Skip to main content

2018-04-17 Minutes

MINUTES
MEETING OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS
of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
3:30–4:45 PM, 3020 Steele Building

Members in attendance: Rita Balaban, Jessica Brinker, Claude Clegg, Amy Cooke, Mara Evans, Beverly Foster, Kelly Giovanello, Richard Langston, Jennifer Larson, Lauren Leve, Doug MacLean, David Mora-Marin, Abigail Panter, Nick Siedentop, James Thompson, Charlie Tuggle, Jonathan Weiler, Lyneise Williams

Absent: Kevin Guskiewicz, Cary Levine, Christian Lundberg, Lee May, Ted Mouw, Valérie Pruvost, Frank Tsui

Guests: Jaye Cable, Lauren DiGrazia, Emily Marlton, Andy Perrin, Eunice Sahle, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja

Staff: Ben Haven

1. Updates and Remarks by Senior Associate Dean Abigail Panter

Panter welcomed the Boards to the final meeting of the 2017-2018 academic year. She began the meeting by relating progress on the departmental dashboards created by the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment in collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Education. It is the hope of Undergraduate Education that the dashboards will enable departments to get a deeper understanding of the students in their majors and programs and how students navigate through their majors. Over the course of the last year, OIRA has worked to improve the dashboards based on input and feedback from DUS and other campus partners.

2. Discussion of the New General Education Curriculum
Andy Perrin, Special Assistant to the Dean, Director of Carolina Seminars, and Professor of Sociology

Perrin started his presentation with a brief overview of progress toward a new draft proposal. The Curriculum Coordinating Committee is making progress pulling in feedback from the feasibility and design committees, and various individuals across campus, and incorporating them into the latest draft. Perrin then provided a more detailed update to the Boards on individual components of the curriculum.

  • The First Year Feasibility and Design Committee found the requirement that all first-year students (FY) take a first-year seminar too restrictive. The Coordinating Committee is exploring the idea of offering other courses that could fit the goal of the curriculum, but don’t necessarily meet the additional requirements of the FYS program. These courses, tentatively named “Launch” courses, will have 35 FY students, will be open to FY and/or transfer students, and will be taught by faculty. The College has received proposals for some of these courses, and plans to pilot them soon.
  • Ideas, Information, and Inquiry (III) courses are still meant to be interdisciplinary, but can have instructors from the same department so long as there is heterogeneity in approach from each instructor. The College has received 5 proposals, and plans to pilot some of them in fall 2018.
  • The College plans to pilot University 101 next year.
  • The focus capacities/reoccurring capacities are still in progress.
  • The junior/senior communication course is targeted to juniors and seniors, but can be taken by earlier cohorts. This course should be taken in a major or in an academic department that has a focus on communication. The focus of the course should be student reflection, communication, and presentation.

Anticipated Timeline for Implementation

  • 2018-19: small-scale, faculty-led pilot tests of key innovations; continuing design and development work; policy discussions with faculty legislative bodies
  • 2019-20: phase-in of key innovations; incoming class still is subject to current general education requirements
  • 2020-21: continue phasing in key innovations; incoming class is subject to new requirements
  • 2021-22: full curriculum and requirements in place

3. M.A. and Ph.D. in Global Africana Studies
Eunice Sahle, Chair and Professor, Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies
Claude Clegg, Professor, Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies and Department of History
Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Professor, Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies

The concept of a new graduate degree program emerged in 2005-2006 through the efforts of a working group in the department. For several reasons it was put on hold. Following the recommendation from the department’s external review, a proposal was drafted with the backing of the AAAD faculty and sent to the Graduate School for review.

The department would like for the Boards to consider the proposal for a terminal MA program as well as a PhD. If approved, this would be the only school in the southeastern United States with a PhD program in Global Africana Studies, and many BA programs in the southeast could be feeders. There is demand for the program, and a robust job market in academia (see appendix of attached proposal for details). Additionally, there are resources in the Center for the Study of the American South and support from the Graduate School. The current AAAD faculty with one or two additional hires would be able to support the program. Students will be expected to teach, but start as TAs earlier in their graduate career. There are courses currently available in the 400-500 range, but the department anticipates the creation of 700-900 level courses to support the new programs. The Boards approved the draft proposal.

4. Study Abroad Proposals
Emily Marlton, Northern Europe and Oceania Programs Director, Study Abroad Program

The Boards approved the study abroad proposals as distributed.

5. First-Year Seminar Course Scheduling Policy
Drew Coleman, Professor of Geological Sciences and Associate Dean for First Year Seminars

The First Year Seminars (FYS) Program has a suite of requirements in addition to the standard UNC-Chapel Hill requirements for all undergraduate courses. Since this is the case, the FYS Program would like to require all instructors proposing new first-year seminars to submit an FYS-specific prospectus form and offer the course for the first time under the special topics number 89. This allows for the FYS Program and the instructor to make adjustments to the course as needed before it is offered under a permanent number. The Boards did express some concern about the low visibility of 89 topics numbers, but incoming students are not familiar enough with the undergraduate numbering scheme; FYS are rarely under-enrolled, regardless of the course number; and the FYS Program advertises all courses on the FYS website. The Boards approved the proposal.

6. Curriculum Committee Report
James Thompson, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curricula and Professor of English

The Boards approved the report as distributed.

7. Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program
Jaye Cable, Chair and Professor, Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology

Cable updated the Boards on the proposal to change the name of the Curriculum in Environment and Ecology to the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of these various areas of study, the proposal also requires a change in the status of the academic unit from a “curriculum” to a “program.” The purpose of the program is to enable more bridge-building between the College and professional schools. These changes are in response to a report from a task force comprised of members in the professional schools and the College, student interest in these overlapping areas of study, and feedback from focus groups of faculty. The Chancellor has approved this initiative and an interdisciplinary executive committee was recently formed to continue the work and develop a better strategic vision. The Boards had some questions about the definition of a “program”, but supported this proposal with those concerns addressed.

8. Undergraduate Program Updates
Nick Siedentop, Curriculum Director, Office of Undergraduate Curricula

The Boards approved the program proposals, effective fall 2018, as distributed.

The meeting adjourned at 4:45pm.

UNC_CAS542_png

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.