UCAP Meeting of 01/10/2013 2012-2013 agenda status: approved Agenda:
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY University Committee on Undergraduate Education AGENDA Thursday, January 10, 2013 10:15 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Boardroom, 4th Floor, Administration Building
Russell
Lucas, Co-Director, Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities
minutes status: approved approved at meeting of 01/24/13 UCAP Minutes for meeting held on 01/10/2013
University Committee on Undergraduate Education DRAFT Minutes Thursday, January 10, 2013 10:15 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Boardroom, 4th Floor, Administration Building
Attendees: Eric Aronoff, Mark Axelrod, Emily Bank, Henry Beckmeyer, Jan Brady, Jim Crum, Justin Droba, Fred Fico, Seung Hyun Kim, Coretta Patterson, Lynmarie Posey, Ashton Shortridge, Linda Stanford, Ryan Sweeder, Cynthia Taggart, Abraham Wheeler
Absent: Nicole Dandridge, Laura Dillon, Doug Estry, Chris McClain, Ron Perry, Matt Pontifex, Anne Rabello, Sarah Stachura, Mark Tran
The agenda was approved.
The minutes of the December 13, 2012 meeting were approved after an amendment was made to the Roundtable section adding the name of the application, Lecturetools, and that it is Lecturetools that requires that devices be registered.
Comments from the Vice Chairperson Dr. Sweeder had no comments.
Comments from the Associate Provost for Academic Services Associate Provost Stanford had no comments.
Request for a New Undergraduate
Specialization in Beverage Science and Technology (Action Item)
The committee unanimously granted voice to Associate Dean Brandenburg and Professors Derksen and Berglund.
Dr. Derksen explained the purpose of the proposed specialization is to prepare students for employment in the beverage industry, which is a subset of the food processing industry. There is no program like this in the State and few in the country. This specialization provides transcriptable evidence of training in the beverage science and technology field that students and employers have sought.
The College representatives stated that naming the specialization had been a challenge but they were confident that students and industry representatives would understand the name chosen. The representatives believed that capacity would not be an issue.
Voice was withdrawn from Associate Dean Brandenburg and Professors Derksen and Berglund.
Committee discussion centered briefly on the double counted courses allowed in specializations. Committee members asked Dr. Stanford if it should look further into the issue of double counting courses since specializations may be eliminated and minors have different specifications regarding double counting. Dr. Stanford responded that the committee should move forward with the request as written.
Motion by Cynthia Taggart was unanimously approved. The University Committee on Undergraduate Education, in its consultative capacity to the Provost, has no concerns about the request for a new undergraduate specialization in Beverage Science and Technology.
Request for a New Undergraduate
Specialization in LGBTQ and Sexuality Studies (Action Item)
The committee unanimously granted voice to Associate Dean Hoppenstand and Professor Fine.
Dr. Fine stated the specialization was the result of a request by ASMSU to create a faculty taskforce to work on creating this specialization. She noted that a number of other Universities have similar programs and that it was important to develop one at MSU. RCAH and Lyman Briggs will support the gateway course and a study abroad program is being developed in support of this specialization. Dr. Fine noted that the taskforce was in the process of identifying and recommending elimination of conflicting programs at MSU, however, there is a strategy to develop a strong faculty and offer more courses that could possibly lead to a major and a minor in LGBTQ and Sexuality Studies.
The committee expressed concern that the use of the word “queer” in the name of the specialization would be offensive and possibly denigrate or demean those identified by that term. Dr. Fine presented an extensive list of examples of the use of the term “queer” in academic programs, publishing, and in scholarly research that indicated the term is widely used in the community that it describes.
Voice was withdrawn from Associate Dean Hoppenstand and Professor Fine.
The committee was concerned that rather than listing possible courses that would count toward completion of the specialization, the language submitted for the academic programs catalog referred students to advisors for course information. Dr. Stanford commented that this type of statement was standard in the catalog language for specializations.
Motion by Jan Brady was unanimously approved. The University Committee on Undergraduate Education, in its consultative capacity to the Provost, has no concerns about the request for a new undergraduate specialization in LGBTQ and Sexuality Studies.
Request to Require a Grade-Point
Average in the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Global Studies in the Arts and
Humanities (Action Item) Russell Lucas, Co-Director, Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities
The committee unanimously granted voice to Associate Dean Hoppenstand and Professor Lucas.
Dr. Lucas stated that above average ability in a second language was necessary to be successful in the Global Studies program. Therefore, the department determined that a 3.0GPA in a second language major or minor or certification by the assessment coordinator in the Center for Language Teaching-Advancement is a necessary requirement for success in the BA in Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities. The certification was included as a substitute for a 3.0 GPA in a major or minor in a second language for the benefit of those students that were fluent in a second language and not pursuing a major or minor in language.
The committee asked Dr. Lucas whether moving to a curriculum held independently in the advising office rather than approved by the UCC moved the University approval process out of the mix. Dr. Stanford suggested that the academic programs catalog could list the disciplines that would offer the courses. Dr. Lucas stated the current list of courses is on the Global Studies website.
The committee asked Dr. Lucas to discuss the evidence used to determine that a 3.0 GPA in a second language major or minor should be the minimum acceptable graduation requirement for the Global Studies degree. Dr. Lucas stated that the Global Studies faculty thought a student with a 3.0 GPA in a second language program would be more likely to meet the requirement of having an above average conversational ability in a second language than a student with a 2.0 GPA. The Global Studies faculty viewed the language certification option as a way that a student with less than a 3.0 GPA in a second language major or minor with above average spoken language ability could meet the requirements of the program.
Voice was withdrawn from Associate Dean Hoppenstand and Professor Lucas.
The committee debated whether choosing a 3.0 GPA in the second language major or minor was appropriate when a 2.0 GPA meets University graduation requirements. Some committee members viewed the addition of the testing option as a satisfactory way to provide access for those with a lower GPA who demonstrate the necessary skill level. The committee was divided on whether to forward the request to the Provost or to ask the Global Studies group to return to UCUE to present data that shows that students with less than a 3.0 GPA in a second language major or minor would not be successful in the program.
Preceding his motion to accept the request without concern, Dr. Fico commented that the request reveals an inadequacy in the utilization of the grading system because we are producing people who should be proficient at a 2.0 GPA but are not. He further stated that he would be inclined to trust the faculty who were guiding the curriculum.
Motion by Fred Fico was unanimously approved. The University Committee on Undergraduate Education, in its consultative capacity to the Provost, has no concerns about the request to require a grade-point average in the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities.
After Roundtable, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by Sandra Walther
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