Changes in Courses/Curricula
(1) Earth Sciences BA including the following changes:
(A) Deletion of PHYS 317 (Introduction to Astronomy) MATH 162 (Calculus II) & CSCI 160 (Introduction to Computing Sciences) from Required Related courses.
(B) Replace PHYS 231 & PHYS 232 (General Physics I & II) with PHYS 131 & PHYS 132 (Physics I & II with Algebra)
(C) Add MATH 235 (Survey of Statistics) to the list of Required Related courses. BIOL 375 (Biometry) may be substituted in the Environmental Geology option.
(D) Delete ESCI 497 (Seminar in the Earth Sciences) from the list of required Earth Sciences courses.
(E) Add an Option in Environmental, while leaving the present program as a second untitled option.
Effective Fall 2001.
The changes were approved without objection..
(2) New Undergraduate Courses
LATS 201 -The Latino Experience in the United States, General Education (GI), 3 credits. Effective Fall 2001.
LATS 488 - Latina/o Studies Senior Seminar, 3 credits. Effective Fall 2001. Will first be taught in Spring 2003 semester. Required for Latina/o Studies Minor.
Both of the above courses were passed without objection.
(3) Latino/a Studies Interdepartmental Minor. Effective Fall 2001.
An issue was raised by Rick Kerper regarding the courses listed to fulfil the Latino/a Minor. He expressed concern that the courses might be too "professor" focused rather than "content" focused. In essence, it is possible that some professors might include Latino/a content while others might not.
Dr. Kerper made a motion to remove EDUC.403 (Cultural Diversity: Pluralism in the Classroom) from the list of courses suitable for the Minor's Race, Culture & Ethnicity block.. Dr. Wismer seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Senate then proceeded to vote on the Minor. The Minor was approved as amended with 1 dissenting vote.
Faculty Emeritus
(1) Dr. Kerper presented a motion that Dr. Audrey Kirchner, be granted the title of Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education Emerita. {see attachment}
Bill Price seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(2) Paul Studdard presented a motion that Dr. Barbara Hunsberger be granted the honorary title of Associate Professor Librarianship Emerita. {see attachment}
The motion was seconded by Dr.Luek. The motion passed unanimously.
Academic Policy Items
Rich France presented 3 Academic policy proposals {see previous Minutes attachments} concerning the following:
(1) Recommended Policy Change concerning College Level Examination Program (CLEP).
1. Previously, CLEP credits were awarded for scores of 500 or above on CLEP General Examinations. Under the new policy, six (6) credits are awarded for scores of 50 or above on each of the CLEP General Examinations.
2. The previous policy stated that credit is not granted for CLEP General Examinations taken after 15 college credits have been earned in areas where college-level classwork has been completed The new policy states that credit is not granted for CLEP General Examinations taken after 15 college credits have been earned or in discipline areas where college-level classwork has been taken, whether the course was passed or not. (NOTE: In the original proposal, there was a typographical error just before the highlighted phrase immediately above. The statement reads "college-level coursework has been completed"; it should read "college-level coursework has been taken."
3. In the previous policy, it was stated that specific course credits are awarded to students who earn a score of 55 or higher on a CLEP Subject Examination and that written departmental approval must be obtained prior to taking a Subject Examination. The new policy states that three (3) to six (6) credits are awarded to students who earn a score of 50 or higher on a CLEP Subject Examination and that currently enrolled MU students must obtain written departmental approval prior to taking a Subject Examination.
The policy passed unanimously.
(2) Proposal to Change the Drop/Add Period to one week only. {see last Minutes attachments}
The proposal was passed with two amendments for clarity, which passed unanimously (see below).
Under Proposed Policy - Bullet 1 should read "For the Fall and Spring terms, a student may drop or add a course through the end of the first week of classes. Courses dropped will not be entered on the student record."
Under Proposed Policy – Bullet 5 should read "After the ninth week, a non-W grade will be awarded at the end of the semester according to the instructor's records."
The proposed policy with the above changes passed unanimously.
(3) University Class Attendance Policy { See attachment #6 of previous Minutes p.4930}. Note: The new policy would leave the Registrar out of the process. Decisions as to what constitutes an acceptable "excused absence" would be left up to the individual instructor. However, Dr. Stager strongly recommended that departments strive for uniformity and consistency of criteria in forming an attendance policy for the department. Discussion will continue at the May 1, 2001 Senate meeting. The Senate had to adjourn before discussions were completed. Action was postponed until that time.