University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Letters and Science
1998-99
Course and Curriculum Committee
Minutes #8
Thursday, March 11, 1999
| Present: |
Osei-Mensah Aborampah, James Coggins, William Kean, Robert Moore, Rachel Skalitzky, Roy Swanson, Cam Tatham, Connie Jo (ex officio) |
| Excused: |
Michael Day, Charles Schuster (ex officio) |
| Absent: |
Magda Kandil |
| Guests: |
Donald Green, Kyle Swanson |
- Professor William Kean, the Chair of the Committee, called the meeting to order at 11:35 a.m. in Holton 241.
A motion to suspend the agenda in order to address the interests of Professors Green and Swanson was made, seconded, and approved.
V. New Business
B1. It was moved and seconded to approve the CAR for Sociol 900-493 Capstone Seminar in Sociology (3 cr, new). Following discussion, an amendment was moved and seconded to make approval in its current form contingent upon approval by the W-I subcommittee, or the W-I language would be removed from the course description. The amendment was approved, and the amended motion was passed unanimously.
A1. The following CAR forms were moved, seconded, and approved unanimously:
| Atm Sci 190-100 |
Survey of Meteorology |
3 cr |
cr/desc/prer |
| Atm Sci 190-360 |
Synoptic Meteorology I |
4 cr |
title/desc/prer |
| Atm Sci 190-361 |
Synoptic Meteorology II |
4 cr |
title/desc/prer |
The committee returned to the order of the agenda.
- Automatic Consent
- The minutes of February 25, 1999 were approved as submitted.
- Automatic Approvals. There were no objections to the following CAR form
| JMC 584-661 |
Seminar in Mass Communication and Society |
3 cr |
title |
- Procedural Matters
- W-I Review Subcommittee
The members of the Committee unanimously selected Roy Swanson to chair the review subcommittee. Current members of the Oversight Committee were suggested as members of the new committee, and Connie was asked to contact them to inquire concerning their willingness to serve.
- The Seminar review process was discussed. Committee members agreed that requests now were sufficiently rare that a separate subcommittee no longer was needed. Requests will be reviewed by the full Committee.
- Use of the On-Line CAR form and its implications for circulating CAR forms electronically was discussed. Committee members decided that, for the present, they wish to continue receiving paper copies of CAR forms.
- Old Business
- Committee members considered a proposal from Norm Lasca that the W-I course requirement be changed to allow 2 credit courses to meet the requirement. It was moved and seconded to change the 3 credit requirement to 2 credits. After much discussion, the proposal was defeated unanimously.
- New Business
B.1/C.1 The following CAR forms were approved:
| Geog 416-213 |
Geography of Asia |
3 cr |
#(112)/desc/prer
GER-SS |
| Ital 508-311 |
Advanced Conversation & Comp |
3 cr |
title/desc |
| Ital 508-312 |
Contemp Ital Language & Culture |
3 cr |
desc |
A.2. A proposal from the Department of Mathematical Sciences to modify its major requirements was moved, seconded, and approved unanimously.
D. Discussion Items
- Committee members reviewed a memo from the Dean to Assistant Vice Chancellor Sona Andrews concerning a "quick win." It had been suggested that the College permit students to declare majors as entering freshmen. The dean indicated that he would put this question to the L&S Course and Curriculum Committee. There was considerable discussion of the pros and cons of maintaining the 45 credit requirement for declaration of major. Advantages to a change would include the possibility of putting students in touch with an advisor in the major earlier. Most committee members felt that the larger problem was getting students to go in to see faculty advisors even when they were eligible to be majors. A change in policy would not change the culture that causes students to delay their declarations now. Committee members also discussed the responsibility departments should take for utilizing information now available to them, such as the names of declared premajors. There was general agreement that the premajor category should be actively promoted to students. Departments also should be surveyed concerning what they are doing to contact and assist students in premajor status. Committee members agreed that the early part of a student's undergraduate career should be a time to explore new subjects that have not been available to him/her prior to arrival at the university. Concern was expressed that channeling students into a formal major too early would deprive them of the incentive to explore. It was moved, seconded, and approved unanimously to endorse the Dean's response to the Assistant Vice Chancellor, to forego proposing any change in the 45 credit requirement at this time, and to contact departments about better use of premajor status. Committee members would like to review this issue again after some experience promoting premajors.
- Discussion of the Internship Guidelines was deferred until the Committee might hear from a representative of Communication and/or English involved in the development and supervision of internships. Cindy Piercy will be contacted to ask her to arrange for such a visit for the committee.
- Connie reported to the Committee members that the School of Business Administration had expressed concerns about the BAGS proposal in its present form. A meeting between L&S and Business administrators to discuss the proposal was scheduled for the next day. Connie asked if the Committee members felt they could approve a change that would involve removing all the detail concerning the specifics of the curriculum from the proposal since we are dealing just with an "Entitlement to Plan" request. Members indicated that they were likely to support such a change if it was necessary to move the proposal forward, but they asked that the Business version of the proposal be sent out via email if any consensus was reached at the joint meeting. They would respond quickly with any problems they noted. Otherwise the proposal should be assumed to have their support.(Retrospective: there was not consensus on a specific form for the proposal; it will be withdrawn from the approval process for the present.)
- Connie reported that a question had arisen concerning the ability of a department to impose restrictions on the Concentrated Study in Two Departments curricular requirements. Committee members noted that there were a few departments that had done so, but in all cases the restrictions were approved formally by the L&S C&CC, the APCC, and the Vice Chancellor. Members expressed the view that departments must be upfront about any specific requirements and must "advertise" those requirements to the students in the bulletin. Connie was asked to draft changes to the language of the concentrated study requirement for the Undergraduate Bulletin indicating that departmental restrictions were possible and that all such restrictions would be codified in the department's section of the bulletin.
- There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:53 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Connie Jo
Special Assistant to the Dean and
Distinguished Advisor
Secretary to the L&S Faculty
Distribution:
Dean Marshall Goodman
Associate Deans Meadows, O'Bryan, Schuster, Van Wynsberghe
Assistant Deans Horstman, Kissinger, Olfe
Secretary of the University
L&S Standing Committee Chairs
Department Chairs/Program Coordinators (see web site: http://www.uwm.edu/letsci/
Professors Donald Green and Kyle Swanson
C&CC2
minutes #8.ccc.doc
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