Search
Southern Home PageAbout Southern Connecticut State UniversityAcademicsAdmissionsStudent LifeResearchAthleticsHuman Resources at Southern
Southern Connecticut State University LibraryMySCSUSouthern DirectoryCalendar of EventsTechnologyContact Us
Department Banner

Undergraduate Curriculum Forum (UCF)

Minutes 9/15/05

 

Present 

B. Horn, B. Phelan, J. Manzella, R. Vaters-Carr, J. Feng, G. Kowalczyk, D. Weiss, R. Glinka, S. DiFrancesco, H. Podnar, C. Coron, T. Fleming, A. Abugri, B. Achhpal, N. Marano, N. Henderson, D. Marino, E. Schmidt, E. West,  N. Chrissidis, N. Disbrow, N. Bobreck,  J. Fields, R. Mugno, K. Burke, C. Dellinger-Pate, J. Goralski, R. Kustin, S. Bochain, K. Gatzke, K. Cummings, K. Buterbaugh, C. Novosad, K. Marsland, R. Hunter, J. Kenty-Drane, M. Kiarie, J. Tait, C. Kim, W. O'Brien,  J. Mielczarski, L. Kohrn, K. Laing, M. Heidmann, M. Kurowski, K. Mauro, T. Lin

I.          Call to Order


The meeting was called to order at 9:40 a.m.

II.        Announcements

Nicole Henderson asked that representatives remind faculty members in their department to take note of the changes in the course numbering for Composition courses.  This semester, many students were advised into the wrong courses.
Joe Fields announced that there would be a memorial service for former President Michael Adanti next Thursday and urged members to be present.

III.       Introduction to Dr. Williams, University Provost

Dr. Williams introduced himself to the UCF body and explained that he believed curriculum was the second most important mission of the university.  The first, he said, was recruiting new faculty.  He said he had served on many curriculum-related committees in the past and was anxious to work with the UCF.

He mentioned the curriculum-related issues that will be coming up, including online and hybrid courses.  He urged members to begin thinking about these courses and to feel free to invite him to UCF meetings when we seek his input on curriculum issues, particularly those with budgetary concerns. 

A member asked for his position on assessment.  Dr. Williams explained that he highly values assessment and believes it needs to be fully integrated into what we do everyday.  He added that faculty members will need to get used to learning the language and practices associated with assessment.

Another member asked him to discuss the ways in which he values faculty work on assessment - as part of our teaching responsibility, our scholarship, our service?  Dr. Williams answered that it is most certainly part of our teaching responsibility, but that sometimes, depending on the project, it can become part of the scholarship of teaching and learning, a type of scholarship that is becoming more important and one that he values.

A member also asked Dr. Williams to consider the dissent, which is strongly concentrated in two major science departments, in relation to the recently passed general education reform referendum and to consider the fact that the reform might be academically irresponsible in these particular disciplines.  Dr. Williams said he would consider this and said he hoped to be a mediating voice if necessary. 

The UCF body thanked Dr. Williams for coming.  It was noted that his correct email address is "williamsw1." 

IV.       Introduction to New UCF Members
New Members were introduced to the body.  We welcomed student government representative Melissa Kurowski, Debbie Weiss from Communication Disorders, Nancy Bobrek from Library Services, Jessica Kenty-Drane from Sociology, Joe Goralski from Management Information Systems, Rachel Vaters-Carr from the Art Department (who was actually with us last semester, but never got introduced),  Debbie Flynn from Public Health, Eric West from Geography, and Mary Kiarie from Special Ed -Reading.  We also re-welcomed University Assistant to UCF, Aya Jensen, who joined us last May.

V.        The Reorganization of UCF Subcommittees

Former subcommittee chairs were asked to inform new members about the mission and duties of each of the subcommittees.  The following represents those announcements.

  • University-Wide Impact Committee (UWIC): Looks at issues that impact the university at large, especially in relation to general education courses.

 

  • New Programs and Innovations Committee (NPIC): Evaluates and logs special topics courses, keeping track of how often they run, as well as evaluating and monitoring new programs.

 

  • Program Review and Assessment Committee (PRAC):  Establishes standards for program review and assessment, working closely with MaryAnn Kennedy to implement and act as an advisory body for faculty.  Also responsible for a campus-wide assessment conference and a series of workshops on successful assessment strategies.

 

  • Notifications Management Committee (NMC): Reviews and evaluates new course proposals, revised course proposals, and changes to existing programs.  Also notifies other departments about overlap concerns.

 

  • Writing Across the Curriculum Committee (WACC): An appointed committee.

Members then chose the subcommittees they would like to join and split into groups to discuss their membership.  Attached are rosters of members for each committee, collected after this process.

VI.       Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 10:15 a.m.

Minutes recorded by Nicole Henderson, Secretary for UCF