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11-29-11 Administrative Boards Minutes

Minutes of the Administrative Boards
Of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. and chaired by Senior Associate Dean Bobbi Owen.

Members in attendance: Allen Anderson, Jaye Cable, Chris Derickson, Juan Carlos Gonzalez-Espitia, Jordynn Jack, Deborah Jones, Erika Lindemann, Lee May, Bobbi Owen, Krista Perreira, Gary Pielak, Chris Putney, Steve Reznick, Nick Siedentop, Keith Sockman, Dulcie Straughan, Jane Thrailkill

Absent: Yaakov Ariel, Karen Gil, Li-Ling Hsiao, Louise McReynolds, Dan Sherman, Mike Waltman, Barbara Wildemuth, Heather Williams

Guest: Bob Miles, Associate Dean for Study Abroad

Staff: Laurie Holst

1. Study Abroad
Eight study abroad proposals were presented, discussed, and approved by the Administrative Boards:

Enrollment in the Mansfield College and South Africa programs will be monitored to see if these programs negatively impact enrollment in Honors and BFRS programs.

Boards’ members questioned Bob Miles about the disparity in the various programs’ GPA requirements and asked the Study Abroad Advisory Board to discuss. A 3.0 GPA might be a general standard, provided there is a process to evaluate all well-qualified students.

2. Department of Women’s Studies. The Boards approved changing the name from “Department of Women’s Studies” to the “Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.” The general date is July 1, but the HR and budget effective date will be 8/1/2012, and the effective date for curricular matters will be 8/21/2012, the beginning of the fall semester.

3. Curriculum for Peace, War, and Defense. Revisions to the BA major were approved, with the proviso that increasing the foreign language requirement from Level 3 to Level 5 be in the same foreign language. The option of two foreign language courses vs. one statistical course was discussed. The changes become effective fall 2012.

4. Department of English and Comparative Literature: revisions to the BA major in comparative literature. Changes to both tracks in the comparative literature major were approved. These changes become effective with the fall 2012 semester.

5. Curriculum for Environment and Ecology. The Boards ratified changes to the concentrations, including the course lists for each concentration, and the reduction in the number of concentrations. The requirement that students majoring in environmental science must complete a minor in an allied science also was approved, but concerns were expressed that students might have difficulty completing the BS major in eight semesters without bringing in significant AP or BE credits.

6. Department of Art: revision of the studio art major (BA, BFA, and BFA with art history emphasis). The Boards approved replacing the professional seminar with ART 300 and 500, establishing ART 101 as a gateway course to the major, streamlining the foundations courses (ART 102, 103, and 106), eliminating concentrations, and reducing the number of credit hours from 41 to 39. These changes become effective with the fall 2012 semester. The courses implicated by these revisions were also approved.

The Boards agreed to create two new subject codes for the Department of Art, replacing ART with ARTH (art history) and ARTS (art studio), effective fall 2012. No courses will be cross-listed between ARTH and ARTS.

7. Department of English and Comparative Literature: new minor in rhetoric, composition, and digital literacy. The Boards approved the new minor on this topic but requested that the department provide an acronym and possibly new title. This approval is effective with the fall 2012 semester.

8. Miscellaneous curriculum changes. The Boards approved the following curriculum changes and associated pending courses, effective fall 2012, with the exception of the last bullet in the Department of Computer Science section, which stipulated a “grade no lower than a C- in the nine core requirements” of the major, a requirement inconsistent with the University’s 18 hours of C rule.

  • Department of American Studies
  • Department of Anthropology
  • Curriculum in Archaeology
  • Department of Asian Studies
  • Department of Biology
  • Department of Classics
  • Department of Computer Science
  • Curriculum in Contemporary European Studies
  • Department of English and Comparative Literature
  • Department of Exercise and Sport Science
  • Curriculum in Global Studies
  • Department of Philosophy
  • Department of Public Policy
  • Department of Romance Languages

9. The Boards approved the Curriculum Committee report.


10. New Business
Boards members discussed whether, going forward, first-year seminars should fulfill requirements for majors and minors. It was the consensus that departments should have flexibility in determining the relevance and appropriateness of first-year seminars to major and minor requirements. Setting a limit of one seminar was supported. The Office of Undergraduate Curricula will monitor the frequency of first-year seminars in incoming curriculum proposals.

The Boards agreed to ratify the December 5, 2011, Curriculum Committee report electronically.

The meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

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The Administrative Boards of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences are responsible for advising the Dean of the College about the undergraduate curriculum, including changes in that curriculum, approving individual courses offered in Departments and Curricula of the College, and making decisions when requested on specifications for degrees.