ASCRC Minutes 2/20/07
Members Present:
Members Absent/Excused: B. Bach, D. Micus P. Silverman, A. Szalda-Petree, A. Walker-Andrews
Ex-Officio Present: M. Hoell
Guest: Associate Dean Tompkins, Sue
Malek-
Last year’s Chair Luckowski called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.
The 2/13/07 minutes was approved as corrected.
Communication
Guests are scheduled for the next two weeks to discuss the impact of the general education model on programs.
Unfinished Business – General Education model discussion
·
Guest: Sue Malek,
The analysis of how the model would impact business majors was outlined by Sue
Malek. There are six different majors in the School. The International Business
Majors would be affected the most by the model related to the 100/200
requirement. These students currently meet the literary and artistic studies
requirement with a foreign language course that also counts toward a language
minor. Many students elect to take the
writing course at the upper-division level that also meets a perspective
requirement. On paper it seems that the
proposed model would decrease the general education credits required by 1
credit for business majors.
There was some confusion regarding the intent of the Ethics and Diversity
requirement – whether or not it could be taken outside the major, or whether it
could be spread across several courses. A current cross-cultural management
course could meet the diversity requirement depending on how it is defined. The
school prefers to give their students as many choices as possible outside of
the major.
The business faculty wanted to know whether international students could count
English courses as a Foreign Language.
There is a current exception for International Students that would still
apply. The faculty were also interested
in how courses would be approved for the departmental ethics and diversity
requirements. After a model is finalized and approved by the Faculty Senate,
the general education committee will work on establishing criteria and
implementing the revisions, which will include setting up a process for review
of courses that meet general education requirements.
·
Pharmacy Practice
Guest: Professor Todd Cochran (handout)
Students need to complete their pre-pharmacy requirements and lower-division
general education requirements within two academic years. Students currently
take symbolic systems courses that also meet program requirements; the addition
of a 5 credit language course would create a very difficult semester (with 17
credits) for the students. This would be
in the spring semester of the students second year. Noted was that first semester language
courses are only offered in the fall. There is also the possibility that
students could test out of the foreign language requirement.
Pharmacy currently offers courses that would likely meet the Ethics and
Diversity requirements within the major.
Pharmacy would like the symbolic systems option retained in order to support
the proposed revisions.
There needs to be recognition that it takes longer than four years to well
education students due in part to the knowledge explosion. Programs cannot
expand to take longer because they are competing nationally. There is also the
financial component to consider. Only 22% of the pre-pharmacy students had
completed in two years. The program is
very competitive and requires a 3.5 GPA.
·
Modern and Classical Languages and Literature
Guests: Bob Acker, Chair and Linda
Gillison, former chair and new member of the General Education Committee
Language courses do not just teach language they teach cultural
understanding. Language is central to
knowledge of the diversity of others.
Modern and Classical Language feels strongly that one 5 credit course is
not sufficient for competency; the two semester sequence is needed. The department proposes the following
possibilities
o Retain the current symbolic systems / foreign language option, that has approximately 1/3 of the students taking foreign language
o MCLL could reduce the 5 credit first-year courses to 4 credits so the sequence would require 8 credits.
o Consider exempting students that have taken 2 years of high school foreign language without an exam. (There was objection to this possibility because of the variance in the quality of high school foreign language instruction.)
o Professional
schools that can document heavy course loads required of accreditation can be
granted different requirements.
MCLL does not currently have the
resources to teach a one or two semester requirement. However, the requirement would be phased in,
and the department might be able to grow gradually. There are grants available
that the University is taking advantage of to offer Italian, Arabic, Farsi and
Turkish.
Students need to understand how hard it is to learn a language. Many
individuals around the world take it upon themselves to learn English because
it is important to them. The lack of Americans knowledge of other languages
leaves the country vulnerable. An important part of the American education is
to teach students how to be citizens of a larger world.
·
Concept of general education threaded throughout
the curriculum
Guest: Karen Hill, Applied Arts and Sciences, General Education Committee
The preamble needs to be carried throughout the curriculum. She recalls that the models sent forward by
the committee had foreign language under departmental discretion. What is needed is a change in the philosophy
of general education. It should not be
marginalized.
UM is not a liberal arts college it is a university that includes professional
schools. Many institutions have to
manage the tension between the two.
Students should be given a taste and then allowed to decide where their
interest lies. It is also a matter of
aptitude.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.