Academic Affairs and Curriculum Committee

Minutes of March 22, 2000

Members present: Larry Bergin, Barbara Boseker, Pauline Christensen, Karen Csajko, Helen Dachelet, Jeff Draskoci-Johnson, Ruth Forsythe, Kelly Herold, Drake Hokanson, Joe Jackson, Dan Kauffman, Win Lewis, Celeste Matthews, Peter Miene, Randy Miller, Lorene Olson, Robert Scheer, Greg Schmidt, Paul Schumacher, Ed Slowik, Ed Thompson

I.    Meeting was called to order at 3:45 p.m. by chair Kelly Herold.

II.    Kelly Herold asked a question of the committee: Does a proposal to drop a program have to go through the Course and Curriculum Subcommittee, etc. Answer: apparently yes. Kelly said he would so instruct the affected department.

III.    Some items on the agenda were reordered; the result was approved unanimously. (M/S Paul Schumacher/Barbara Boseker)

IV.    The minutes were approved without correction unanimously. (M/S Paul Schumacher/Drake Hokanson)

V.    Drake Hokansen reported for the Ad Hoc Committee on the TOEFL. The committee found no reason to raise the required minimum score above the current 500. But they make an observation: students coming to WSU via the Akita campus who have not received their AA degree make not be sufficiently fluent in spoken English to be successful in classes here; in the past this was not a problem because such a degree was required. They also made two suggestions: (1) WSU should work with the folks in Akita to ensure that students coming from there are adequately prepared in English; (2) everyone at WSU should be alert to help international students who might be struggling, for whatever reason, by directing them to the many existing sources of help.

VI.    There was a question on how to move on the TOEFL committee's report; the answer was that since the Senate had originally requested A2C2 to examine the question, A2C2 should forward the report to the Senate. The report was approved unanimously. (M/S Barbara Boesecker/Paul Schumacher)

VII.    Requests from Students for Course substitutions:

A) Derek Bernard -- Under semesters, a full year of calculus can be used for gen ed elective credits. These courses are referred to informally as "Calc I" and "Calc II". Under the quarter system, this same material was covered in "Calc I", "Calc II", and "Calc III". Derek took a full year of calculus under quarters; he asked to receive at least 8 gen ed credits for this year, rather than only 6 2/3 credits for "Calc I" and "Calc II". It was pointed out that if he were transferring in with exactly the same transcript, he certainly would receive such credit. It was also pointing out that he could probably ask for 10, not just 8, credits. The request was approved unanimously. (M/S Paul Schumacher/Jeff Draskoci-Johnson)

B) Andrea Thurston -- Andrea asked that PER 417 count as 3 credits in Different Cultures. The point was made that similar courses in the past had been approved for such credit. The question was raised, though, whether "different cultures" meant "non-Caucasian, non-English-speaking" cultures. The request was approved 13 to 4.

C) Matthew Barnard -- Matthew asked that a course in "American Folklore" from another college be approved for 3 credits in Different Cultures. Someone asked whether this meant "Native American Folklore"; the question could not be answered since Matthew was not present. A motion to DISAPPROVE passed with no negative votes and only one abstention. (M/S Dan Kauffman/Ed Thompson)

D) Rebecca Leung Wan-Yee -- Rebecca asked that a course in be approved for 2.66 credits in the Humanities. The point was made that this class would almost certainly be in the School of Business at WSU; and it was in the "Division of Business and Computers" at Hong Kong Adventist. A motion to DISAPPROVE passed unanimously. (M/S Ed Thompson/Dan Kauffman)

VIII.    Point of Information

Helen Dachelet reported that certain Sociology courses for Field Experience or Internship are currently distinguished only by section number. Sociology is renumbering them as separate courses to reduce confusion.

IX.    One new course, PER 144, Contemporary Activities, was approved unanimously.

X.    Report from the University Studies Subcommittee

A) Kerry Williams passed out the draft that the subcommittee approved. He indicated that the subcommittee would ask for approval at the April 5th meeting.

B) Kerry also mentioned that the USS would be asking for approval of certain recommendations, some of which are incorporated in the University Studies document.

(i) Upper division courses, even 400-level courses, and courses with prerequisites could count as gen ed under the new system. He indicated that NCA disliked gen ed programs that were grab bags of entry level courses. He also pointed out that certain of the new types of courses, like Science and Social Policy, might make more sense as a course with prerequisites.

(ii) The USS was recommending that the two-department rule be dropped. He indicated that this was to encourage more depth in gen ed; he also reported that certain research seems to indicate that students learn better from a two-course sequence than from two entry-level courses. This is another reason to permit courses with prerequisites to count as gen ed.

(iii) The USS seems to be moving towards recommending that courses be able to count simultaneously as fulfilling a requirement in the Unity and Diversity category AND in a students' major. This would tie majors more closely to gen ed, and might ease the pressure on high-credit majors.

(iv) The USS changed the math/logic" flag to a "math/stats or critical analysis" flag. It also moved the "Critical Analysis"course rom the Arts and Sciences Core to Unity and Diversity.

(v) The USS (with one dissent) would be asking that A2C2 NOT be allowed to override USS recommendations except by a 2/3 votes. Pro: this would give USS members more incentives to put in the long hours necessary to do the work. Con: The USS is not truly representative: 3 of te 8 members will always be from the College of Liberal Arts, as is the current chair.

C) Kelly asked that departments forward their comments on the draft plan by Tuesday, March 28th if possible.

D) Someone asked that the original charge to A2C2 re: the University Studies plan be made available. Kelly promised to do so.

XI.    Kelly reported that the committee on Policy 3-4 was not yet done, but were making progress.

XII. The meeting adjourned by acclamation at 4:38 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Jeff Draskoci-Johnson