Graduate Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 5000 and Higher
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
1. Course prefix and number:
GEOG 6590
2. Date:
11/16/07
3. Requested action (check only one box):
X New Course
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course from
from
to
#
#
4. Justification (assessment or accreditation based) for new course or course revision or
course renumbering:
Satisfies American Meteorological Society’s curriculum recommendation for
coursework in applied/specialty meteorology topics. This course will cover various
topics in tropical meteorology with an emphasis on climate prediction. This is a
crucial area of study for graduate students whose future careers will involve climate
prediction and weather forecasting, as well as climate related issues of policy
making and impact analysis.
5. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
6590. Advanced Tropical Meteorology (3) P: consent of instructor. Tropical atmosphere as key
component of global weather and climate and climate prediction. Advanced tropical atmosphereocean dynamics applied to El Niño – Southern Oscillation, Madden Julian Oscillation, tropical
cyclones and monsoons and predictability.
6. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
7. Graduate catalog page number from current graduate catalog:
8. Course credit:
Lecture Hours
3
87
3
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Lab
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Studio
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Practicum
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Internship
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
Total Credit Hours
9. Anticipated annual student enrollment:
10
3
s.h.
10. Affected degrees or academic programs:
Current
Degree(s)/Course(s) Catalog Page
Changes in Degree Hours
N/A
11. Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs:
x Not Applicable
Notification & response from affected units is attached
12. Approval by the Council for Teacher Education (required for courses affecting teacher
education programs):
x Not Applicable
Applicable and CTE has given their approval.
13. Statements of support:
a. Staff
x Current staff is adequate
Additional Staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
b. Facilities
x Current facilities are adequate
Additional Facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
c. Library
x
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and
an estimate for the cost of acquisition of required initial resources):
d. Computer resources
x Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a
brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
x
ITCS Resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Software
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
14. Course information: see Instructions for Completing the Graduate Curriculum
Committee Course Proposal Form for more detail.
a. Textbook(s): author(s), name, publication date, publisher, and city/state/
country
There is no textbook. We will be drawing on web-based material and the published literature.
b. Course objectives student – centered behavioral objectives for the course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
 Evaluate the role of tropical atmospheric phenomena in affecting the global climate.
 Distinguish the El Niño – Southern Oscillation phenomenon and predict its affect on
global climate patterns.
 Describe African Easterly waves and illustrate how they lead to the formation of
hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.
 Explain hurricane formation, propagation and structure in detail.
 Compare and contrast the meteorological conditions that lead to hurricane landfall in
North Carolina versus other parts of the world.
 Assess the importance of climate prediction to human society.
 Prepare a literature review of a current topic in tropical meteorology.
 Collect relevant real-time web based data and develop tropical weather briefings.
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c. A course topic outline
Main climatological features of the global atmosphere and oceans.
Tropical precipitation systems
The Earth’s monsoons
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation
The Madden-Julian Oscillation
Teleconnections
African Easterly Waves
Tropical Cyclones
Meteorological conditions that lead to hurricane landfall in North Carolina
Tropical cyclone prediction
Climate prediction methods and benefits to society
d. A list of course assignments and weighting of each assignment and the
grading/evaluation system for determining a grade.
Homework and Class Projects
Homework will be assigned periodically for a total of 4 homework sets throughout the
semester. A research project that will include written and oral components will be assigned
individually. Students will organize and lead in-class tropical weather briefings.
Midterm and Final Exams
There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. The final exam is cumulative. Make-up
exams will only be given in extreme circumstances, i.e. documented medical reasons with
advance warning to the instructor. There will be no extra credit assignments.
The organization, neatness, clarity, spelling and grammar of your work will count
toward grades.
WHAT
WEIGHT
Grade scale: 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 0-69=F
MIDTERM #1
20 %
MIDTERM #2
FINAL
HOMEWORK
CLASS PROJECT
WEATHER BRIEFING
20 %
20 %
20 %
10 %
10 %