Present: desJardins, Eggleton, Kars, Lynn, Marrow, Martens, Stapleton and Viancour

Visitor: Steve Young

1. Minutes for 9/25/08 were approved.

2. Prerequisites and SA

Steve Young from the Registrar's Office discussed prerequisites with the UGC. He explained that the new SA can check prerequisites for any specific course. The system can also check for such prerequisites as a student's academic standing, major, or permission of the instructor. Departments will have to decide how they would like prerequisite checking to occur. They will also have to decide how many people, and who, within a given department will have access to overriding system prerequisites checking. Dr. Kars will write up a resolution regarding prerequisites and SA for presentation to the UGC and, eventually, the Faculty Senate.

3. Postings

The following postings discussed and approved:

• Major: Management of Aging Services (Program Change)
• PSYC 441: Social/Health Psychology (New)
• ECAC 300 Special Topics in Accounting (New)
• Preprofessional Studies in Accounting (Program Change)
• MCS 377 Desktop Publishing and the Web (New)

   

• AGNG 435: Images of Aging Through Advertising & Media (New) - The UGC discussed AGNG 435 and it was tabled due to questions. The UGC feels that the course is "light" for a 400 level course - given the prerequisites (any three AGNG courses or permission) and the nature of the course. The UGC could not see any reason why the course could not also be taken by first or second year students. Please explain the following: 1. Why offer it at the 400 level? 2. How much writing would be involved, what would be its length, etc. The UGC would also like a more detailed syllabus, perhaps the one of 498 which has previously been offered, and provide a more thorough rational of why this should be a 400 level course.
• Biology 395: The Art of Scientific Writing (New) - The UGC discussed Biology 395 and had the following suggestions: 1. The UGC would like for MARC to be placed in the title for clarity purposes. 2. The UGC thinks that the 300 level is high - so the committee would either like for it changed to 200 level course, or for the department to justify convincingly why it should be an upper-level course. 3. The UGC would like for the department to make clear in the catalog description that this course does not fulfill WI requirements.
• Mechanical Engineering (Program Change) - The UGC discussed the Gateway proposal for Mechanical Engineering. The UGC's main objection focuses on the unequal treatment of transfer students and “native” students. While the UGC has no objections to the gateway proposal, it cannot approve it as long as both classes of students are not treated equally. The recommendation is that the proposal is adjusted and resubmitted.

5. Removed from Tabled Postings

The following tabled postings were removed from tabled postings.

• MATH 151 Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (MS)
• MATH 152 Calculus and Analytic Geometry II (MS) - (Change: Description)
• Mechanical Engineering (Program Change)

6. Program Reviews

Department Program Reviews were assigned as follows:

• Social Work - Devin Hagerty
• Political Science - Jeff Martens
• Economics - Yen-Mow Lynn

7. The UGC had a brief discussion regarding undergraduates enrolling in graduate courses by getting special permission. The question is if there is a policy on students withdrawing from a graduate course because the workload is too much but being allowed to take the lower undergraduate course that is cross-listed since they have technically done the work. The consensus is that it should be a case by case decision. Dr. Viancour will write up a procedure to be submitted to the UGC and then to the Faculty Senate.

Meeting adjourned until October 23, 2008