A&S; Curriculum Committee Minutes, 3/30/98

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MINUTES

March 30, 1998

Members present: S. Davis, J. Hart, S. Maloney, M. Rohmann, P. Sahoo, E. Segal (Chair), M. Stenger, R. Taylor

Guests: A. Harris (TA), C. Willard (COMM)

The minutes of the meeting of February 16, 1998, were approved as distributed.

Professor Willard responded to questions about the proposal for COMM 370: 
Desktop Publishing and Professor Harris responded to questions about the 
proposal for TA 315/515: Speaking English as a Second Language.

The following course actions were approved, effective 98F.

        COMM 370:  Desktop Publishing (new course)
        TA 315: Speaking English as a Second Language (new course)
        TA 515: Topics in Speaking English as a Second Language (new            
                course; may be repeated up to 6 hours)
        BIOL 389: Undergraduate Seminar (new course)
        POLS 336: Foreign Policies of Postcommunist States (deleted)
        POLS 391: Survey Research (deleted)
        GERM 325: Practicum in German Theatre (credit hour change from          
                variable to 3 credit hours)
        GERM 561: Independent Study (credit hour change from variable to 
                3 credit hours)

The committee discussed course placement for entering A&S; students who have a 
pre-college curriculum deficiency in social sciences. Currently, the 
deficiency is removed by successful completion of TS 098: Introduction to 
Social Sciences.  It was the committee's recommendation that as long as the 
course continues to be available, it should be the required manner of removing 
the social sciences deficiency.  

The committee approved the following catalog language regarding second 
bachelor's degrees:  

        Before being awarded a second bachelor's degree, a student must 
        earn a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours in addition to the minimum 
        hours needed for the first degree, regardless of whether the two degrees
        are awarded simultaneously or successively.

This language conforms to current practice, but the policy had been omitted 
from the printed catalog.  It was clarified that this policy in no way affects 
a single degree with a double major.

The committee confirmed that its intent when recommending approval of the new 
university policy on warning, probation, and suspension was to retain any 
limited load provisions now applicable to these categories.

The committee discussed the criteria for courses for cross-cultural general 
education credit.  The only criterion under reconsideration was #1, which 
currently reads: "Courses must focus on either: a) societies and cultures in 
modern nations, ethnic groups, or regions other than the United States or 
Canada, or b) a minority culture, or cultures, with the United States or 
Canada."

The following revision was approved by the committee and will be forwarded to 
the Faculty Assembly:
        
        "Courses fulfilling the requirement should focus on societies and
        cultures outside of what is often thought of as the mainstream cultures
        of the western world.
        
        1) Courses must focus on either: a) societies, cultures, ethnic groups 
        or regions within nation states outside of the United States, Canada, or
        western Europe, or b) a minority culture or cultures within the United
        States, Canada, or western Europe. [For example, a course dealing with
        Charlemagne's Empire, the Napoleonic wars or U.S. involvement in slave
        trading would not qualify for this requirement, but a course dealing
        with Basques, Gypsies, Native Americans, or African Americans would.]"



[3/30/98]