UCAP Meeting of 12/01/2005 2005-2006 agenda status: approved Agenda: minutes status: approved approved at meeting of UCAP Minutes for meeting held on 12/01/2005 University Committee on Academic Policy Thursday, December 1, 2005 Meeting Minutes Members Present: Angela Allen, Dennis Banks, Simplice Boyogueno, Gene Burns, Renée Canady, Richard Hallgren, Rebecca Henry, Yen-Hwei Lin, Helen Mayer, Alex Plum, Sharon Pocock, Ralph Putnam (Chair), Sharon Senk, Kurt Stirewalt (Vice-Chair), Bruce Vanden Bergh, Alexander Von eye Members Absent: Chukwukadibia Orji, Pete Rossman, Keri Zolman Others Present: June Pierce Youatt (Assistant Provost and Dean). 1) Meeting called to order and agenda approved at 10:15 a.m. with addition of Item 6: Resolution of Academic Assembly of ASMSU on Academic Integrity. 2) Minutes from the October 27, 2005 UCAP meeting were approved with one minor correction. (Richard Hallgren’s name was deleted from “Members Present” section and was already correctly in “Members Absent” section.) 3) Comments from the Chair: Chair Ralph Putnam noted that the Executive Committee of Academic Council (ECAC) had held a special meeting during the week of November 21 to move forward on matters relating to Faculty Voice and Boldness by Design initiatives. Most importantly for UCAP, ECAC had forwarded to UCAP the Final Report of the Working Group to Improve Undergraduate Education and asked for feedback in time for ECAC’s January 10, 2006 meeting. 4) Comments from the Assistant Provost: June Youatt reported that a significant amount of money from the Quality Fund has been earmarked to fund undergraduate research opportunities in order to enhance undergraduate education. An electronic system is being set up to allow faculty to identify opportunities for undergraduates to assist with research and scholarly projects. The project and system are still being designed; there are no current implications for UCAP, but UCAP may be involved at some stage, given that the project involves undergraduate education. 5) Review of Final Report of the Working Group to Improve Undergraduate Education (WGIUE): The Chair started discussion by noting that UCAP must provide feedback to ECAC on the WGUIE Final Report prior to the January 10, 2006 meeting of ECAC, such that UCAP needs to finalize its comments at the UCAP meeting of December 15, 2005. UCAP Vice Chair Kurt Stirewalt served on WGIUE and thus summarized the group’s work. WGUIE met in spring and fall 2005 to relate the reports of the task forces on Integrative Studies, Writing, and Quantitative Literacy to each other and to the overall goals of improving undergraduate education. Key points of the Final Report of WGUIE involve its identification of the goals of undergraduate liberal education and its recommendation that a council oversee implementation of these goals. June Youatt explained the context of the whole review of undergraduate education. She noted that current efforts want to bring greater coherence to components of undergraduate education, to provide better opportunities for review and assessment of the general education requirements (administered through a number of units), and to make clearer the connections between general education goals and requirements and other aspects of students’ education. She noted that, in reviewing the WGIUE Final Report, UCAP could decide to focus on one or more aspects of the proposal, including the identified learning outcomes, the suggested coordinating council, and more specific recommendations. A preliminary discussion followed. Several UCAP members noted that the learning outcomes coordinated well with outcomes identified and discussed at their own units. Kurt Stirewalt responded to questions about how WGIUE arrived at its identification of various learning outcomes and its recommendation of a coordinating council. There was also a comment that there should perhaps be a reward system for those most heavily involved with general education requirements. After UCAP members had shared their initial thoughts and concerns, the Chair noted that most of the comments centered on the learning outcomes and the coordinating council and suggested that UCAP focus on these two points in its feedback. UCAP members can post comments on Angel before December 15, 2005. UCAP will return to this discussion at its December 15, 2005 meeting in order to finalize its feedback to ECAC. 6) Resolution of the Academic Assembly of Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU): The Chair distributed a resolution from ASMSU on a re-examination of the Academic Integrity Policy. UCAP member and ASMSU representative Alex Plum explained more fully the concerns that led to the resolution. June Youatt noted that during summer 2005 MSU had pilot-tested with 500 incoming students a computer tutorial on academic integrity. The issues raised in the discussion that followed concerned visibility of and access to information on MSU’s academic integrity policy, a signed commitment by entering students to abide by these standards, and continued visibility of and commitment to the policy during a student’s later years of study. The Chair suggested that an ad hoc committee consisting of Renée Canady, Alex Plum, Chair Ralph Putnam, and Sharon Senk convene to review the UCAP report on this issue from two years ago, as well as further developments on the issue since that time. 7) Round Table: Alex Plum noted that December 1, 2005, was World AIDS Day. To allow the MSU community to learn more, red cards with reference to the Web site www.spreadthis.org were being distributed, the name of the Web site was posted at various sites throughout campus, and memorial red bands with names had been placed on trees throughout the campus. Renée Canady informed UCAP that the College of Nursing was pleased to have successfully completed the first semester of its accelerated option. This option allows those having a B.A. to complete requirements for a nursing degree in a twelve-month rigorous program. A motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and approved. Meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Pocock |
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