MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
Presented to the Mānoa Faculty Senate by the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning on May 7, 2014.
Approved by the Mānoa Faculty Senate on May 7, 2014 with 61 votes in support and 5 opposed.
Purpose: To accept the recommendation on adding a modification to the 45 upper division
credit requirement for Biology and Chemistry undergraduate majors.
Meeting Date: May 7, 2014
The Senate requests administrative follow-up by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
(OVCAA) and other administrative offices (e.g., catalog, records, General Education) who have purview over
approving and implementing such graduation requirements.
MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION ON ADDING A MODIFICATION
TO THE 45 UPPER DIVISION CREDIT REQUIREMENT FOR BIOLOGY
& CHEMISTRY UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS ONLY
Background
Prior to Fall 2012, UH Mānoa undergraduate majors were required to graduate with 60 Non-introductory course
credits. However, in 2010, UH Mānoa’s Committee on Enrollment Planning’s Task Force on Retention and
Graduation recommended that the 60 Non-intro course credit requirement be replaced with a 45 credit upper
division (300 & 400 level courses) credit requirement. At the time, UH Mānoa counted any 200-level course
with a specific content-based prerequisite as a non-introductory (NI) course. However, many community
college 200-level courses are not “non-introductory” by Mānoa standards since they don't require a contentbased prerequisite course. The non-introductory credit requirement was confusing to students and required the
Office of the Registrar and Office of Admissions to research 200-level community college courses to see if they
qualified as non-introductory courses.
CAPP formed a sub-committee to review this recommendation and then presented it to Mānoa Faculty Senate
(MFS). On December 8, 2010, MFS approved this recommendation (see approved motion) and it became
effective policy in Fall 2012 (see memo from VCAA), along with the change to the total number of credits to
graduate from 124-120.
When the new requirement was being discussed, Natural Sciences faculty voiced concerns about the significant
impact it would have on their students’ timely progress to degree given the structure of the curriculum in the
Biology and Chemistry departments in particular. On February 8, 2012, the VCAA approved a request by the
College of Natural Sciences to delay implementation of the 45 upper division credit requirement for their
majors for a two-year period (see memo from Natural Sciences). The extension was granted so that they could
perform an analysis of the situation and propose some solutions to be considered by the MFS and VCAA. With
the two-year extension set to expire in Fall 2014, the College of Natural Sciences sent CAPP a document
outlining their analysis and proposed solutions (see document attached). CAPP reviewed the document and
offers the following recommendation.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
2500 Campus Road • Hawai’i Hall 208 • Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822
Phone: (808) 956-7725 • Fax/Polycom: (808) 956-9813
E-Mail: uhmfs@hawaii.edu • Website: http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmfs/
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
Rationale
(See attached document from the College of Natural Sciences for more information.)
WHEREAS, the new graduation requirement of 45 upper-division (UD) credit hours seriously jeopardizes the
timely progress-to-degree for approximately 1400 majors in Biology and Chemistry; AND
WHEREAS, a review of the academic records of recipients of undergraduate degrees in Biology (BA Biology,
BS Biology, BS Marine Biology) and Chemistry (BA Chemistry, BS Chemistry) for the 3-year period that
encompasses AY 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 shows that the majority of Biology and Chemistry
graduates – across the board – do not have enough UD credits upon graduation to meet this requirement; AND
WHEREAS, in a striking contrast to the great majority of other majors on the Mānoa campus (for whom the 45
UD credit requirement is not a problem), Biology and Chemistry majors must take a sequence of 100- and 200level courses in 3 or more areas in the first 2 years, which provides the necessary foundation for the respective
majors and are prerequisites for courses within and across disciplines; AND
WHEREAS, Biology and Chemistry majors cannot take most, if not all, UD courses (major- required or
elective) before their 3rd year because they spend most of their first 2 years taking the core sequences in the
math and sciences; AND
WHEREAS, Biology and Chemistry majors were never jeopardized by the former 60 Non-introductory credit
rule because many of the BIO & CHEM courses in the foundation sequences are/were NI; AND
WHEREAS, The Chemistry and Biology degrees meet national standards and/or are comparable to other
institutions’ programs; AND
WHEREAS, there is a precedent at UH Mānoa to modify or waive graduation requirements for students in
certain schools, colleges, and departments such as the Hawaiian or Second Language Requirement (see UHM
Course Catalog: http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/corerequirements/hsl.htm); AND
WHEREAS, an evaluation of current and past students’ records showed that, for undergraduate majors in
Biology and Chemistry, the combination of no fewer than 25 upper-division and 35 major-required lowerdivision credits would be a viable alternative to the 45 UD credit requirement, and since this would also be
roughly consistent with the 60 NI requirement that was previously in place;
THEREFORE, CAPP is recommending that the Mānoa Faculty Senate accept a modification to the 45 upper
division credit requirement for Biology and Chemistry undergraduate majors only. (See specific
recommendation below.)
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
2500 Campus Road • Hawai’i Hall 208 • Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822
Phone: (808) 956-7725 • Fax/Polycom: (808) 956-9813
E-Mail: uhmfs@hawaii.edu • Website: http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmfs/
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
Recommendation
The current academic policy language for “M5.320 Upper Division Credit Requirement” shall stay the same:
“Effective Fall 2012, students must complete a minimum of 45 upper division credits to earn a baccalaureate
degree. Upper division credits are defined as 300 and 400 level course credits.” (See actual policy.)
A notation shall be added beneath the current policy:
“Important Note: The 45 upper division credit requirement for undergraduate majors has been modified or
waived in the following departments: Departments of Biology and Chemistry. Students pursuing an
baccalaureate degree in Biology or Chemistry must complete either a minimum of 45 upper-division credits or a
combination of no fewer than 25 upper-division and 35 major-required lower-division credits.”
Motion
CAPP presents to the MFS a motion to accept the recommendation outlined above to add a modification to the
45 upper division credit requirement for Biology and Chemistry undergraduate majors only.
_________________________________________________________
David Ericson, Ph.D., Mānoa Faculty Senate Chair
_________________________________________________________
John Casken, Ph.D., Mānoa Faculty Senate Secretary
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MĀNOA FACULTY SENATE
2500 Campus Road • Hawai’i Hall 208 • Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822
Phone: (808) 956-7725 • Fax/Polycom: (808) 956-9813
E-Mail: uhmfs@hawaii.edu • Website: http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmfs/
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution