Minutes
Curriculum Committee
February 25, 2003


Members: Gerald Adams, Diane Robertson, Andy Hamilton, Jerry Lalonde, Courtney Sloger. Guest: Marci Sortor

Agenda:

  1. The minutes from 02/11/03 were approved.
  2. BIO 300. A new course in biology was approved.
  3. The removal of 397, 399, 499 from advanced electives in the biological chemistry major was approved.
  4. The proposal for the cross-listing of BIO 365, 370, 380, and 385, CHM 330, and CHM 332 as biological chemistry was tabled until our next meeting.
  5. CSC 201. This new course in the computer science major was approved. This course will be a required course for the major.
  6. The elimination of MAT 321 as a default alternative for CSC 341 was approved.
  7. PHY 457, 310, 340, and 360. These are four new half courses (2 credits each) that will replace some of the special topics courses currently taught in the department were approved.
  8. MUS 111, 212, and 214. The music department has created three new one-credit courses covering aural skills. Two of these activities are currently part of other courses. Creating these courses will give aural training the attention and focus it needs. These courses were approved.
  9. MUS 250 was approved as being repeatable for credit once. The rationale for this proposal is that the course content does vary greatly from year to year.
  10. The committee approved three new courses in Russian (RUS 353, 248, and 247) and approved them to be cross-listed as GLS. [Department will drop RUS 361,351,265, and 243.]
  11. POL 355. The proposal for this course was tabled until the committee gets additional information regarding the course.
  12. GDS 346 and 347. Two new courses in the GDS concentration were approved as well as a small change in the requirements for the concentration.
  13. Limitation on the number of Directed MAPs in any given term/summer.
    An essential element of a Mentored Advanced Project is that it be intensively mentored. The level of mentoring, combined with the advanced quality of the research, distinguishes MAPs from other forms of Independent Study. Summer MAPs, the most intensively mentored of the MAPs, also draw especially heavily on the resources of the College. For these reasons, the Dean's Office proposes that a limit be set on the number of MAPs that can be directed by a faculty member in a single term.

    1. No more than 6 MAPs in a summer term or any term where a faculty member is teaching one or no courses.
    2. No more than 2 MAPs during a regular academic term when the faculty member is teaching two or more regular courses.
    3. No more than 3 MAPs during a regular academic term in which the faculty member is teaching two or more regular courses, and when the MAP students are pursuing a common project.


    The Dean introduced the following amendments to the original proposal:

    1. Faculty directors are limited to no more than six individual MAPs, or eight MAPs if the students are pursuing no more than three common (group) projects, during the summer or any term where the faculty member is teaching one or fewer courses. [This would replace #1 above.]

    4. A faculty member may not receive more than one course of teaching credit for MAPs in any semester or summer.

    The committee then recommended the following changes to this amendment:

    1. Faculty directors are limited to no more than six individual MAP students, or eight students if they are organized into no more than three common (group) projects, during the summer or any term where the faculty member is teaching one or fewer courses. [This would replace #1 above.]

    4. A faculty member may not receive more than one course of teaching credit for MAPs in any semester or summer.

Further discussion of the proposal and the amendments was tabled until our next meeting.

  1. The committee proposed that courses that have not been taught in the last 4 years should be automatically de-listed from the catalog. It was further decided that this proposal should be discussed at the next available meeting of the divisions before a final decision is made regarding this proposal.
  2. The committee also decided that the divisions and students should be surveyed regarding a proposal to shorten the add period to one week. This will also be discussed at the next available meeting of the divisions as well as the student curriculum committee.

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