Minutes for the April 30, 2015 UPCC Meeting
Members present: Neporcha T. Cone, Liza Davis, Ana Edwards, Andrew Green, Ana Guimaraes, Jeremy Gulley (proxy for Jerald Hendrix), Ken Hill, Melissa Kramschuster, Carolee Larsen, Lei Li, Pinder Naidu, Muhammad Obeidat, Gail Scott, Erin Sutherland (proxy for Mike Thackston), Linda Treiber, Jennifer Wade-Berg (UPCC Chair), Victor Wakeling
Guests: Al Eckford (Construction Management), Christian Hardigree (Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality), Richard Harker (History and Philosophy), Luminda Kulasiri (Physics), Chien-pin Li (College of Humanities and Social Sciences), Catherine Lewis (History and Philosophy), Khalil Siddiqi (Construction Management), John Carlyle Smith (Registrar’s Office), Chuck Wyan (History and Philosophy)
The meeting was called to order at 12:36 p.m.
Chair Jennifer Wade-Berg opened the meeting by thanking those UPCC members retiring from the committee for their service. She then reminded committee members that two representatives from each of the former SPSU’s colleges must be elected to the committee for the 2015-2016 academic year, and that elections for UPCC Chair and Secretary would be held during the first fall meeting.
Dr. Gail Scott than rose and asked that the minutes reflect the committee’s appreciation for Dr. Wade-Berg and Dr. Davis for their service to the committee over the 2014-2015 academic year.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
WELLSTAR COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality
Dr. Christian Hardigree, the Director of the School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality, came forward to present a “Change in Existing Course” proposal for CSH 4620 and a “New Course” proposal for CSH 4640. Since the change in CSH 4620 will have an impact on the CSH Program, Dr. Wade-Berg indicated that Dr. Hardigree would need to submit a “Change in Program” proposal as well, asking that she wait until August to enter the new proposal in Curriculog, for first reading at the first fall meeting. The Chair added, however, that the two course proposals could be immediately approved on second reading. Dr. Ana Guimaraes made a motion to approve, Dr. Carolee Larsen seconded, and the motion passed.
NEW BUSINESS
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
Department of Mathematics
Chair Wade-Berg announced that the “Change in Existing Course” proposal for MATH 3495 would be sent back to the proposal’s originators because it had not yet been approved by either the PTEU or the Dean of the Bagwell College of Education, Dr. Arlinda Eaton.
Department of Physics
Dr. Luminda Kulasiri came forward to explain the justification for the offering PHYS 3260, a new course in mathematical physics. Dr. Wade-Berg noted that the syllabus submitted with the course proposal would need updating to reflect the course pre-requisites and indicated that the course could not be offered until the spring of 2016. Hearing no further discussion, she called for a motion to approve PHYS 3260 on first reading. Dr. Jeremy Gulley made the motion, Professor Andrew Green seconded it, and the motion was approved. Dr. Judy Slater then made a motion to waive the second reading of the course proposal. Dr. Muhammad Obeidat seconded the motion, and it, too, was approved.
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Department of History and Philosophy
Dr. Chuck Wyan and Dr. Catherine Lewis came forward to present “New Course” proposals for HIST 3371 (“Modern Europe”) and HIST 4424 (“Museum Education”).
Dr. Wyan explained that KSU badly needed a survey of European history, which is currently taught as HIST 4490, a special topics course. He noted, too, that History Education majors wishing to take the course would first be required to pass the GATES exam.
Dr. Lewis, representing the HIST 4424 proposal’s originator, Dr. Jennifer Dickey, explained that the course was justified because it had been piloted so successfully by Professor Richard Harker, adding that it would be offered as a stand-alone elective in the History major.
Chair Wade-Berg noted that the syllabus for HIST 3371 would need updating to reflect several New KSU policies (e.g. the ADA classroom and enrollment management policies) and to include a list of the course pre-requisites, that a “Change in Program” proposal would need to be submitted for both courses in the fall. Hearing no further discussion, she called for a motion to approve the new course proposals. Dr. Linda Treiber made the motion, Dr. Judy slater seconded it, and the motion was approved.
Subsequently, Dr. Gail Scott made a motion to waive the proposal’s second reading. Dr. Muhammad Obeidat seconded the motion, and it was approved.
Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
Dr. Chien-pin Li came forward to present “New Course” proposals for LALS 3770, 3680, and 4490. Dr. Wade-Berg noted that a “Change in Program” proposal would also need to be submitted to show linkages with relevant minors, even though, as Dr. Li pointed out, the courses were not to be connected with a specific degree program. (Otherwise, the courses would need to be subbed in at the departmental level.) With no further discussion, she called for a motion to pass all three courses on first reading with necessary corrections in the syllabi. Dr. Guimaraes made the motion and Professor Green seconded. The motion passed.
Dr. Scott then made a motion to waive second reading. Professor Ken Hill seconded, and the motion passed.
COLLEGE OF THE ARTS
School of Art and Design
A full slate of “Change in Existing Course” proposals for lower-division and upper-division ART courses was next on the agenda, all submitted for the same purpose: to implement a change-in-credit-hour distribution designed to create consistency across the Bachelor of Fine Arts Studio Courses and ensure future re-accreditation. The proposed change would list each course with a credit-hour distribution of 2-4-3 (2 Class Hours 4 Laboratory Hours 3 Credit Hours).
Dr. Wade-Berg noted that each of the proposals would need to reflect the new language pertinent to learning support pre-requisites, and Professor Green questioned the title of ART 4022, “Introduction to Web Design,” which echoes that of a course offered by the IS Department. Chair Wade-Berg suggested that the committee go ahead and approve the course as part of the package, on the condition that she contact the department and ask that the title be changed to “Introduction to Web Design for Art Majors.”
Hearing no further discussion, the Chair called for a motion to approve the course package on first reading. Professor Hill made the motion, Dr. Pinder Naidu seconded, and the motion was approved.
Dr. Scott followed with a motion to waive second reading. Ms. Kramschuster seconded, and the motion passed.
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Dr. Al Eckford and Dr. Khalid Siddiqi stepped forward to present a “New Degree Program” proposal for a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, submitted to accommodate consolidation. Dr. Siddiqi explained that 90% of the courses have been offered since the program’s inception at SPSU. Associate Registrar John C. Smith asked about the number of course hours required for the degree, which Dr. Siddiqi identified as 129.
Dr. Wade-Berg then noted that some of the CM courses in the list had no accompanying syllabi, and that the degree program’s General Education requirements for Areas B and E would need to be revised to reflect the new General Education curriculum. She added that the Coles College of Business would need to review several courses that might overlap with its offerings, necessitating the addition of a special Business Content Review Form to each proposal. To expedite the program’s movement through the approval process, she suggested that the UPCC vote immediately on the first reading of the degree and course proposals. This vote would be followed by the vote on second reading through a special-call online meeting, within five days, giving the Coles College Dean the opportunity to review the curriculum.
Dr. Linda Treiber made a motion to approve the degree and course package proposals on first reading, with the caveat that they be reviewed by Dean Schwaig by the following Thursday. Dr. Scott seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:46 p.m.