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4-16-13 Administrative Boards Minutes

MINUTES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS
of the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
3:30–4:12 PM
3020 Steele Building

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

Members in attendance: Yaakov Ariel, Tyler Curtain, Jaye Cable, Marcie Cohen Ferris, Li-Ling Hsiao, Erika Lindemann, Anne MacNeil, Lee May, Bobbi Owen, Krista Perreira, Margaret Scarry, Nick Siedentop, Keith Sockman, Mike Waltman, Barbara Wildemuth

Absent: Chris Derickson, Karen Gil, Deborah Jones, Louise McReynolds, Gary Pielak, Christopher Putney, Steve Reznick, Daniel Sherman, Dulcie Straughan, Jane Thrailkill

Guests: Robert Miles, Friederike Seeger

Staff: Ben Haven

1. Welcome by Senior Associate Dean Bobbi Owen
On behalf of Dean Karen Gil, Senior Associate Dean Bobbi Owen thanked the Boards’ members for their service to the University and excellent work this academic year, giving special thanks to those members leaving the Boards at the end of this semester.

2. Study Abroad Proposals and SAO Advisory Board Report. Robert Miles, Associate Dean for Study Abroad and International Exchanges, and Friederike Seeger, Director of Burch Programs and Honors Study Abroad
Robert Miles and Friederike Seeger responded to questions raised by the Boards and discussed the merits of each study abroad proposal.  Topics included the minimum grade point average requirement for many of these programs, the significance and rationale for the name of the Duke in Crete program, and the types of credit these programs would contribute toward majors and electives.  After a thorough discussion, the Boards approved all study abroad proposals, including the Burch Field Seminar in Morocco; Duke in Crete: The Azoria Field School in Classical Archeology; CIEE in St. Petersburg, Russia; UNC-Chapel Hill Summer Science Program in Grenoble; and Energy Tomorrow: An Engineering and Management Perspective.

3. Proposed Cross-Listing Guidelines: College of Arts and Sciences

  • There are 5,589 active courses in the College of Arts and Sciences course inventory.  Of these active courses, 508 are cross-listed, accounting for roughly nine percent of all active courses.  A moratorium has been in effect since 2010 prior to the implementation of ConnectCarolina and the new Course Request Approval System (CRAS), preventing changes to current cross-listings or the establishment of new cross-listings.  This moratorium has enabled the College to resolve many inconsistencies between cross-listed courses.  However, there is now pent-up demand to open up the CRAS to new cross-listing requests.  The College would like to start accepting new cross-listing requests sometime before the fall deadline of October 15, 2013.
  • A Cross-List Task Force has developed a set of guidelines to shape future cross-listing decisions in the College. Senior Associate Dean Owen reviewed the guidelines with the Boards and responded to questions.  She clarified that the instructor’s primary unit receives the teaching credit (FTE) for teaching a cross-listed course. Additional guidelines for scheduling combined sections also were discussed.
  • The Boards approved the guidelines, suggesting that language prohibiting cross-lists between the College and professional schools be softened and that the guidelines clarify whether or not all parties affected by the severing of a cross-list must consent to the action or merely be informed that it has been requested.
  • In the next several weeks, units in the College will receive the guidelines document and a list of their active cross-listed courses to review. Instructions on how to submit CRAS requests involving cross-listed courses will also be distributed.

4. Miscellaneous Course Transactions. Associate Dean Erika Lindemann
Reporting on the year’s work of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Dean Lindemann informed the Boards that 382 new course and course change requests had been processed. Of these requests, 177 were new course requests, 142 were revision requests, and 62 were inactivation requests.  The Boards approved the miscellaneous course transactions.

5. Miscellaneous Curriculum Changes. Curriculum Director Nick Siedentop
The Boards approved the two miscellaneous curriculum changes.

6. New Business
The College most recently revised distance education regulations in 2007 for the class entering in 2008; however, these regulations may need to be updated as massive online course technology and other methods of online teaching become more prevalent.  Currently, students can count no more than 18 hours of online coursework toward graduation, may enroll in  no more than one course per semester if they are full-time students on campus, and can take no more than two courses per semester if they are not enrolled on campus.  These limits may need to be adjusted.  Senior Associate Dean Owen asked members to let her know if they would be interested in serving on a committee to revisit the guidelines prior to review by the Boards during the next academic year.  She also sought and obtained support from the Boards to approve exceptions to the per-term limit in extenuating circumstances, provided the 18 hours total was not exceeded.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:12 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.