UCAP Meeting of 01/27/2011 2010-2011 agenda status: approved Agenda: University Committee on Academic Policy
AGENDA Thursday, January 27, 2011 10:15 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Board Room, 4th Floor, Administration Building
minutes status: approved approved at meeting of 02/10/2011 UCAP Minutes for meeting held on 01/27/2011 University Committee on Academic Policy Minutes Thursday, January 27, 2011 10:15 AM to 12:00 PM Board Room, 4th Floor, Administration Building Attending: Paul Abramson, Miles Armaly, Lisa Cook, Crystal Branta, Laura Dillon, Anita Ezzo, Fred Fico, Kathleen Hoag, Evan Martinak, Matt McKeon, Michael Nelson, Mary Noel, Justin O’Dell, Helene Pazak, Ron Perry, John Reifenberg, Christopher Scales, Mike Shields Not Attending: Justin Epstein, Doug Estry, Tom Morse, Mary Kay Smith, Mitchell Treadwell, Chenguang Wang Chairperson Bice introduced Senior Associate Provost Youatt, who sat in for Associate Provost Estry, and welcomed new members, Dr. Michael Nelson, from Lyman Briggs College and Mitchell Treadwell, a new ASMSU representative. Dr. Bice asked the committee to suspend its normal order of business for a motion to allow Diana Stetson to assume responsibility for taking the minutes. Motion by Evan Martinak, passed unanimously:
The Agenda was approved. The Minutes of the December 2, 2010 meeting were approved. Comments from the Chairperson Chairperson Bice thanked Fred Fico for his service on the ADP Working Group charged with reviewing and revising the University policies for sexual harassment and antidiscrimination. ECAC expressed high praise for the quality of the work. The new University Policy on Sexual Harassment went into effect January 2011. The working group will continue to meet throughout the Spring semester to review and edit the draft of the ADP User Manual. Dr. Bice conveyed the thanks of two outgoing Board of Trustees members (McNamara and Nugent), who expressed their gratitude for the commitment of the faculty who serve on governance committees. At-large members of ECAC will hold another faculty forum in early February. Faculty at the November forum were engaged, the quality of the conversations was high and some interesting issues put forward. Dr. Bice prompted everyone to watch for upcoming emails about this and encouraged everyone to attend. Chairperson Bice reported that all committees have provided feedback to the Provost about the proposed reorganization of biomedical science departments. The Provost and deans of involved colleges have reviewed the feedback and are working to develop a new plan. The Provost expressed gratitude for all the feedback and indicated it will make a substantial impact on how they proceed. ECAC has referred a proposal for changes to the Code of Teaching Responsibility to include specific language regarding course proctoring requirements. UCAP has been asked to review the policy and provide commentary to ECAC. Comments from the Senior Associate Provost Dr. Youatt provided an update regarding the filling of Dr. Lee June’s positions. Dr. June held two positions: Vice President for Student Affairs and Associate Provost. With his stepping away and return to the Honors College and Department of Psychology, the decision was made to separate the two positions and redistribute the Associate Provost responsibilities. With the creation of the Dean of Undergraduate Education position, it made sense to move those responsibilities to Associate Provost Estry. The position of Vice President for Student Affairs must now be filled. This is one of six Taylor 2 positions on campus. Senior Associate Vice President Denise Maybank has been named Interim Vice President for Student Affairs. When President Simon completes consultation with on-campus groups, she will propose a search process to ECAC and the Vice Presidential position will be moved to a national search. International Business Requests Kirt Butler, Associate Professor, Eli Broad College of Business The committee unanimously granted voice to Associate Professor Butler. Dr. Butler stated that the International Business (IB) minor name recognition is important outside the University. When minors were approved, the college began the process of replacing the specialization with the minor. Specialization requires 15 credits; minor requires 18, 12 of which are unique. Around 1100 students admitted in junior year and 10% do the specialization. The big challenge for students is the two-year language requirement. The new minor adds a core international business course that is trans-disciplinary. Students admitted through the summer will be on the Specialization plan. Beginning in Fall 2011, students will be admitted to the minor. Current students will be able to upgrade to the minor. After a brief question and answer period, the committee withdrew voice from Dr. Butler. Motion by Lisa Cook passed unanimously.
Request to change the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and related Teacher Certification changes including GPA standards for the Elementary Planned Program Suzanne Wilson, chairperson, Department of Teacher Education The committee unanimously granted voice to Professor Wilson. Dr. Wilson stated that the State of Michigan has changed the certification requirements for elementary school teachers. Most of the proposal is in response to the state level change. Departments must align disciplinary offerings with state requirements. Chairperson Bice commented that UCAP has two responsibilities: 1) To provide consultation to the Provost, that is to forward the proposal with or without concern, regarding the more general aspects of the proposal; 2) Because the proposal includes changes in GPA standards and UCAP has the delegated authority in matters concerning undergraduate grading policy, the committee must also specifically approve or deny the proposed grades or GPA standards. These will likely necessitate separate motions. Whenever grades function as a barrier, the committee must consider the rationale and supporting evidence, as well as how the proposal intersects with existing University policies. For example, what is the impact on students given the current course repeat policy? Questions for Dr. Wilson focused on the following:
Ø What happens to students who could conceivably receive a 2.0 in each of the specified courses, as required, but still not be able to progress to their internship because of the minimum 2.5 GPA requirement; since these classes are not repeatable under the course repeat policy, they would be unable to complete their program. Ø What is the rationale for a minimum 2.5 GPA if the break line for struggling students is below a 2.0? Why is 2.5 the benchmark as opposed to something lower or higher? Ø What are the criteria for satisfactory performance in the internship? Ø Was there consideration of other ways to increase the “rigor” of the program as an alternative to setting grade and GPA standards? Chairperson Bice reminded the committee that the majority of the proposal is intended to bring the program into compliance with State regulations, but that the grade point standards are not mandated by the State. Motion by Crystal Branta.
A friendly amendment was proposed to add a phrase excluding the grade and GPA standards. The amended motion passed unanimously.
Motion by Evan Martinak passed unanimously.
Motion by Crystal Branta was passed unanimously to table discussion of the request to establish a minimum 2.5 GPA for the Elementary Planned Program courses until evidence in support of the 2.5 standard is provided for review and discussion at a subsequent meeting. The meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Diana J. Stetson |
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