Undergraduate Curriculum Forum

Thursday, October 18, 2007 Minutes
Adanti Student Center 301A

Present:  Deborah Weiss, Chair
M. Narumanchi, S. Grace, G. Kowalczyk, S. Felsenfeld, R. Glinka, S. DiFrancesco, I. Antonios, M. Generali, S. Grubacic, N. Marno, N. Henderson, C. Coron, T. Fleming, D. Marino, E. West, T. Radice, C. Simoneau, R. Mugno, C. Gubitose, R. Conforti, J. Oppedisano, D. Flynn, D. Pettigrew, C. Weed, K. Marsland, R. Hunter, M. Cameron, T. Lin, J. Mielczarski, M. Shea, A. Marsoobian, J. Cheng, K. Laing, K. Mauro

I. Call to order at 9:40 am

II. Announcements

• Kathleen Rondinone had a baby girl! 

III. Approval of minutes of  October 4, 2007

• Approved unanimously with no corrections

IV. Standing committee reports and acceptance of minutes; vote on standing committee motions

• NMC - Minutes of September 27 and October 10, 2007 were received

        Motion was made to accept the following course proposals:

        1. NUR 421 
        2. IDS 470 & 471 
        3. MUS 300

        Motion approved with one abstention

        MUS 215 - needed revision

• UWIC - minutes received

        No motions:
 
Discussion: Composition of the FYE Program Implementation Task Force for the pilot program.

• PRAC - minutes received
   
  Discussion: Assessment conference will be April 18, 2008
• WACC - minutes received

        Motion: to accept the following "W' courses:

        1. COM 440:  Cultural Influences on Communication, Instructor: A. Madlock
        2. COM 440:  Cultural Influences on Communication, Instructor: L. Sampson 
        3. GEO 273:  Land Use Planning, Instructor: J. Dagostino
        4. PSC 244:  Research Methods in Political Science, Instructor: A. Pole 
        5. MGT 300:  Management and Organization, Instructor: M. Goralski

        Motion: approved with one abstention

V. New Business

1. Since guests hadn't yet arrived for the FYE discussion, a Q & A on the Writing-Across-the-curriculum program took place.
2. First Year Experience (FYE) program discussion was held with guests Provost Williams, Dean Freedeen and Dr. Kennedy. Points/questions raised were:
   1. Rigor of subject matter in FYE
   2. Quality of teaching: How will it be decided who will teach the FYE courses?
   3. Scheduling of FYE courses (some times don't work for students)
   4. Technology equipment problems in some classrooms
   5. Will more rooms be available for next semester and will they be appropriate to the pedagogical techniques utilized in FYE?
   6. With the clustering of courses, students have concerns on when they have to be on campus vs. when it is convenient to be on campus.
   7. Why wasn't there an academic impact statement for the pilot FYE program and will there be one for the implemented FYE program?
   8. Gaps created for lower-level course coverage.

Dr. Kennedy briefly discussed some FYE-related measurements:

Students completed the Beginning College Student Survey of Engagement (BCSSE) at new student orientation. This will serve as a baseline of students' perceptions and expectations about college. Over the course of the semester, students will be asked to complete 3 surveys focused on their adjustment to college and their perceptions of how they are progressing in meeting the outcomes identified for the first-year experience. In spring 2008, students will complete the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

Survey results will be correlated with students' academic record, number of credits earned, persistence into subsequent semesters, etc. Since we also know which "track" they were in during the first semester (FYE seminar, cluster only, LINKS, Honors), we will also be able to study whether there is any
difference in outcomes based on the program as well as any other demographic characteristic (lives on campus, first generation student, etc.).

Motion: To adjourn made by R. Mugno, seconded by J. Oppedisano

Meeting adjourned at 10:55am.