Minutes of the Education Policy Committee

Tuesday, October 8, 2002

 

Present:

Kris Eitrheim

Mike Hustedde

Pam Long

Nathan Schlueter

Barb Wiese

Randy Richards

Bonnie Leonhardt

Richard Legg

Nate Mundy

Paul Koch

Dan Bozik

Terry Schlabach

Guests:

Ryan Dye

Tom Yang

Mike Orfitelli

Bob Ristow

Regine Gwin

Amy Hakeman

Kristin Quinn

Lew Sanborne

Les Bell

Bill McAleer

Organizational Business:

1)      Minutes

a)      Subject to correction:

i)        Richards

ii)       Eitrheim

iii)     Approved

b)      Corrections

i)        Sociology Proposal: Cultural Anthropology is SOC 210, not 220; SOC 220 is Social Psychology.

ii)       The BES proposal was approved.

iii)     *The new approved BASS curricular structure is outlined below (Appendix I)

2)      Extend deadline for Biology Five-year Review to Spring 2003

a)      Richards

b)      Eitrheim

c)      Approved

3)      Physics Department Changes (Tom Yang)

a)      Proposed Changes:

i)        Requirements for General Science with Concentration in Physics Teaching Major (7-12): Requirements are the same as those for the Interdisciplinary Teaching major, plus the following: PHYS 203, 204, 306], 317; and 3 credits of PHYS 329.

ii)       Modify the old catalog statements in Physics to include the above statements with some modification:

(1)   Since interdisciplinary fields such as biophysics, medical electronics, geophysics and oceanography are very active areas, students are urged to obtain a broad science background. Requirements for a Concentration in Physics for a General Science Teaching Major:  Educ 343, and 30 semester hours in the broad area of science to include 15 semester hours in physics (PHYS 203, 204, 306, 317, and 1 - 3 semester hours of PHYS 329) and 15 semester hours of Science Electives drawn from at least two disciplines (Biology, Chemistry, Natural Science, Astronomy). For information on education courses required for a teaching major see the Education Department section.”

b)      Eitrheim

c)      Richards

d)      Approved

4)      New Irish Studies Minor (Ryan Dye)

a)      *Proposed Changes – See Appendix II below

b)      Only new History courses are approved. English courses still need approval

c)      Minor approved pending new numbers for courses now in special topics that will be made into separate new courses

d)      Hustedde

e)      Eitrheim

f)        Approved

5)      Changes to HPESS (Mike Orfitelli)

a)      Proposed Changes:

i)        PED 290 Exercise Pharmocology and Nutrition be changed to PED 341 Exercise Pharmocology with BIOL 202 as a prerequisite

ii)       Credit hour change for PED 390 Exercise Physiology from 3 to 4 credits

iii)     Activity class entitled PED 125 Activity “Topics” be accepted as a general education activity offering

iv)     New course: PED 258: Advanced Weight Training

(1)   Orfitelli agrees to add "or permission of instructor" to course listing

v)      General education status for PED 211, 212, 213, 218, 301

b)      Richards

c)      Mundy

d)      Approved

6)      Education Department (Bob Ristow)

a)      Proposed Changes:

i)        New course:  Education 460: Development of Evidenced-Based Reading Instruction Programs

b)      Eitrheim

c)      Mundy

d)      Approved

7)      Art Department (Kristin Quinn)

a)      Proposed Changes:

i)        The addition of Art 201(studio fundamentals painting) as a pre-requisite for Art 330 (painting I)

b)      Richards

c)      Eitrheim

d)      Approved

e)       Proposed changes:

i)         The addition of Art 206 (2D design) as a co-requisite for Art 208 (3D design).

f)        Richards

g)       Long

h)       Approved

8)       Proposal for final form of curricular Themes in new Content Curriculum (Rich Legg)

a)       Proposed Changes (see Appendix III below)

b)      Eitrheim

c)      Hustedde

d)      Ammended motion to move the proposal to faculty assembly for discussion; to give input to EPC who will then make final decision on November 19

e)      Eitrheim

f)        Mundy

g)      Roll Call

i)        Leonhardt: No

ii)       Long: No

iii)     Schlueter: Yes

iv)     Richards: Yes

v)      Wiese: No

vi)     Eitrheim: Yes

vii)   Hustedde: No

viii)Mundy: Yes

ix)  Schlabach: Yes

h)      Ammended motion APPROVED by a vote of 5-4

9)      No meeting next week

10)  Adjourn:

a)      Richards

b)      Mundy

c)      Approved

 

Submitted by Nathan Schlueter

 

 

Agenda for Oct. 22:

- Revision of Requirements for the MBA in Health Care (Richard Dienesch)

- General Education Requirements in Industrial Engineering (Mike Opar)

- Cross reference MOL 529 Conflict Resolution as MBA 764 and include MBA course as an alternative for Human Resource Management concentration/certification (Bonnie Leondardt)

- A review of changes in the assessment process (Paul Koch)

 

APPENDIX I

*New BASS Curriculum Structure*
Students who transfer with AAS degrees in allied health or registered
nurses with an A.D.N. or diploma will complete the following:

2 Writing Intensive courses (1 @ upper level)
Upper level credits                     (minimum) 30 cr

Skills                          (11-12 cr)
Engl 101                        3 cr
Math 131, 151, Stats 213        3 cr
or higher level course
Communication           2 or 3 cr
PED                             2 cr
IL 101                          1 cr

Humanities                      (9 cr)
Phil/Theo/Cath St               6 cr
   (3 cr @ upper level)
  Art, Music, Theatre            3 cr
     (or 3 cr Group II)

Social Science                  (3 cr)

Natural Science         (3 cr)

Foreign Language
or Multicultural Course         (3 cr)

 

Program of study must include 30 cr at the upper level.

Students in this program transfer in 60 to 90 credits.  The credits
indicated are the minimum that would be required in each area.


APPENDIX II

 

Interdisciplinary Minor Proposal

 

Title:  Irish Studies Interdisciplinary Minor

Coordinator:  Dr. Ryan D. Dye, Department of History

 

Mission Statement: 

The Irish Studies Interdisciplinary Minor will enable students to acquire a richer understanding and appreciation of the Irish, Irish-American, and British experiences.  Over the past two decades, a sizable and diverse number of American colleges and universities have created Irish Studies programs of various types.  Educators have begun to realize that the study of Ireland can prove very profitable on several different levels.  Ireland’s long, turbulent history can enlighten students about the origins of Western civilization, the effects of colonization, and the transition from a traditional to a modern nation-state.  Moreover, Ireland’s rich artistic, musical, and literary traditions provide a fruitful avenue for students to learn about Celtic, Scandinavian, Norman, Irish, British, and other European cultures.  Finally, nearly 45 million Americans are of Irish descent.  Many college and university students and faculty—particularly at a Catholic university such as St. Ambrose—desire to learn more about their Irish heritage, thus providing a strong demand for an Irish Studies Minor. 

To fulfill the General Education Program’s mission “to promote an understanding of the human condition from a perspective created by the interactions of multiple disciplines,” the Irish Studies Minor will utilize several existing General Education courses, and seek to create new General Education courses.  In particular, the Irish Studies Minor will attempt to build upon existing courses in History, Literature, and Theology, and supplement them with innovative courses in Irish spirituality, music, theatre, and dance.  The Irish Studies Minor also will be complemented by the intellectual and cultural opportunities provided by St. Ambrose University’s Irish Studies Program, O’Keefe Library’s Lawrence J. McCaffrey Irish Studies Collection, and by our Study Abroad programs in Ireland and Britain.

 

Learning Objectives:  The Irish Studies Minor will seek to introduce students to:

a.        Major trends and events in Irish, Irish-American and British History.

b.       Important themes in Irish and British Literature.

c.        Significant characteristics of Irish Catholicism and Celtic Spirituality.

d.       Different elements in Irish and Celtic culture.

e.        The current “Troubles” in Northern Ireland.

 

Program Curricular Structure:  To complete the Irish Studies Minor, students must complete at least 15 semester hours in courses approved for the minor in the following manner:

a.        Core courses (6 credits)—Required for completion of the minor: 

1.        HIST 342:  The Irish Question in Historical Perspective (listed in the current catalog)

2.        ENGL 243—Irish Literature (separately requesting its own course number, but materials provided)

b.       Affiliate courses (6 credits)—Approved courses include:

     --History:

1.        HIST 343:  War and Peace in Northern Ireland (requesting its own course number as part of this proposal)

2.        HIST 368:  The Irish-American Experience (course number approved at 2001 Program Review)

--Theology: 

1.        THEO 245—Catholicism in America (also HIST 245)

2.        Proposed course in Celtic Spirituality, by Prof. Mara Adams (materials forthcoming)

--Theatre: 

1.   THTR 321—Topics in Theatre course on Irish Theatre, by Dr. Cory Johnson (materials provided)

--Music: 

1.   MUS 115—Music in Culture (topics) course on Irish Music, by Dr. Joan Trapp (materials provided) 

--Physical Education: 

1.        PED 218—Irish Social Dance, by Dr. Ragene Gwin (course number recently approved by EPC)

               

 

 

c.  British course (3 credits)—Approved British courses include:

                --History:

1.        HIST 318—Medieval Britain (requesting its own course number as part of this proposal)

2.        HIST 340—Modern Britain, 1603-Present (course number approved at 2001 program review)

3.        HIST 341—History of the British Empire (course number approved at 2001 program review)

--Literature:

1.        ENGL 201—British Literature I (listed in the current catalog)

2.        ENGL 202—British Literature II (listed in the current catalog)

3.        ENGL 303—Shakespeare (listed in the current catalog)

4.        ENGL 304—Renaissance Literature (listed in the current catalog)

5.        ENGL 307—Romanticism (listed in the current catalog)

6.        ENGL 309—Victorian Literature (listed in the current catalog)

--Theatre:

1.        THTR 321:  Theatre in London for General Education credit (listed in the current catalog)

 

d.  Students who take a Study Abroad program in Ireland or Britain can receive credit for the courses concerning Ireland and Britain that they take overseas.  Matters regarding credit for overseas courses will be at the discretion of the Registrar, the Chair of the department involved, and the Coordinator. 

e.  Faculty who want to propose new courses for the minor must apply to the Coordinator.  An application will be available at the Coordinator’s office.

 

 

 

 

Assessment Plan:  To assess the Irish Studies Interdisciplinary Minor, the Coordinator will:

a.        Keep a portfolio for each student enrolled in the minor that will include at least one representative writing sample and one test from every course that the student takes within the minor.

b.       Keep updated syllabi for every course in the minor.

c.        Provide a questionnaire for the faculty participants asking them to explain how they are achieving the learning outcomes for the minor.

d.       Regularly conduct meetings with the faculty participants to discuss strategies for enhancing the minor.

e.        Recruit a faculty member from outside of the Irish Studies Minor to assess how well the minor is meeting its learning objectives.  Possibly, this external evaluator could be the coordinator of an Irish Studies curriculum at another institution, such as Southern Illinois University or the University of St. Thomas.

 

Student participants in the minor also will be asked to:

a.        Fill out a survey, upon completing the minor, to assess student reaction to the minor.

b.       Fill out a survey, conducted every five years, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the minor from an alumni perspective.

APPENDIX III

 

Outline of New Content Curriculum

 

All General Education approved content courses are assigned to one of four disciplinary groups (Humanities, Creative Arts, Social Sciences, or Natural & Mathematical Sciences).  For the complete listing of approved courses, see http://web.sau.edu/GeneralEducation/CourseAllocation_final.htm  I am keeping this listing up to date as Educational Policies reviews and approves courses for Gen Ed designation.

 

Each student must complete requirements described under Level 1, Level 2, and a Theme as described below.

Level 1 – An introduction to the Arts & Sciences

Summary of Level 1 requirements: 1 PHIL and 1 THEO from an approved list, 2 Humanities courses from two other departments, 1 Creative Arts course (or equivalent ensemble or private lesson experience), 1 Social Science course, and one Natural Science course.

Group I - Humanities: academic disciplines and courses concerned with people, their values and the human experience.  Courses addressing Humanities General Education goals and objectives are affiliated with this group.

Requirement: Four courses including one Philosophy (selected from among Phil 101, 201, 207, 208, 210 and 217) and one Theology (selected from among Theo 101, 201, 202, 215, 219, 240, 250, 251 and 252) and two courses selected from two other departments in this group.    {11-12 credits}

Group II - Creative Arts: academic disciplines and courses concerned with the creation of artistic responses to the human experience.  Courses addressing Creative Arts General Education goals and objectives are affiliated with this group.

Requirement: One creative course of 2-3 credits or one year of study of the same musical instrument or one year of performance in musical ensemble.  {2-3 credits}

Group III - Social Sciences: academic disciplines and courses concerned with the use of quantitative and qualitative methods in studying social and cultural aspects of human experience.  Courses addressing Social Sciences General Education goals and objectives are affiliated with this group. 

Requirement: One course.   {3 credits}

Group IV - Natural and Mathematical Sciences: academic disciplines and courses concerned with the use of quantitative methods for studying the natural world.  Courses addressing Natural Sciences General Education goals and objectives are affiliated with this group. 

Requirement: One course.   {3-4 credits}

 Level 2 – Extended explorations of the Arts & Sciences

Summary of Level 2 requirements: Students must take two additional approved courses in Philosophy, Theology or Catholic Studies (departments may be the same or different) with at least one course at the 300 level.   Remaining Level 2 requirements may be met in any one of three ways.  Students may, 1) take additional courses distributed across three of the four disciplinary groups, or 2) complete either a standing interdisciplinary minor or construct one of their own, or 3) complete a second major in any of the departments of the College of A&S or in Economics.

Each student also must complete the following (6 credits):

and one of the following options.

Option A: Breadth of Study in the Arts and Sciences

Option B: Interdisciplinary Study

Option C: Depth of Study in the Arts and Sciences

Theme

Each student must complete an approved Theme of three courses.  Courses for completing an individual Theme may be selected from all courses approved for a given Theme but must include course selections from at least two different departments.  Courses taken in meeting Level 1 and Level 2 requirements may be used to complete a Theme.  In other words, no new courses are required by the Theme requirement, but the Theme requirement imposes a pattern requirement upon three of the courses taken in fulfillment of Gen Ed requirements.

Six Themes have been approved in the new curriculum.  A brief narrative description of each follows.  Course membership for the six Themes ranges from a low of about 30 courses to a high of about 70 courses so students will have considerable flexibility in meeting this requirement.  The final structure of these six Themes will be presented to you for approval within the next two weeks..

The individual in communities

 Students who take this theme will explore ways in which the individual person shapes and is shaped by the communities in which s/he is a member. How are individual and societal values shaped?  How are individual rights and responsibilities related to the good of the community?  When conflicts arise among different value systems or different understanding of rights, how are they resolved?

Smorgasbord or stew?  Culture in the twenty-first century

Either culture or anarchy, Matthew Arnold warned in 1867.  An easy choice because for him there was only one culture.  Today the questions about culture are impossibly challenging, the answers maddeningly problematic.   What is culture and why is it important?  Does culture ever fail?  Should it ever be challenged?  How do different cultures negotiate with each other?   What happens when boundaries are crossed?  Culture speaks--through the covers of Teen People, Bali cock fights, and the purdah as well as poetry, music, and theatre--and listening closely is more important today than ever before.

Revolutions

Throughout history, people have initiated and endured revolutions, which have been characterized by a massive restructuring and reorientation of thought and practice.  Participants in this theme will examine revolutionary events and periods in politics, science, economics, and in other realms of human social and intellectual activity.  Among questions addressed by courses included within this Theme are: What makes an event or a period revolutionary?  Why do revolutions occur?  What are some noteworthy revolutions?  What are the consequences of these revolutions?  Do revolutions cause permanent changes?  Why are revolutions criticized?  Why are revolutions embraced?  Do revolutions tend to improve human life, or to be primarily destructive?

A Work in Progress

Countless numbers of people suffer in our world; every day brings more stories of war, crime, poverty, abuse and oppression. We all experience suffering, disillusionment, abandonment, hardships and despair. These assaults on the human spirit challenge each generation to redefine self, the world, and our responsibility towards others. This theme examines the ways in which Christianity, as both an intellectual tradition and a faith community, has responded to these questions and challenges inherent in human life. Questions addressed in this theme include: To what extent is a human being free, and what is the influence of biological and cultural influences? How are we to respond to human suffering, and how are we to prevent future suffering? What must one do to construct meaningful relationships with others in society? How can we resolve our differences without resorting to violence?

Ways of Knowing

This Theme asks participants to consider the multiple ways that we come to know, the ways that we learn to identify and define "truth."  It studies the ways in which we learn about ourselves and others, our culture and that of others, our relationship to the environment and to the Divine, our understanding of the past and assumptions about the future, our discipline-specific ways of approaching knowledge and gaining insight into what it is to be human.

Expression and Creativity

The creative impulse is a basic and central element of what it means to be human. What is the evidence of this impulse? How may we exercise our own creativity? By engaging in creative processes and exploring the products of creative expression today and throughout history, we can integrate and enrich our intellectual, physical, emotional, and spiritual lives.