Educational Policies Committee
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Members Present: Mara Adams, Pat Connelly, Lori Rodrigues-Fisher, Martin Hansen, Deanna Stoube, Jim Van Speybroeck, Barb Wiese, Dan Zeimet.
Guests: Ken Grenier, Mark McGinn, Gary Monnard; Shelli Engelbrecht, Brenda Hughes, Lynn Kilburg, Bob Ristow, Terry Schlabach, Jill Schmidt, Jon Turnquist, Phyllis Wenthe,
1. Approve minutes.
Motion to accept minutes from amended minutes from 1/31, 2/7 and 2/14: Jim Van Speybroeck, seconded by Deanna Stoube.
2. Review request to designate CSCI 435 as WI
Motion to accept this proposal: Barb Wiese, seconded by Deanna Stoube.
Discussion: A member asked if this designation was formalizing what has already been done in the CSCI department. Mark McGinn noted that the current WI courses were not necessarily the best ones to have that designation. CSCI 435 WI is a new course that would be required across the departmental curriculum and all majors would experience a uniform WI experience. This makes the process consistent, allows for better assessment, and the department will gradually phase out the old WI course designations. Motion carried without objection.
3. Five year review for MOT
Motion to accept the MOT five year departmental review: Jim Van Speybroeck, seconded by Deanna Stoube.
Discussion: Phyllis Wenthe gave an overview of the department’s progress and activities since the last five-year review. She noted that the Occupational Therapy department conducts an annual curriculum retreat in which the department reviews assessment data from multiple internal and external sources, as well as studying patterns and trends in the field. This annual review process allows the department to address concerns, growing trends and new research opportunities in a timely manner. In addition, the process provides the department with the documentation necessary for the accreditation and assessment processes.
A member noted that the MOT review document contained an excellent section on departmental goals, and asked about external sources of data. Phyllis Wenthe stated that the Occupational Therapy department uses a variety of external sources for its assessment data, including employer surveys, alumni surveys, data from the clinical council and the advisory board, as well as fieldwork assessments.
Bob Ristow noted that while his letter of support was absent from the documentation, he was fully supportive of the department and that the MOT five-year review was an excellent document.
A member asked about the proposed change to make MOT 255 a 300 level course, noting that the syllabus suggested it was an introductory-level course. Phyllis Wenthe stated that while it was possible for some students to take this course as a freshman or sophomore, student feedback indicated that it was too intense a course for a 200-level designation. The department doesn’t wish to change the course but would ideally like for it to be taken later in the student’s academic career. Terry Schlabach noted that some students have taken this course as an explorative tool to determine if they want to be in the OT field, but the department wishes to offer the course to students committed to the field of occupational therapy and not ones trying to discern their major.
A member asked about the department’s long-range goals with
regards to study abroad experiences. Terry Schlabach reported on the
department’s long association with the
Phyllis Wenthe asked the members of EPC to consider an alternative format for the five-year review documents for departments/programs that had accreditation requirements, since these departments were already required to complete lengthy documents for their respective accreditation agencies. Several departments would be impacted by such a choice, including occupational and physical therapy, education, nursing, industrial engineering, and social work. The committee agreed to study this matter further.
The committee noted that the MOT document presented an excellent model of assessment and congratulated the department for its exemplary work.
4. Old Business: Continue discussion of role and responsibilities of EPC
The committee will draft a written response to the questions raised by Kirk Kelley with regards to the role and responsibilities of EPC.
5. New business: Request to add Maureen Baldwin as ex-officio member of EPC
The committee decided that it would be beneficial for Maureen Baldwin to attend EPC meetings because in her role as the Director of Advising, she needs to communicate to all advisors changes that would affect their advisees. EPC meetings are open proceedings, and the committee recommends that Maureen Baldwin be extended an open invitation to attend.
Motion to adjourn: Jim Van Speybroeck, seconded by Deanna Stoube.