2011 Minutes
September 9, 2011
PRESENT (voting): Charles Camp (CIVL), Jasbir Dhaliwal (MIS), Gayle Shiba for Linda Finch (NURS), Sutton Flynt (COE), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Steven Knowlton (LIBR), Larry Pivnick (Faculty Senate), Susan Popham (ENGL), Laurie Snyder (CCFA), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Will Thompson (CAS), Sandra Utt (JOUR), Stan Walls (HSS).
PRESENT (ex officio): Shannon Blanton (VPUP, Chair), Courtney Brafford for Carl Chando (AAC), Melinda Jones (Honors), Tom Nenon (AIR), Dan Poje (AA), Cathy Serex (Curr), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Barbara Kyker (Recorder).
ABSENT: Broderick Nichols (UNIV).
GUESTS: Tammy McCoy (UM-Lambuth), Karen Thurmond (Center for Academic Transition), Richard Ritzman (Financial Aid).
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Blanton at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.
Dr. Blanton welcomed the council to the 2011-12 UUC and asked everyone to introduce themselves.
Karen Thurmond, Director of Academic Advising and Degree Planning, reviewed the "ripple effects" of curricular changes and the impact upon students and advisors, as well as university departments and colleges. Some of the benefits of UMDegree were noted. By allowing students to plan semesters ahead, departments will be made aware when there is a need for a course or section to be added (or cancelled) according to the actual needs of students. Students who are considering a change of major are able to compare what courses might or might not be applicable to another major. In general, UMDegree makes it possible for students and departments to be smarter about degree and curricular planning.
Several questions followed – Is this available for graduate students? Currently, no. When does it go live for students? September 15, 2011. What does the student who is undecided about his major see on UMDegree? Gen Ed requirements. Tom Nenon encouraged everyone to help students understand that their four year plan needs to be a realistic one.
There was some discussion about course equivalents. Karen said that if a course from another school is identified as an equivalent at UM, the Admissions office should be made aware so that it can be identified as such in Banner. Individual requests for substitutions will be handled through the "Petitions" form on UMDegree.
Richard Ritzman, Director of Student Financial Aid, discussed several recent changes which will affect students' financial aid. He covered changes to the way financial aid is now computed when a student does not drop courses in a timely manner, how repeats will be handled, the elimination of subsidized direct student loans for graduate students, and changes in the reporting of Standards of Academic Progress.
Dr. Blanton reminded the council that the University Undergraduate Council serves in an advisory role to the Provost and the President, so it is very important that council members distribute information to their colleagues, discuss the issues, and bring back that information to the council.
Followed was a review of the General Education Learning Outcomes for Writing, Communication and Math. It was Sutton Flynt's opinion that the English Department had done an excellent job with the Writing assessment, but he was concerned about the number of students assessed in Communications. He also expressed that there needed to be a clearer rubric. Sandy Utt wondered how the re-assessment was handled and what they were doing to "close the loop." It was also suggested that perhaps the writer does not have a clear understanding of how the assessment was conducted.
Regarding the assessment of MATH 1420, 1100, and 1710: Dr. Blanton said that last year only MATH 1530 was assessed, but TBR mandated that more assessment was needed, so this year three courses were included. Sutton Flynt said that he would have liked to see the outcomes broken down into the 3 courses, rather than being all grouped together.
Discussion continued regarding the Oral Communications general education assessment. Several questions were raised: how many students participated in the study; what was the rubric; what assessment categories were used; what are the actions for improvement based on the assessment?
Dan Poje and Cathy Serex will contact the Mathematics and Communication departments with these questions so that the reports can be revised before they are sent to TBR. Dan mentioned that TBR assessment of general education will soon include social science, natural science and humanities.
Dan Poje said that the university will have its 10-year SACS review in April 2015, and our self-study will be due to them by September 2014. Three areas to consider are program assessment, making improvements based on outcomes, and measuring improvements.
Jasbir Dhaliwal offered the following website as a resource for assessments, https://www.memphis.edu/fcbeassessment/ and also recommended Dr. Lloyd Brooks as a contact person. Confirming with Jasbir
Dr. Blanton then asked the Registrar, Donna VanCanneyt, to update the group on enrollment. Donna stated that as of that date, 22,866 students are enrolled in the fall 2011 term and we are up 291 students over last year. We are up 445 undergraduate students, and the graduate school is slightly down. Tom said that this is the result of, not only a larger freshman class, but also retaining more students.
Dr. Blanton said that, even though we were given the "go-head" only two weeks before classes were to begin, faculty and staff for the Lambuth campus have been hired, classes scheduled, and students enrolled. Currently, Undergraduate Programs is working with the Lambuth staff to implement cooperative efforts between that campus and our Honors program, advising, and Academic Status and Retention. Also, the Early Intervention program begins September 12, and Lambuth students will be included.
Cathy Serex announced that general education revisions – putting in or taking out – are due to her by October 7. For all other curricular changes, documents will be uploaded to UMDrive by October 28 and are due back to her by November 18. All changes will be reviewed at the December 9 UUC meeting. Cathy strongly encouraged departments to carefully review the catalog as soon as it becomes available. Discussion followed about pre- and co-requisites, and Donna said that if these are added, someone in the department needs to be available to issue permits, and Tom said to be sure that pre-reqs are actually needed before you add them.
Cathy Serex closed the meeting by announcing that there are 617 students enrolled in 25 Fresh Connections communities, and praised ACC, who puts about 75% of their students into communities. Correct.
The meeting was adjourned at 3pm and the committee will next meet on October 14.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Kyker
November 11, 2011
PRESENT (voting): Becky Bragdon for Jasbir Dhaliwal (MIS), Linda Finch (NURS), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Larry Pivnick (Faculty Senate), Susan Popham (ENGL), Helen Sable (PSYC), Laurie Snyder (CCFA), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Will Thompson (CAS), Sandra Utt (JOUR), Stan Walls (HSS)
PRESENT (ex officio): Shannon Blanton (VPUP, Chair), Carl Chando (AAC), Melinda Jones (Honors), Steven Knowlton (LIBR), Dan Poje (AA), Cathy Serex (Curr), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Barbara Kyker (Recorder)
ABSENT: Chuck Camp (CIVL), Jasbir Dhaliwal (MIS), Sutton Flynt (EDUC), Tom Nenon (AIR)
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Blanton at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.
Dr. Blanton introduced Dr. Helen Sable, assistant professor in the Psychology department and newest member of the UUC, to the council and asked everyone to introduce themselves.
The minutes were reviewed and Steve Knowlton asked that they be amended to indicate he is an ex officio member. A motion to approve the amended minutes was made by Will Thompson and seconded by Susan Popham.
Dr. Blanton read the admissions statement in the Undergraduate Catalog, which has been "tightened up" to indicate that students must now meet high school GPA and ACT readiness subscores in order to be guaranteed admission to the university. Those who do not meet these guidelines will be considered using the admissions index, which considers both the high school GPA and the ACT composite score.
Larry Pivnick questioned whether it is wise to exclude students below a certain range. Dr. Blanton explained that is the University's goal to recruit and retain the best students, and while not all students applying to the University will meet the criteria, they are certainly free to appeal that decision.
Dr. Finch asked whether the same criteria would be applied to international or ESL students, and was told that some students will also be required to take the TOEFL.
Stan Walls and Larry Pivnick asked whether athletes are held to these same admission guidelines, and Dr. Blanton replied that yes, they are, and a large percentage of our student athletes enter with high ACT scores and are very good students.
Additional discussion followed in response to Steve Knowlton's question about letters of recommendation, which are generally only requested when students file an appeal to their admission denial.
Next, Dr. Blanton announced that the university has been selected by THEC as a replication site for the Adaptive Advising Tool, which is another instrument to help students select courses which meet their strengths. More information will be forthcoming.
Dr. Blanton then said that a group of a dozen or so representatives from all the colleges were asked by the Provost to form a task force to review the additional or more stringent criteria used by some departments or programs for admission to or retention in their programs. Any requests for the imposition of such criteria must now include "data –driven justification and rationale for their recommendations." Also, units should review their current policy/requirements for progression through the major.
Discussion followed concerning specific courses, particularly in CCFA. Dr. Blanton asked that as departments consider appropriate criteria for entry into a particular course or program, they might consider – What has been tried? Could pre-reqs be used instead? Would a test such as ALEKS be appropriate? Could the course be re-designed? She then said that of course, the committee recognizes that there will always be some courses/programs for which entry requirements are entirely appropriate. She also said that the Gen Ed assessments from September have been sent to TBR, and we have heard nothing back from them, so everything seems to be okay.
This led into a discussion of the change to the way transfer courses are now being assigned. Beginning Spring 2012, whenever a student transfers in a lower division course and UM offers the same course at a level of 3000 or higher, the transcript will indicate the course as "unassigned lower division." An attribute will be included that indicates whether the course satisfies a prerequisite for UM courses.
In closing, Cathy Serex reminded the council that December 9 is the curriculum review meeting, and all members should plan to attend the entire meeting. Snacks will be provided.
Will Thompson asked that UMDrive be checked, because several people are having difficulty accessing the files and Dr. Serex agreed to check that.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Kyker
December 9, 2011
PRESENT (voting): Chuck Camp (CIVL), Jasbir Dhaliwal (MIS), Linda Finch (NURS), Sutton Flynt (EDUC), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Susan Popham (ENGL), Helen Sable (PSYC), Laurie Snyder (CCFA), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Will Thompson (CAS), Sandra Utt (JOUR), Stan Walls (HSS)
PRESENT (ex officio): Shannon Blanton (VPUP, Chair), Carl Chando (AAC), Melinda Jones (Honors), Dan Poje (AA), Cathy Serex (Curr), Glenn Munson, proxy for Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Barbara Kyker (Recorder)
ABSENT: Larry Pivnick (Faculty Senate), Steven Knowlton (LIBR)
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Blanton at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.
The minutes were reviewed and a motion to approve the minutes was made by Will Thompson and seconded by Sutton Flynt.
Curriculum Proposals:
Education: Sutton Flynt began the meeting with a review of the new 2.75 GPA requirement for students to be admitted to the Teacher Education Program. He said that all departments in his college have reviewed this new requirement and support it. He said that currently there are many students who will not qualify, but they have through the Summer 2012 semester to meet the standards.
During Stan Walls' review of Health and Sport Sciences, Barbara Taller noted that NUTR 4802 has a pre-req of CHEM 1131, which no longer exists. Approval for this course revision was therefore TABLED.
Dan Poje questioned why the major requires 79 hours. (Most academic majors are around 36 hours.) The response was that this was mandated by the "Race to the Top' initiative.
Several new courses were submitted to allow current Lambuth students to complete their degrees, and the continuance of these courses will depend upon the demand.
Jim Lukawitz moved that, other than the one item which was tabled, all proposals be approved, and Will Thompson seconded.
Arts and Sciences: Will Thompson said that, out of eighteen undergraduate programs in Arts and Sciences, 15 plus ROTC had revisions. Some were proposals for new courses, but most were just "clean up" of current courses, and a few where changes mandated by TBR dealing with the transfer agreements.
Additionally, CAS is eliminating the 42 hour limit in any one subject area, due in part to its effect on transfer students.
Shannon Blanton reminded the UUC that the Graduate Council would need to approve the accelerated B.S./M.S. program as well.
Laurie Snyder questioned why curriculum changes mandated by TBR need UUC approval, and Dr. Blanton replied that these changes were negotiated.
Carl Chando questioned the pre-reqs required for MATH 1100, specifically the requirement of two years of high school algebra. Dr. Blanton said that the ALEKS will continue to be used for math placement, and Cathy Serex added that pre-reqs are set in Banner.
A motion for approval for all proposals in CAS was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Broderick Nichols.
Business and Economics: Jasbir Dhaliwal announced that B.B.A requirements now permit students to complete either MATH 1530 or ISDS 2710, so enrollment in MATH 1530 may go from approximately 60 students per semester to 200-300 per semester.
A motion for approval for all proposals in FCBE was made by Broderick Nichols and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
Communication and Fine Arts: Laurie Snyder presented proposed changes to the Art Education concentration which were mandated by TBR as part of the Ready to Teach licensure issue.
Laurie Snyder then said that revisions to Music Education were in response to Ready to Teach while keeping the required hours to 120. The Dance concentration is being terminated, and a new Dance concentration is being proposed by University College. Additionally, a new concentration, Musical Theatre, is proposed.
A motion for approval for all proposals in CCFA was made by Jasbir Dhaliwal and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
Engineering: Shannon Blanton said that the laptop requirement for Engineering should be TABLED until the Executive Council meets and decides on the appropriate process. Other proposals included a new Honors program in Biomedical Engineering, a C- requirement in all MECH courses. Discussion followed concerning the number of years the catalog should indicate old course numbers in the description of the course. Will Thompson felt that listing the previous course "doesn't hurt anything," but Tom Nenon suggested that perhaps there should be further discussion of this issue. Sandy Utt said that she would check further with MECH, so EN-9 was TABLED.
A motion for approval for all proposals in ENGR, other than those which were tabled, was made by Will Thompson and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
University College: Broderick Nichols announced that he, Holly Lau, and Sutton Flynt had worked together for the new Dance concentration in UNIV. Laurie Snyder, Sandy Utt and others discussed differences between B.F.A. degrees and B.A. and B.S. degrees. Dr. Nichols also noted that UNIV 3565, Comparative Christianity, is no longer a Special Topics course and can therefore be added to TN eCampus (formerly RODP).
A motion for approval for all proposals in UNIV was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Will Thompson.
Nursing: Linda Finch reviewed Nursing's proposals for several new courses, including NURS 4326/6326, which was designed to give students a global perspective on nursing. Jim Lukawitz asked about Nursing's policy when a student passes a course, but fails the lab, and Dr. Finch replied that they are required to repeat both.
A motion for approval for all proposals in NURS was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Will Thompson.
Honors: Melinda Jones said that Honors cannot offer enough sections to meet the demand for UNHP 1101/1102, so they are proposing a one-credit-hour course, UNHP 1100. Additionally, they are proposing that the requirement to graduate with University Honors be raised to 25 credits. Barbara Taller asked if the wording could be simplified, and Dr. Jones said that she would work on that and send the revision out to all committee members for their approval. Since this was not an issue that needed to be tabled, a motion for approval for all proposals in Honors was made by Will Thompson and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
Dr. Blanton announced that the next UUC will take place on February 10, 2012. At 2:45 pm, the UUC was adjourned, following the motion by Jim Lukawitz and second by Will Thompson
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Kyker
March 18, 2011
PRESENT (voting): Jasbir Dhaliwal (MIS), Linda Finch (NURS), Sutton Flynt (COE), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Wade Jackson, (Faculty Senate), Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Jeffrey Marchetta (MECH), Susan Popham (ENGL), Robin Roach for Stan Walls (HSS), Laurie Snyder (CCFA), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Will Thompson (CAS),
PRESENT (ex officio): Carl Chando (AAC), Melinda Jones (Honors), Tom Nenon (AIR), Dan Poje (AA), Cathy Serex (Curr), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Barbara Kyker (Recorder).
ABSENT: Shannon Blanton (VPUP, Chair), Jeffrey Marchetta, (ENGR), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Sandy UTT (JOUR), Joe Ventimiglia (SOCI)
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Cathy Serex at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.
Approval February 11 minutes - moved by Jim Lukawitz, seconded by Laurie Snyder, and approved.
Dr. Will Thompson noted that at the last UUC, there was some concern about the wording of the BA/MA in Political Science. Will said that the issue was whether to go into great detail or just give the basic information and direct those who are interested to that department. The decision was made to go with the latter. The phrasing about "senior year," Will said, did not reflect the intent so that statement was deleted. Also, it was noted that students must apply for full admission to the graduate school. Susan Popham raised the question about those students who may not get admitted to the program, but Will said that since students have to have a 3.25, they will probably be good candidates for the program.
Sutton Flynt moved for approval and Jim Lukawitz seconded.
Followed was a discussion of the BA/BS degree issue in Earth Science. Several voiced concern about why the BS in Earth Science has been terminated. TBR terminated the BS in Earth Sciences because it was a low producing program. Currently there are 44 students seeking a BS in ESCI and 17 seeking a BA in Geography. Those BS/ESCI students will be allowed to complete their degree. The BA in Earth Sciences was reviewed. Sutton Flynt moved for approval and Jim Lukawitz seconded.
Dr. Linda Finch announced that there is a new version of the TEAS which is a harder test, but the required score has been lowered. The University will continue to accept the older scores as well as the new. Tom Nenon suggested that it would be a good idea to track those students who are being accepted using the new TEAS. The IELTS score for students for whom English is a second language is 5.
Jasbir Dhaliwal motioned for approval and Jim Lukawitz seconded.
In closing, Laurie Synder asked the group if they had noticed how out of date the articulation tables are, and many agreed that this is a problem. Dr. Nenon encouraged the group to bring corrections to the attention of the Admissions office.
The meeting adjourned at 1:55.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Kyker