Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee
Minutes from the Meeting on April 18, 2007
Present:
Kevin Craig
June Deery
Jeff Durgee
David Hess
Mike Hanna
Sharon Kunkel
Christina Laskowski
John Schroeder
David Spooner
Lee Odell
Dick Smith
Sam Wait
Ken Warriner
Michael Wozny, chair
1) The minutes from the 4/4/07 meeting were approved with one correction noted: item 4
should read “The School feels that the IDEA questionnaires are not as effective and the SoS is
considering other options for their courses”. S. Wait would like to discuss the surveys at a
future FSCC meeting.
2) School of Architecture- Ken Warriner distributed a proposal from the School to drop 2 degree
programs, MS in Building Conservation and MS in Informatics and Architecture from the
catalog due to low enrollment and staffing issues. The School would also drop the
interdisciplinary BS dual major program in Product Design and Innovation. The motion to
approve deleting the programs from the catalog was approved unanimously.
3) Catalog Update- S. Kunkel reported that the on-line catalog beginning this year will be
searchable. Print copies of catalog will also be available as they have been in the past.
4) Minors- The catalog statement on minors and the information on the minor approval form are
not consistent. S. Wait proposed changing the text in the catalog so it is consistent with the
text on the minor form. The minor form says if a course is used for a major then it can’t be
used for a minor. The consensus was some clarification is needed. Some Committee members
would like to have some flexibility and didn’t see an issue with counting the same courses.
The discussion broadened as the Committee raised concerns about dual majors. Some dual
majors are so close that students can complete a dual major by taking just 2 additional
courses. One approach to clarify the issues is to look at the specific majors and list the ones
where a student could not take a specific minor. After some further discussion, the
Committee approved a motion to change the catalog text on minors to be consistent with
the minor form. The Committee then approved a change to the minor in Chemistry.
The text will include the following statement: A Chemistry course which is counted for a
major cannot be used for a minor in Chemistry.
5) School of Humanities and Social Science- L. Odell presented a new dual major template DSIS
with Communication. There was some discussion of the requirements. The Committee asked
how it differs from the BS in Communication requirements. J. Schroeder asked why the
science elective was placed in the last year. Generally it’s not a good idea and he’d like to see
Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee
Minutes from 4/18/07
it listed earlier. D. Hess didn’t see many options for changing the template but asked for
approval and he would talk to Audrey Bennett about the placement of the courses. S. Wait
noted that the Committee has been strict about not designating more than 1 H&SS course in
templates. This is a dual major template and exceptions are not uncommon. K. Craig raised a
question about the science courses required for the program. The Committee also objected to
a 4000 level course in the sophomore year. D. Hess will take the FSCC’s concerns back to his
committee.
6) Checklist for New Courses and H&SS template- June Deery distributed a sample of the
checklist and template used by the H&SS Curriculum Committee. The Committee discussed
whether pre-requisites are required for all upper level H&SS courses and if there is a
pedagogical reason for requiring them. David Hess said their curriculum committee can look
and see if there are pedagogical reasons. After some discussion, the Committee agreed that it
would be helpful to have a similar type of document from each School to reflect their
individual needs. These can be posted on the web site.
7) Living and Learning- Mike Hanna provided a quick overview of this initiative. The first floor
of Nason Hall will be renovated into a classroom for approximately 40 students. The students
will take 2 courses together in the Fall term and 2 in the spring. The Committee asked why a
4000 level course, Environment and Policy, is being offered to first-year students. The course
is actually a 1000 level IHSS course which will be offered as a topics course. The Committee
suggested a different title than the one already in the catalog.
8) Chair Mike Wozny asked Committee members to consider an extended meeting on May 2,
2007.
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