August 5, 2016

Upchurch Conference Room – Bell Engineering

Members Present:
Voting: Karen Boston, Jeannine Durdik, Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, Mary Herrington, Patricia Koski, Manuel Rossetti, and Joel Thornton
Non-Voting: Alice Griffin and Lisa Kulczak

Members Absent:
Voting: Robert Brady, Paul Cronan, Norman D. Dennis, Jr., Janet Penner-Williams, Jennie Popp, Lona Robertson, Kathy Smith, Cathy Wissehr, and Tim Yeager
Non-Voting: Rebel Smith and Karen Turner

Guests: Jill Rucker

Patricia Koski called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.

The minutes for the April 22, 2016 meeting were approved.
Course Change Proposals:
All course change proposals were approved without opposition. The approved courses are listed on the CIM Course Report created by CourseLeaf and will be forwarded for consideration as appropriate to the:
- Faculty Senate, meeting scheduled for September 14, 2016
- Graduate Council meeting scheduled for August 18, 2016
Old Business:
None
New Business:
All program change proposals were approved without opposition on the CIM Program Report created by CourseLeaf. The program changes will be forwarded for consideration as appropriate to the:
- Faculty Senate, meeting scheduled for September 14, 2016
- Graduate Council meeting scheduled for August 18, 2016
  1. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences, Department of Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology–AECTBS-AGLE, Agricultural Education, Communication & Technology- Agricultural Leadership Concentration, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences was presented by Jill Rucker.
    
    While the US economy is on the mend, the job market is still tight. Therefore, college graduates are competing in a job market with fewer jobs and a higher number of applicants. Industry employers are confident in the level of technical skills a college graduate possesses. In a recent study conducted by the Carnegie Institute of Technology, researchers found that 85 percent of an individual’s financial success was related to the ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead, while only 15 percent was related to technical skills (Jensen, 2013). Therefore it is no surprise that employers are concerned about the lack of soft skills possessed by recent college graduates (UGA Center for Agribusiness and Development, 2008). A recent study conducted by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities found employers value soft skills more than discipline knowledge (Crawford, Lang, Fink, Dalton, & Fieltz, 2011). Specifically, employers felt graduates need skill improvement in leadership, team building, communications, critical thinking, and professionalism. In order to provide students in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences a competitive edge in industry and academics, a proposal for the creation of a concentration in Agricultural Leadership follows.
    
    If accepted, a concentration in Agricultural Leadership would provide a broad, interdisciplinary leadership experience for students in the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences. Completion of the concentration would provide students with a competitive edge in the job market by developing key soft skills such as leadership, communication, critical thinking, and professionalism. Through collaboration between departments, students will gain a well-rounded perspective on critical issues facing the food and fiber industry. (4a_AECT-AGLE Report, 4a_AECT-AGLE – New Option – Ltr of Notification, 4a_AECTBS-AGLE 17-18 Checksheet—Final Revision, 4a_AECT – AGLE 9 SDCP 17-18 final).
  2. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, Department of Architecture-ARCHBA, Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture was present by Ethel Goodstein-Murphree.
    
    The updated courses will better reflect the current trends in the industry. We are inserting three new classes, ARCH 3143, ARCH 3253 and ARCH 4152 to replace ARCH 3134 and ARCH 4154. Those two classes will be inactivated. (4b_ARCHBA Report).
  3. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, Department of Interior Design-IDESBD, Interior Design, Bachelor of Interior Design was present by Ethel Goodstein-Murphree.
    
    We inactivated IDES 2853 in CIM some time ago. Therefore we added 3 hours of a professional elective to the spring of fourth year. After that, we simply want to move a social science from spring of 2nd year to spring of first year. We also moved IDES 2823 Interior Design Materials was moved to spring of second year. Only affects sample curriculum. It does not change the total number of credit hours. (4c_IDESBD Report).
  4. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art-ARHS-M, Art History Minor was presented by Jeannine Durdik.
    
    We no longer offer ARTS 1013 on a regular basis, so it is difficult for students to fulfill this requirement. Therefore, we are replacing the requirement of ARTS 1013 with one course in art history or studio art. (4d_ARHS-M Report).
  5. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean- ARSC Acad Regs, ARSC College Academic Regulations was presented by Jeannine Durdik.
    
    Fulbright College has had a long-standing tradition of recognizing students at commencement who have earned a 3.80 or higher GPA by designating them to be "Fulbright College Senior Scholars." These students are recognized at commencement only, and there is no official designation on their transcript. The College wishes to change this process to be more similar to what is done in the other colleges which bestow levels of distinction to non-honors program students based on high cumulative GPA achievement. This will allow us to 1.) avoid confusing Fulbright Senior Scholars with the UA 4.0 Senior Scholars, 2.) allow us to further distinguish those students who achieve a 3.9 or higher GPA, and 3.) grant official distinction designation on the final transcript of degree recipients who complete the specified requirements for graduation with distinction.
    Changing the language for "Graduation with Distinction" to include the designation of "with high distinction" or "with highest distinction." Also adding the following criteria:
    1. The student must have completed at least one-half of his or her degree work at the University of Arkansas.
    2. For “with high distinction,” the student must achieve a cumulative U of A GPA of 3.8 to 3.899.
    3. For “with highest distinction,” the student must achieve a cumulative U of A GPA of 3.9 or higher.
      The criteria may be evaluated and changed periodically by the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. (4e_ARSC Acad Regs Report).
  6. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English- ENJOBA, English/Journalism, Bachelor of Arts was presented by Jeannine Durdik.
    
    Currently, for students in the combined English/Journalism major, pursuing the News/Editorial Concentration, JOUR 3023 News Reporting II is a required course. We are making a change to allow students the option of selecting one of 3 courses to satisfy this line-item requirement so that the line reads
    JOUR 3023 News Reporting II
    or JOUR 4503 Magazine Writing
    or JOUR 4553 Magazine Editing and Production I
    
    Providing three options for the advanced course in the News-Editorial concentration allows students to obtain specialized training in either advanced reporting skills for writing print or digital news stories (JOUR 3023), writing print or digital longer-form feature or human-interest stories (JOUR 4503), or editing and producing stories, visuals and graphics for digital or print publications (JOUR 4553). These same options are available for Journalism majors in the News-Editorial Sequence; we want to allow combined majors in the News-Editorial area the same options so they can select the specialized training they desire as well. In addition, providing three options for the advanced course in the concentration gives students more flexibility in meeting requirements for the major as well as more options in courses they may select. (4f_ENJOBA Report).
  7. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Journalism-JOPLBA-NEWS, Journalism/Political Science News-Editorial Concentration, Bachelor of Arts was presented by Jeannine Durdik.
    
    Currently, for students in the combined Journalism/Political Science major, pursuing the News/Editorial Concentration, Public Affairs Reporting Track, JOUR 3023 News Reporting II is a required course. We are making a change to allow students the option of selecting one of 3 courses to satisfy this line-item requirement so that the line reads
    JOUR 3023 News Reporting II
    or JOUR 4503 Magazine Writing
    or JOUR 4553 Magazine Editing and Production I
    
    Providing three options for the advanced course in the News-Editorial concentration allows students to obtain specialized training in either advanced reporting skills for writing print or digital news stories (JOUR 3023), writing print or digital longer-form feature or human-interest stories (JOUR 4503), or editing and producing stories, visuals and graphics for digital or print publications (JOUR 4553). These same options are available for Journalism majors in the News-Editorial Sequence; we want to allow combined majors in the News-Editorial area the same options so they can select the specialized training they desire as well. In addition, providing three options for the advanced course in the concentration gives students more flexibility in meeting requirements for the major as well as more options in courses they may select. (4g_JOPLBA-NEWS Report).
  8. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Journalism- JOUR Dept Honors, Journalism Departmental Honors was presented by Jeannine Durdik.
    
    Honors students will be required to take one credit of JOUR 498VH each semester during the junior and senior year. We are asking to require this so the Honors adviser and/or a student's thesis adviser can require work toward completing the thesis each semester when students are working on the thesis. This allows the Honors and/or thesis adviser to assign an appropriate amount of work each semester, tailored to each individual student, to aid them in making progress on and completing the thesis. It also ensures regular contact between the department Honors adviser, the thesis adviser and each honors student in Journalism.
    
    For example, in the first semester of the junior year students start writing the literature review and an annotated bibliography, typically working with the Honors adviser until they have a thesis adviser. In the second semester of the junior year (typically spring) students take the required research methods course. By taking one credit of JOUR 498VH then, it allows students to continue developing the literature review in more depth while developing the methods section of the thesis proposal in the research methods course. In the senior year students conduct the study, then analyze the data, write the results and discussion, etc., so the one credit each semester in the senior year is fulfilled by completing tasks related to defending and completing the thesis.
    
    We have found in using a system like this that more students progress through honors in a timely fashion, avoiding "last minute" attempts at completing a thesis. Students take more time to think through and develop a thesis and it breaks the thesis process into manageable steps. Using an approach like this typically results in a higher quality thesis, whatever the student's level of distinction (summa, magna or cum laude). That is why we are asking to formalize this 1 credit hour of JOUR 498VH in the fall and spring semester of the junior and senior year. We have seen that this type of system is effective in guiding honors students to complete and successfully defend an honors thesis. (4h_JOUR Dept Honors Report).
  9. Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Physics- PHYSMA, Physics, Master of Arts was presented by Jeannine Durdik.
    
    The PHYS department wishes to convert PHYS 400V to be an undergraduate course only. PHYS 400V as a graduate offering is rarely used, and if the department determines that there is a need for a graduate-level version of this course in the future, a 5000-level course will be proposed.
    
    Because PHYS 400V is being converted to an undergraduate-only course, it needs to be removed from the list of recommended courses for the PHYSMA. (4i_PHYSMA Report).
Other Items for Consideration:
Lisa Kulczak reported that the Registrar’s Office is making updates to both the course management and program management in CourseLeaf. The changes should be implemented within the next two weeks. There will be one to two days of restricted access during the transition.
Next Meeting: September 23, 2016 at 2:30 p.m.
(Agenda deadline is September 9, 2016)

Meeting adjourned at 2:52 p.m.