College of Letters and Science Faculty Document No. 478
November 5, 1998
Course and Curriculum Committee Annual Report 1997-98
The Course and Curriculum Committee of the College of Letters and Science held ten meetings during the academic year to carry out its functions as authorized by Letters and Science document #168.
Legislative Recommendations
The following recommendations were forwarded to the Dean for his action or referral to the Faculty:
- Approve revisions in the requirements for the major in Geography.
- Approve revisions in the requirements for the major and minor in English.
- Approve revisions in the Certificate Program in Biotechnology.
- Approve revisions in the descriptions of the French and Italian majors.
- Approve revision of the requirements to declare the Psychology major.
- Approve changes in the Physics major.
- Delete the 518 LLL curricular area code.
- Approve the 393 FLL curricular area code.
- Approve a proposal for blanket approval of internship courses in all departments/curricular areas.
- Approve Communication Department proposal to change requirements to declare the major, minor and concentrated study in two departments.
- Approve Spanish and Portuguese Department proposal for various changes in the Spanish major.
- Approve Chemistry Department proposal for pre-major requirements.
- Approve Psychology Department proposal for a change in requirements to declare the minor.
- Approve the proposal to substitute a gateway course in the Asian Studies Certificate (request later withdrawn).
- Support development of the L&S BA with a committee interdisciplinary major in Organizational Administration provided that funds not be diverted to it from other programs.
- Support allowing U/G courses to carry distribution credit.
- Approve committee's responses to the General Education Transfer Working Group Report.
- Approve Biological Sciences Department additional revisions in the Certificate Program in Biotechnology.
- Approve an interpretion of the International Requirement stating that students who earn credits in fifth-semester language courses will have met the international requirement and that this interpretation shall be reviewed when the general review of the new degree requirements is conducted.
- Approve amending the Math Sciences major to add a Computational Sciences option.
- Approve the 261 Computational Science (CSC) curricular area code.
- Approve the change in name of the 520 curricular area code from FoLaLit to MAFLL.
- Approve the definition of advanced-level/upper-division courses.
- Approve proposal for Community Program in Jewish Studies.
- Approve granting credit for subsidiary exams for the International Baccalaureate Program; grant 3 credits for scores of 4; grant 3 credits for earning the IB diploma.
Course Approval and Review
A primary function of the Committee is to review all requests for new courses and for modifications of existing courses. As of May 8, 1998, the following actions were approved (includes multiple actions for some courses):
| Type of Change |
Number |
| New Courses |
35 |
| Deletion of Existing Courses |
17 |
| Course Number Changes |
4 |
| Credit Changes |
0 |
| Description Changes |
51 |
| Prerequisite Changes |
83 |
| Title Changes |
36 |
| GER Distribution Changes |
18 |
| Subtitle/Retakeability Status |
0 |
| Change in Graduate Credit |
2 |
| Drop Joint-Offering |
2 |
| Level Change |
2 |
Course Action Requests were approved for departments and programs as follows:
| Africology |
0 |
Geography |
7 |
Mass Communication |
29 |
| Anthropology |
2 |
Geological Sciences |
0 |
Mathematical Sciences |
1 |
| Art History |
1 |
German |
0 |
Military Science |
0 |
| Astronomy |
0 |
Greek |
0 |
Philosophy |
13 |
| Atmospheric Sciences |
0 |
Hebrew Studies |
0 |
Physics |
0 |
| Biochemistry |
0 |
History |
11 |
Polish |
1 |
| Biological Sciences |
0 |
Honors |
1 |
Political Science |
4 |
| Chemistry |
3 |
International Relations |
0 |
Portuguese |
2 |
| Classics |
4 |
Italian |
1 |
Psychology |
2 |
| Communication |
10 |
Latin |
2 |
Russian |
0 |
| Comparative Literature |
0 |
Law Studies |
0 |
Sociology |
2 |
| Economics |
2 |
Linguistics |
3 |
Spanish |
21 |
| English |
16 |
L&S Humanities |
0 |
Urban Affairs |
2 |
| Ethnic Studies |
0 |
L&S Natural Sciences |
0 |
Urban Studies |
0 |
| French |
20 |
L&S Social Sciences |
0 |
Women's Studies |
1 |
| FLL |
5 |
166 Course Action Requests were approved.
New L&S Degree Requirements Implementation Policies
The Committee approved the following policies regarding implementation of the new degree requirements to recommend to the Dean:
- Guidelines for courses to meet the seminar requirement;
- Guidelines for courses to meet the international requirement;
- Guidelines for courses to meet the writing-intensive requirement;
- List of seminar courses;
- List of international courses;
- Policy that no specific guidelines were needed for capstone courses; that departments should have maximum flexibility in designing ways for students to meet the requirement.
Procedural Policies
- Agreed to meet on alternating days for the Spring semester to accommodate individual scheduling conflicts;
- Approved a change in the definition of W-I courses;
- Authorized the Chair to approve routine CAR forms over the summer, with the full committee confirming all such actions at the first meeting in the fall.
Respectfully submitted,
1997-98 Course and Curriculum Committee
| Michael Day |
Jane Nardin |
| William Holahan |
Rachel Skalitzky |
| Connie Horstman, ex-officio |
Cynthia Sommer |
| Jack Johnson, ex-officio |
Madeleine Velguth |
| William Kean |
Walter Weare |
|
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