Arts and Sciences Senate
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2004-2005
Committee Minutes
11th Meeting, December 8, 2004 – Approved February 2,
2005
Present: J. Lochhead (chair), D. K. Gillespie
(secretary), D. Prowse, T. Weinacht, A. Phillips, L.
Volpe, N. Tomes, C. Green-Forde, V. Dumont, R.
Cerrato, A. Feldman, C. Marrone,
Absent: A. Greene, E. Lindquist (observer)
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from December 1, 2004 –
Approval pending
2. Next meeting will occur after the start of classes
for Spring 2005, i.e., after January 24, 2005
II. Routine Administrative Matters:
1. None discussed
III. Old Business
1. Discussion: MSRC and
Four proposed courses were approved:
MAR 349 Introduction to Biological Oceanography,
effective Fall 2005
MAR 370 Marine Mammals, effective Spring 2006
MAR 371 The Biology and Conservation of Marine Birds
and Sea Turtles, eff Spr 2006
MAR 380 Ichthyology, effective Fall 2005
Two MSRC undergraduate majors were approved, effective
Fall 2005
MAR – BS in Marine Sciences
MVB – BS in Marine Vertebrate Biology
Also:
(a) the Marine track of the Biology Major will be
discontinued.
(b) If the newly approved courses are to be offered on
the
2. Winter Intersession:
Recently, the project to schedule classes abroad
during what has been termed a “winter intersession” was discontinued until
further notice. However, discussion has begun to formally create a winter
intersession, and the Committee wishes to be involved in the creation process,
as some curricular restrictions may apply as to what courses could be offered
during the winter intersession. The Committee also discussed the topic of how
such a session would compare to the existing Summer Sessions, and logistics of
how such a new session would fit into the existing Academic Calendar.
3. Clair Green-Ford brought to the Committee’s
attention that instructors and/or administrators may be informing students that
the Undergraduate College Seminar (102) is mandatory. If true, this would come
as a surprise to the Committee since the 102 Seminar has not been approved as
such.
4. Approval of Women’s Studies specialization in
Gender, Sexuality and Public Health
Approved Sept 15, 2004
IV. New Business
1. None discussed
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2004-2005
Committee Minutes
10th Meeting, December 1, 2004 – Approved February 2,
2005
Present: J. Lochhead (chair), C. Marrone, D. K.
Gillespie (secretary), D. Prowse, T. Weinacht, A. Phillips, L. Volpe, N. Tomes,
C. Green-Forde, V. Dumont, R. Cerrato,
Absent: A. Greene,
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from
November 17, 2004 – The minutes were approved
2. Undergraduate Colleges – Correspondence between
Brent Lindquist and Lochhead.
The Committee absolutely agrees that broad policy
issues regarding the curriculum of the Undergraduate Colleges should be handled
by the Undergraduate Council. Decisions about curricular requirements for the
colleges are like those made with respect to DEC. Thus, the Curriculum
Committee agrees that this type of decision should be taken up by the
Undergraduate Council, which will make recommendations to the University
Senate. The approval of individual course proposals should remain with the
respective curriculum committees. In a situation in which the seminars span two
colleges, the committee suggests
that the Undergraduate Council should decide which
curriculum committee should take
responsibility.
Also, there is the issue of coordination between CAS
and CEAS. Since these seminars will be University-wide requirements, some group
should be in charge of determining whether the two curriculum committees have
commensurate criteria. This could be an oversight role of the Undergraduate
Council.
The Committee also discussed the issue of
representation on the Undergraduate Council; at present
there is no dedicated Committee representation on the
Undergraduate Council. Such representation would facilitate communication
between the Curriculum Committee and the Undergraduate Council, especially in
those instances where curricular policy arises.
3. Discussion: MSRC and
Much
of the discussion included an update of events. There are some conflicts to
work out between existing departments and the proposed transfer of LIUSC.
(a)
the proposed LIUSC is less demanding than the existing
BIO major, which could potentially attract students away from that major
(b)
recommend one SBU major with tracks (sic – should be
specializations?) rather than two very specialized majors. Changing the two
existing LIUSC majors to one major as a transfer may create difficulties as far
as SED is concerned. The Provost’s Office is researching.
II. Routine Administrative Matters:
1. Add Lab to CCS 401 for Spring
2005 only. 3 credit course = 2 hours lecture + 3 hours Lab (film)
Approved
III. Old Business
1. Africana Studies
Study abroad in
IV. New Business
1. Asian and Asian American Studies (Prowse)
(a) request to drop 475 &
476 Teaching Practica courses from all AAS Programs
(CHI, JPN, KOR, RLS) except AAS for the bulletin.
Approved. CHI, JPN, KOR 475/476 will be inactivated. (RLS
475/476should not be inactivated)
(b) correction (?) to AAS 211
and AAS 212
Approved: change the title of AAS 212-G to Topics in
AAS Humanities
2. Mathematics (Weinacht)
Change Grading basis on MAT 475 – Teaching Practicum
from S/U to letter-graded (for Spring 2005 – no
students are enrolled yet)
Not Approved: all other CAS Teaching Practica are S/U graded. More
information from Sutherland
has been requested. What would be the criteria for
assigning a grade and for forming a syllabus? Cerrato
asks, why did we choose S/U grading for Practica in the first place?
3. New FSA material for 2005-07 UG Bulletin (Tomes)
No Cash for Books? No Problem! Open a Bookstore Campus
Account
Seawolves MarketPlace
Beauty In Brains
Innovative Test Prep, Inc.
Correspondence from William Collins, 11/19/2004
None of these items were approved for inclusion in the
2005-07 Bulletin. Instead, the Committee
recommends that the titles of these items (without description)
could be listed under a general FSA section. Including the items would set a
precedent for advertising other contracted businesses.
4. Political Science (Marrone)
Prerequisites for various POL
courses. The department had
requested to remove the prerequisite of
“POL 102 or POL 105,” from POL 316, 321, 327, and 344,
but the Committee was concerned that this would allow under-qualified students
into the course. The department replied that the removal was intended to
increase access Skill 4, but these courses do not satisfy Skill 4. The
department requests that “POL 102 or POL 105” be listed as an
“advisory prerequisite.” The department also wishes to add Skill 4 to these
courses.
Not approved: the reason for this request was to
increase access to Skill 4, but since these classes
are not Skill 4, the change in pre-requisite is not
warranted.
5.
Change HON 110-120 to HON 110. (delete
111-120). Since 110-120 is not a series, 111-120 are simply labels for the same
course, namely 110.
Approved: inactivate HON 111-120 (effective Fall
2005).
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2004-2005
Committee Minutes
9th Meeting, November 17, 2004 – Approved December 1,
2004
Present: J. Lochhead
(chair), C. Marrone, D. K. Gillespie (secretary), D. Prowse, T. Weinacht, A. Phillips,
L. Volpe, A. Feldman, N. Tomes, C. Green-Forde, V.
Dumont, R. Cerrato, Mary Scranton (guest)
Absent: A. Greene, E. Lindquist (observer)
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from November 10, 2004 – The
minutes were approved
2.
(a) Marine Vertebrate Biology
(b) Marine Science
Several advantages to this transfer of majors:
It provides an undergraduate MSRC program at SBU,
where currently only a graduate program is in place
It provides a research site for MSRC, something that
MSRC has sought.
It provides for a large number of students from LIUSC
to continue their studies.
Many of these students are from out of state, which
complements SBU’s plan to increase out-of-state
undergraduate matriculation
It provides for SBU to become the single marine research
science center within the SUNY system
Specifics:
SBU will lease the Marine Research Facility at the
LIUSC campus for up to three years.
If approved, LIUSC would simply transfer the HEGIS
codes of the two majors from LIUS to SBU.
The forthcoming proposal requires approval from The
Committee and the University Senate, as apparently indicated by the Provost.
However, the Committee is uncertain why such a proposal would require approval
from the University Senate.
Although the Committee has positive regard for the
forthcoming proposal, the members request that a formal proposal be presented
in time for the next meeting (December 1, 2004) for final approval. The
proposal should include
(a) degree structures and
potential bulletin text
(b) if possible, copies of
the approved applications for the majors when LIUSC originally applied the
state to offer the majors
3.
A last-minute request was made of and approved by the
Committee to change the grading basis of the 102 seminars from “graded” to
ABC/U. This approval is for the Spring 2005 term only.
Lochhead reported on correspondence between her and Fred
Walter, President of the A/S Senate.
The University Senate Executive Committee decided that
it is not within the purview of the Univ. Senate to determine the mandatory
status of the “102” Seminars. Discussion will continue as to the impact of the
USEC decision. Records show that the mandatory status was also not approved by
the Committee.
The Committee encourages the implementation of these
attractive courses as an integral part of the student experience, however,
given that the courses have not been formally approved by the Committee, the
courses will remain “experimental” until formal proposals are received and
approved. The Committee wishes for these courses to succeed in the best
interest of students and hopes that careful implementation, review, and
approval by necessary groups and persons will lead to success of the courses.
The Committee requests formal proposals for all the
101 and 102 courses including syllabi, by February 15, 2005. The status of the
courses must change from “experimental” to “permanent” in order for these
courses to remain in the curriculum. The courses risk inactivation at the end
of the Spring 2005 term.
As part of the proposal, the Committee also restates
its request for submission of student evaluations from previous iterations of
the courses.
II. Routine Administrative Matters:
1. None presented.
III. Old Business
1. None presented.
IV. New Business
1 Africana Studies
Study abroad usage of AFS 421, Topics in Africana
Studies, and AFS 345-J, Culture and Gender:
Women in Africa and the
The Committee’s primary concern was that if a course
shows on the transcript as a Spring 05 course it will be represented as a 14
week course--not a 6 week course. Also, conducting such practices might
jeopardize the Middle States Evaluation.
Lochhead will contact Floris Cash to
request a memo outlining the details of the study abroad usage of these
courses.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2004-2005
Committee Minutes
8th Meeting, November 10, 2004 – Approved November 17,
2004
Present: C. Marrone (acting
chair), D. K. Gillespie (secretary), D. Prowse, T. Weinacht, A. Phillips, L. Volpe, E. Lindquist (observer),
A. Feldman, N. Tomes, C. Green-Forde, V. Dumont
Absent: J. Lochhead, R. Cerrato,
A. Greene
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from November 3, 2004 – The
minutes were approved
2.
Discussion resumed regarding the Grading Basis of the
Undergraduate College Seminar “102.”
Ideally, this should be resolved before enrollment
begins on November 17 for the Spring 2005 term.
However, due to the time constraint, the Committee defers to the general notion
that these courses are experimental. As such, and despite the discussion on Nov
3 regarding this issue, the grading basis will remain letter graded for the Spring 2005 term, however, review and discussion should
continue, which may result in a change to S/U grading in the future depending
upon the assessment.
II. Routine Administrative Matters:
1. None presented.
III. Old Business
1. None presented.
IV. New Business
1. Various proposed changes to majors and minors for the
2005-07 Bulletin publication. (please note
assignments in the packet from Nov 3)
Approved, with some minor changes
2. Art History and Studio Art (Tomes, from Nov 3
packet)
Change grading basis of ARS 299 from ABC to S/U.
Approved
3. Art History and Studio Art (Tomes, from Nov 3
packet)
Changes to major requirements
4. Theater (Marrone)
Experimental Summer Co-scheduling of THR 354 / THR 525
from John Lutterbie
Approved for Summer 2005 in
5. Anthropology (Weinacht)
Changes to course entries in 2005-07 Bulletin
Approved
6. Anthropology (Weinacht)
Renumber ANT 352, Personality and Culture, to ANT 252
Not approved. Requires clarification
from the department.
7. Sociology (Prowse)
Changes to Sociology major requirements
Approved
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2004-2005
Committee Minutes
7th Meeting, November 3, 2004 – Approved November 10,
2004
Present: J. Lochhead
(chair), D. K. Gillespie (secretary), R. Cerrato, D. Prowse, T. Weinacht, C. Marrone, A. Phillips, L. Volpe,
Absent: C. Green-Forde, V.
Dumont
Guests: M. Aronoff, P.
Goldstein
I. Committee Business:
1. Review of the minutes from October 20, 2004 – The
minutes were approved
2. A correction to minutes of September 29, 2004:
Joseph McDonnell is “Associate Dean” not “Dean” of the
3. Deputy Provost Mark Aronoff
was invited to discuss the status and other topics regarding the Undergraduate
College Seminars (ITS 102, ACH 102, SSO 102, HDV 102, LDS 102 and GLS 102). Aronoff was accompanied by Perry Goldstein, Director of the
The Committee indicates that further discussion is
needed before moving forward on any of the following.
Several issues were discussed. Although the members of
the Committee agree with the general purpose of the seminars to enhance the
first-year student experience, continued discussion will be required on the
following topics, each of which was discussed:
(a.)
Assessment – per the discussion of the course proposal for the then-nascent
ACH and SAS 102 on October 16, 2003, the Committee requests sample syllabi of
the Seminars for assessment purposes. The Committee is interested in the success
of the seminars, but strives for consistency in the offerings. (note: “SAS” has since been changed to “SSO.”)
(b.) Academic content – Aronoff states the
seminars are not intended to be the central part of any curriculum and are not
academic in concept. They are intended to be interdisciplinary and similar to
the
(c.) Grading Basis – Several issues were raised regarding whether students should receive
letter grades or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory marks. The courses are set up in PeopleSoft as letter graded, but the minutes of October 16,
2003 indicate that the courses should be S/U graded. Aronoff
suggested ABC/U grading. Lochhead also asked about
the evaluation criteria for assigning letter grades. Gillespie recommended S/U grading
due to role of these courses in the curriculum. Phillips strongly agreed that
the courses should be S/U graded. The concern of
grade inflation across the curriculum was also briefly
discussed. The Committee will need continued discussion on this unresolved
topic.
(d.) Mandatory status – previously, discussion has arisen as to whether the
six 102 seminars should be mandatory for students. This raised the question
from Lochhead as to whether students would be able to
drop (withdraw) from the seminars as they are allowed to drop from other SBU
courses. There was also discussion as to how the mandatory status would be
enforced.
(e.) Repetition – the six 102 seminars should be exclusive. Students should only be
allowed to take one of the six courses for credit. Repetition should not be
allowed for credit.
(f.) Consistency – a primary concern of the Committee is to encourage consistency in the
content of the many sections of these seminars. Aronoff
contended that the courses were not conceived to have consistency in order to
allow flexibility for the faculty. Lochhead
verbalized her concern with diluting the curriculum as a whole, and other
members support the expectation that the courses should have certain parameters
and guidelines to ensure consistency.
(g.) Content – When
the Committee originally reviewed the course proposal for SSO 102 in October
2003, it was approved that films, videos and clips will not be used on a
regular basis. However, this topic will need further discussion. The content of
the seminars should be reviewed.
(h.) Purview – The
question of purview of these courses is of concern. Since the courses are
cross-campus in their enrollment interest, there was discussion as to whether
the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee or the Undergraduate Council should
have purview of the seminars. The Committee will require further discussion of
this topic, but all agreed that oversight of these seminars by a governing
entity is needed to maintain consistency.
(i.) UC San Diego – since the concept of the Undergraduate Colleges is
based on a similar program at UCSD, the Committee is interested in the
oversight structure at that university.
Such information could be useful in resolving the issues at hand. Aronoff will inquire.
II. Routine Administrative Matters:
1. None presented.
III. Old Business:
1. None presented.
IV. New Business:
1. Review of several proposed changes to the course
information in the upcoming publication of the 2005-07
Undergraduate Bulletin.
2. All other new business items were deferred to the
next meeting due to time constraint.