MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

University Committee on Undergraduate Education

MINUTES

Thursday, September 7, 2017

10:15 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.

Rm. 155 Administration Building

Attending:  Ewurama Appiagyei-Dankah, Rich Bellon, Joanna Bosse, Sekhar Chivukula, Andrew Corner, Jan Eberle, Waseem El-Rayes, Kathy Forrest, Sheng-Mei Ma, Richard Miksicek, Matt Pontifex, Katherine Ruger, Emily Tabuteau, Antoinette Tessmer, Janette Vani, Elizabeth Webster

Absent:  Giles Brereton, Marcos Caballero

Motion to Establish Taking of the Minutes passed unanimously;

The secretary for the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education shall attend Committee meetings and prepare minutes for review and approval by committee membership.  Meetings will be audio taped for purposes of verification of information when composing minutes.

The agenda was approved.

Welcome and Introductions

UCUE members introduced themselves and the college/unit they represent.

The minutes were approved for April 27, 2017.

Comments from the Chairperson

Chairperson Miksicek introduced Associate Provost Sekhar Chivukula and Assistant UCUE Chairperson, Dr. Matt Pontifex.  He stated that Emily Tabuteau is UCUE’s representative on the Military Education Advisory Committee (MEAC) and Andrew Corner is UCUE’S representative on the Athletic Council. 

Chairperson Miksicek discussed UCUE’s Operating Procedures and referred UCUE members to the following handouts:

• Handout A:  MSU’s Bylaws for Academic Governance; Chairperson Miksicek discussed the delegated, advisory, and shared authority that UCUE has for particular matters related to undergraduate education. 

• Handout B:  Parliamentary Procedure Online:  ParliPro.org; Robert’s Rules Online; and Resource Information on Parliamentary Procedure and Robert’s Rules of Order from MSU’s Office of the Secretary for Academic Governance

   

  The following motion for voting via email passed unanimously.

  The committee agrees to allow the chairperson the flexibility to craft final language for motions and documents and to take votes by email on issues already discussed with the provision that if any one member objects, the issue will return to the agenda at the next meeting.  A quorum [of voting committee members] is required for the vote to be valid.

   

  The following motion for additional meetings passed unanimously.

  The committee agrees to allow the chairperson the authority and autonomy to call additional meetings.

   

  The following motion for procedure for granting and removing voice for visitors passed unanimously.

  The committee agrees to allow the chairperson to grant and remove voice for visitors to UCUE meetings without a formal committee vote.

   

  Chairperson Miksicek referred UCUE members to Handout C:  UCUE Procedure Regarding Public Comment.

   

  The following motion for public comment procedure passed unanimously.

  The University Committee on Undergraduate Education will continue to use the Procedure Regarding Public Comment as approved by UCAP on November 19, 2009, to guide public comment in UCUE meetings 2017-18.

   

  The following motion for UCUE Member Substitutes – Voting Rights passed unanimously.

  Member substitutes-i.e., members of faculty or students who are a part of the same constituency as the elected member-shall be allowed the same voting rights as the committee members at that meeting.  Constituencies will determine how committee substitutes are chosen.

   

Chairperson Miksicek stated that UCUE will be reviewing platforms that offer a system for student evaluation of teaching (SET) and mid semester feedback. A subcommittee will be formed this academic year with representation from other standing committees and stakeholders to review possible survey instruments and platforms, including the possible use of Qualtrix or other in-house solutions, or external vendors.  Chairperson Miksicek noted that there are important differences between student evaluation of teaching, evaluation of student learning, and evaluation of teaching quality, but they can be thought of as a three-legged stool that share many of the same methods and goals, but have different target audiences and purposes. Mid-semester feedback is a fourth form of student-derived teaching assessment with overlapping methods and goals, although it is strictly formative in intent. ASMSU has been advocating for wider adoption of mid-semester evaluation, with the purpose that professors would collect student input to modify their teaching mid semester to improve student learning.

Chairperson Miksicek stated that SIRS forms are widely used by departments to evaluate the quality of teaching as well as determining promotion and tenure, despite recognition that they suffer from intrinsic biases and other limitations. It was stated that female professors are evaluated more harshly than male professors. The University Committee on Faculty Affairs (UCFA) is concerned about over reliance on SIRS forms and how this can negatively affect promotion and tenure of female and minority faculty. UCUE has been charged by the University Steering Committee to report back at its October 2 meeting on concerns voiced by UCFA and potential actions that could be taken to improve the validity and use of student evaluation of teaching.  The next UCUE meeting will be devoted to discussion of this topic.

Comments from the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education

Associate Provost Chivukula thanked UCUE members for their time, effort, and willingness to serve on the committee.

Request for a New Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Laboratory Science (Action Item)

John Gerlach, Director, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

Kathy Hoag, Associate Professor, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

Mariane Wolfe, Specialist, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

The committee granted voice to Dr. Kathy Hoag, Mariane Wolfe, and Dr. John Gerlach.

Dr. Hoag provided background on the program stating the proposed Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science is a revised and updated version of the Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) degree program.  The degree name is being changed from CLS to Medical Laboratory Science because of the name change by the profession in 2009.  The CLS major was 136 credits; the new Medical Laboratory Science degree will be 134 credits.  Laboratories have been added to certain core areas and the clinical practicum has been revised.  It was stated that an independent study could be used to cover courses that will no longer be offered by the Dept. of Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics for students who are grand-fathered in the CLS program.

Voice was removed from Dr. Kathy Hoag, Mariane Wolfe, and Dr. John Gerlach.

The following motion passed unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and endorsed the request for a New Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Laboratory Science.

Request for a Moratorium on Admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (Action Item)

John Gerlach, Director, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

Kathy Hoag, Associate Professor, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

Mariane Wolfe, Specialist, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

The committee granted voice to Dr. Kathy Hoag, Mariane Wolfe, and Dr. John Gerlach.

Dr. Hoag and Ms. Wolfe stated this moratorium is being requested since this program is being replaced by the Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Laboratory Science.  The moratorium will prevent students from enrolling in the Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS) program while allowing existing students to complete their CLS degree.

Voice was removed from Dr. Kathy Hoag, Mariane Wolfe, and Dr. John Gerlach.

The following motion passed unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and endorsed the request for a moratorium on admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences.

Request for an Extension on the Moratorium on Admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Computational Chemistry (Action Item)

Gary Blanchard, Associate Chair, Chemistry

The committee granted voice to Chairperson Blanchard.

A discussion was held about the potential for a new and revised computational chemistry program to eventually be developed.  It became clear that any new proposed program would be significantly different than the one currently under moratorium.  Given that any new proposed program would be very different, and would need to be approved separately, the committee questioned why the third extension of this moratorium was appropriate.

The request was tabled to request additional information to determine the most efficient way to move forward.  

Voice was removed from Chairperson Blanchard.

The following motion passed unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education agreed to table the request for an extension on the moratorium on admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Computational Chemistry.

Note:  After the UCUE meeting, the Request for an Extension on the Moratorium on admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Computational Chemistry in the College of Natural Science was withdrawn.  UCUE will await paperwork requesting a discontinuance of the BS in Computational Chemistry.

Request for a Moratorium on Admission to the Minor in Creative Writing (Action Item)

Cara Cilano, Chair, English Department, College of Arts & Letters

The committee granted voice to Chairperson Cilano.

Chairperson Cilano stated that this minor was approved before she began the position of the English Chairperson and she is requesting time to explore curricular development and collaboration with other departments.  This is complicated by the fact that there are over 500 majors within the English Department. There were numerous acting Chairpersons over the last four years and crucial departmental and curricular elements were not put into place. 

Voice was removed from Chairperson Cilano.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and endorsed the request for a moratorium on admission to the Minor in Creative Writing with a recommendation to extend the effective end term to Summer, 2019.

Request for a Moratorium on Admission to the English Disciplinary Teaching Minor Available for Elementary Certification (Action Item)

Cara Cilano, Chair, English Department, College of Arts & Letters

The committee granted voice to Chairperson Cilano.

Chairperson Cilano stated this request for a moratorium is to maintain compliance with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).  The MDE removed English as an option for a teaching minor for Elementary Education program candidates.    

Voice was removed from Chairperson Cilano.

The following motion passed unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and endorsed the moratorium on admission to the English Disciplinary Teaching Minor Available for Elementary Certification.

Roundtable

Associate Provost Chivukula reminded UCUE members that TurnItIn is a cloud based service that allows students to submit writing assignments to check for plagiarism and correct the work, if necessary before handing in their final assignment. The intent was for students to revise their work if any plagiarism activity was highlighted.  Some faculty are misusing the program and issuing an Academic Dishonesty Report (ADR) if TurnItIn finds any use of plagiarism.  MSU’s contract with TurnItIn is expiring so the University can either renew, or seek out a different program. 

Associate Provost Chivukula informed UCUE members about new programs to focus on student success more broadly, addressing graduation gaps, and programs to help students persist.

1. Curriculum and instruction:  The Math department has made substantial changes to the elementary mathematics curriculum.  MSU moved from an algebra based mathematics exit requirement to a quantitative literacy requirement.  The next step will be to eliminate MTH 1825, which was previously called developmental mathematics. 

2. There are currently Centers for Integrative Studies in the Colleges of Arts & Humanities, Social Science, and General Studies in Science.  They integrate across each of these three fields however not necessarily across multiple fields.  Courses have been coded, I = International, N = National, and D = dual (international and national).  The Centers for Integrative Studies are creating rubrics and may present to UCUE at a future date.

3. Go Green Go 15 campaign is aimed at credit momentum that in order to graduate in four years, students should take 30 credits each year.  Staffing and scheduling is challenging, however trying to get more courses scheduled outside of the 10:00 am – 3:00 pm window.  Working with departments to submit four-year curriculum plans to be put online for student use.

    

   Andrew Corner stated that the Athletic Council met on 8/24/17 and encouraged members to visit the new 1855 Building across from the Breslin Center.

    

   Ewurama Appiagyei-Dankah stated ASMSU is partnering with the IT Hub and doing research on curriculum choices, online course materials, and how faculty choose their text books.

    

   Respectfully submitted by Lynne Frechen.