MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

University Committee on Undergraduate Education

MINUTES

September 4, 2014

10:15 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.

Board Room, 4^th Floor Administration Building

Attending:  Teresa Bitner, Kiki Edozie, Doug Estry, Daniel Bergan, Rob LaDuca, Peter Magyar, Richard Miksicek, Debra Nails, Helene Pazak, Jesenia Pizarro Terrill, Matt Pontifex, Fred Rodammer, Cassandra Shavrnoch, Cynthia Taggart, Abraham Wheeler

Absent:  Eric Aronoff, Henry Beckmeyer, Jan Brady, Giles Brereton, Omar Elsherif, Claire McCarthy, David Schweikhardt, Ryan Sweeder

Motion to Establish Taking of the Minutes passed unanimously:

The secretary for the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education shall attend Committee meetings and prepare minutes for review and approval by committee membership.

The Agenda was approved as amended for item #10 to read Request to Change the Admission Requirement and the List of Courses Which Currently Require a Grade-Point Average of 2.5 in the Athletic Training Program in the Department of Kinesiology.   

Welcome and Introductions
Chairperson Taggart and Associate Provost Estry welcomed the new and returning committee members.  UCUE members introduced themselves and stated their research interest areas.

The Minutes from April 24, 2014 were approved as amended.  The first sentence of the Comments from the Chairperson was amended to read, Chairperson Taggart reported the Committee that was working on the Academic Freedom Report took UCUE’s suggestion that the “University Academic Hearing Board” be replaced with the name “University Academic Grievance Hearing Board.”

Comments from the Chairperson

Chairperson Taggart informed UCUE of the Committee’s Operating Procedures and briefly stated some of the items UCUE handles such as:  establish moratoriums and merge undergraduate programs.  She stated UCUE has oversight of University Policy on all items pertaining to the undergraduate academic programs of Michigan State University.  Chairperson Taggart suggested UCUE members read handouts that were distributed.  Handouts included:  UCUE Public Comment Operating Procedures - approved 11/19/19, Variables that Guide UCAPs Consideration of Moratoriums and Discontinuances, UCC Bylaws, and UCUE Bylaws.

Chairperson Taggart stated that the committee uses Robert’s Rules of Order as a guide for conducting the committee’s meetings.  The rules can be reviewed at http://parlipro.org and http://rulesonline.com.  Debra Nails said the problem with the first site is that it is based on Robert’s 4 whereas we use Robert’s 11, and with the second that its purpose is to sell a book; she distributed a one-page guide to the 11^th edition of Robert’s.

Chairperson Taggart reminded committee members that it is their responsibility to send a substitute to the meetings in the event that they are absent.  Members sending a substitute should let Lynne Frechen know at lfrechen@msu.edu.  Chairperson Taggart indicated that it is important to have a quorum in order to move actions forward. 

Chairperson Taggart discussed the Committee’s Operating Procedures.

Chairperson Taggart recommended that the committee conduct business via email or using an online survey when appropriate. 

The following motion for voting via email passed unanimously.

The committee agrees to allow the chairperson the flexibility to craft final language for motions and documents and to take votes by email on issues already discussed with the provision that, if any one member objects, the issue will return to the agenda at the next meeting. A quorum is required for the vote to be valid.

Chairperson Taggart stated that it might become necessary to hold additional meetings in order to consider all agenda items.

The following motion for additional meetings passed unanimously.

The committee agrees to allow the chairperson the authority and autonomy to call additional meetings.

The following motion for procedure for granting and removing voice for visitors passed unanimously.

The committee agrees to allow the chairperson to grant and remove voice for visitors to UCUE meetings without a formal committee vote.

The following motion for public comment procedure was approved as amended to reflect meetings being held in 2014-15.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education will continue to use the Procedure Regarding Public Comment, as approved by UCAP on November 19, 2009, to guide public comment in UCUE meetings 2014-15.

Chairperson Taggart commented on voting rights of UCUE member substitutes; when sending a substitute for a meeting, each constituency determines its own substitute as it sees fit.

The following motion for UCUE Member Substitutes – Voting Rights passed unanimously.

Member substitutes--i.e., members of faculty or students who are a part of the same constituency as the elected member--shall be allowed the same voting rights as the committee members at that meeting.  Constituencies will determine how committee substitutes are chosen.

Comments from the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education

Associate Provost Estry distributed a memo that had been sent to the University Committee on Curriculum (UCC) from Dr. John Gaboury, Associate Provost for Academic Services.  The memo explained the role and responsibility of the UCC.  Associate Provost Estry explained that the role of the UCC is to fulfill the responsibility delegated to the faculty to shape the curriculum. 

Associate Provost Estry explained that UCUE does not deal with changes to courses, only changes to programs.  UCUE has delegated authority to approve requests for grade requirements for certain programs. UCUE reviews program requests and sends back a determination to the UCC. 

Professor Nails commented that often faculty who would like to provide commentary to UCUE cannot attend UCUE meetings.  In this case, written commentary should be sent to Lynne Frechen at least 2 days in advance of a meeting so it can be posted to the UCUE website and sent to UCUE members.  If there is not ample time to do that, a UCUE representative from the same college can bring copies of the commentary to the meeting to share with the committee, and UCUE would determine whether to take it into consideration. 

Chairperson Taggart indicated that subcommittee members should be appointed to respond to questions relative to the Grief Absence Policy.  Teresa Bitner volunteered to be Convener and Chair to the subcommittee.  Matt Pontifex also volunteered to serve.  Chairperson Taggart mentioned that the Grief Absence Policy could apply only to undergraduate students, according to Provost Youatt, and it is yet to be determined whether some version of it will apply to graduate students as well. The Steering Committee noted that “family” needs to be defined more clearly in the policy.  These items, along with others, need to be considered before it is moved forward through faculty governance.  This subcommittee will consider the issues raised by the Steering Committee and make recommendations back to it.

Request to Lift the Moratorium on Admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics (Action Item)
Steve Kautz, Associate Dean, College of Social Science

Larry Martin, Professor, Department of Economics

The committee unanimously granted voice to Associate Dean Kautz and Professor Martin.

Associate Dean Kautz stated the request was originally submitted to UCUE late last spring; however it was too late to be put on a UCUE agenda.  He explained that the moratorium was first put in place because the BS degree was not providing the quantitative content that students want and need.  The moratorium was requested to give the department time to make changes to the BS degree.  He indicated that the department has both a BS and a BA degree in Economics.  There are no plans to discontinue the BA degree, and the two degrees are distinguished by different required courses.  Associate Dean Kautz indicated that students who are analysts often enroll in the BS program, and that this program is very appealing to international students.  He also stated that the proposed program will have higher math requirements, and the content will be more advanced than the typical economics courses.  Associate Dean Kautz indicated the moratorium has to be lifted before it moves forward to UCC, where the programmatic change would be addressed.  Associate Dean Kautz requests the moratorium be lifted effective Fall, 2014.

Voice was withdrawn from Associate Dean Kautz and Professor Martin.

The following motion passed unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and endorsed the request to lift the moratorium on admission to the Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

Request for an Extension on the Moratorium on Admission to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Diagnostic Molecular Science (Action Item)

Mariane Wolfe, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program

The committee unanimously granted voice to Ms. Wolfe.

Ms. Wolfe stated that the BS degree in Diagnostic Molecular Science was put into a moratorium Spring, 2012, due to low enrollment.  However, she said that, since there is still significant interest in the program, the department is considering a joint program with Ferris State University and/or Northern Michigan University.  She indicated that clinical sites could be shared in a joint program.  Ms. Wolfe stated that the department would like to continue the moratorium so that students cannot declare it a major at this time because the logistics of a joint program are still being explored. 

Voice was withdrawn from Ms. Wolfe.

The following motion was approved unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and endorsed the request for an extension on the moratorium on admission to the Bachelor of Science degree in Diagnostic Molecular Science.

Request to Change the Admission Requirement and the List of Courses Which Currently Require a Grade-Point Average of 2.5 (Action Item)

Note, since no faculty members from Kinesiology were available to attend the UCUE meeting, Dr. Matt Pontifex spoke on their behalf.

The committee unanimously granted voice to Dr. Pontifex.

The department requests removal of Introduction to Human Nutrition (HNF 150) and Introductory Psychology (PSY 101) as required classes, and would, instead, offer them as electives.  He stated that the department requests the addition of the requirement that students take one three-credit, 400-level athletic training course approved by the Department of Kinesiology.  The department also requests the addition of a prerequisite, Clinical Rotation and Skills Introduction in Athletic Training (KIN 228). 

One UCUE member asked whether there was sufficient clinical space to support this request, since there would be clinical work involved.  Dr. Pontifex stated that students can work with every team on campus to gain valuable hands-on experience, so there is sufficient clinical space and opportunity for students.  The projected enrollment is 30–35 students each year.

The following motion was passed unanimously.

The University Committee on Undergraduate Education duly considered and approved the addition to the list of courses considered for admission and requiring a minimum gpa of 2.5, and the addition of KIN 228 to the list of requirements for the BS degree requiring a minimum gpa of 2.0.

Because there was concern whether the 400-level course would be from the Kinesiology Department, or possibly from another department, the rest of the curricular request was tabled until the next UCUE meeting which is scheduled for September 18, 2014.  UCUE would like clarification on whether the 400-level courses must be from within Kinesiology or could be from other departments with approval.  Members of the Committee also requested clarification about whether a 300-level course might be appropriate in this list as well, as a result of the prerequisites that are required for many 400-level courses. 

Roundtable

Fred Rodammer asked if MSU could create an Institutional Honor Code.  Rob LaDuca answered that, in the Lyman Briggs College, students created an Honor Code through their student governance.  One UCUE member stated ASMSU could originate an Honor Code.  Associate Provost Estry stated there is currently no Honor Code at MSU.  Fred Rodammer added if an Honor Code is created, a good model to review is the University of Virginia.  Debra Nails commented that some research has found that students determined to cheat find it easiest to do so in the trusting environment of honor codes.

Richard Miksicek inquired about the MOOCS draft document.  Chairperson Taggart indicated she had received feedback from the committee and forwarded the document to Karen Klomparens and Provost Youatt in May. 

Adjourned at 11:23.

Respectfully submitted by Lynne Frechen.