2015-01-27 Minutes

MINUTES
MEETING OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS
of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
3:30–4:30 PM, 3020 Steele Building

The meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m. and chaired by Senior Associate Dean Abigail Panter.

Members in attendance: Yaakov Ariel, Kelly Giovanello, Li-Ling Hsiao, Doug MacLean, Christian Lundberg, Lee May, Abigail Panter, Vladas Pipiras, Michael Rolleri, Chris Roush, Margie Scarry, Nick Siedentop, Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Keith Sockman, James Thompson, Louise Toppin

Guest: Kevin Guskiewicz

Absent: Daniel Anderson, Navin Bapat, Chris Derickson, Marcie Cohen Ferris, Karen Gil, Louise McReynolds, Christopher Putney, Mark Schoenfisch

Staff: Ben Haven

1. Welcome by Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Abigail Panter.

Senior Associate Dean Abigail Panter welcomed the Boards back from winter break and thanked them for their excellent service so far this academic year. She then updated the Boards on a couple of projects recently completed by the Office of Undergraduate Education.

The Office of Undergraduate Education, along with the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA), has been very busy recently with the response to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) 18 questions. The project has taken five weeks to complete, but the response was submitted by the deadline, January 12, 2015.

The Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) recently completed a review of a random subset of learning contracts and syllabi from departments across the College. These syllabi were rated according to the Faculty Council Resolution 2012-11 on Guidelines for Course Syllabi and the Independent Study Report recommendations. Individually generated reports were sent back to the departments; OUE then collected feedback and suggestions. The Boards also had a suggestion for how to ensure that syllabi include most items in the Faculty Council Resolution. They would like to see a form or template for syllabus generation created, similar to the form available for IRB proposals, available on the OIRA website. This would not be codified, as many instructors need flexibility when they create their syllabi. It’s possible that this could be piloted with new faculty next year; Panter holds a meeting for all new faculty appointments within the College every summer. Additionally, some faculty in the natural sciences and mathematics requested more flexibility with the Resolution’s schedule requirements; they recommended that the syllabi schedules be more oriented toward the work and readings to be done during each week as opposed to having every day accounted for on the schedule. In these cases, the matter of a working syllabus needs to be addressed.

2. NCSSM Articulation Agreement, Senior Associate Dean for Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Kevin Guskiewicz

At the end of August 2014, Provost James Dean, along with Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions, Steve Farmer, explored the possibility of an articulation agreement with the North Carolina School for Science and Math (NCSSM). UNC-Chapel Hill is currently one of only two schools in the UNC system without an agreement. Looking at other system schools (NC State as an example) department chairs and faculty were asked to vet classes. Small committees were formed to review the NCSSM syllabi, eliminate those courses that wouldn’t transfer, and come up with transfer tables. Additional feedback was sought from Panter, Farmer, and Undergraduate Curriculum Director Nick Siedentop. Department concerns were considered, including issues with 300 level courses (those equivalencies were eliminated in response).

Some Boards members wanted to know why this particular institution was chosen for the proposed articulation agreement. In response, Guskiewicz gave many reasons: NCSSM teaches at levels above introductory college courses, NCSSM is part of the UNC system, students must earn a B for credit to transfer in, and there is a higher degree requirement for NCSSM instruction as well. The Boards agreed that the articulation agreement is a good recruiting tool, but also think that it should be re-evaluated regularly to ensure that students who do transfer NCSSM courses into UNC-Chapel Hill are adequately prepared for the required level of academic rigor. Course portfolio (to include exams, syllabi, etc.), NCSSM grading trends, and NCSSM student performance once they arrive at UNC-Chapel Hill should be reviewed. Additionally, the Boards recommended a five year review be added to bullet item number two in the proposal. The agreement will be formally reviewed and data will be submitted to the Boards. With these recommendations addressed, the Boards approved the proposal.

3. Curriculum Committee Reports, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curricula, James Thompson

• 12/18/2014 Curriculum Committee Report
• 1/20/2015 Curriculum Committee Report

The Boards approved the Curriculum Committee Report as distributed.

4. Curriculum Revisions, Nick Siedentop, Curriculum Director

A Board member raised concerns about certain anthropology courses being added to the biology major (BA, BS, and BS quantitative track) because some of these courses are reserved primarily for anthropology majors. The Boards approved the following Curriculum Revisions with these concerns noted.

       Undergraduate Bulletin text for all curriculum revisions

• African, African American, and Diaspora studies major: African studies concentration (BA)
• African studies minor
• Archaeology major (BA) and minor
• Asian Studies major: South Asian Studies Concentration (BA)
• Biology major (BA, BS, and BS quantitative track)
• Communication studies major (BA): Interpersonal and organizational
• Communication studies major (BA): Media and technology studies and production
• Communication studies major (BA): Performance studies
• Communication studies major (BA): Rhetorical studies
• Comparative literature major (BA): International literature track
• Comparative literature major (BA): Global cinema studies track (name change)
• Computer science minor (carry over from November 2014)
• Environmental studies major (BA)
• Environmental science major (BS)
• Interdisciplinary studies major (BA): Cultural studies
• Marine sciences minor
• Music major (BA, BMus) and minor
• Physics and Astronomy (BA): Astronomy option
• Physics and Astronomy (BS): Standard and Astrophysics options
• Religious Studies major (BA)
• Romance languages (BA): Hispanic literatures and cultures
• Studio art (BA, BFA, BFA with art history emphasis, minor)
• Sexuality studies minor
• Sustainability studies minor
• Women’s and gender studies major (BA) and minor

5. Additional Items for Discussion, Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, Abigail Panter

Panter briefly discussed the make-up policy for final exams and how the policy is interpreted. Currently, religious observances are considered an excused absence, and students are authorized up to two excused absences each academic year. However, illness and family emergencies are at the instructor’s discretion, sometimes supported by documentation. The Educational Policy Committee will continue to discuss this matter and may make recommendations for how to amend the policy to allow for more kinds of excused absences. Additionally, Panter would like to discuss different models for professional school first-year seminars at an upcoming Boards meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 3, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.