2015-03-03 Minutes | The Administrative Boards

MINUTES
MEETING OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS
of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, March 3, 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: Daniel Anderson, Yaakov Ariel, Kelly Giovanello, Li-Ling Hsiao, Christian Lundberg, Lee May, Abigail Panter, Vladas Pipiras, Michael Rolleri, Margie Scarry, Nick Siedentop, Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Keith Sockman, James Thompson, Louise Toppin

Guests: Roberto Quercia, Gavin Smith

Absent: Navin Bapat, Chris Derickson, Marcie Cohen Ferris, Karen Gil, Doug MacLean, Louise McReynolds, Christopher Putney, Chris Roush, Mark Schoenfisch

Staff: Ben Haven

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

Senior Associate Dean Abigail Panter welcomed the Boards to the second meeting of the spring semester.

2. Graduate Certificate in the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters, Department of City and Regional Planning – Professor and Chair, Roberto Quercia, and Associate Research Professor and Executive Director of the Coastal Hazards Center, Gavin Smith

Professors Quercia and Smith gave a brief overview of the scope of the certificate. It will focus on the nexus between the threats and impacts of natural hazards and disasters on human settlements, including those exacerbated by climate change, and how individuals, organizations, communities, and larger systems of governance prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, recover from, and adapt to these events. The certificate builds mostly on courses that are already offered, and is designed to serve enrolled graduate students only; it will not be available to practicing professionals located outside the university. This is a rapidly growing challenge, especially in the era of climate change, and there is increased interest from students and the planning profession, making this a very marketable certificate. The Coastal Hazards Center partners predominantly with outside organizations. In the future, however, the Center would prefer to partner with other units on-campus. They hope to bring in additional faculty from across the University, to include Arts and Sciences as well as the professional schools, giving the certificate an interdisciplinary approach.

Professors Quercia and Smith then responded to Boards members’ questions. One Boards member raised concerns that there is a similar Certificate in Environmental Engineering in the School of Public Health. It was recommended that both units meet to reconcile the similar programmatic elements of their certificates. In response, Professors Quercia and Smith stated that the Department of City and Regional Planning is open to partnering with other schools and units to make sure that there are no program overlaps. The Boards also asked that the human element and social sciences of the relief effort are represented, making sure that the Schools of Social Work and Public Health, as well as the Department of Sociology, are considered as partner units. Building off of this recommendation, the Department of City and Regional Planning also sees a role for the physical sciences in looking at the efficacy and accuracy of models.

The Administrative Boards would like to see a revised certificate proposal, incorporating their suggestions and recommendations. Professors Quercia and Smith plan to attend the final Administrative Boards meeting of the academic year to discuss the revised proposal. Nick Siedentop will work with The Graduate School to see if a timetable can be worked out for approval, effective with the fall 2015 term.

3. Updates by Senior Associate Dean Abigail Panter

Panter updated the Boards on ongoing business and projects conducted by the Office of Undergraduate Education.

The Office of Undergraduate Curricula recently submitted the 2015-2016 Undergraduate Bulletin. Undergraduate Curricula, in collaboration with many partners units across campus, will soon launch the new transfer re-evaluation system. The go-live date is tentatively set for the second week of April.

Today, the Office of Undergraduate Retention and the Center for Student Success and Academic Counseling put on a conference on student success.

Faculty Council has been working on Attendance policy. Revisions to the exam make-up policy still concern those instructors with large classes, as it is difficult to coordinate make-up exam times for many students. The Council explored the possibility of having multiple exams in large classes. Students could drop one if they have an excused absence; however, this approach still conflicts with a student who may need to drop more than one exam.

4. Curriculum Committee Report, Associate Dean James Thompson

The Boards approved the Curriculum Committee Report. One Boards member had a question about the Making Connections Curriculum and the communication intensive (CI) General Education requirement in particular. They wanted to know how the CI requirement, attached to certain courses, is being followed up on and whether or not there is emphasis on public speaking. Panter mentioned that the Making Connections Curriculum review is forthcoming. The review process offers the perfect opportunity to address this concern and make recommendations and revisions to the General Education requirements.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. The final meeting of the academic year will be held on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.