PRELIMINARY WINTER 2007 CURRICULUM REPORT

PLEASE BRING THIS REPORT OF THE UO COMMITTEE ON COURSES TO THE UNIVERSITY SENATE MEETING ON MARCH 14, 2007.

 

 

The body of this report consists of two major sections: Course Proposals reviewed winter 2007 and Other Curricular Matters. Policies and definitions governing group and multicultural general-education requirements are under Other Curricular Matters.

 

Course proposals approved by both the University of Oregon Committee on Courses (UOCC) and the University Senate are effective fall term 2007, unless a specific term is requested by an academic department and stated otherwise in this report.

 

The UOCC will consider new proposals during spring term and will submit a spring quarterly report to the University Senate in May 2007.

 

Routing of Minor Changes: The UOCC has confirmed that the following minor course changes may be made without review by the full committee: minor edits of course description, pre- or corequisites, grading option, and conditions of repeatability. Changes may be submitted in writing directly to the Office of the Registrar and Creative Publishing, in care of Mike Jefferis (jefferis@uoregon.edu) and Scott Skelton (sskelton@uoregon.edu). The memorandum should indicate the effective term for the change(s). Note: extensive changes may be referred to the UOCC for review.

 

Courses Not Taught Report: The UOCC has changed the policy of dropping courses not taught within the past three years from the fall curriculum report to the spring curriculum report. This allows the correct listing of courses in the catalog for the following curricular year. The intention for this change is to allow departments a chance to reply earlier and provide a more thoughtful response while still involved in curricular planning and staffing for the next academic year and can best determine which courses they are able to offer.

 

Multicultural Courses Policy: As part of general-education, offerings of multicultural courses at the 100, 200, and 300 levels need to be available to a wide spectrum of students from all across the University. Departments wishing to offer courses to satisfy the multicultural requirement should make such these courses available at the more general 100, 200, or 300 levels whenever possible, rather than at the more specialized 400 level.

 

Extended Course Descriptions for Group Satisfying Courses: All proposals for courses that would satisfy a group requirement for general-education must include a suitable extended course description, for use with the course, as specified in senate legislation:

 

“For all group-satisfying courses to be offered during a particular term, faculty or departments are asked to post electronically, in the Schedule of Classes, course descriptions that are substantially expanded over those provided in the catalog. The posted course information should be understandable to someone unfamiliar with the field and should emphasize the questions or issues that reveal, by their breadth and significance, why the course has earned Group status.” (US03/04-8, May 12, 2004)

 

 

March 21, 2007:         Curricular proposals for consideration in the spring round must be submitted to the provost’s office.

May 6, 2007:              University Senate considers spring 2007 preliminary report of the University of Oregon Committee on Courses.

July 2007:                  Publication of 2007–8 University of Oregon Catalog. The changes in the fall report will first appear in this catalog.

September 12, 2007:  Curricular proposals for consideration in the fall round must be submitted to the provost’s office.

November 29, 2007:   University Senate considers fall 2007 preliminary report of the University of Oregon Committee on Courses.

December 19, 2007:   Curricular proposals for consideration in the winter round must be submitted to the provost’s office.

March 12, 2008:         University Senate considers winter 2007 preliminary report of the University of Oregon Committee on Courses.

 

 

Members, University of Oregon Committee on Courses

 

Voting:       Paul Engelking, Chair                      Ex officio:          Jack Bennett

                  Jack Boss                                                               Herb Chereck

                  Emma Martin                                                         John Crosiar

                  Paul Peppis                                                           Marian Friestad

                  Arkady Vaintrob                                                    Scott Skelton     

                        Frances White

                                                                                              

Student:       None                                                             Staff:               Linda Adkins

                                                                                               Mike Jefferis

 

 

The University of Oregon Committee on Courses moves that the following course proposals and Other Curricular Matters be approved.

 

Unless indicated otherwise, courses may be taken either pass/no pass or for letter grades. “P/N only” or “graded only” indicates that all students must take the course as specified in the bold print. Separate grading options for majors are bracketed in this report and appear in UO class schedule notes; they are not printed in the UO Catalog. R after course credits means that the course number may be repeated for credit. “Sequence” after the description means the courses must be taken in numerical order.

 

 

REINSTATED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

BI 486/586 Population Genetics (4)

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as BI 410/510)

BI 422/522 Protein Toxins in Cell Biology (4) Mechanisms used by protein toxins to kill other organisms and how they have been used as molecular scalpels to dissect pathways in cell and neurobiology. Prereq: BI 322 or BI 360.

 

(Course previously taught as BI 410/510)

BI 433/533 Bacterial-Host Interactions (4) Examines spectrum of interactions between bacteria and animals, from pathogenesis to symbiosis, focusing on the molecular and cellular bases of these interactions. Prereq: BI 320 or 322 or 330.

 

(Course previously taught as BI 410/510)

BI 496/596 Conservation Genetics (4) Causes and consequences of changes in genetic diversity in natural populations using tools and techniques from population, quantitative, and molecular genetics, and systematics and phylogenetics. Prereq for BI 496: BI 320 or BI 380. Offered alternate years. Effective summer session 2007.

 

 

REINSTATED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

CIS 423 Software Methodology II (4) Effective spring term 2007.

 

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as LING 199)

ARB 101 First-Year Arabic (5) Introduction to Arabic with emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Sequence with ARB 102, 103. Effective summer session 2007.

 

(Course previously taught as LING 199)

ARB 102 First-Year Arabic (5) Introduction to Arabic with emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Sequence with ARB 101, 103. Prereq: ARB 101. Effective summer session 2007.

 

(Course previously taught as LING 199)

ARB 103 First-Year Arabic (5) Introduction to Arabic with emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Sequence with ARB 101, 102. Prereq: ARB 102. Effective summer session 2007.

 

 

REINSTATED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

EC 451/551 Issues in Labor Economics (4)

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as EC 399)

EC 327 Introduction to Game Theory (4) [Graded only for majors] Introductory course in game theory. Develops game-theoretic methods of rational decision making and equilibriums, using many in-class active games. Prereq: EC 101 or 201. Approved to satisfy Group II: Social Science general-education group requirement.

 

 

COURSES DROPPED

 

ENG 495/595 English Grammar (4)

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

ENG 429/529 Old English II (4R)

(Changed Course Description, Course Title, Repeatability)

ENG 429/529 Old English II: [Topic] (4R) Study of Old English prose or poetry in the original language. R twice when topic changes. Pre- or coreq: ENG 428/528.

 

ENG 430/530 Old English III (4R)

(Changed Course Description, Course Title, Repeatability)

ENG 430/530 Old English III: [Topic] (4R) Study of Beowulf or works by other major Old English authors in the original language. R twice when topic changes. Pre- or coreq: ENG 429/529.

 

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

GEOG 471/571 North American Cultural Landscapes (4)

(Changed Course Title)

GEOG 471/571 North American Historical Landscapes

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as 410/510)

GEOG 412/512 Review of Geospatial Concepts (2) An online, self-guided introduction to the basic concepts behind modern cartography and geographic information systems.

 

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

GEOL 473/573 Isotope Geochemistry (3)

(Changed Course Description, Credits/Workload)

GEOL 473/573 Isotope Geochemistry (4) Introduction to nuclear physics and isotope systematics; techniques of isotope analysis; applications of stable and radioactive isotopes in geochronology and as tracers of geological processes.

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as GEOL 410/510)

GEOL 420/520 Geocommunication (3) [Graded only for majors] Scientific writing and presentations for the geological sciences. Focus on writing scientific papers and proposals, preparing oral and visual presentations.

 

(Course previously taught as GEOL 410/510)

GEOL 455/555 Mechanical Earth (4) [Graded only for majors] Introduction to continuum mechanics. Includes stress and strain, friction, elasticity, viscous fluids, constitutive laws, equations of motion, and deformation of the earth. Prereq: GEOL 315, PHYS 202, or equivalent; MATH 256.

 

GEOL 463/563 Computational Earth Science (4) [Graded only for majors] Practical techniques for scientific computing using the interactive environment Matlab. Topics include root finding, curve fitting, interpolation, integration and differentiation, optimization, ordinary differential equations. Prereq: MATH 253.

 

(Course previously taught as Geol 410/510)

GEOL 470/570 General and Environmental Geochemistry (4) [Graded only for majors] Lecture- and project-based introduction to geochemical classification of elements, element cycling, trace element geochemistry, geochemistry of surface environments, basics of radiogenic, and stable isotope geochemistry. Prereq: CHEM 221 and 222 and 223 and GEOL 311 or 332.

 

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

HIST 310 Perceptions and Roles of Women from the Greeks through the 17th century (4)

(Changed Course Title)

HIST 310 Early Modern Women

 

HIST 329 The Mediterranean World: [Topic] (4)

(Changed Course Description, Course Title, General Education Requirements, Repeatability)

HIST 329 Mediterranean World, Antiquity to 1453 (4) Late antiquity, Byzantium, rise of Islam, Abbasid caliphate, conquests of Spain and Sicily, religious tolerance, the roles of women, trade, and intellectual exchange. Approved to satisfy Group II: Social Science general-education group requirement and Category B: Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance multicultural requirement.

 

NEW COURSES

 

HIST 330 Mediterranean World, 1453–1700 (4) The rise of the Ottomans, Venetian trade, Jewish diaspora from Spain, the roles of women, piracy, slavery, and the decline of the Mediterranean. Approved to satisfy Group II: Social Science general-education group requirement and Category B: Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance multicultural requirement.

 

HIST 438/538 Golden Age Spain (4) [Graded only for majors] Spanish history during one of the most important eras of its past, when it was a cultural leader in Europe and a major world power. DENIED the request to satisfy Category B: Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance multicultural requirement.

 

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

(Correction from fall term 2006)

INTL 260 Culture, Capitalism, and Globalization (4)  Effective summer session 2007.

 

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

LING 451/551 Syntax and Semantics I (4)

(Changed Course Title)

LING 451/551 Functional Syntax I

 

LING 452/552 Syntax and Semantics II (4)

(Changed Course Title)

LING 452/552 Functional Syntax II

 

NEW COURSES

 

LING 331 African Languages: Identity, Ethnicity, History (4) [Graded only for majors] Introduction to the role of languages in understanding African identities, cultures, and migrations. Major language families, linguistic diversity, multilingualism, and historical change in African languages. Approved to satisfy Category C: International Cultures multicultural requirement.

 

(Course previously taught as ENG 495/595)

LING 494/594 English Grammar (4) [Graded only for majors] Survey of grammatical, syntactic, and morphological structures of English in terms of semantic and functional criteria.

 

(Course previously taught as LING 199)

LT 199 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R) Various self-study languages offered through the Yamada Language Center. R when topic changes.

 

 

NEW COURSES

 

MDVL 199 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

MDVL 399 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

MDVL 403 Thesis

MDVL 405 Reading and Conference: [Topic]

MDVL 406 Field Studies: [Topic]

MDVL 408/508 Workshop: [Topic]

MDVL 410/510 Experimental Course: [Topic] (1–5R)

MDVL 503 Thesis

 

 

REINSTATED COURSE

 

PHYS 686 Quantum Optics and Laser Physics (4) Effective spring term 2007.

 

 

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

(Changed Course Description, General Education Requirements)

PSY 459/559 Cultural Psychology (4) Examines interdependence between mind and culture in substantive domains such as social cognition, motivation, emotion, and psychopathology. Cultural pluralism, collective identities, tolerance, and diversity considered. Pre- or coreq: WR 121 and 122 or 123; PSY 303. DENIED the request to satisfy Category B: Identity, Pluralism and Tolerance multicultural requirement.

 

 

COURSES DROPPED

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

REL 316 Beginnings of Christianity (4)

 

EXISTING COURSE CHANGES

 

REL 222 Introduction to the Bible (4)

(Changed Course Description, Course Title)

REL 222 Introduction to the Bible I (4) Content and organization of the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament); examination of scholarly methods and research tools used in biblical studies.

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as REL 316)

REL 223 Introduction to the Bible II (4) Examination of the written traditions of early Christianity with an emphasis on the New Testament.

 

REL 450/550 Readings in Daoism: [Topic] (4R) [Graded only for majors] Close reading of one or more Daoist texts in English. Emphasis on religious, philosophical, historical contexts; history of interpretation; critical scholarship. R when topic changes.

 

REL 454/554 Readings in Confucianism: [Topic] (4R) [Graded only for majors] Close reading of one or more Confucian texts in English translation with attention to religious, philosophical, historical contexts, history of interpretation, critical scholarship. R when topic changes.

 

 

REINSTATED COURSES

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

FR 362 French Film (4)

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

FR 597 Francophone Women’s Writing (4)

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as RL 199)

PORT 101 First-Year Portuguese (5) Introduction to Brazilian Portuguese language and culture, with emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and listening comprehension skills. Sequence with PORT 102, 103. Effective summer session 2007.

 

(Course previously taught as RL 199)

PORT 102 First-Year Portuguese (5) Introduction to Brazilian Portuguese language and culture, with emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and listening comprehension skills. Sequence with PORT 101, 103. Prereq: PORT 101 or equivalent. Effective summer session 2007.

 

(Course previously taught as RL 199)

PORT 103 First-Year Portuguese (5) Introduction to Brazilian Portuguese language and culture, with emphasis on speaking, reading, writing, and listening comprehension skills. Sequence with PORT 101, 102. Prereq: PORT 102 or equivalent. Effective summer session 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

REINSTATED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

ARH 341 Italian Renaissance Art (4)

 

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as 199)

DSC 240 Managing Business Information (4) [Graded only for majors] Data-oriented approaches for structuring and analyzing information, with applications in the traditional functional areas of business, emphasizing modern techniques for developing fact-based decision models.

 

 

DROPPED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

MGMT 602 Supervised College Teaching (1–5R)

 

 

REINSTATED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

J 419/519 Editing Theory and Production (4) Effective winter term 2007.

 

 

 

DROPPED COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

CRES 609 Practicum (1–8R) Effective spring term 2007.

 

NEW COURSE

 

(UOCC Administrative Action)

CRES 604 Internship (1–8R) Effective spring term 2007.

 

 

NEW COURSES

 

(Course previously taught as 399 in fall 2006)

PEF 291 Speed and Agility (1R) P/NP only. Topics include techniques for acquiring speed, agility, and conditioning; learning movement skills and applying energy systems. Minimal lectures complement practical application of drills. R once for credit.

 

 

 

The following information is not provided for approval by the University Senate. It is to inform academic and administrative departments about the status of proposals received but not approved by the UO Committee on Courses during winter term 2006.

 

College of Arts and Sciences

 

A bachelor of science degree, in addition to the bachelor of arts degree, is now an option for the international studies major program.

 

A new minor in African studies has successfully completed the university review and approval process. Effective spring term 2007.

 

A new subject code for medieval studies (MDVL) and a series of generic courses have successfully completed the university review and approval process. Effective spring term 2007.

 

School of Music and Dance

 

The Oregon University System has approved a degree title change from M.A. or Ph.D. in music history to M.A. or Ph.D. in musicology. Effective fall term 2007.

 

 

None

 

 

(Course previously taught as BI 410/510)

BI 464/564 Biological Clocks (4) Biological time keeping at ecological, evolutionary, behavioral, physiological, neurological, and molecular levels, with emphasis on daily and seasonal rhythmicity. Prereq for BI 464: BI 360 and BI 320 or BI 328. Offered alternate years. Requires additional information regarding undergraduate-graduate differential for demonstrating mastery.

 

 

HIST 423/523 Gender in European History: [Topic] (4R) [Graded only for majors] Range of topics include witches and witchcraft; men, women and revolution; sex and sexual difference in premodern Europe; and medieval religious women. DENIED the request to satisfy Category B: Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance multicultural requirement. Department’s response is needed.

 

(Course previously taught as HIST 410)

HIST 437/537 Medieval Spain (4) [Graded only for majors] A study of two related aspects of medieval Iberian history: Spain as a frontier society and Spain as a multicultural, multireligious society. Department’s response is needed.

 

 

PEOL 352 Backpacking II Outing (1)

(Changed Course Title)

PEOL 352 Backcountry Navigation Need clarification from department on the title change for other courses within the series.

 

 

GEOL 418/518 Data Analysis for Earth and Environmental Sciences (4) [Graded only for majors] Lecture- and lab-based introduction to descriptive statistics, data visualization, uncertainty analysis, error propagation, hypothesis testing, regression and multiple regression, directional data, and other topics. Department will resubmit the proposal at a later time.

 

 

 

 

The Committee on Courses offers the following reminders:

 

ü        Proposals to the Committee on Courses must be submitted on electronic forms, available on the CAS website, http://uocurriculum.uoregon.edu/. Arrangements for access may be made by contacting the appropriate college curriculum coordinator for each individual professional school or college. Proposals submitted on old forms will be returned, without review, to academic departments, schools, or colleges. Proposals must be submitted to the Committee on Courses prior to the beginning of the term in which they are to be considered. Proposals received after the beginning of the term will be deferred to the following term. All departments should consult their college curriculum coordinator for deadline dates or go to http://uocurriculum.uoregon.edu/ and click the “Important Dates” link.

ü       The following minor course changes may be made without review by the full committee: minor edits of course description, pre- or co-requisites, grading option, and conditions of repeatability. Changes may be submitted in writing directly to the Offices of the Registrar and Creative Publishing, in care of Mike Jefferis (jefferis@uoregon.edu) and Scott Skelton (sskelton@darkwing.uoregon.edu), respectively. The memorandum should indicate the effective term for the change(s). Note: extensive changes may be referred to the UOCC for review.

ü       If there is any question that a proposed new or changed course might duplicate coverage in an existing course from another department or school, the proposing department must gain written confirmation that the other department has been consulted and does not object to the new or changed course.

ü       Proposals for new courses must be accompanied by full syllabi.

ü       For 4xx/5xx level courses, both proposal forms and syllabi must state explicitly the substantive and measurable differences in type and amount of work for the two levels.

ü       The minimal requirements for general-education status of a course are regarded as necessary, but not always sufficient, for inclusion of a course as part of a comprehensive general-education program at the university.

Group satisfying courses are intended to provide students with a cohesive general-education program. Proposals for group-satisfying status of a course should explain how the course enhances general-education at the university, explicitly stating how the course would complement other group-satisfying courses, and which other courses would be especially suitable for students to take in accompaniment. Approved March 10, 2004.

According to University Senate legislation, courses submitted for group-satisfying status must be submitted to the Intercollege General-education Review Committee.

Proposals for undergraduate group-satisfying and multicultural courses must include written justification, regardless of whether they are new or existing courses.

ü       The minimal requirements for multicultural status of a course are regarded as sufficient for inclusion of a course as part of the multicultural course requirements.

Any course that might appear to satisfy the university multicultural requirements, either by title, description, or content, is carefully examined to see if it should be listed as a multicultural course. If a course might appear on its face eligible for multicultural status, the committee needs clear explanation of why the course does—or does not—satisfy multicultural course guidelines. Arbitrary exclusion of courses from the list of multicultural satisfying courses can engender student confusion or cynicism. Approved on March 10, 2004.

ü       The UO Committee on Courses has established the policy that the phrase “or instructor’s consent” will not be stated along with any other course prerequisites. The prerequisites of any course may be overridden by instructor’s consent, and need not be stated explicitly for individual courses. Academic departments are able to override any prerequisite requirements in Banner should a student qualify to enroll.

“Instructor’s consent” is reserved for use alone as a sole prerequisite to allow departments to monitor suitability of enrollment in courses for individual students, preventing enrollment without prior approval. Academic departments should be aware they must code the courses correctly and assume enrollment management responsibilities, preauthorizing each student individually, with this option. Approved March 10, 2004.

 

As the primary, commonly available summary of a course, the syllabus serves several purposes. It outlines the course, it denotes what students may expect from the course, and it locates the course in the curriculum. The syllabus is the best, most concise description of a course by its teacher available to both prospective students and colleagues. The Committee on Courses uses syllabuses in its review of courses. To maximize the usefulness of a syllabus to students and faculty, it should contain the following contents:

 

1. Course Number

2. Title

3. Credits

4. Term, place, time, instructor

(For a new course proposal, indicate when it is likely to be offered, and how frequently)

(For a new course proposal, indicate who is likely to teach the course)

 

5. Position in the curriculum

• Satisfies group requirement? Explain why

• Satisfies multicultural requirement? Explain why

• Satisfies other general-education requirement?

• Satisfies other major or program requirement?

• Preparatory for other courses?

• List prerequisites or other suggested preparation

 

6. Format (lecture, discussion, laboratory)

 

7. Outline of subject and topics explored

 

8. Course materials (texts, books, readings)

 

9. Instructor expectations of students

• Be explicit (by pages assigned, lengths of assignments)

• Level of student engagement expected (see suggested Student Engagement Inventory on following page)

• Readings

• Problems

• Attendance

• Project

• Writing

• Laboratory

• Field work

• Work with electronic media, network, online

• Performance

• Presentation

• Exams

• Differential expected for graduate work for joint 4xx/5xx-level courses

 

10. Assessment

• Methods (testing, homework)

• Times or frequency

• Grading policy

• Incomplete policy

 

[See Faculty Handbook for other recommendations regarding university policies.]

 

To aid in assigning student credit hours uniformly to courses in the curriculum, the committee inventories the amount of student engagement in a course. The committee has found the following tool to be useful. Departments preparing course proposals are invited to use this form when deciding how many SCH units to request for a proposed course. Departments are encouraged to report to the committee how this tool may be improved for their use.

 

Please identify the number of hours a typical or average student would expect to spend in each of the following activities. The general guideline is that each undergraduate credit should reflect thirty hours of student engagement. Therefore, a 3-credit course would engage students for ninety hours total among the activities listed below, whereas a 4-credit course would list 120 hours of activities in which students are engaged over the course of the term. (Graduate students are expected to perform work of higher quality and quantity, typically with an additional 20–25 percent effort expected.)

 

Educational activity	Hours student engaged	Explanatory comments (if any):
Course attendance
Assigned readings
Project
Writing assignments
Lab or workshop
Field work, experience
Online interaction
Performances, creative activities
Total hours:

 

Definition of terms:

Course attendance	Actual time student spends in class with instructor or GTF
Assigned readings	Estimated time it takes for a student with average reading ability to read all assigned readings
Writing assignments	Estimated time it takes for a student with average writing ability to produce a final, acceptable written product as required by the assignment
Project	Estimated time a student would be expected to spend creating or contributing to a project that meets course requirements (includes individual and group projects)
Lab or workshop	Actual time scheduled for any lab or workshop activities that are required but are scheduled outside of class hours
Field work, experience	Actual or estimated time a student would spend or be expected to spend engaged in required field work or other field-based activities
Online activities	Actual or estimated time a student would spend or be expected to spend engaged in online activities directly related to the course, separate from online research required for projects or writing assignments
Performance, creative activities	Actual or estimated time a student would spend or be expected to spend outside of class hours engaged in preparing for required performance or creative activity

 

 

The following criterions were proposed by the Undergraduate Council and the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee. The University Senate approved them in May 2001 by Motion US0001-3 Replacement Motion governing the approval of courses meeting general-education requirements and the distribution of courses student must complete within each group.

 

1. Group satisfying courses in Arts and Letters, Social Science, and Science must meet the following general criteria:

1.1. Group satisfying courses in arts and letters must create meaningful opportunities for students to engage actively in the modes of inquiry that define a discipline. Proposed courses must be broad in scope and demonstrably liberal in nature (that is, courses that promote open inquiry from a variety of perspectives). Though some courses may focus on specialized subjects or approaches, there must be a substantial course content locating that subject in the broader context of the major issues of the discipline. Qualifying courses will not focus on teaching basic skills but will require the application or engagement of those skills through analysis and interpretation.

1.2. Group satisfying courses in the social sciences must be liberal in nature rather than being professionally oriented or limited to the performance of professional skills. They must cover a representative cross-section of key issues, perspectives, and modes of analysis employed by scholars working on the subject matter addressed by the course. The subject matter of the course will be relatively broad, e.g. involving more than one issue, place, or time. Courses with an emphasis on methods and skills will satisfy the requirement only if there is also a substantial and coherent theoretical component.

1.3. Group satisfying courses in the sciences should introduce students to the foundations of one or more scientific disciplines, or should provide an introduction to fundamental methods (such as mathematics) that are widely used in scientific disciplines. Courses should introduce students to the process of scientific reasoning.

 

2. Specific Criteria:

2.1. Group satisfying courses must be numbered at the 100, 200, and 300 levels.

2.2. Lower division courses must be offered annually, and upper division courses at least every other year.

2.3. Approved courses must be at least 4 credits each.

2.4. Upper division group satisfying courses must provide depth and rigor beyond that of typical lower-division general-education courses. Departments must justify, in terms of content, workload, and method of instruction, the assignment of a course to the upper level.

2.5. Courses that are offered for majors only are excluded from group status, but courses that are designed for both majors and other students may qualify.

2.6. Although laboratory courses are not automatically excluded from group status in the sciences, to acquire this status, the courses must not focus primarily on techniques or data collection.

 

3. Procedures governing the approval of all courses designed to meet General-education requirements.:

3.1. Before submission to the Senate, such courses proposed by departments must be reviewed at several levels:

3.1.1. By the curricular committees of the various colleges and schools

3.1.2. By an inter-college committee including the members of the CAS Curricular Committee and two representatives appointed by the deans of the others schools and colleges. This second committee is also charged to review such courses as do not meet the standards set in paragraph (2.) and to negotiate a solution with the sponsoring department.

3.1.3. By the University Committee on Courses.

3.2. The inter college committee is authorized to establish procedures governing the review process.

4. Completion of group requirements (student progress):

4.1. Within the full set of courses that fulfills all of the requirements, students may not count

4.1.1. more than one course that has the subject code of the major, or

4.1.2. more than three courses that have the same subject code.

4.2. Within the smaller set of courses that fulfills the requirements of each group, students must complete at least two courses that have the same subject code.

 

The 2000–2001 academic year was the first year that the Committee on Courses systematically deleted from the university catalog courses that have not been taught for three years or more.

 

In several cases, departments had not offered a specialized course under a course number and title specified in the catalog. Yet similar courses had been taught regularly in the department in various formats, under experimental numbers (410, 510, 610), or under the general designations for special topics seminars, workshops, or practicums (the 406/407/408/409, 506/507/508/509, 606/607/608/609 series). With time, departments had discovered that a course description in the catalog was too specialized to apply to any of their courses as actually being taught.

 

Unfortunately, removal of an overly specialized course, although untaught, still might have consequences for departments. Often that course had been the sole representative in the catalog of subjects that are taught by a department and are part of the regular curriculum. Dropping that course could make it appear that a department offered no courses in that course’s subject area.

 

The committee has noted another, companion problem. Over the years, the committee has observed that new courses tailored to the particular research interests and instructional style of an individual faculty member are likely to fall into disuse within a few years as the person’s teaching assignments and interests change, or if the instructor becomes unavailable for teaching that particular course.

 

The Committee on Courses recommends that departments and programs develop more sustainable course descriptions. A sustainable course description would identify a subject area and general approach, but would not be so restrictive as to exclude different perspectives or specializations also representative of that subject area.

 

The committee also recommends that departments and programs be selective when proposing permanent course status for specialized courses that can only be taught by one particular instructor.

 

For example, a department with several experts qualified to teach ceramics, but having only one instructor who specializes in Ming porcelain per se, might currently have a specialized course titled Ming Dynasty Porcelains in the catalog. A more sustainable course title could be Chinese Porcelains or even Porcelains, depending upon the range of expertise available to teach the course. Another approach would use the topics course Ceramics, possibly repeatable as the exact subject material—and transcript title—changes.

 

Departments following these recommendations could then represent the full range of their curricular offerings and could maintain a sustainable list of courses in the catalog.

 

 

Category A: American Cultures. The goal is to focus on race and ethnicity in the United States by considering racial and ethnic groups from historical and comparative perspectives. Five racial or ethnic groups are identified: African American, Chicano or Latino, Native American, Asian American, European American. Approved courses deal with at least two of these groups in a comparative manner. They do not necessarily deal specifically with discrimination or prejudice, although many do.

 

Category B: Identity, Pluralism, and Tolerance. The goal is to gain scholarly insight into the construction of collective identities, the emergence of representative voices from varying social and cultural standpoints, and the effects of prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination. The identities at issue may include ethnicities as in the American Cultures category, as well as classes, genders, religions, sexual orientations, or other groups whose experiences contribute to cultural pluralism. This category includes courses that analyze the general principles underlying tolerance, or the lack of it.

 

Category C: International Cultures. The goal is to study world cultures in critical perspective. Approved courses either treat an international culture in view of the issues raised in Categories A and B (namely, race and ethnicity, pluralism and monoculturalism, prejudice and tolerance) or explicitly describe and analyze a worldview (i.e., a system of knowledge, feeling, and belief) that is substantially different from those prevalent in the twentieth-century United States.

 

 

The Committee on Courses has discussed the criteria for adding an “H” suffix to a course number and recommends the following:

 

The “H” suffix is intended to advise students that a course provides honors content of significant difficulty and requires honors effort from students. The Committee on Courses will be looking for evidence of the following in determining whether a course should hold an “H” suffix designation:

 

1.   Students enrolling should have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 in their major.

 

2. The content of the class, and the level of analysis, should be significantly deeper than for nonhonors classes.

 

3. Class size should be small enough to promote intensive student participation.

 

4. The faculty member(s) teaching the course should be available for close advising outside of class.

 

MAJOR

 

Definition

Courses in designated primary subject areas or disciplines in which a student commits to gaining in-depth knowledge, skills, competence, and attitudes through a coherent pattern of courses. A footnote accompanies the major definition: Divisional major programs emphasize a general and integrated approach to learning, with the student’s major program broadly inclusive of work in several of the discipline or subject areas within the specific division within which the student’s degree program lies (i.e., humanities, social science, science). For instance, a divisional major program in the social sciences would call for the student to include within his or her major work from several of the disciplines or subject areas in the social sciences (such as sociology, political science, or economics). Because of the breadth of disciplines or subjects included in the major, the student has less opportunity to delve in depth into a single subject area such as sociology, political science, or economics, than they would be able to do were they in a “departmental major” program in a single one of these disciplines or subject areas.

 

Minimal Requirements

36 credits, of which a minimum of 24 must be upper division. Departments should consider setting minimum residency requirements.

 

MINOR

Definition

Courses in a designated secondary subject area or discipline distinct from and usually outside the student’s degree major in which knowledge is gained in a coherent pattern of courses.

 

Minimal Requirements

24 credits, of which a minimum of 12 must be upper division. Should be within a discipline that already has a preexisting major or is sponsored by a department.

 

CERTIFICATE

 

Definition

An approved academic award given in conjunction with the satisfactory completion of a program of instruction requiring one year or more, but less than four years, of full-time equivalent, postsecondary-level work. The conditions and conferral of the award are governed by the faculty and ratified by the governing board of the institution granting the certificate.

 

Minimal Requirements

36 credits—24 upper division with 12 minimum at 400 level. The sponsoring department must provide guidance—a template or check list and the name of an adviser, with notice that the student must consult an adviser to apply for the certificate at least two terms prior to graduation.