UCAP Meeting of 02/24/2011 2010-2011 agenda status: approved Agenda: University Committee on Academic Policy
AGENDA Thursday, February 24, 2011 10:15 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Board Room, 4th Floor, Administration Building
minutes status: approved approved at meeting of 03/17/2011 UCAP Minutes for meeting held on 02/24/2011 UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC POLICY MINUTES Thursday, February 24, 2011 10:15 am to 12:00 pm Board Room, Administration Building Attending: Paul Abramson, Miles Armaly, Gillian Bice, Crystal Branta, Lisa Cook, Anita Ezzo, Fred Fico, Kathleen Hoag, Evan Martinak, Matthew McKeon, Kelly Millenbah (for Michael Nelson), Coretta Patterson (for Helen Pazak), Zey Ustunol (for Ron Perry), Mike Shields, Mary Kay Smith, Mitchell Treadwell, Linda Stanford (for Doug Estry), Christopher Schuster Not Attending: Laura Dillon, Justin Epstein, Doug Estry, Tom Morse, Mary Noel, Justin O’Dell, John Reifenberg, Christopher Scales, Chenguang Wang The Agenda was approved. The Minutes of February 10, 2011 were approved with minor corrections. Comments from the Chairperson Chairperson Bice announced that the UCAP would need an update from the SIRS subcommittee at the next meeting; UCAP needs to make a final recommendation to ECAC by April. Comments from Associate Provost for Academic Services Request for a New Bachelor of Science Degree in Actuarial Science The Committee granted voice to Drs. Ow and Cohen Currently, MSU provides a specialization in Actuarial Science that prepares students for two of five rigorous, national exams required to become an Associate of the Society of Actuaries. Enrollment in the specialization has steadily increased to its current level of 110 students. In order to be more competitive and to prepare students to pass all five exams, the department would like to offer a bachelor’s degree (other Big 10 universities offer a bachelor’s degree). MSU has a quality program (world class math, computer science, etc.) and attracts high quality, committed students; many have expressed a desire for a bachelor’s degree program in Actuarial Science. Questions from the committee and subsequent discussion focused on the following: Questions: What is the demand for actuaries? How many other schools offer a degree? Is there a risk of over-supply? Can the jobs be outsourced? Answer: There is much interest from businesses within the state to hire graduates from MSU. The job market is good; there is a need for actuaries locally, statewide and nationally (perhaps as many as 6000-8000 per year). The program is committed to its students in terms of placement after graduation. Although other universities offer a degree program, the demand is likely to be high enough to accommodate graduates. The department would like to have an established B.S. program to remain competitive. Although there is potential for outsourcing, it is a heavily regulated industry. It is not likely to substantially impact the job market. Professor Shields pointed out that actuarial science falls under the general heading of “risk management” and it is a very important and growing area. Questions: Is there enough capacity in required courses outside the Math Department (e.g., Accounting and Economics) to support the new degree program? Is there need for additional faculty resources? Answer: Some courses within the specialization have doubled their enrollment; the department hired Dr. Cohen last fall to help teach in the program. This is not reflected in the paperwork, which was completed much earlier. They also have a commitment from the Dean for an additional hire. There are no capacity issues in other departments; there is full support from Economics, Accounting and Finance. They will look into why the Finance Department has not signed off on the paperwork. (Professor Shields noted that Finance is in transitional leadership right now, but they would most certainly welcome more students and there are many opportunities for students). Question: What additional library resources might be needed and what would be the cost? Answer: No library funds are needed; they will have outside help to cover cost of any necessary materials. Journals are downloaded so there is no additional cost there either. Question: Will the department maintain the specialization? Answer: The specialization will be kept (along with the new bachelor’s program). All of the specialization courses are part of the bachelor’s program. The specialization is open to all majors. The Committee withdrew voice from Drs. Ow and Cohen. There was no further discussion. Motion by Kathleen Hoag passed unanimously.
Professor Jeanne Wald, Department of Mathematics The Committee granted voice to Dr. Wald. Dr. Wald asked the Committee for permission to hand out supporting informational material and there were no objections. The program is intended to address a national need to improve the quantitative skills of students. It is geared to top-level students; recruiting from those students who score in the top 3% on the SAT. Although the department offers Honors classes, they do not have a coherent program to address the needs of highly math-talented students going into STEM careers. An initial “pilot” offering of an Advanced Linear Algebra course drew more student interest than anticipated (60 versus 15 expected). Student interest in an advanced program is high even though it has been made clear it would be a demanding and challenging program. Courses are very targeted and run differently than the typical math courses. Graduates will be extremely well qualified – any graduate school quantitative program would welcome them. This will be very competitive with other schools. Most interested students are intending to be double majors. A question from the committee focused on the foreign language requirement, which was inherited from the Bachelor of Science degree in the college (not key to this program). The language requirement can serve to satisfy college degree requirements. Lisa Cook commented that the program might be of interest to students beyond those potentially interested in STEM careers, such as Economics majors. The Committee withdrew voice from Dr. Wald. Motion by Lisa Cook passed unanimously.
Dr. Kathy Doig, Associate Dean, College of Natural Science Dr. Kelly Millenbah, Associate Dean, Lyman Briggs College The Committee granted voice to Dr. Doig. The College had requested and received moratorium a year ago. The degree has not attracted the student interest they had hoped for. There were currently no students enrolled as a primary major. Dr. Millenbah (who was substituting for Michael Nelson) stated that there were no current students obtaining a Lyman Briggs Coordinate major. There were no questions from the committee. The committee withdrew voice from Dr. Doig. Motion by Kathleen Hoag passed unanimously.
Chairperson Bice pointed out that the Grade-Point of 2.00 in selected courses had already been approved and was not being changed. However, because it is part of the program it is open to review by the committee, but GP and GPA requirements of 2.0 had not historically posed a concern to the committee. The Committee granted voice to Dr. Domer. Dr. Domer briefly reiterated the rationale for the proposed changes and explained that there had been only two cases in which students failed to achieve the 2.0 grade requirement; one student took a different course to fulfill the degree requirements and the other a “special repeat” course. The Committee withdrew voice from Dr. Domer. Motion by Evan Martinak passed unanimously.
Chairperson Bice stated that the committee’s response is expected by ECAC at its meeting next week. She thanked the subcommittee for its work on this and opened the floor for discussion. Discussion focused on the following points: · The subcommittee document captured the main issues raised by the committee. · Kathleen Hoag suggested minor editorial changes to eliminate a redundancy. · Dr. Stanford discussed the intent of original proposal and asked the committee how they suggested this proceed. Chairperson Bice suggested that UCAP could make a general recommendation to ECAC that a task force be convened to thoroughly address the issues. Motion by Evan Martinak to forward the subcommittee report to ECAC along with a UCAP recommendation that a task force be established. The motion was supported. Discussion focused on the composition of the task force:
· Persons from multiple colleges, disciplines, levels, and with a variety of enrollments; · Students who have taken online courses; · College of Education experts; researchers in education; · Director of Testing Center · Faculty teaching in certain semesters, e.g., summer classes; · Individuals with proctoring experience; · Other consultants requested by the task force itself Dr. Stanford thanked the committee and subcommittee for handling this in a timely manner and for the quality effort put into it. Roundtable Fred Fico reported that the Antidiscrimination working group was moving to a report soon. Evan Martinak reported on the ASMSU Student Engagement Week next week, which would include a joint session (Academic Assembly and Student Assembly) in the Union next Tuesday, Parlor C at 7:30 pm; public encouraged to come. Meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Diana J. Stetson |
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