A&S Curriculum Committee Minutes, 12/07/05

College of Arts and Sciences

Curriculum Committee Minutes

December 7 , 2005

Members present: B. Beatttie (Chair), K. Chandler, P. Eason, M. Lorenz (A&S Student Council), M. Rohmann, D. Swanson, R. Taylor

Members absent: A. Allen, S. Parkhurst

Guests: C. Negry (Soc)

Typographical errors were corrected in the minutes of the meeting of November 16 and they were then approved as distributed. The committee discussed and approved a statement regarding its decision on the proposal to remove the Humanities capstone courses from the English major. The minutes of November 30 were approved, with this statement appended.

Professor Swanson reported on the GECC decision not to approve proposals for French 125 and Spanish 125 and 201 to meet Humanities and CD requirements. This decision removed the proposal before the committee for a language requirement for BS and BFA degrees, as those courses were an integral part of that proposal. The committee will wait to learn if the ad hoc committee on the language requirement revises the proposal.

Professor Negry met with the committee to discuss the Sociology Department’s request for changes to the requirements for admission to the major and for graduation with a degree in Sociology. The committee had concerns about the proposed requirements, as the department had enacted similar requirements in 1999 and then discontinued them within a year. Professor Negry said that the department wished to institute the requirement of completion of SOC 301 with a C or better prior to admission to the major because of its importance to other courses in the discipline and because it was often the course which indicated a student’s potential for success in the major. The proposal that students make a C or better on SOC 303 and 320 for graduation acknowledged those courses’ importance to a grounding in the discipline. The proposals were approved, effective for students (including transfer students) who enter the university Fall 2006 or thereafter. The proposal applies to both the major and minor in Sociology.

The committee approved the proposal from the Psychology Department to add a one-hour recitation to PSYC 301 and 302. This will not change the credit hours (3) for the courses.

The committee approved a proposal from the Psychology Department to require the completion of PSYC 201 and two 300-level courses in Psychology, all with a grade of C- or better, and a minimum of 30 credit hours completed for admission to the major and minor in Psychology. The requirement will be effective for students, including transfer students, admitted to the university Fall 2006 and thereafter.

The committee did not approve the proposal for a GPA of 2.5 both overall and in psychology courses for admission to the major, nor did it approve the proposal that students must have a grade of C- or better in all psychology courses for graduation. The latter was considered to add undue complication, given that the requirement of a cumulative 2.0 in courses in the major already exists.

The following courses were approved, effective Summer 06. [Graduate courses must also be approved by the Graduate School.]

ANTH 304: Prehistoric Europe (description change)

MATH 407: Numerical Analysis (prerequisite change)

MATH 451: Problem Solving (prerequisite change)

BIOL 685: Advanced Concepts of Physiology (new course)

PAS 364/WGST 347: Racism and Sexism (removal of WR designation)

ARTH 364: Byzantine Art and Architecture (new course)

ARTH 365: Mexican Art and Architecture (new course)

ARTH 367: Islamic Art and Architecture (new course)

Action was deferred on the following courses, pending receipt of additional information from the departments:

HUM 689: Reading for Comprehensive Examinations

ANTH 410: Advanced Skeletal Forensics

COMM 328: Urban Communication

PAS 331: Color Complex of Black Women

The proposal to renumber SPAN 121, 122, and 123 was withdrawn by the department.

[12/14/05]