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Undergraduate Curriculum Forum (UCF)

Minutes 1/29/98

Present: B. Horn, C. Serchuk, J. Feng, D. Fredeen, G. Puerschner, J. Ullian, P. Cascella, R. Workman, L. Lancor, D. Savage, M. Hamilton-Lee, J. Ensign, M. Macomber, C. Davis, L. Yacher, P. Beals, F. Harris, A. Bielefield, K. Swenson, R. Mullen, J. Kavanagh, M. Spence, B. Madara, E. Budris, B. Wein, B. Gelbach, P. Gallup, J. Rakfeldt, D. Emmelman, J. Granfield, N. DeCrosta, L. Kohrn, R. Amenta, R. Gerber

I.    Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by D. Fredeen at 9:40 am.

II.    Announcements:

  • All course proposals should be forwarded to D. Fredeen in Jennings Hall. Twelve copies should be included.
  • A work study student is needed for 8 hours/week to manage UCF paperwork and clerical responsibilities. Faculty should contact D. Fredeen.
  • D. Fredeen needs schedules of availability from members of the Steering Committee.
  • The UWIC committee will meet next week at the same time/place.
  • The new chairperson for the Department of Communication Disorders is Marianne Kennedy.

III.    Approval of Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the previous UCF meeting (12/3/97) were distributed but not reviewed. They will be voted on at the next UCF meeting. Also distributed at this meeting were the following:

  • A memo from Robert Washburn to UCIC dated 11/9/95
  • A copy of the Chemistry Cumulative Program Record (CPR) form
  • A memo from Anthony Pinciaro to F.E. Lowe dated 8/4/97
  • The UCIC minutes from 4/3/97
  • Minutes of the NMC meeting 12/2/97

IV.    Chair's Report: D. Fredeen made the following comments:

  1. A time allotment (40 minutes) will be made during UCF meetings to allow discussion of issues for major topics.
  2. Committee reports are due to D. Fredeen's office the Monday morning before UCF meetings.
  3. UCF members need to read committee reports prior to the UCF meeting and alert committee members if there are issues of concern.
  4. A modified Robert's Rules of Order format will occur, including:             Committee members should approve their own meeting minutes.
    The UCF does not approve minutes from committees, but rather reviews the recommendations from committee reports. 
    To "call the question" means that a request is made to end discussion of a motion. If there is no opposition to calling the question then a vote is taken on the motion. If there is objection to calling the question, a vote is taken as to whether the question should be called.

V.    Committee Reports:

  1. University Wide Impact: P. Beals (chair) initiated a discussion of whether departmental representation is needed and/or appropriate at meetings in which course proposals and revisions are reviewed by UCF committees. Also discussed was the preparation and distribution of an agenda by each committee prior to meetings.
  2. New Programs and Innovations: C. Serchuk reported two topics being considered by this committee: monitoring of Special Topics courses and streamlining the process of reviews.
  3. Program Review & Assessment: B. Gelbach (chair) reported that this committee is preparing for the next wave of department assessments.
  4. Notifications Management: (See report). P. Gallup (chair) reported that this committee reviewed 49 proposals in the Fall, 1997 semester and has already received 19 proposals for the Spring, 1998 semester. Also, this committee has revised the form for course proposals and requested that revised CPR sheets be typed using the correct format. It was also reported that NMC needs additional members.

Motion 1: a motion was made, seconded and unanimously passed

to accept the recommendations for course approvals identified in the NMC minutes (12/2/97)

VI.Flow of Proposals & Role of the Deans: This topic was tabled until the next UCF meeting.

D. Fredeen reported that the secretary in the chemistry department will log course proposals received at D. Fredeen's office.

VII.    UCIC Motion re: Placement Exams:

Discussion occurred regarding the memo from A. Pinciaro to F.E. Lowe (8/4/97).

VIII.    Advisement, Number of Elective Credits and Number of Credits in a Student's Major

  1. Discussion identified that there is no set number of credits in a student's major, though there is a maximum number.
  2. It was identified that 12 credits are required as free electives and that a minimum of 41 credits are needed in general education requirements.
  3. Discussion occurred about prerequisites for courses in a student's major not otherwise identified on the CPR sheet.
  4. The UWIC will consider the following issues: unidentified prerequisites in a student's major, requisite skills to succeed in a major, external accreditation processes that influence a student's coursework and re-consideration of whether all university requirements can be applied to a student's major.
  5. Discussion occurred about placement exams and courses taken by freshmen at the university. This discussion included the revised SAT format which includes a graded writing sample and questions about the correlation of SAT math scores and student placement in college level math classes. The discussion continued with comments about communication from faculty from different departments identifying the degree/type of math and english needed by students in different majors. The discussion also included L course administration and faculty training in L course procedures. D. Fredeen will contact the admissions office about admission acceptance policies.
  6. B. Horn will chair an ad hoc committee (the freshmen requirement committee) which will consider means by which to require freshmen to take required general education math and english courses.

IX.    Adjournment:

  1. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
  2. The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 am.

Minutes recorded by:

Paul W. Cascella
Department of Communication Disorders