Undergraduate Curriculum Council
September 19, 2013 -- 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Rendezvous 301
Volume XXX, Meeting 13 (15-13)
Minutes Approved by Curriculum Council September 26, 2013; Accepted by Provost on 8 October 2013
A. PRELIMINARIES
1a. Attendance:
Members:
David Blakeman (Chair), Tara Young, Yolonda Youngs, Greg Murphy, Spencer Jardine,
Mary Hofle, Mike Hansen, Beverly Hewett, Jim Bigelow
Ex-Officio:
Margaret Johnson, Chris Hunt, JoAnn Hertz, Emily White, Corey Zink; Keane Shuler
(ASISU)
Admin. Asst: Catherine Read
1b. Pre-notified absences for this meeting: Wendy Ruchti, JoAnn Hertz
1c. Guests:
none
2. Council unanimously approved the Minutes from September 5, 2013 and September 12, 2013, with one
attendance correction on September 12th.
3. Report from the Executive Committee:
a. Review of meeting – Hunt attended to discuss some catalog questions that came up during data entry into
the eCatalog from proposals. There were some typographical errors that should have been corrected
before it got to the Registrar’s office for entry. In the future, departments will enter their own
curriculum on the eCatalog, but course changes will continue as paper proposals.
b. Attendance – Members should notify the Chair and Administrative Assistant in advance if they will be
absent from a meeting.
c. Members viewed a couple of examples of missed items and typographical errors on approved proposals.
Hunt asked for more careful proofreading of proposals.
4. Current Committee Activities
a. Gen Ed Proposal Status Report
All ‘grandfathered’ course proposals received except RCET 0372; ANTH 1100, 2237, 2238; ECON
2201. Still waiting for resubmission of MATH and CHEM proposals, which were remanded for
revision. A few new course proposals were received, and several requests for existing courses to be
approved as Gen Ed courses. So far, have received 74 proposals total.
b. CLEP testing and results use for GEN ED credit discussion – deferred pending receipt of GERC minutes.
5. Information from Academic Affairs – Nothing to report this week.
6. Information from the Chair:
a. Nominate and elect a Vice Chair
Young nominated Jim Bigelow as Vice Chair, seconded. No other nominations. Bigelow was
unanimously elected to serve as Vice Chair this year.
b. New proposal form discussion – Defer making any changes to the proposal form until it is clear what the
new eCatalog and proposal system will require.
c. Letter from Library – all proposals should be sent to Sandra Shropshire for Library Impacts review.
7. Information from the Faculty Senate – Nothing to report, the Senate did not meet this week.
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8. Other related information or questions:
a. CLEP / GEN ED question (JoAnn Hertz UPDATE) – nothing to report
b. Adjustments to the Curriculum Proposal Instructions – deferred until new eCatalog system is in place.
B. EXPEDITABLE
The Executive Committee decided not to expedite any proposals this week.
C. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Proposal 11 from Geosciences to add GEO 4403/5503 as prerequisites for GEOL 4407/5507 and GEOL
4409/5509. History and Geosciences departments have worked together, still need to coordinate with
Geomatics. Hill has not heard anything back from the Geosciences chair. Remains tabled.
2. Proposal 12 from Educational Foundations to add EDUC 1110 as a new Gen Ed course.
Revised proposal submitted. Remains tabled until GERC finishes its review.
3. Council unanimously approved the revised Proposal 16 from Mathematics (Appendix 1) to change the
grading for MATH 0015 and MATH 0025 from S/U to standard letter grades.
4. Proposal 19 from Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) to revise the Civil Engineering
curriculum.
This proposal has been revised on the correct form and addressed Hunt’s questions and will be
forthcoming. Remains tabled for revisions to be entered.
5. Proposal 21 from Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice for scheduling changes. WITHDRAWN
by UCC COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE, at department’s request. A new proposal will be forthcoming to
correct changes that were incorrectly entered into the catalog.
6. Proposal 23 from Technical General Education to change the course description and number of credits for
TGE 0257. Remains tabled until GERC completes its review and makes a recommendation. Johnson
reminded that there is a limit of 8 credits for Technical education, which could have an effect on this
proposal.
7. GERC approved Gen Ed proposals:
a. Proposal 1 MC/ART 2210 revised – Objective 4: Fine Arts
b. Proposal 6 CHEM 1111 & 1111L – Objective 5: Natural Science
c. Proposal 7 CHEM 1112 & 1112L – Objective 5: Natural Science
d. Proposal 15 PHIL 1101 – Objective 4: Humanities
e. Proposal 16 PHIL 1103 – Objective 4: Humanities
f. Proposal 19 COMM 1101 – Objective 2: Spoken English
g. Proposal 21 ENGL 1110 – Objective 4: Humanities
h. Proposal 22 ENGL 1115 – Objective 4: Humanities
i. Proposal 23 ENGL 1126 – Objective 4: Humanities
j. Proposal 24 ENGL 2257 – Objective 4: Humanities
k. Proposal 25 ENGL 2258 – Objective 4: Humanities
l. Proposal 26 ECON 1100 – Objective 6: Behavioral and Social Science
m. Proposal 28 LANG 1101 – Objective 4: Foreign Language
n. Proposal 29 LANG 1102 – Objective 4: Foreign Language
o. Proposal 30 LANG 2201 – Objective 9: Cultural Diversity
p. Proposal 31 LANG 2202 – Objective 9: Cultural Diversity
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Council unanimously accepted the above courses as meeting the criteria for fulfilling General Education
Objectives. (Appendix A)
8. Proposal 24 from Biological Sciences to change the name, course description, and reduce the number of
credits for BIOL 4415/5515 from “Human Neurobiology” to “Foundations in Neuroscience.” No Impacts
reviews have been submitted as yet. Does the department intend to change the name of the corresponding
lab as well? No curriculum changes were submitted, were there supposed to be? Are there any other places
where this course appears in the catalog that are affected by this change? Tabled for more information.
9. Proposal 25 from Philosophy to add PHIL 2250 Contemporary Moral Problems as a new course to fulfill
Gen Ed Objective 9. Hunt confirmed that no prereqs were required for this course. The semester code is
missing, the Registrar’s office needs to know when this course will be offered. Tabled pending GERC’s
recommendation and the semester code.
10. Proposal 26 from Biological Sciences to clarify the eligibility of students to select Minors in Biology. Hill
has not seen this proposal yet. Impact Reviews have not yet been received. Hunt said there would be some
issues with DegreeWorks which he will discuss with the proposal author. Tabled for more information.
11. Proposal 27 from Biological Sciences to create a new cross-listed course BIOL/GEOL 4490/5590
Ecosystems and Global Change. Hunt’s Impact response needs to be addressed by the department as to
whether the courses are equivalent or cross-listed. A separate proposal from Geosciences should be
submitted requesting this same new course. Also questions about the prerequisites – any GEOL courses
required as prereqs, and be more clear if CHEM 1111 is prereq or co-req. Tabled for issues to be addressed.
12. Proposal 28 from Division of Health Sciences to add a Health Science Concentration to the Bachelor of
Science (BS) in Health Science degree. The credits are confusing, need clarification on how they add up.
Tabled.
D. NEW BUSINESS
Moved and seconded to approve and immediately table Proposals 30 thru 35. Motion carried.
1. Proposal 30 from the English and Philosophy to change Objective 9 General Education course from AMST
2200 to ENGL 2210.
2. Proposal 31 from the College of Education’s Organizational Learning & Performance to rename the
program and degrees from the former College of Technology Human Resource Training & Development
(HRTD) program to the College of Education’s Organization Learning & Performance (OLP) department.
This program move has been acknowledged by the State Board of Education.
3. Proposal 32 from Psychology to update catalog course descriptions and titles.
4. Proposal 33 from English and Philosophy to add a foreign language requirement to the English B.A.
program.
5. Proposal 34 from English and Philosophy to make various ‘housekeeping’ changes to correct and update
the undergraduate catalog.
6. Proposal 35 from English and Philosophy to update the English B.A. program Professional Writing
option courses without the Communications Media Persuasion (CMP) courses that were not adopted.
Appropriate substitutions are provided in brackets in case the CMP courses are approved.
E. ADJOURNMENT: 5:03 p.m.
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APPENDICES
A. GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES APPROVED:
Proposal 1 MC/ART 2210 revised – Objective 4: Fine Arts
Proposal 6 CHEM 1111 & 1111L – Objective 5: Natural Science
Proposal 7 CHEM 1112 & 1112L – Objective 5: Natural Science
Proposal 15 PHIL 1101 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 16 PHIL 1103 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 19 COMM 1101 – Objective 2: Spoken English
Proposal 21 ENGL 1110 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 22 ENGL 1115 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 23 ENGL 1126 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 24 ENGL 2257 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 25 ENGL 2258 – Objective 4: Humanities
Proposal 26 ECON 1100 – Objective 6: Behavioral and Social Science
Proposal 28 LANG 1101 – Objective 4: Foreign Language
Proposal 29 LANG 1102 – Objective 4: Foreign Language
Proposal 30 LANG 2201 – Objective 9: Cultural Diversity
Proposal 31 LANG 2202 – Objective 9: Cultural Diversity
CATALOG PROPOSAL APPROVED:
1. Proposal 16. Mathematics Department: Grading change MATH 0015 & 0025 revised Sept. 12, 2013
Person(s) Responsible: Dr. Robert Fisher
Proposal Summary:
We want to change the grading format for all Math 0015 and Math 0025 courses. Currently they are graded as a
pass/fail (S/U) and we would like to change this to the standard century scale used throughout the university.
Currently, these courses do not count toward GPA or toward graduation however they do count toward financial aid.
The proposed grade change will give more information about the proper assessment of students in developmental
math; the change should count toward GPA to increase accountability of students not only pertaining to GPA but also
financial aid. However, we do not want the courses to count toward graduation. They are not university level
courses so they should not count towards graduation. We are aware that this will create a negative aspect as well.
This will create more pressure for the students who will take longer to learn the material. However, we believe the
positives of this change far out way the negatives. I believe we will have more people attending and working to pass
and those who do not pass will hopefully only take the second time to get through.
We believe having grades on these developmental math courses as well as counting them in the GPA will give the
students motivation to work hard and finish the course instead of dropping out either by withdrawing or by
disappearing altogether. With the current S/U system, many students will only work the bare minimum to pass the
course. Only worrying about passing if their financial aid is in jeopardy. We are also finding that many of our
students are struggling in the later algebra courses. It is a common theme that those struggling in the later course
“barely” passed the prerequisite course. With grades, students will understand the difference between an A grade and
a C grade. Advisors will be better able to advise students on whether they are ready for the next course. All around,
we will have more information and have more informed students. Idaho State University and the Math Department
will be improved when these changes are applied. We will be using assessment criteria that will be better at
preparing these students for their degree programs. Students together with their advisors will be able to use the
information grades give them to move forward with confidence. The math department’s primary objective states
“students in algebra courses develop the algebra skills needed in later courses.” This objective is difficult to assess
when the grades are determined by a pass/fail criteria. The level of understanding in algebra for a student earning an
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A is very different from the student earning a C. Both of these students would receive an S with the current grading
scheme. This also sends a false message to students that the minimum grade needed to pass is the level of
understanding needed.
Faculty Vote:
Remedial math education is the responsibility of the math department chair and the developmental math coordinator.
Tenured and Tenure-track faculty members do not teach developmental math courses overall and therefore this issue
does not affect them. Discussions with those faculty who do teach the course were unanimous in favor of the change.
Impacts:
 Other College(s) , department(s), facilities, funding, etc.: None

ITS / ETS: This has no effect on ITS or ETS, from Randy Gaines.

Library: That has no effect on the library. Karl Bridges.

Advising:
No advising concerns regarding the proposal; just a suggestion for the math department to consider revising
the math tree. (page 34 of PDF version of 2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog) from Joann Hertz.
I support the proposed change in grading format from pass/fail to the standard century scale. For our
comparable Math classes in the College of Technology we also use the standard century scale. Corey Zink –
Director of Student Services – College of Technology.

Registrar: This has no effect on the student information system, from Christopher Hunt.

REVIEWED BY SPECIFIC COLLEGE UCC REPRESENTATIVE – [X] yes
UCC rep. name ____Mary Hofle__________

Other affected units, if any: None

COURSE CHANGES
B. Change an Existing Course –
Math 0015 Arithmetic and Prealgebra
Math 0025 Elementary Algebra:
Action(s):
___Drop this course
___Change Title
___Change Credits
___Change Content
___Change Repeatability
___Change Equivalent
___Change Prereq(s)
___Change Coreq(s)
[ ] no
_X__Change Grading
___Change or Add Goal
Applicability statement
___Change Semester
We want to change the grading format for all Math 0015 and Math 0025 courses. Currently they are
graded as a pass/fail (S/U) and we would like to change this to the standard century scale used throughout
the university.
 CURRICULUM CHANGES
This change does NOT change the curriculum, it changes the grading scheme.
New curriculum format in catalog:
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The only adjustments that can be seen are a change in the Banner system from S/U to A-F grading
scheme. Also all wording in the subsequent catalogs need to be changed from discussing S grades to
passing grades.
The following is a list of all occurrences of Math 0015 and Math 0025 in the PDF version of 2013-2014
Undergraduate Catalog. There are no other courses or departments besides Mathematics that use Math
0015 or Math 0025 as a prerequisite. The Technical General Education Department uses courses that are
equivalent to Math 0015 and Math 0025 however there is no discussion of grades, after speaking with
Corey Zink (as stated above in advising) the equivalent courses in CoT are graded as A, B, C... We
believe no other departments or programs are affected.
1. Courses that satisfy Objective 3:
MATH 1123 Mathematics in Modern Society 3 cr (Prerequisite MATH 0025)
MATH 1127 The Language of Mathematics 3 cr (Prerequisite MATH 0025) Page 27 NO
CHANGES NECESSARY
2. All mathematics courses except MATH 0015 have prerequisites. Page 33 NO CHANGES
NECESSARY
3. Students place into a course either by completing the prerequisite courses with a grade of C- or
better (S in MATH 0015 and 0025) or by achieving appropriate scores on the ACT exam, SAT
exam, or Compass mathematics placement exam. For placement purposes, prerequisite
coursework or placement examinations must have been taken within the last seven years. Page
33
Delete the parenthetical statement.
4. Students place into courses higher than MATH 0015 by achieving any one of the following
scores on their ACT, SAT, or Compass placement examinations (Objective 3 courses are
underlined):
Notes:
1) There is no prerequisite course for MATH 0015, and no scores are necessary.
A student must:
2) Pass MATH 0015 or achieve one of the listed test scores to take MATH 0025.
3) Pass MATH 0025 or achieve one of the listed test scores to take MATH 1108, 1123, or 1127.
4) Pass MATH 1108 or achieve one of the listed test scores to take MATH 1130, 1143, 1147, or
1153.
5) Pass MATH 1143 or achieve one of the listed test scores to take MATH 1144, 1160, 2256, or
2257.
6) Pass MATH 1144 or 1147 or achieve one of the listed test scores to take MATH 1170
Page 33 NO CHANGES NECESSARY
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5. All mathematics courses except MATH 0015 have prerequisites. Students place into a course
either by completing the prerequisite courses with a grade of C- or better (S in MATH 0015 and
0025) or by achieving appropriate scores on the ACT Mathematics exam, SAT Mathematics
exam, or the Compass Mathematics Placement Exam. Page 250
Delete the parenthetical statement.
6. MATH 0015 Arithmetic and Pre-algebra 0 credits (3 credit equivalent) Arithmetic of integers and
rational numbers. Decimals; introduction to variables; linear equations; problems involving rates,
ratios, proportions and percentages. Equivalent to TGE 0100M. Not eligible for academic credit.
Graded S/U. F, S, Su Page 250
Delete the statement “Graded S/U.”
7. MATH 0025 Elementary Algebra 0 credits (3 credit equivalent).Variables and algebraic
expressions. Absolute value; linear equations and inequalities and their applications; expansion
and factorization of polynomials; rational expressions; radical expressions; the real number line;
the Cartesian coordinate system and graphing of linear equations. Equivalent to TGE 0100A.
Graded S/U. PREREQ: S in MATH 0015, a Math ACT score of 16 or higher, an SAT score of
390 or higher, or 46 or higher on the Pre-algebra section (MAPL 1). F, S, Su Page 250
First instance: Delete the statement “Graded S/U.”
Second instance: C- in Math 0015
8. MATH 1108 Intermediate Algebra 3 Credits. Topics in algebra, with an emphasis on solving
equations and inequalities. Systems of linear equations; quadratic equations and the quadratic
formula; polynomial, absolute value, rational, and radical equations and inequalities. Radical and
rational exponents. Parabolas, distance formula and circles. PREREQ: S in MATH 0025, a Math
ACT score of 19 or higher, an SAT score of 460 or higher, or 45 or higher on the Algebra section
(MAPL 2). F, S, Su Pages 250-251
Change this statement to C- in Math 0025
9. MATH 1123 Mathematics in Modern Society 3 credits. Survey of applications of mathematics to
real-world problems. Topics from graph theory, management science, political science, statistics,
geometry, and computer science. PREREQ: MATH 0025. Satisfies Objective 3 of the General
Education Requirements. F, S, Su Page 251 NO CHANGES NECESSARY
10. MATH 1127 The Language of Mathematics 3 credits. Introduction to the precise language used
throughout mathematics. Development of skills including reading with comprehension,
expressing mathematical thoughts clearly, reasoning logically, and employing common patterns
of mathematical thought. PREREQ: MATH 0025. Satisfies Objective 3 of the General Education
Requirements. Page 251 NO CHANGES NECESSARY
11. TGE 0100M Math 4 credits. Course provides an overview of complex fractions, decimals, and
percents with an emphasis on practical application. Equivalent to MATH 0015. Not eligible for
academic credit. D Page 313 NO CHANGES NECESSARY
12. TGE 0100A Algebra I 4 credits. Topics include linear equations, factoring, graphing, functions,
and quadratic equations with an emphasis on practical and technical problems. Equivalent to
MATH 0025. Not eligible for academic credit. D Page 313 NO CHANGES NECESSARY
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