Undergraduate Curriculum Forum (UCF)
Minutes May 15, 2003 (amended)
Present:
J. Manzella, C. Wieder, J. Feng, G. Kowalczyk, S. DiFrancesco, R. Glinka, H. Podnar, M. Colleary, J. Tait, C. Coron, A. Abugri, B. Achhpal, N. Henderson, N. Wilder, B Schmitt, T. Paddock, M. Thompson, W. Shyam, L. Bier, J. Fields, R. Mugno, K. Burke, W. O'Brien, R. Page, K. Gatzke, K. Buterbaugh, V. Breslin, J. Bloch, E. Johnston, W. Elwood, C. Barrett, J. Mielczarski, K. Mauro
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Jim Tait at 8:40 a.m.
II. Announcements
Phil Smith and Mike Adanti are retiring. A motion was passed to send a message of thanks to Adanti for his service to the university.
The next UCF meeting is September 4. Assuming the constitution is accepted by the Senate, staggered terms have been established for initial appointments for each department representative. Subsequent terms will be 3 year appointments.
In the future, a portion of each UCF meeting will be devoted to discussing curricular issues.
III. Approval of Meeting Minutes
The UCF minutes of 5/1/03 were approved, with the addition of Joe Fields to the attendance roster, and with one revision. The comment in the minutes attributed to a certain UCF member was not his. He will email a summary of his comment to be included.
IV. Standing Committee Reports
Steering Committee presented Troy Paddock's flow of proposals revisions, with a vote of thanks to Troy for completing this difficult task.
Notifications Management (NMC) minutes of 5/8/03 were accepted.
New Programs and Innovations (NPIC) minutes of 5/8/03 were accepted. The committee determined that the Media Studies program proposal must present an academic, as well as administrative rationale.
Program Review and Assessment (PRAC) minutes, and year-end summary of 5/8/03 were accepted.
University-Wide Impact (UWIC) minutes of 3/20/03 and 5/8/03 were accepted.
V. Discussion
Minor Topics. Should the UCF adopt the NPIC resolution on interdisciplinary minors?
Jon Bloch made a friendly amendment to substitute "all prerequisites for courses in the minor must be listed in the catalogue" instead of using the term "hidden."
The motion on proposals regarding minors received unanimous approval
The NPIC resolution on tracking minors was also proposed. Discussion noted there was wide variation on tracking minors from department to department. The NPIC thought that tracking minors through Banner was a good start. The tracking process must be more systematic.
Kathy Mauro noted the need to track from the beginning of the minor program, rather than current practice, which tracks minors at the end of the program. Right now, only time students declare minors is on their petition for their degree. Some suggested a need for application forms for minors. This would help departments that service large numbers of minors to demonstrate the value of their efforts. Others suggested the process avoid bureaucratic entanglements. Others thought that with forms, departments could justify release time for a coordinator to service and advise minors.
The motion on tracking minors carried by a wide majority.
Flow of Proposals - Troy's revisions on the flow of proposals was discussed.
Troy noted that the revisions focused on appeals procedures. Some questioned the need for formal guidelines for appeals, and suggested that we allow proposals to go forward in any case, and a lack of approval down below would usually be grounds for rejection as the proposal moved up the approval chain.
Vince Breslin asked about is the disincentive for pushing appeals forward - some faculty might assume they should routinely appeal, and take a chance on NMC, in the hopes of just dealing with their revisions. How can appeals be both available but rare?
Jon Bloch called the question -- 13 wanted to vote, 4 wanted more discussion, no abstentions.
The motion carried with 17 in favor, 4 against and 5 abstentions
UCF Elections. Jim Tait was nominated for chair by Rob Page, and the nomination was seconded by Troy Paddock. Other candidate nominations were called for, but none were made. Accordingly Bill Elwood called for a vote of acclamation, and the motion carried, with 1 abstention. Jim Tait will serve as chair of UCF for next academic year. UCF chairs will be limited to 1 year terms once the new constitution is formally approved by the Senate.
Voting on chair positions for each of the committees was postponed until fall.
VI. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
Items for Further Discussion
Should the UCF adopt Robert's Rules of Order? The Senate uses it, and we report to the Senate.
When should courses receive different credit loads (for labs, writing intensiveness, etc.)?
