2015-04-21 Minutes | The Administrative Boards

MINUTES
MEETING OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS
of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
3:30–4:45 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, Doug MacLean, Lee May, Abigail Panter, Vladas Pipiras, Michael Rolleri, Chris Roush, Margie Scarry, Nick Siedentop, Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Keith Sockman, James Thompson, Louise Toppin

Guests: Regina Carelli, Ken Hillis, Robert Jenkins, Donald Lysle

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

Staff: Ben Haven

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

Panter welcomed the Boards to the final meeting of the academic year and began the meeting with some updates from the Office of Undergraduate Education. On Monday, April 15, 2015, Panter moderated a debate discussing the merits and drawbacks of the Making Connections Curriculum. Three UNC-Chapel Hill students and Professor Marc Katz (for) and the Pope Center’s Jenna Ashley Robinson (against) participated. Panter was happy to report that all participants performed well, contributing to a lively and substantive debate.

The Office of Undergraduate Curricula, in partnership with Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of the Registrar, and other units across campus, intends to pursue an online catalog and curriculum management tool. In doing so, UNC-Chapel Hill will forgo the print version of the Undergraduate Bulletin. The new system will be flexible and enable students, faculty, and staff to easily and efficiently find pertinent department and course information. Siedentop will reach out to several vendors with plans to implement the new tool during the upcoming academic year.

UNC-Chapel Hill’s accreditation reaffirmation process is underway. The Offices of Undergraduate Education and Institutional Research and Assessment recently started working on the response to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ (SACS) requests for information pertaining to the Making Connections Curriculum, student learning outcomes, and academic support programs for students and faculty.

2. Name change for the Department of Communication Studies, Ken Hillis, Chair

The Department of Communication Studies requests a name change to the Department of Communication in order to keep the program current with the nomenclature used within the discipline. The Boards approved the name change.

3. Name change for the Department of Psychology, Donald Lysle, Chair; Regina Carelli, Associate Chair

In light of the recently approved Minor in Neuroscience, the fact that over half of the Department of Psychology’s faculty are engaged in neuroscience research, and a recent building renovation to house psychology and neuroscience research, the Department of Psychology is requesting that the Boards consider a name change from the Department of Psychology to the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The Boards expressed concern about how other stakeholders might be affected. For instance, the Department of Biology is currently exploring a concentration in neurobiology; the development of and enrollment within this concentration may be impacted by the name change. In response, Lysle and Carelli said that the Department of Psychology would support this and other similar efforts across campus; they also believe there will be new opportunities for joint appointments and collaboration across disciplines as a result of the name change. The Boards recommended that the Department of Psychology sit down with the Department of Biology and other stakeholders to solicit feedback on the proposal. The Boards will consider this request again once other departments have been consulted.

UPDATE: After Lysle met with department chairs from biology and philosophy, the Boards received additional letters of support from both departments by email. The Boards approved the name change by email vote on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. The change becomes effective on July 1, 2015 for matters having to do with personnel and budget and effective August 18, 2015 for curricular issues.

4. Study Abroad Proposals, Robert Jenkins, Chair of the Study Abroad Advisory Board

Three study abroad proposals were presented to the Boards. Two of these programs speak to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) needs. Robert Jenkins, chair of the Study Abroad Advisory Board, responded to Boards’ members questions. The Boards expressed concern about student access to Study Abroad programs. The program has limited funding for scholarships; however, the Quality Enhancement Plans’ Steering Committee has focused on increasing opportunities for undergraduate students in the Study Abroad program, especially for those students in the STEM disciplines. The Boards approved the study abroad proposals with their concerns noted.

5. Graduate Certificate in Biomedical Imaging Science

This certificate, sponsored by the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Psychology within the College of Arts and Sciences and the UNC School of Medicine, would be available to matriculated graduate students. The Certificate will be jointly offered with North Carolina State University since the Department of Biomedical Engineering spans both universities. The sponsoring units will initiate the certificate review process at NC State upon Boards’ approval of the current proposal. The Certificate would provide students with a solid foundation in imaging science and imaging modalities, as well as hands-on practicum experience.

The Boards had some suggestions for how to track students in the program, including the creation of an enrollment form to follow what kinds of courses students choose and practicum experiences students prefer. It was also recommended that the program have students fill out a form at completion to track what courses, modalities, and practicums students chose. The completion form would also allow for long-term tracking, post-certificate.

The Boards expressed concern that 15 credits might be too many for a certificate, but this burden may be ameliorated somewhat by the allowance of six credits to count toward a graduate major. Additionally, the Boards noticed there may be other instructors who teach similar courses, but were not included in the proposal. Kelly Giovanello will approach these instructors to see if some of their classes can be included in the certificate program. The Boards approved the certificate proposal with their recommendations and concerns noted.

6. Curriculum Committee Report, James Thompson, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curricula

Thompson provided a brief summary of the Curriculum Committee’s work this academic year. Over 600 courses were reviewed by the Curriculum Committee in the fall and spring. The Boards approved the most recent Curriculum Committee Report as distributed.

7. Curriculum Revisions, Nick Siedentop, Director, Office of Undergraduate Curricula

The Boards approved the following curriculum revisions, effective with the fall 2016 semester.

Computer Science major (BS)

8. Revised Proposal for the Graduate Certificate in Natural Hazards Resilience, Department of City and Regional Planning

After consulting with the School of Public Health, the Department of City and Regional Planning submitted a revised proposal for the Graduate Certificate in Natural Hazards Resilience. The Boards approved the proposal by email vote on Wednesday, April 15, 2015.

Panter thanked the Boards for their exceptional work this academic year and invited them to celebrate by joining her and staff within the Office of Undergraduate Curricula at the Top of the Hill restaurant immediately following the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 4:45pm.