NPIC Minutes of 10-3-02 Meeting

Members present: Elwood, Lukinbeal, Lueder, Mills, Paddock (Chair), Stenzel, Thompson, Wieder (recorder), Wilder

The following Special Topics course were received/noted:

ANT 398 Women, Culture and Globalization

COM 498 Strategic Advertising Campaigns

ITA 498 Italian Literature and Cinema

MDS 298 How Media Means

MDS 298 The Mediated Self

MDS 398 Hip Hop, Rap and Signifying

MDS 398 The Argument of Media

MDS 398 Romance to Ruin: Media and Relationships

MDS 498 Sound of Media

SOC 398 Sociology of Gender

SPA 398 Puerto Rican Culture and Civilization

[A potential conflict was noted between the Special Topics course COM 498 and Marketing Dept offerings.]

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Agenda

1. Area Studies minors.

Discussion centered on such matters as the structure of Area Studies minors, their academic requirements, etc., in addition to proposing guidelines/standards for all minors. The example of the German Studies Minor was offered for discussion purposes as a point of departure.

The interdisciplinary aspect of Area Studies programs was discussed in connection with the requirement of a coursework in a minimum of three different academic disciplines.

Questions were raised regarding accommodating students when a required course is not offered in the student's final semester and, for example, when required courses are taught by only one faculty member in a given department who may be on leave.

Discussion also addressed the issue of requiring at least one upper level (300--400) course (which is not currently required in all Minor Study Programs). In this connection, various program structures/standards were considered, such as requiring that Minors be made up entirely of courses that are 200-level or above, and that half of the required coursework be done at the 300/400-level.

NPIC members were given the assignment to define the requirements for the Area Studies minor with special effort to justify the need for 300/400 level courses in the minor.

2. Business/Economics specializations.

Discussion focused on the following Study Program Specializations: Economics, Business Administration-Finance, Business Administration-Business Economics. A request was made for clarification of the language differentiating between Specializations and Concentrations, particularly with respect to credit-load requirements in the major. (This matter will be presented by the Chair to the UCF Steering Cte.)