UCAP Meeting of 11/09/2000
2000-2001
agenda status: approved
Agenda:
University Committee on Academic Policy
Meeting of Thursday, November 9, 2000
10:15 a.m., Board Room, Administration Building
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval of Minutes of the October 26, 2000 meeting .... (No quorum, see Nov. 30 meeting)
3. Comments from the Chairperson
4. Comments from the Assistant Provost
5. SPES: Format and Final Version of Questions
6. Proposal for a “Scholars Program” Ron Fisher
7. Issues Regarding Modes of Evaluating Teaching
8. Administration of Final Exams Outside of Finals Week
9. Roundtable
Attachment: October 26, 2000 Draft Minutes
Please phone or E-Mail Robin Pline (353-5380; pline@msu.edu) if you cannot be present.
11.9.00UCAPagenda.doc
minutes status: approved
approved at meeting of 11/30/2000
UCAP Minutes for meeting held on 11/09/2000
University Committee on Academic Policy
Minutes
November 9, 2000
Present: Henry Beckmeyer, Allison
Berg, Roy Black, Howard Bossen, Cynthia Gibbons, Fred Jacobs, Shaun
Phillips, Jon Sticklen, Jeanne Wald, Winston Wilkinson
Others: Barbara Steidle, Assistant Provost
Minutes Prepared by Allison Berg
1. Meeting was called to order at 10:20 a.m. (There was no quorum.)
2. Agenda was approved
3. Minutes from the October 26
meeting were provisionally approved, with minor stylistic changes. They
will be approved officially at the next meeting, provided there is a
quorum.
4. Comments from the Chairperson:
Chairperson Wald distributed a draft of a questionnaire for faculty
soliciting input related to the computer requirement for all entering
freshmen beginning in the fall of 2001. The goal of the questionnaire
is to determine what computer skills faculty expect students to have by
the time they begin their first semester at MSU. She noted that the
UCAP-ITCT joint subcommittee on implementation of the computer policy
need feedback as soon as possible in order to make information available
to students and parents.
UCAP discussion of the draft
questionnaire focused on what sorts of support (for example, classes,
on-line instruction, print-based instruction) the university would
provide for students who had not gained the requisite computer skills in
high school; whether or not the university should specify which
particular word processing or spreadsheet programs students should be
able to use; and the desirability of differentiating between the
computer skills particular colleges expect of their upper-division
majors versus what the faculty as a whole agrees are minimal skills for
all entering freshmen. UCAP also discussed the importance of surveying
faculty about the kinds of support they
need to make optimal use of computer technology in their particular
courses, including (but not limited to) first-year courses. UCAP
members were encouraged to e-mail Chairperson Wald with specific
suggestions for additions or revisions to the draft questionnaire.
5. Comments from the Assistant Provost:
Assistant Provost Steidle announced that funds will be made available
over the next few months for selected faculty teams to attend one of
three upcoming conferences at which they can gather ideas for effective
applications of computing technology in different classroom contexts.
6. Proposal for a “Scholars Program”:
Professor Ron Fisher, director of the Honors College, presented a
draft proposal for an Academic Enhancement Program for Accomplished
Students, provisionally titled the “Scholars Program.” The proposed
program would recruit from a pool of incoming freshmen whose test scores
and academic preparation place them significantly above the average MSU
student, yet slightly lower than MSU Honors College students. The
goals of the program are to: (1) create options for academic enrichment
for this group of students; (2) assist these students along a path that
could lead to joining the Honors College after the first year; (3)
provide membership in an academic entity--a named program--that conveys
some sense of accomplishment and special academic status; and (4)
encourage more students in this group to enroll at MSU.
The program would be piloted with
200 incoming freshmen, eventually expanding (depending on interest) to
roughly 400 entering students per year. Fisher indicated that
preliminary meetings with current students of the academic caliber that
would be targeted by the program suggest that many students are
enthusiastic about the idea. In particular, they would welcome the
increased academic challenges, increased course options, and smaller
classes the program would provide. One benefit to the university would
be the program’s ability to make MSU more attractive to students who do
not qualify for the Honors College, but who would nonetheless raise the
overall quality of the student body.
Fisher noted that, while some
Deans are enthusiastic about the proposal, others have concerns about
resources. Steidle noted that the resource issue might not be as great
as it first appears, since some of the resource needs would be met by
displacement (e.g., offering honors sections of general education
courses in lieu of sections already being offered, albeit at lowered
numbers) rather than by addition. UCAP asked for clarification on how
the program would differ from the current Honors College program.
Fisher indicated that students in the Scholars Program would have a
wider range of options than most MSU students, but their privileges
would be more limited than those of Honors College students.
UCAP asked Professor Fisher to
provide a shortened version of the proposal that could be distributed to
individual college advisory committees for feedback. It agreed to
discuss the matter further at its November 30 meeting, with a focus on
academic policy questions.
7. SPES: Format and Final Version of Questions:
Drawing on feedback received subsequent to the Faculty and Academic
Council meetings, UCAP discussed the optimal wording and format for the
Student Public Evaluation System. UCAP agreed to change the name of the
instrument to SOCT
(Student Opinion on Courses and Teaching). UCAP could not agree on the
best wording for, or even the necessity of, the final question, which
asks students to evaluate their “interest in” or “desire for” taking the
course being rated. Chairperson Wald agreed to poll all UCAP members
(including those not at the current meeting) before coming to a final
decision. The issue must be finalized by Monday in order to permit time
for printing the forms, if they are to be administered this semester.
8. The meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
UCAP MINUTES 11.09.00
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