Dean Newcomb called the meeting to order at 10:33 a.m. The minutes of the April 5, 2011 meeting were approved.
General Informational Items
N/A
Consent Agenda
The following proposals were approved without further discussion:
Music
New course proposal:
MSEN 204 Little Big Band (see justification)
0.5 units
Prerequisites (if any): Permission of instructor
Religion
Proposal for department name change (Department of Religious Studies):
Rationale: The Department of Religion has voted to change its name to the Department of Religious Studies. The rationale for this decision is that the term “religion” is often interpreted to involve faith commitments to the subject matter, as opposed to more academic approaches that are detached from any particular religious tradition. The change is intended to align our department with a trend in nomenclature that differentiates departments located in secular institutions of higher education from those of institutions that retain a strong denominational heritage. In addition, the use of “studies” emphasizes the diverse interdisciplinary nature of the department’s course offerings, which interpret religious phenomena through methods borrowed from a variety of fields including history, philosophy of religion, literary theory, queer theory, material culture studies, psychology, and sociology.
Discussion Agenda
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) has assumed responsibility for the administration of SEIs (Student Evaluation of Instruction). Dean Newcomb discussed a minor glitch with the initial implementation this semester; the new software does not allow for student comments after each question. In a last minute decision to remedy the problem, OIE has grouped like questions together and students may enter comments after each section. Ordinarily, such a change would have come before Council; however, that was not an option due to the timing of the SEIs. Council did not voice any opposition to the decision. Council did raise other concerns about the evaluations for both cross-listed and research courses. The dean encouraged Council to contact Dustin Engels in the A&S dean’s office regarding those concerns.
The dean reminded Council that staff performance reviews are to be completed in Planet Spider by May 26, 2011. Once the review has been completed, a hard copy must be printed and sent to Terri Weaver in the A&S dean’s office. There is still no option to print within Planet Spider, so it was suggested to copy and paste the information into a Word document for saving and printing. The performance reviews are required for staff merit increases.
Professor of English, Suzanne Jones opened a discussion regarding the 17.5 single subject rule (“In no case may a student count more than 17.5 units from a single subject area toward the minimum number of units necessary for graduation”). Some members of Council believe that the rule is antiquated and unnecessary since the establishment of general education requirements, while others believe the rule ensures that the student receives the full breadth of knowledge a liberal arts college has to offer. While some were in favor of eliminating the rule altogether, there were also numerous suggestions for how to work with the existing rule such as changing course attributes to account for variations among departmental courses, having the student petition, or simply educate advisors about the rule and encourage them to share it with students. The dean stated that it was a matter worth looking into and that the best option going forward would be to consult with the deans of the other undergraduate schools. Dean Newcomb will bring the issue to the attention of the other deans to see if there is a similar issue in their areas. This discussion should be carried forward into the fall.
The meeting adjourned at 11:08 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Burns
General Informational Items
N/A
Consent Agenda
The following proposals were approved without further discussion:
Music
New course proposal:
MSEN 204 Little Big Band (see justification)
0.5 units
Prerequisites (if any): Permission of instructor
Religion
Proposal for department name change (Department of Religious Studies):
Rationale: The Department of Religion has voted to change its name to the Department of Religious Studies. The rationale for this decision is that the term “religion” is often interpreted to involve faith commitments to the subject matter, as opposed to more academic approaches that are detached from any particular religious tradition. The change is intended to align our department with a trend in nomenclature that differentiates departments located in secular institutions of higher education from those of institutions that retain a strong denominational heritage. In addition, the use of “studies” emphasizes the diverse interdisciplinary nature of the department’s course offerings, which interpret religious phenomena through methods borrowed from a variety of fields including history, philosophy of religion, literary theory, queer theory, material culture studies, psychology, and sociology.
Discussion Agenda
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) has assumed responsibility for the administration of SEIs (Student Evaluation of Instruction). Dean Newcomb discussed a minor glitch with the initial implementation this semester; the new software does not allow for student comments after each question. In a last minute decision to remedy the problem, OIE has grouped like questions together and students may enter comments after each section. Ordinarily, such a change would have come before Council; however, that was not an option due to the timing of the SEIs. Council did not voice any opposition to the decision. Council did raise other concerns about the evaluations for both cross-listed and research courses. The dean encouraged Council to contact Dustin Engels in the A&S dean’s office regarding those concerns.
The dean reminded Council that staff performance reviews are to be completed in Planet Spider by May 26, 2011. Once the review has been completed, a hard copy must be printed and sent to Terri Weaver in the A&S dean’s office. There is still no option to print within Planet Spider, so it was suggested to copy and paste the information into a Word document for saving and printing. The performance reviews are required for staff merit increases.
Professor of English, Suzanne Jones opened a discussion regarding the 17.5 single subject rule (“In no case may a student count more than 17.5 units from a single subject area toward the minimum number of units necessary for graduation”). Some members of Council believe that the rule is antiquated and unnecessary since the establishment of general education requirements, while others believe the rule ensures that the student receives the full breadth of knowledge a liberal arts college has to offer. While some were in favor of eliminating the rule altogether, there were also numerous suggestions for how to work with the existing rule such as changing course attributes to account for variations among departmental courses, having the student petition, or simply educate advisors about the rule and encourage them to share it with students. The dean stated that it was a matter worth looking into and that the best option going forward would be to consult with the deans of the other undergraduate schools. Dean Newcomb will bring the issue to the attention of the other deans to see if there is a similar issue in their areas. This discussion should be carried forward into the fall.
The meeting adjourned at 11:08 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Burns
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