Members: James Swartz (Chair), Gerald Adams, Pablo Silva, Bob Grey, Elizabeth Dobbs, and George Carroll (03-08).

1. The minutes from the 3/15/01 meeting were approved.

2. The committee approved the following statement on Independent Study to be placed in the college catalog.

The college encourages students to develop initiative and take responsibility for their own education through independent study. A course-related independent study option, referred to as the "Plus-2," permits students to choose an independent study component which adds two credits to a regular course. With the approval of the instructor, this option is available in most courses above the introductory (100) level. The "Plus-2" provides opportunities for more extensive work in some aspect of a course, for more extensive exploration of general literature of a course, for additional studio or laboratory activity, or for other corollary work.

Students may pursue independent study not related to a course in a Guided Reading (297), a part-time Internship (300), or an Independent Project (397). Some departments also offer Individual Reading (387) and Directed Summer Research (399).

General Regulations

A student may undertake independent study when he or she has satisfied the Tutorial requirement. Transfer students who have been exempted from the Tutorial may undertake independent study upon matriculation.

Second-semester first-year students and all second-year students who have satisfied the Tutorial requirement may take one "Plus-2" or an independent study course (297, 387 and 397) per semester. There is no limit for third and fourth year students.

No student may count more than 10 credits of independent study courses (297, 387, and 397) in any one department toward satisfaction of graduation requirements. No student may count more than 8 credits of internship toward satisfaction of graduation requirements. Credits earned through completion of "Plus-2" projects or Directed Summer Research (399) are not included in this 10-credit limit.

Students must have sufficient background in the area of study to be able to perform well while being reasonably independent. Nevertheless, the student is expected to work under the supervision of the faculty director throughout the semester.

Independent study may not be used as a substitute for a course regularly offered by the College even though the course is not offered every year.

Applications must be completed with the required project statement and with all faculty signatures before submission to the Registrar's Office. All applications are subject to the approval of the Associate Dean of the College.

Incomplete applications will be returned; the deadline for their resubmission is the same as the initial deadline for completed applications.

The S/D/F grading option is not available for independent study

General Procedures

A student submits an application for independent study to his/her adviser for approval, then to the proposed faculty director, who will decide whether to accept the application. The registration process is completed when an application is accepted by the faculty director and is approved by the Associate Dean of the College.

Applications for a Guided Reading (297) require a description of the topic accompanied by a bibliography. Arrangement for a Guided Reading project must be made before the work is done; credit is not given for reading done in the past

Applications for an Independent Project (397) or Directed Summer Research (399) require a thesis statement or equivalent, an outline of the project, and a bibliography.

Applications for Independent Study will be due the term prior to when the courses are to be taken. Applications for Summer Independent Study are due in early June. All applications for 297, 387, and 397 Independent Study courses for the following term will be due in the Registrar's Office two school days after the end of pre-registration for each term.

Group Projects

Any instructor may permit students to work or meet together if joint work will be advantageous to all the students. Applications for all students in a group project should be submitted together, with the student statement attached to each application.

297 Guided Reading (1 or 2) 2 credits
Evaluation of assimilation and understanding of the readings may be by means of papers, examinations, or several verbal conferences. Projects may, but need not, include some writing. Students are expected to meet once a week with the faculty director for discussion and analysis of the readings. Prerequisite: successful completion of tutorial or equivalent; proposals must be approved by the faculty director, faculty adviser, and the Associate Dean of the College.

300 Internships: Academic Year (see current catalog) 4 credits

300 Internships: Summer (see current catalog) 4 credits

387 Individual Reading (1 or 2) 2 or 4 credits
Supervised reading is designed to satisfy special needs and interests of majors or to correlate work in the language with major fields of other students. Individual Reading projects are only available in Chinese, French, Greek, and Latin. For more details see course descriptions in the individual departments. Prerequisite: same as 297.

397 Independent Projects (1 or 2) 2 or 4 credits
Independent projects are intended for selected students who are competent to participate in a program of study under minimal supervision. An Independent Project culminates in at least one product (a paper, laboratory report, work of art, etc.) which can be evaluated by persons other than the faculty director. Students are expected to meet at least once a week with the faculty director. Prerequisite: same as 297.

399 Directed Summer Research 2 or 4 credits
Directed Summer Research is intended for selected students who are competent to participate in an advanced research program. Summer research may be pursued in Grinnell or on a field excursion, always under the direct and continuous supervision of a Grinnell faculty member. Summer research will involve a search of the necessary literature, seminar or other formal discussion, and written reports, as well as laboratory or fieldwork. Offered summers only. Prerequisite: same as 297.

497 Thesis: Independent Major (1 or 2) 4 credits
See the Student Handbook for more details

3. The Committee discussed the categories and level of approval and came to agreement on the first five categories as recorded below.

Catalog changes: Condensed Categories and Levels of approval	Depart.  Approval	Division  Approval	CC  Approval	Faculty  Approval	CC  Discussion 04/10/2001
Adding a new major		Yes	Yes	Yes	Agree
Adding new courses/converting special topics to a regular offering	Yes	Yes-??	Yes		Agree
Changing the requirements for the major (affects another depart.)	Yes	Yes	Yes		Agree
Cross-listing of courses	Yes	Yes	Yes		Agree
Increasing/decreasing the credits for a course	Yes	Yes	Yes		Agree
Delisting courses	Yes	Yes
Deleting courses	Yes
Prerequisite: Dropped/Added/Modified within/outside department	Yes	Yes
Changing the frequency of a course offering	Yes	Yes
Changing the requirements for the major (only affects the depart.)	Yes
Course modification: No./Title/Description/Adding or Removing "plus-2"	Yes
Modification of introductory catalog material of a major	Yes
Moving courses within departmental categories	Yes
Designate a course as repeatable for credit	Yes

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