Arts and Science Senate
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Minutes
16th meeting, Feb 15, 2006 –
Approved Feb 22, 2006
Present:
Ellen Lindquist, Robert Cerrato, Leslie Volpe, Sarah Sternglanz
(guest), Kathleen Flynn (guest)
Absent: Claire Green-Ford, Vanessa
Dumont, Roy Lacey, Stephanie Dinkins, Catherine Marrone, Arlene Feldman
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from Feb 8,
2006 – approved
II. Routine Administrative Matters
1. History
add recitations to HIS 262 – modify
contact hrs for lecture to 2.0 and 1.0 for recitation
III. Old Business
1. Journalism
The committee requests revised
versions of the Bulletin entry and the sample course sequence. These updated materials would be especially
useful while reviewing the remaining course proposals. (To date, the committee
has reviewed five of sixteen received proposals.)
New Course Proposals
General Issues gleaned from preliminary
and formal reviews
● Prerequisites – different
prerequisites for majors and minors
● Non-standard contact hours –
need to fit courses within regular scheduling vectors and meet contact hr
requirements for labs, film, etc
● Non-standard reading materials:
web addresses?
● Length and frequency of
written work
● Consistency of information
between syllabus and course proposal documents
● Faculty availability to
teach courses
● Content – generally too much
content for 15 wk period
● Syllabi and course proposals
should provide indication of length (number of pages or word count) for writing
assignments
● computer
usage (question 11): will students be required to have their own computer, or
is sufficient access to computers available through university SINC sites?
● video/film use:
approximately how much time and for how many class meetings will video examples
of broadcast journalism be shown? The committee assumes only clips will be
shown; please confirm
Committee Reviews from Feb 15, 2006
(JRN 101, 102, 301)
JRN 101-B Media Literacy
● Estimated
enrollment: the committee assumes anticipated enrollment of 35 is per section
if multiple sections are to be offered
● assignments:
please indicate expected length (number of pages or word count) for each
writing assignment
● video/film use:
approximately how much time and for how many class meetings will video examples
of broadcast journalism be shown? The committee assumes only clips will be
shown; please confirm
● DEC B: The committee recommends
that this course could be proposed to SUNY as a DEC CAS Curriculum Committee
Agenda Feb 15, 2006, p 2
B (Humanities)
course. However,
a strong argument needs to made, as the content and reading material (web, TV,
news) of this course is dissimilar to other DEC B courses whose content is
focused on literature, poetry, plays, and philosophy. Please work with
Gillespie to draft a proposal to SUNY for DEC B.
JRN 102 Colloquium
on the News
● It
is unclear where the JRN 102 would fit into the Sample Course Sequence without
increasing the credit load beyond the proposed amount.
● The
committee agrees that the content of JRN 102 could be best delivered not as a
separate course, but as a required assignment to another course. For example,
in intro music courses (MUS 101 and MUS 119) the syllabus mandates students to
attend several live concerts and to submit writing assignments based on their
experience. Therefore, the committee recommends repackaging the content of JRN
102 into five three-hour seminars (instead of fifteen one-hour
lecture/recitations) and adding it as a requirement of JRN 1xx. This should be
accomplished
without increasing the credit load of the
JRN 1xx course.
● recommended texts: although
web sites are appropriate for reading material, websites are generally not
stable. Are there published texts that would be appropriate for the focus of
the course?
● computer
usage (question 11): will students be required to have their own computer, or
is sufficient access to computers available through university SINC sites?
JRN 301 Journalism
24/7
● question
2: revise course bulletin description: delete first sentence
● question
3: Please indicate whether the listed courses are pre- or co-requisites. Also
note that Prerequisites on the course syllabus lists only JRN 101, however, 108
and 110 are listed on the course proposal. Please clarify.
● question
10: video/film use: approximately how much time and for how many class meetings
will video examples of broadcast journalism be shown? The committee assumes
only clips will be shown; please confirm
● question
11: computer usage (question 11): will students be required to have their own
computer, or is sufficient access to computers available through university
SINC sites?
● question
13: please provide a response to question 13
● question
14: Please provide percentages of grading calculations as indicated on the
syllabus
IV. New Business
1. none
________________________________________________________________________________
Arts and Science Senate
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2005 - 2006
Minutes
15th meeting, Feb 8, 2006 – Approved
Feb 15, 2006
Present:
Thomas Weinacht,
Stephanie Dinkins, Ellen Lindquist, Roy Lacey, Robert
Cerrato, Catherine Marrone,
Sarah
Sternglanz (guest), Kathleen Flynn (guest),
Howard Schneider (guest)
Absent: Claire Green-Ford, Vanessa
Dumont, Leslie Volpe
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from Feb 1,
2006 – approved
II. Routine Administrative Matters
1. none
III. Old Business
1. Journalism
The committee was pleased to welcome
Howard Schneider to the meeting to discuss the proposed GPA graduation
requirement and the proposed credit load
(a) Tomes reports that she and
Gillespie met with Schneider and Maria Doelger on Feb
2. Doelger relayed news that, given the
circumstances, the state only requires that the program receive provisional
approval with course for the first two years of study, plus a list of other
planned courses. Therefore, the committee will work to review the 16 course
proposals received thus far plus course descriptions of the remaining courses,
the proposed Bulletin entry and the proposed course sequence.
(b) credit
load of major
The committee is inclined to support
the proposed credit load of 127 credits given precedents such as the Major in
Chemistry, the Major in Biology and other science majors. However, the
committee stipulates that the credit requirements for the Major in Journalism
may not rise above 127 in the future.
(c) GPA graduation requirement.
Based on existing policy held by the
Arts and Sciences Senate, the committee is inclined not to support the proposed
requirement that students satisfy a GPA of 2.5 in major’s required courses to
graduate. The members encouraged Schneider that he could appeal directly to the
A/S Senate for review. Additionally, the committee has the following reasons
for not supporting this aspect of the proposal.
(1) To maintain similar standards
across campus: no other undergraduate major at Stony Brook University –
including those majors in CEAS and MSRC that lead to certification – has a GPA
requirement specifically for graduation higher than 2.0.
(2) To discourage grading inflation:
Instructors will be inclined to give higher grades so that students may
graduate. Instead, the committee recommends stricter grading in the major’s
required courses to target the 2.0 GPA rather than 2.5.
(3) Exit policy: although Schneider indicates
a strong plan for academic advisement and an appeal process for students, the
committee is concerned with what will happen to students who reach the end of
the program who do not satisfy the GPA graduation requirement.
(4) The committee views a raised GPA
standard as an artificial and arbitrary means to raise student preparedness.
The same goal (to ensure that graduates of the Major in Journalism will have
the best chance for professional success) can be achieved by different means.
For example:
● apply strict grading
● yearly
exams: a yearly review of a portfolio or qualifying examination. For example,
in the Major in Music, performers are required to perform satisfactorily in
front of a faculty jury each term as part of MUS 161 or MUS 187. Such a review
serves as a chance for students and faculty to monitor student preparedness and
progress through the program.
● In support of the proposed
requirement that students satisfy a GPA of 2.5 in major’s required courses to
graduate, Schneider indicated an attractive plan for “early and often” academic
advisement. Despite the committee’s disinclination to support the minimum GPA
requirement as proposed, the members encourage Schneider that “early and often”
academic advisement may be the best practice – along with strict grading and
yearly exams – to ensure that graduates of the Major in Journalism will have
the best chance for professional success
(d) New Course Proposals
JRN 331 Specialized Beat reporting
(Government) – approved
JRN 320 The
Promise and Perils of Online Journalism – pending
(a) prerequisites:
The proposed prerequisites will lead to enrollment of students with two levels
of preparedness based on whether a student is a JRN major or a JRN minor. The
prerequisites should be the same for both groups. Therefore, the committee
suggests “Prerequisites: JRN 110 and permission of instructor; advisory
prerequisite: JRN 210.” [As a general note, Gillespie indicates that if
permission of the instructor is required, all course prerequisites default to “advisory”
prerequisites since instructor permission trumps course prerequisites in the
student enrollment system.]
(b) contact
hours: The contact hours of the lecture and lab should be adjusted. The
committee notes that students could benefit from more lab time and less lecture
time. The committee recommends that the contact hours for the three-credit
course be divided into two hours of lecture (equivalent to two contact hrs) and
three hours of laboratory (equivalent to one contact hour).
(c) content:
The committee agrees that proposed course may cover more material than is
possible in a 15 week period.
IV. New Business
1. none
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Arts and Science Senate
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2005 - 2006
Minutes
14th meeting, Feb 1, 2006 – Approved
Feb 8, 2006
Present:
Thomas Weinacht,
Stephanie Dinkins, Ellen Lindquist, Leslie Volpe, Roy
Lacey, Kathleen Flynn (guest), Sarah
Sternglanz (guest)
Absent: Claire Green-Ford, Vanessa
Dumont, Robert Cerrato, Catherine Marrone
(attending department review)
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from Jan
25, 2006 – approved
II. Routine Administrative Matters
1. none
III. Old Business
1. Journalism
(a) Memo from Peter Manning re:
signing of proposals
the committee agrees that it is
appropriate for Schneider to sign the proposals given his current
and likely future relationship with the
program
(b) Memo from Schneider Jan 30
(i) 3-hr
course scheduling – the committee pointed out that scheduling in 3-hr blocks
are problematic and will become more of a problem as enrollment grows at Stony
Brook. It is much more difficult to schedule 3-hr courses in terms of finding
space to teach, and for course availability for
students. For example, 3-hr courses are difficult for students to enroll in
since most other courses fit the standard meeting patterns. Please refer to the
Course scheduling policy at the following link.
http://www.stonybrook.edu/registrar/forms/CourseSchedPolicyJan04.pdf
(ii) course
syllabi – based on standard procedure, the committee requests complete syllabi
and course proposals for all courses, however, there may be some flexibility
due to the circumstances. Gillespie will research.
(c) Implicit requirements for major:
the committee notes that there is at least one implicit requirement for some
students in the major. For those students who want to take JRN 333, they must
complete ECO 108 as a prerequisite, and therefore it becomes a requirement for
the major. Since ECO 108 is already a very popular course that is difficult for
students to enroll, the proposed perquisite may pose as a bottleneck unless
they plan early. The committee also
notes that several courses have advisory
prerequisites, although these are less problematic.
(d) Changes to the minor:
(i) the committee notes that the minor will change significantly
from its present state. Please forward a memo describing the changes and the
rationale for the changes.
(ii) the
committee notes that several courses in the existing JRN minor do not appear in
the new major. Will these courses be discontinued (eg,
JRN 287)?
(f) Grammar immersion – the committee
recommends including a brief explanation of this “gateway” in the bulletin
entry
(g) Bulletin entry – As a means of
suggestion, the committee took the liberty of revising the bulletin entry.
Several items where changed as a mechanism to solicit response from the
original author. Specific changes include
(i) removal of GPA standards
(ii) reformatting
/ order of info (eg., move minor in Journalism to the
end)
(h) Sample Course Sequence (SCS):
(i) courses that appear on the SCS but have not been proposed:
330, 340
(ii) courses
that have been proposed but are not on the SCS:
102, 337
(iii) courses
that have are in the major requirements but not on the SCS and have not been
proposed:
410, 411, 488
(iv) JRN courses that are active in
the current bulletin (for the JRN minor) but not listed as major or minor
requirements: 287, 288, 387, 389, 390, 394, 395, 490
IV. New Business
1. none
____________________________________________________________________________________
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Academic Year 2005 - 2006
Minutes
13th meeting, Jan 25, 2006 –
Approved Feb. 1, 2006
Present:
Lacey
Absent: Claire Green-Ford, Vanessa
Dumont
I. Committee Business
1. Review of the minutes from 13
Dec, 2005
2. Gen Ed – proposals sent on
12/22/2005. Response pending.
3. Request from Joe Auner for representatives on four Department reviews in
Spring 2006: SPD:Weds. Feb.
22, 9:15-10:10 Judy Lochhead
Applied Math: Tuesday March 7,
9:15-10:10 Robert Cerrato
Mathematics and IMS: Wednesday March
15, 9:15-10:10 Stephanie Dinkins
Physics and Astronomy and YITP:
Tuesday April 4, 9:15-10-10 Catherine Marrone
II. Routine Administrative Matters
1. BIO 316 (Req. group# 1567) – add
“…or CHE 326”
Current “Prerequisites: BIO 202 and
203; Pre- or Corequisite: CHE 322.
Change to “Prerequisites: BIO 202
and 203; Pre- or Corequisite: CHE 322 or 326”
III. Old Business
1. Journalism
Continued discussion from Dec 13,
with additional materials as follows:
● response
to minutes of Dec 13, 2006 and
● addendum
to response to Dec 13, 2006 minutes
● continued presentation of
materials from Dec 13
● Grammar Immersion
● a
Concentration Proposal for Journalism
● revised Bulletin Entry and
sample course sequence, rev 23 Jan 2006
The committee’s discussion resulted
in the following observations:
(a) GPA requirements: Based on
policies set forth by the Arts and Sciences Senate, the committee
cannot approve the proposed GPA
requirements in (i) the acceptance requirements and
(ii) the
requirements for the major. Even though the JRN
major will likely stand outside of the
The committee noted that the author
of the Journalism proposal could petition directly to the A/S Senate to ask for
exceptions to A/S policy. [Note – previous correspondence regarding the GPA
requirements in the teacher ed programs: these are
requirements that students must meet for state certification, not for
graduation, and therefore do not apply here.]
(b) Alternate to GPA requirements: instead of
acceptance and graduation policies, the committee
recommends enforcing strict course
prerequisites and grading standards to screen students. This has good precedent
in several A/S programs.
(c) Bulletin entry: the committee
recommends meeting with the new committee chair, Nancy Tomes, in order to
expedite the proposal. In addition, the committee recommends that the chair and
the secretary reformat the proposed Bulletin entry.
(d) 128 credit load: The committee
still thinks this is too high and that the required credits can be reduced to
122 or 125 without necessarily reducing the quality of the program.
(e) Grammar immersion: a clear
mechanism needs to be established to enforce the consequence of
unsatisfactory work during the 6-week grammar
immersion segment of JRN 110. The committee will continue discussion on this
topic at the next meeting.
(f) The committee has set a
IV. New Business
1. None