agenda status: approved

Agenda:

University Committee on Academic Policy

Meeting of Thursday, October 12, 2006
10:15 a.m., Administration Bldg. Board Room

1. Approval of the Agenda

1. Approval of Minutes of the September 28, 2006 Meeting.

1. Comments from the Chairperson

1. Comments from the Associate Provost

1. Dietetics Request for Admission Policy Change..........(Attachment)

1. Subcommittee updates

Undergraduate Assistants Subcommittee
Fall Break Subcommittee
Religious Observance Policy Subcommittee
Academic Dishonesty Grade Marker

1. Roundtable

Phone or E-Mail Robin Pline (353-5380; pline@msu.edu) if you cannot be present. Please remember that you are asked to send a substitute from your college.


Attachments: September 28, 2006 Minutes
Dietetics materials from the College

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minutes status: approved

approved at meeting of 11/09/2006

UCAP Minutes for meeting held on 10/12/2006

Members Present: Dennis Banks, Renée Canady, R. Sekhar Chivukula, Peter Cobbett, Richard Hallgren, Yen-Hwei Lin, Helen Mayer, Philip Moon, Tony Nunez, Ralph Putnam, Brandon Sethi, Mike Shields, Jon Sticklen, Bruce Vanden Bergh, Connie Zheng

Members Absent: Folke Lindahl, Edmund Outslay, Paul Turner, Alexander von Eye, Keri Zolman

Others Present: Doug Estry (Acting Associate Provost and Dean), Eunice Foster (Assoc. Dean Agr. & Nat. Resources) and Dr. Lorraine Weatherspoon (Dietetics Program Director)


Agenda (approved)

Minutes (September 28, 2006 minutes approved)

Comments from Chair

No comments.

Comments from the Associate Provost

Doug Estry informed the committee of the recent death of June Youatt's husband and that a memorial scholarship fund had been set up in his name. Estry also reported that the Associate Deans group was working on the course repeat policy and would submit recommendations to UCAP later this semester.

5. Dietetics request for Admission Policy Change

In response to UCAP's request for clarification at its last meeting, Dietetics Program Leader, and Eunice Foster, Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, presented a revised proposal to establish a minimum grade-point average for admission to the Dietetics major. Foster and Weatherspoon discussed with the committee the accreditation process in dietetics, the internship program and the related need of the program to reduce the size of classes admitted into Dietetics and increase the academic qualifications of students to maintain the high quality of the program. Data was presented on student performance on national certification examinations and how this links to the ability of the program to maintain its accredited status. UCAP supported establishing an admissions requirement for the Dietetics major, with the following language to be used in Academic Programs:

Admission as a Junior

Enrollment in the dietetics major is limited. The Bachelor of Science Degree in Dietetics is a professional degree. While a minimum cumulative University grade-point average of 2.50 is necessary to be considered for admission to the College, it does not guarantee admission. Admission decisions are based primarily on cumulative University grade-point average. Other factors such as work experience, personal experience, and diversity may be considered.

Subcommittee Updates

Undergraduate Assistant Subcommittee – a brief meeting with the Associate Provost and Registrar Linda Stanford was held. Goal of the subcommittee is to draft a policy by Nov 30 meeting related to: selection of UG Assistants, Privacy issues (FERPA), Appropriate tasks to assign to UG Assistants, Process of Orienting UG Assistants, remunerations recommendations (stipend vs. pay vs. academic credit). Concern of how to title UG Assistants to avoid conflicts with the Graduate Assistants union was raised; this point will be addressed by the subcommittee.

Fall Break Subcommittee – no meeting held yet, in the process of gathering background data.

Religious Holiday Subcommittee – Acting Associate Provost Estry and Ombudsman Stan Soffin have met. Estry will forward that information to the subcommittee chair.

Academic Dishonesty Grade Marker – subcommittee met last week and scheduled their next meeting. Their goal is to report substantively at the next UCAP meeting.

Round Table

Connie Zheng asked for correction of the COGS acronym in the prior minutes
Tony Nunez raised the issue of our CLEP Policy and will report further at the next meeting.
Estry announced that the University Committee on Liberal Learning is seeking nominees and asked the consideration of members.

Respectfully submitted by
Renée B. Canady