2014-2015 Minutes

September 12, 2014

PRESENT (voting): Judy Brown (MIS), Lloyd Brooks ((FCBE), Sutton Flynt (CEHHS), Joanne Gikas (UNIV), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Wade Jackson (Faculty Senate), Eddie Jacobs (CPEN), Jill Oswaks (NURS), Radesh Palakurthi (HPRM), Sarah Potter (HIST), Helen Sable (PSYC), Laurie Snyder (CCFA), Sandy Utt (JOUR), Stan Walls (HSS),

PRESENT (ex officio): Dick Irwin (Academic Aff), Carl Chando (AAC), Dan Poje (Academic Aff), Cathy Serex (Academic Aff), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Melinda Jones (Honors), Bess Robinson (Libraries)

ABSENT: Barbara Taller (BIOL), Eric Link (A&S), Barbara Kyker (Recorder)

GUEST: Yolanda Mathews, Cecilia Olivares, Steve McKellips, Don Wagner, Bill Akey, Tracy Robinson

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Irwin at 1:03pm when a quorum was achieved.

Dick Irwin welcomed new and returning members. He said that the meetings are open to the public.

Academic Fresh Start: Cecilia Olivares explained the new TBR policy for students seeking to invoke Academic Fresh Start once they have been separated from all higher education institutions for at least 4 years and who are currently enrolled at the UofM.

Degree Pathways: Don Wagner has been charged with working with college and school deans to ensure that program requirements, courses and course prerequisites, and when, where and how courses are offered can accommodate students' timely program progression and completion.

Dual Enrollment: Bill Akey presented the 2006-2014 data about how many schools and students are involved in dual enrollment. The program has grown from 4 schools to 20 schools with just under 1,000 high school students enrolled in the dual enrollment classes.

Experiential Learning Credit (ELC)/Prior Learning Assessment (PLA): Tracy Robinson described the process that is available to students who may have experiences in the public sector that might transfer as experiential learning credit toward an academic program. Student can prepare a portfolio that is evaluated by faculty with the expertise and credentials in the field.

UUC Subcommittee for Additional Means of Earning Credit: Dick Irwin said that Bill Akey and Tracy Robinson will join the subcommittee.

ELC Courses: – Dick Irwin and Cathy Serex suggested that every program or subject area propose a lower division and an upper division experiential learning course, e.g., CJUS 2900 (1-30 hrs); 4900 (1-30 hrs) Experiential Learning Credit. ELC 2900 and ELC 4900 will be proposed as default courses, and managed by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

Default Internship Course: Dick Irwin will proposeNTRN 2900 and 4900 that will be managed by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Departments and programs who do not have an internship course can propose one.

Review of General Education Courses Based on TBR Learning Outcomes: In the spring, Dick Irwin will form a subcommittee to review these courses.

Tennessee Transfer Pathways (TTP): Dick Irwin said that a statewide committee was formed that includes faculty, advisors, etc. who will review the courses and programs for TTP.

Undergraduate Certificates: Dan Poje said that the 4-year institutions in TBR can offer undergraduate certificates. He explained that the proposal requires the same paperwork as a new concentration. The ug certificate will be assessed as other concentrations are, and they do not count in the funding model.

Upper Division/Lower Division Course Equivalency: There was much discussion regarding this issue. Dick Irwin said that if the content is the same, then the student should receive the upper division credit. Questions arose about faculty credentials at 2-year schools, 2-year schools teaching junior level courses, and TBR mandating that if the course is equivalent at the 4-year schools, then they must accept the credit from the 2-year school as upper division.

Reverse Transfer: Donna Van Canneyt and Yolanda Mathews stated that UofM students, if they complete A.S. or A.A. requirements here, may be granted that degree by a 2-year TBR institution. There will be software installed that will inform the 2-year school.

Transfer course GPA Policy Changes: Donna Van Canneyt said that students whose transfer credit is process summer 2015 and later will not receive quality points, but will receive earned hours. This change affects several policies that will now only look at UofM credit.

Academic Focus: Donna Van Canneyt explained that students will no longer be coded as "undecided." Instead they will be coded to one of 8 Academic Focus areas, e.g., Arts, Humanities, STEM, etc. All of these students will be coded to the new Academic Focus areas by the end of the fall 2014 term.

Meeting was adjourned at 3:31pm.

Respectfully submitted:

Cathy Serex

November 14, 2014

PRESENT (voting): Abby Parrill-Baker, proxy for Eric Link (A&S), Judy Brown (MIS), Lloyd Brooks (FCBE), Stan Walls (HSS), Sutton Flynt (CEHHS), Joanne Gikas (UNIV), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Dick Evans (Faculty Senate), Jill Oswaks (NURS), Sarah Potter (HIST), Helen Sable (PSYC), Barbara Taller, (BIOL), Laurie Snyder (CFA), Sandy Utt (JOUR)

PRESENT (ex officio): Dick Irwin (Academic Aff), Carl Chando (AAC), Melinda Jones (Honors), Dan Poje (Academic Aff), Cathy Serex (Academic Aff), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Bess Robinson (Libraries), Barbara Kyker (Recorder)

ABSENT: Eddie Jacobs (CPEN), Radesh Palakurthi (HPRM), Peggy Quinn (UNIV)

GUEST: Cathy Walker, Health and Sport Sciences

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Irwin at 1:00 pm when a quorum was achieved.

October 10 Minutes: Barbara Taller corrected her statement in the minutes, saying "our policy is already more lenient than many of our peers." Donna VanCanneyt corrected her statement, saying "going beyond this policy" would require approval from TBR. Motion to approve with corrections, Stan Walls; seconded by Laurie Snyder. Approved

Dick Irwin welcomed the committee and introduced Dick Evans, who will represent the Faculty Senate, replacing Wade Jackson.

Zero credit courses: Cathy Serex announced that the "zero credit proposal" will be coming in December. She had done an informal survey of our academic peers and found that none permits zero credit hours for ensembles. She further stated that by permitting zero credit courses, we are giving resources away and camouflaging their hours. Laurie Snyder said that students want something to show on their transcript for the work they put into the ensembles – some scholarships may require 2 or 3 ensembles in one semester. Also, this would only apply for students who are registered full time. Dr. Irwin said that the committee should refrain from looking at this as "a black or white issue." He would like for students enrolled in the College Re-Readiness Course to be loaded into Banner so that they receive regular communications from the university and the transition to college would be a natural one. Sandy Utt said that students who work for The Helmsman are paid; Jill Oswaks said that coursework for zero credit is not an option for Nursing students because none of their courses are electives. Stan Walls asked if "Audit" is a possibility, but Laurie said that it is not because the students would still have to pay for the course, and there is no grade attached to an audited course. There were many questions, so Laurie asked that questions be emailed to her so that she can forward them to Randal Rushing.

Repetition of courses: Cathy Serex said that, among our peers, no one has a more lenient policy concerning repeat courses than we do; MTSU's policy is the same as our current policy. Sandy Utt brought up the issue of Hope Scholarships and how many times a student is permitted to withdraw from a course. Cathy offered to check with Richard Ritzman about grades of "F" and "W" and how they affect scholarships and financial aid.

Tennessee Transfer Pathways: Dr. Irwin introduced Kathy Walker, Academic Services Coordinator, Health and Sport Sciences, who represented her department at the TTP meeting in Nashville – Sport & Leisure Management, Physical Education, Teacher Education, & Dietetics.

Sport & Leisure Meetings – Cathy reported that it was a productive meeting. The group easily came up with a 60 credit hour plan that seamlessly transfers to U of M.

Dietetics – She reported that this also was a productive meeting and it was easy to formulate a seamless transfer because of the heavy lower division science content.

Physical Education and Teacher Education – No two schools had the same major core requirements. The group had a hard time trying to come up with 19 hours beyond the 41 general education hours. They ultimately agreed upon courses that would not transfer to all schools. UM will have to make substitutions within our core program to accommodate the TTP students.

QEP Executive Summary: Dick Irwin gave a presentation on Academic Coaching, the SACS Quality Enhancement Plan. He reviewed the pilot, its purpose and findings, and implementation of the plan over the next three years. Academic coaching, he said, is not advising and it is not tutoring. He said that he would like to work towards connecting areas to work on psychosocial factors as well as academic issues. He requested feedback from the committee and its endorsement of the program. He further stated that we are accountable for measuring the outcomes of the program, and we will need to be able to show that this is sustainable for ten years. Sutton Flynt expressed his belief that this program could be used as a recruitment tool and the general public needs to be made aware of its availability. Joanne Gikas asked what might be considered "personal barriers to success." Several members cited instances where they have encountered students in need of food, clothes for interviews, or who are homeless. Dr. Irwin suggested that the Psychological Counseling Center might be a resource.

In closing, Cathy reminded the group that the faculty lists for the catalog are due, and due to a change in the number of characters allowed for course titles, there may be a few minor changes noted. She also said that curriculum revisions are due to her the Monday before Thanksgiving, and our next meeting will be Thursday, December 4.

Meeting was adjourned at 2:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted:

Barbara Kyker

December 4, 2014

PRESENT (voting): Eric Link (A&S), Judy Brown (MIS), Lloyd Brooks (FCBE), Stan Walls (HSS), Sutton Flynt (CEHHS), Joanne Gikas (UNIV), Deborah Hochstein (ENGR), Eddie Jacobs (CPEN), Dick Evans (Faculty Senate), Jill Oswaks (NURS), Radesh Palakurthi (HPRM) , Sarah Potter (HIST), Peggy Quinn (UNIV) Helen Sable (PSYC), Barbara Taller, (BIOL), Laurie Snyder (CFA), Sandy Utt (JOUR)

PRESENT (ex officio): Dick Irwin (Academic Aff), Carl Chando (AAC), Melinda Jones (Honors), Dan Poje (Academic Aff), Cathy Serex (Academic Aff), Bess Robinson (Libraries), Barbara Kyker (Recorder)

ABSENT: Dick Evans (Faculty Senate), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar),

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Irwin at 1:00 pm when a quorum was achieved.

November Minutes: Motion to approve, Eric Link; seconded by Sutton Flynt. Approved

Arts and Sciences: Eric Link said the college proposes to take out the C- statement for math courses, but Carl Chando felt that it should remain in order to cover other situations where a C grade is required. There was also discussion about using MATH 1420 combo as a prerequisite to MATH 1710 combo courses. Barbara Taller made the motion to table math, and Laurie Snyder seconded. Motion approved. Helen Sable moved and Radesh Palakurthi seconded the approval of all other courses, revisions and closeouts as proposed. Motion approved.

Business: Cathy Serex brought up the title for ECON 4560 "Controversial Topics in Econ" and felt that the title itself could be controversial. Eddie Jacobs said that he did not have a problem with the title, but the change was tabled.

Discussion followed about the course number change for Personal Financial Management, 2220 to 1220. Lloyd Brooks said that they are trying to capture students during their freshman year and that this course will eventually be proposed as a gen ed course.

Judy Brown made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed with exceptions noted, and Stan Walls seconded. Motion approved.

Communication and Fine Arts: Concerning the proposal to change ensembles to 0-1 credit hours, Peggy Quinn asked whether students could be given a certificate to recognize their participation in ensembles, but Laurie Snyder said that only students who are officially registered may participate. Questions followed concerning grading – a grade will show on the transcript, whether the classes will be permitted – yes, they will be, and what do other schools do – Cathy Serex said that none of our academic peers have zero credit hour courses. They are either .5 or 1 credit hour. Laurie next addressed the changes in Architecture and said that these changes are "clean up" from when Architecture was in Art. A new course, JOUR 1950, a "placeholder" for experiential learning credit has been proposed, and Sandy Utt said that this is the same syllabus that University College is using. Sutton Flynt felt strongly that there is a need for better policies and procedures and more checks and balances for experiential learning courses. However, Dr. Irwin stressed that this credit is for pre-enrollment experiences. Sandy Utt said that the sub-committee would like for every department to have one lower and one upper level course for experiential learning credit. Sandy Utt said that a new course, JOUR 1750, Precision Language, is required for the major, but an exception may be granted for those students having an ACT writing score of 29 or higher.

Laurie Snyder made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed, and Judy Brown seconded. Motion approved.

Education: Stan Walls reported to the council that Exercise and Sports Science would like to lower internship hours from 9 hours to 6 hours. Adding some pre- and co-requisites are also among the college's revisions. There was also discussion about students taking AP I & II; Stan and Cathy will look at that further. Stan also noted that Sport and Leisure Management will be moving to Hospitality and Resort Management.

Sutton Flynt made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed, and Helen Sable seconded. Motion approved.

Engineering: Debbie Hochstein discussed the sequencing of courses in her college and noted that ABET looks at recent grades and their sequence, and if any are out of order, it will be an issue for the college. She said that most of their revisions are pre-requisite changes. MECH 4397 practicum will be used as credit towards the degree. Barbara Taller had questions about BIOL 3730 and BIOM 3110. Debbie Hochstein will look into that. Eric Link made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed and Laurie Snyder seconded. Motion approved.

Nursing: Eddie Jacobs made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed and Sutton Flynt seconded. Motion approved.

University College: Eric Link made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed and Eddie Jacobs seconded. Motion approved.

Independent Programs: Dr. Irwin said, regarding new ELC course proposals, that this is an intentional move to detach campus-wide options from the University College. This includes academic internships and ELC, and where these fit into the degree program is up to each department. Eric Link said that there should be a review of the policies and procedures in order to nail down the roll of the faculty. Eddie Jacobs made the motion to approve the revisions as proposed and Sandy Utt seconded. Motion approved.

In closing, Cathy reminded the group that the next meeting will be Friday, January 23, and new and revised programs will be reviewed at that time.

Meeting was adjourned at 3 pm.

Respectfully submitted:

Barbara Kyker

January 23, 2015

ABSENT: Helen Sable (PSYC), Sandy Utt (JOUR)

GUESTS: Carol Danehower (MGMT)), David Houston (PSYC proxy for Helen Sable), Ron Spahr (FIR), PK Jain (FIR), Nancy Mardis (FIR),

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Irwin at 1:00 pm when a quorum was achieved.

Old Business

Ron Spahr, PK Jain, and Nancy Mardis proposed that FIR 1220, Personal Finance, be added as a general education social science. Dr. Spahr said that they will offer multiple sections of the course beginning in the Fall, 2015 semester, and it will be taught by full-time faculty. The course will not substitute for ECON 2010, Macroeconomics or ECON 2020, Microeconomics, but it may be used as an elective. Nancy Mardis indicated that she felt that Personal Finance might be better as a sophomore level course, and that while the textbook costs $275, there may be cheaper options.

December Minutes: Motion to approve, Walls; seconded by Snyder. Approved

Removal of C- for math courses: Eric Link said that the math department will continue using MATH 1420 combo course as a prerequisite to MATH 1710 combo courses, and the department also decided that the wording of "C-" for math courses is not redundant and will remain as is.

Motion to approve, Link; seconded by Quinn. Approved

BIOL 3730 and BIOM 3110: Issues have been ironed out and corrections will be made for Fall 2015.

FIR 1220 Gen Ed Proposal: Motion to approve, Brown; seconded by Houston.

Lloyd Brooks said that the FCBE supports the addition of this course to Gen Ed, but Barbara Taller voiced her concern that this is a 1000 level course, even though the instructor feels that it should be a 2000 level. Dick Evans said that by offering it at the 1000 level, anyone from freshman to senior can take the course. Sutton Flynt also voiced his support of the course.

Motion approved.

HPRM: Radesh proposed adding a minor in Hospitality. Due to the merge with Sport Management, there is an increased demand for this minor.

Motion to approve, Palakurthi; seconded by Quinn. Approved

ARTS & SCIENCES: Physics proposes to re-name their department – from Department of Physics to Department of Physics and Materials Science. A proposal was also submitted for a new concentration in Applied Physics.

Motion to approve, Link; seconded by Snyder. Approved

BUSINESS: Lloyd Brooks presented a proposal for a new concentration in Human Resources. This would include no new courses, but a "bundling" of current courses.

Motion to approve, Brooks; seconded by Brown. Approved

CCFA: Laurie Snyder presented 3 new concentrations in ARTH.

Motion to approve, Snyder; seconded by Houston. Approved

EDUCATION: Presented a proposal for a new certificate for Assistant Behavior Analyst and the addition of a secondary math concentration within the B.S.Ed.

Motion to approve, Flynt; seconded by Walls. Approved.

ENGINEERING: Debbie Hochstein presented revisions to requirements for majors.

Motion to approve, Hochstein; seconded by Jacobs. Approved.

UNIV: Joanne Gikas proposed three new concentrations and a name change from Paralegal to Legal Studies.

Motion to approve, Gikas; seconded by Brown. Approved.

NURSING: Jill Oswaks presented several revisions to courses and catalog changes.

Motion to approve, Oswaks; seconded by Jacobs. Approved.

Dr. Irwin recognized Cathy Serex for her 16 years of service to the University Undergraduate Council. The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 pm

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Kyker

February 13, 2015 - cancelled

By unanimous email affirmation, the following proposals were approved:

Re-activation of AUSP 4100
Name change of Manufacturing Technology to Manufacturing Technology Management – to differentiate this as a management course, not an engineering course.
New course – HCL 4605 – Internship in HCL
Name change from Management Information Systems to Business Information and Technology (approved by email vote in January.)

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Kyker

March 17, 2014 - UUC Planning Meeting

During this morning's UUC pre-planning meeting, the following was reviewed:

1) THEC Committee on Postsecondary Educational Institutions – New Programs (attached). Please review - a couple of these proposals such as Embry-Riddle's proposals seem to be in direct competition with UM.

2) On April 9, Cathy Brigham of the College Board will be on campus to discuss Advance Placement (AP) courses. In particular, Cathy will present on new AP courses (Capstone & Computer Science) and persistence and completion rates as well as alternative means of earning credit for AP students who do not score high enough on the AP exam to place out of one of our equivalency courses. In the afternoon, Liz McKenzie from EAB will discuss the re-designed SAT. Dr. Irwin would appreciate feedback on your interest in attending either or both of these sessions. Final schedule will be released in the next week or so.

3) The Vice Provost's office received a complaint this week from a student who missed an exam in a M50 class because it was scheduled during spring break. We have not been able to locate a policy which addresses this. The committee discussed the potential need for an appropriate policy.

4) Three proposals have been approved by TBR and those departments have been notified. There does not appear to be any "rhyme or reason" to when they are approved – it has been very random.

5) TBR has requested that institutions review possible curriculum software management programs. Karen Thurmond presented information she has gathered (attached) and the group's consensus was that this cannot happen quickly enough. The last page has links to some of the more popular programs, and UUC members are encouraged to check them out and respond to Karen's question – "What do we need the software to do?" Questions were asked - Does it integrate with UMdegree or the Schedule of Classes? Can it produce automatic action emails such as WorkForum? Your input and questions would be appreciated.

6) SACSCOC reviewers will be on campus March 24, 25, and 26. Please review your notes on the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which is focused on academic coaching for excellence (ACE). A few key points to share with reviewers you may meet with during their visit:

The QEP is designed to improve student success by pairing students, who may be at risk for non-retention, with a professionally trained academic coach selected from graduate students specializing in counseling-related fields and/or faculty and staff from across campus.

Three fundamental goals of the ACE program are:
(1) to help students develop a clear vision of their own goals and degree path;
(2) to assist students in developing skills related to academic success; and,
(3) to connect them to other resources and support personnel as needed.

These goals are realized through achievement of the following student learning outcomes:demonstrate an increase in academic self-efficacyidentify and describe appropriate campus resources for psychosocial and academic needs;demonstrate an ability to utilize technology tools for degree planning;identify a career goal and academic pathway to that goal;express a sense of connection and/or engagement to the institution;demonstrate adequate progress to degree completion.

The pilot program, conducted over the past 18 months involving selected groups of at-risk students (e.g. Academic Warning and low admission index), yielded in-semester academic performances equivalent to the broader student population (2.5 GPA). In some cases, previous academic term performances averaged GPA <1.0. These very promising results were achieved by students attending a majority of sessions (5 or more) with their assigned academic coach throughout the term.

The ACE program will continue to be managed within the Center for Academic Retention and Enrichment Services, under the management of Dr. Colton Cockrum.

Since there were no issues to be voted on, Dr. Irwin felt that Friday's UUC meeting was not necessary, so it has been cancelled.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Kyker

April 7, 2015

Demonstration of DIGARG Curriculum and Catalog Management Software