UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Template 7: Graduating Year Review Template 2013
Details
Current Year
Name of Programme
Original Programme Identifier
Name of Self-Review Coordinator
and position held
2013
European Languages and Cultures (EULC) for the Bachelor of Arts, the
Certificate in Arts and the Graduate Diploma in Arts
(03) CUAP02_07
Alison Holcroft, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences
Programme Statement
Description
The European Languages and Cultures programme was proposed to CUAP and first offered to students in 2008. The
EULC programme was intended as an interdisciplinary programme, which would study various aspects of the European
cultural and intellectual heritage and the dynamics of contemporary European culture and society. The aim was to
expand the University’s offerings in the European languages and cultures, to complement the existing majors in French,
German, Russian and Spanish, and to provide an alternative pathway for students who had some knowledge of
European languages but wished to take a broader view of Europe than that available through a language Major. The
new Major complemented an existing Major in European Union Studies (EURO) offered by the National Centre for
Research on Europe. The EURO programme, in contrast to the EULC programme, focused on the political and economic
aspects of the European Union.
There were and are eight courses under the EULC code, two at 100-level and three cross-coded pairs at 200-level and
300-level Some courses have been co-coded into other programmes, including Cinema Studies, European Union Studies,
Cultural Studies, and English:
EULC 101 European Society in Film (EQ CINE 110)
EULC 104 European Languages in Europe and Beyond (EQ: EURO 104, LING 104)
EULC 202/302 The European City (EQ: CULT 316)
EULC 203/303 Representing Evil: the Holocaust and its Legacy
EULC 204/304 European Novels and Film Adaptations (EQ: CINE 214 and at 300-level ENGL 304)
Graduate Profile
The major will aim to produce BA and GradDipArts graduates who will:

be prepared to undertake postgraduate study in, for example, the School of Languages & Cultures, or in the
NCRE, particularly the BA (Hons) in European Studies, or at an overseas university.

will have a pan-European view of European culture and history and will have gained an overview of some key
issues of modern societies in several European countries and will also have completed study focusing on a
particular European culture and society within the wider European context

will be able to analyse, synthesise and critically evaluate theories, emphases, or ways of looking at or portraying
or using historical facts about selected issues in European culture by using or relating to historical and
fictional/filmic material, and be able to critically examine and formulate conclusions on these issues

will have developed reasonable skills in French, Russian, German or Spanish, and will be acquainted with the
diversity of the language situation in Europe today
The major will aim to produce CertArts graduates who will:

have gained an introduction to the study of pan- European culture and history and to some key issues of
1
modern societies in several European countries

be prepared to undertake further undergraduate study in the area of European culture, history and society
The Graduate Profile envisaged that graduates would have a particular pan-European view of European culture and
that, alongside ‘reasonable skills’ in French, Russian, German or Spanish, they would be acquainted with the diversity of
the language situation in contemporary Europe. In addition they would have completed study in one of the areas where
the University of Canterbury offered courses focusing on some aspect of European culture – art history, French culture,
classical music. (It would appear from this that the EULC Major was envisaged as a second Major to be taken alongside
another Major.) The 2007 proposal also noted the availability of postgraduate study through the National Centre for
Research on Europe and envisaged that students would find work in foreign affairs, international trade, government
service and cultural and commercial organisations where the ability to work in a European context would be desirable.
Note: There is no postgraduate EULC programme.
Achievement
The Major: From 2008 – 2013 twenty-three students have either declared a Major in European Languages and Cultures
or graduated with one. Of these twenty-three students, nine have completed, eleven have abandoned the Major, and
three are still advancing students. Of the nine students who graduated with the Major, two declared the Major early in
their degree and clearly intended to study for this Major. The remaining seven students appear to be ‘retrospective
Majors’. They declared the Major late in their degree - one did not declare at all – and appear to have used the Major
as a container for various 100 and 200-level language courses to which they have added one or more EULC courses.
Those who did not complete the Major have done so for a variety of reasons. Six have discontinued all study for their
degree; one completed an LLB and left without completing the BA; three chose to graduate with another major or
majors; and one simply declared a Major in EULC but did no relevant courses. The three advancing students have
declared the Major early in their degree and could be termed ‘intentional majors’.
The Minor: Eighteen students have enrolled for the Minor in the period 2008-2013. Of these students, three have
completed, five are advancing and the remaining ten have either abandoned their Minor (and sometimes their degree)
or appear to be advancing in other areas.
Certificate of Arts and Graduate Diploma in Arts: No students have elected EULC courses for these awards.
Changes
In its original 2008 form, using the old course sizes, the EULC Major consisted of a total 154 points (a course larger than
most majors in the Bachelor of Arts) and required: (a) 54 points @ 100-level or above and 44 points at 200-level or
above. This had to include at least 36 points in 100-level or 200-level European language courses and at least 36 points
from RUSS, GRMN, FREN or SPAN. (The latter could be non-language courses.) (b) At least 56 points @ 300 level which
must include at least one EULC course and one course from RUSS, FREN, GRMN or SPAN. (Students could include one
300-level language course if they wished, but languages were not required. In its original form the Major offered six
EULC courses all of them co-coded with courses in French, Russian and German (but not Spanish).
In 2009 the Bachelor of Arts was revised to include requirements for a Major and a Minor. At this time the EULC
Majoring regulations were re-worded and expanded to include a summer school Italian course and a number of other
courses from across the Faculty – including five courses in Art History, two courses in Classics, six courses in English, one
course in European Union Studies, twelve courses in History, one course in Philosophy and one course in Religious
Studies. Majoring students were required to complete 154 points from EULC, FREN, GRMN, RUSS or SPAN or other listed
courses with significant European content. Students were also required to include at least 36 points in European
language courses and at least 36 points from the FREN, GRMN, ITAL, RUSS and SPAN programmes. At 100-level
students were required to have 54 points from EULC, FREN, GRMN, RUSS or SPAN courses or other listed courses with
significant European content; at 200-level they were required to have 44 points from EULC, FREN, GRMN, RUSS or SPAN
courses or other listed courses with significant European content; at 300-level they were required to have one of EULC
302, EULC 303, EULC 304 and a further 28 points from EULC, FREN, GRMN, RUSS or SPAN courses. The Minor – which
was typical of other BA Minors – simply required 80 points from European Languages and Cultures, FREN, GRMN, RUSS
2
or SPAN courses including at least 44 points at 200 level or above. (The Italian summer school course was not included
in the Minor.)
In 2011 the regulations for the EULC Major and Minor were modified to bring them into line with the new 15 point and
30 point course sizes. Students were now required to complete a total 150 points, with a requirement for 45 points at
200-level or above and at least 60 points @ 300 level. At 100-level the requirement was for 30 points of EULC courses,
or 15 points of a European language + 15 points of 100-level EULC. At 200-level. Students were recommended to do 30
points from 200-level EULC and 15 points of European language courses at 200-level. At 300-level students were
required to do at least 60 point of EULC, or 30 points of EULC and 30 points at 300-level from FREN, GRMN, RUSS or
SPAN.
In September 2013, as a result of restructuring within the College of Arts new enrolments into the Major and Minor
were suspended. All EULC courses were transferred into the proposed European and European Union Studies (EURA)
programme. Current students will be taught out, though some students have already expressed a desire to transfer to
the new Major in European and European Union Studies.
Review Processes
E
Account of Review Processes.
The Panel reviewing this programme was chaired by Alison Holcroft (Associate-Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences),
Dr Richard Bullen (Art History), Dr Susan Bouterery (Head of Languages and Cultures) and Ms Anna-Maria Covich
(Academic Manager, College of Arts). Students and staff teaching into the Programme were emailed for comments:
replies were received from one staff member and one student. Informal contact was made with other staff members
and students to assess the quality of the courses. The transcripts of all students who had declared a Major or Minor in
European Languages and Cultures were downloaded from the Student Management System and their transcripts
scrutinised.
Review Outcomes
Acceptability
E
The Major and Minor have received only a limited uptake and, as indicated above, a significant proportion of the
students who declared the Major, did so very late in their degree, very often as a way to utilise 100 and 200-level
language. The general impression gained from the transcripts of these students was that they had not planned their
degrees. In some cases it was very clear the declaration of the Major had come about after they consulted student
advisors about the completion of their degree and found that they did not qualify for other Majors (a shortage of
language points for students who had come in with advanced levels of language) or did not have the courses required
for a Minor in their degree.
In contrast to the uptake for the Major and Minor, both students and staff are generally very positive about the courses
in the programme. Staff commented on the mix of students in these interdisciplinary courses. One staff member noted
that EULC 202/302 The European City class this year had students from the language courses, History, Psychology, Fine
Arts and Commerce. The one student respondent contributed enthusiastic feedback about EULC 104 European
Languages in Europe and Beyond. It should be noted that, while the EULC Major and Minor are being discontinued, all
the EULC courses have been incorporated into the schedule for the proposed EURA programme.
It was also noted that the format of the EULC Major provided some difficulties for in student advice. The main reason
for this is the broad span of courses. It is possible for students to Major EULC with only two EULC courses – with the
remaining courses drawn from French, German, Spanish and Russian or from a list of twenty-nine courses judged as
“having significant European content”. Many students overlook this list and wish to include courses, which they believe
to have ‘significant European content’ but are not on the list. Even experienced student advisors sometimes felt
uncertain whether students qualified for a EULC major.
The breadth of offerings – and the variety of ‘packages’ that students put together, also raises some concerns that
students who graduate with this Major may not always meet all aspects of the Graduate Profile.
3
Assessment procedures and student performance
The EULC courses are assessed by a variety of methods all of them in common use across the Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences: tutorial contribution, in-class and online quizzes, research reports, take-home tests, essays, research
projects and discussion papers. The language courses that can be included in the Major are assessed in the ways normal
for such courses e.g. tests, quizzes, small assignments and examinations. The courses with significant European content
are assessed in ways appropriate to the discipline. Of the students who have completed the major, half have had
notably high GPA (A- and above) with the remaining students tending to be in the B range and only one below that.
Data
Table 1: Numbers enrolling and completing
Year
Projected
No.
Enrolling
Actual No. Enrolled
Full-time
Parttime
EFTS
No.
Completed
Withdrawals
2010
30
7
4
3
4.5
1
-
2011
-
4
3
1
3.8
4
2012
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Table 2: Distribution of grades (for final year courses) Please note that the 300-level courses below were not always credited to the EULC Major.
No.
Complet
ed
Year
Course Code
No.
Enrolled
2010
EULC 303
1
2010
EULC 304
1
1
2010
EULC 305
1
1
2010
FREN 301
1
1
2011
ENGL349
1
1
2011
EULC303
1
1
2011
GRMN351
1
1
2011
GRMN352
1
1
2011
JAPA 305
1
1
2011
JAPA307
1
1
2011
SPAN301
1
1
2011
SPAN302
1
1
2011
TAFS351
1
1
GPA
(Prog or
Subj)
GPA(all
studs)
9.00
6.3
8.0
7.4
9.0
9.0
6.0
5.2
9.0
6.9
1
9.0
6.1
1
7.0
5.4
4.0
6.6
8.0
5.4
6.0
5.2
5.0
6.2
3.0
5.3
9.0
5.8
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
C
C-
Fail
Table 2: Notes
Table Two is a breakdown of final year course enrolments for students in the specified programme/subject in a given
year.
Programme Evaluation
While the five courses in the EULC programme are well designed, well taught and have received continuing support
from both students and staff, the programme itself has proved a little problematic. Uptake has been limited; there have
been problems with student advice; and both the breadth of the programme and the variety of courses, raises some
unease about the graduate profile. If the College were to continue to offer this programme there would need to be a
review of the structure of the Major, both to make it more attractive to students as an “intentional” Major, and to
ensure that graduates did meet the graduate profile.
4
The major at no stage has looked like reaching the enrolments envisaged when the proposal was submitted to CUAP.
Continuation or Discontinuation
This Programme is being discontinued as part of process of restructuring within the College of Arts. As indicated above
the individual courses have all been transferred to the proposed new EURA Major and will continue to be available as
part of that programme.
5