APC Document KKK (SPAN):
Revised
Change the Major and Minor Requirements for Spanish
Effective Date: Fall 2015
1. Delete: On page 272, under Major in Spanish:
I. Required courses in the major—27 hours including SPAN 300, 310, 330, 332, 440, 498; one
course from 481 or 482; 3 additional hours at 300-400 level; 3 additional hours at the 400
level.
II. Required courses outside the major—None.
III. Other departmental requirements—Successful completion of SPAN 300 fulfills the oral
competency requirement. Students will demonstrate major and computer competency in
SPAN 498 through research plus oral and written presentations in Spanish on aspects of
Hispanic cultures. A grade of C or better is required in SPAN 498 to graduate.
Add:
On page 272, in place of deleted entry:
I. Required courses in the major 32 hours: SPAN 300, 310, 330, 332, 440, 483, 498, and 4
additional hours at the 300 or 400-level. Students whose level of proficiency does not allow
them to start with SPAN 300 will be required to complete the appropriate prerequisite
courses. At least one-half of the hours required for the major must be completed at UNC
Asheville.
II. Required courses outside the major—None.
III. Special departmental requirements—Competency in Spanish will be demonstrated by a
capstone project consisting of research plus oral and written presentations on Spanish
language, literature or civilization, to be carried out in SPAN 498. A grade of C or better is
required in SPAN 498 to graduate. Oral competency will be demonstrated by successful
completion of SPAN 300.
2. Delete: On page 272, under Minor in Spanish:
18 hours including SPAN 300, 310, 440; one course from 330 or 332; 3 hours at 300-400
level, and 3 hours at 400 level.
University-wide minimum requirements for a minor: 1) one-half of the hours required for
a minor must be completed in residence at UNC Asheville, to include at least 6 hours at the
300-400 level; 2) students must have a cumulative grade-point-average of at least 2.0 on minor
courses taken at UNC Asheville.
Add:
On page 272, in place of deleted entry:
20 hours including SPAN 300, 310, 440, one course from 330 or 332, and 4 hours at the
300-400 level. Students whose level of proficiency does not allow them to start with SPAN
300 will be required to complete the appropriate prerequisite courses.
University-wide minimum requirements for a minor: 1) one-half of the hours required for
a minor must be completed in residence at UNC Asheville, to include at least 6 hours at the
300-400 level; 2) students must have a cumulative grade-point-average of at least 2.0 on minor
courses taken at UNC Asheville.
Impact: In order to discuss the impact that shifting our curriculum to a four-credit model will incur, it is
necessary to remark on our staffing issues currently. We have been understaffed in the Spanish program
for at least 15 years, very likely for much longer. Several semesters have seen more than half of our
curriculum delivered by adjuncts, or single semester contract labor (lecturer); there have been two
instances where we hired a teacher with only a BA to teach classes. This is, no doubt, because we deliver
somewhere between nine and 13 courses for LAC per semester. Clearly, this is a problem that should be
handled by the university.
We lay this out before you in order that you may understand the design of our program and the
pressures upon it, which are perhaps different from any other on campus, and so that you can understand
that the shift to a four-credit model does not mean we won’t struggle with staffing but that that struggle is
not new for us, and the shift to a four-credit model is not the problem. Indeed, the purpose of these
paragraphs is to demonstrate that reality by readjusting and planning the move to a four-credit model in
such as a way as to replicate the staffing situation of this current academic year.
In order to adjust to the staffing needs, we have made the following adjustments to our current model:
1) We have been gradually reducing the number of LAC courses we offer, especially the number of
SPAN 110 sections. This is in accordance with our trajectory to eliminate the ‘false beginner’
status of many students; it also mirrors what is going on in the country, region and state in terms
of preparing students at the high school level as well as preparing qualified teachers to go back
into the high school environment. Currently the placement exam for students wishing to enter our
program is voluntary (though highly encouraged); doubtless, at least three students in each of our
SPAN 120 and SPAN 130 classes could easily place out of the LAC requirement. This then,
reflects an inefficient use of resources, and a wasted student experience; apart from being both
philosophically and pedagogically opposed to greater movements within and beyond the
university.
2) We will offer only one section of 300 in the fall and another in the summer if needed.
3) We look forward to collaborating with the incoming Assistant professor of Portuguese/Africana
Studies to deliver periodically an elective to our majors/minors (Portuguese for Speakers of
Spanish).
4) We will rely on replacement adjuncts provided by HUM and EDUC for courses we teach for
them.
5) Finally, though regretfully, in our new BA model we will reduce by one the required electives for
our majors/minors (reducing course requirements to eight/five, respectively).
Obviously, it is our wish that the university will see to handling the greater staffing issues reflected in
our program so that eventually we can present a wider flexibility of course offerings for our students.
Please see the attached schedule that reflects our current staffing and a two year model of scheduling.
We believe that the impact on our students with this shift will be nothing but positive. In any given
course, the 4th credit hour will be spent in small group tutorials or one on one oral preparation;
performance for oral proficiency and text awareness; presentation of new linguistic or cultural texts or
involvement in community. All of those will be with the intended focus of increasing oral proficiency and
cultural competence in our student body. We see this as fundamental, among other things in preparing
our students to be future teachers, as well as delivering to the community at large what they expect from a
student with a BA in Spanish from UNC Asheville.
Rationale: We believe that this shift in our curriculum with increased rigor to the program and greater
emphasis on oral proficiency will better prepare our students; furthermore, we recognize that streamlining
scheduling within the department is essential, for practical reasons and for pedagogical ones, as we
welcome more and more students interested in a philological track that includes study in more than one
modern language, and as we make a move to include more recent objects of study into the curriculum and
to help students develop greater cultural and linguistically based problem solving skills.
In conclusion, we are aware that the Spanish program still faces an instructional labor shortage. With
incorporation of the above, however, none of that shortage will have come as a result of the shift to a
four-credit module or the reconfiguration of the BA, and therefore, should be addressed in the appropriate
venue.
OPTION C
SPAN 110
Fall 15 Spring 16 Summer 16 Fall 16 Spring 17
2
1
1
1
1
Greta
3
SPAN 120
2
2
1
1
1
Eric
3
SPAN 130
7
6
2
7
7
Michelle
3
SPAN 210
2
2
2
2
Elena
3
SPAN 220
1
1
1
1
Lecturer
3
SPAN 300
1
1
1
1
Lecturer
3
SPAN 310
1
1
1
1
Ron/Ellen
3
SPAN 330
1
1
1
1
Adjunct Hum. 1
SPAN 332
1
1
1
1
Adjunct Educ. 1
Elective 1
0
1
1
1
23
SPAN 440
1
1
1
1
SPAN 483
1
1
1
1
SPAN 498
1
1
1
1
Education
1
0
1
0
Humanities, Arts...
1
2
1
2
23
22
22
22
1
5