THE BOARD OF
TRUSTEES AND IBHE. Motion passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Changnon reminded the committee that the following new course proposals from CEET #2, #3, #4, and
#5, which were first discussed by the committee on November 12, 2007, were tabled: UEET 601, UEET
602, UEET 603, UEET 604, UEET 605, UEET 606, UEET 607, UEET 608, UEET 609, and UEET 610.
At that meeting, the committee determined that the main issues with these courses were verification of
nonduplication and whether or not students in the other engineering master’s programs could take the
courses. On November 19, 2007, the committee discussed the new course proposals further after a
presentation by College of Engineering and Engineering Technology Associate Dean Mansour
Tahernezhadi and Professor Regina Rahn. Changnon explained that since the November 19, 2007,
meeting, the college has conceded that UNIV 510, Foundations in Homeland Security and Disaster
Preparedness, could be used in place of UEET 608, and that verification of nonduplication was received
from the Department of Physics for UEET 602 and the Department of Education Research and Assessment
for UEET 606. There has also been interaction between the college and the Division of Statistics, but no
consensus has been reached. Changnon reported that he sent the rationale for UEET 606 prepared by
Rahn to Rama Lingham, director of the Division of Statistics.
The next issue for discussion is whether or not the college will be allowing students in the other
engineering master’s programs to take these new courses. Changnon noted that there was good dialogue
on this issue at the November 19, 2007, and agreed that having the two audiences together could be
beneficial. But he added that there are disadvantages as well.
Shaw noted that she has been working with the college on developing this program and feels very strongly
in favor of the program. She and some of her education colleagues have been working hard to make the
engineering faculty understand what teachers need. With regards to the statistics course, Shaw added that
statistics are used in almost every discipline and disagrees that engineering should have to ask statistics for
permission to offer a statistics course in applied engineering. Hoffman asked about the e-mail from
Lingham where he states his concern that the text and main topics of the course are at the undergraduate
level. There was also discussion as to why the college doesn’t simply change the title of the course to
“Quantitative Engineering Analysis” or something similar. Changnon stated that if the intended
population of these courses is only teachers, he would feel comfortable with the statistics course as
proposed if it had a prerequisite of STAT 350. There was some discussion as to whether or not all the
Master of Science in Teaching degrees should be uniform across departments. Bond noted that the
Provost’s Office makes some of these decisions during the program development process. Virginia
Cassidy is preparing one proposal for the Board of Trustees that will include all the separate M.S.T. degree
Received by the Graduate Council—February 4, 2008
GRADUATE COUNCIL CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (GCCC)
Fourth Meeting/2007-08 Academic Year
January 14, 2008
Approved
p. iv of iv
proposals. Cosenza reported that she did not have a problem with any of the new courses proposals and
Rose agreed. Cosenza made a motion, seconded by Shaw, to REMOVE FROM THE TABLE ALL THE
AFOREMENTIONED UEET COURSES, EXCEPT UEET 606. Motion passed.
Changnon reminded the committee that the college has agreed to use UNIV 510 in place of UEET 608 and
he had a copy of the program proposal that did not include some of the new courses under discussion.
Changnon asked if the committee thought it would be appropriate for him to correspond with the college
asking them for a revised program proposal, including all the courses and program requirements together.
Committee members agreed this would be beneficial. Shaw recommended he also include a copy of the
Math proposal as an example for them to follow. Bond recommended that the audience for the new
courses also be specified. In light of the information that only Changnon and Bond had regarding the
program, several committee members did not feel comfortable approving the courses that were removed
from the table. Cosenza made a motion, seconded by Hoffman, to TABLE UEET 601, UEET 602, UEET
603, UEET 604, UEET 605, UEET 607, UEET 608, UEET 609, and UEET 610. Motion passed
unanimously. Changnon added his concern about whether or not engineering faculty have enough
background in pedagogy to teach the courses. Rose noted that the college did admit they were lacking in
this area and that faculty will be receiving professional development.
NEW BUSINESS
None
OTHER BUSINESS
Changnon spoke about a memo he received from College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Associate Dean Bill
Minor. Minor questioned the removal of the “50% rule” (p. 30 2007-08 Graduate Catalog). It was
clarified that the new language, “At NIU only courses which are numbered 500-798 carry credit toward the
master’s degree.” is a result of the work Bond and Smith did after the Graduate Council approved
renumbered courses.
The meeting adjourned at 11:50.
The next meeting of the Graduate Council Curriculum Committee is February 11, 2008, 10:00,
Conference Room 304, Lowden Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna M. Smith