January 28, 2022

UNIVERSITY COURSE AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE
MINUTES
JANUARY 28, 2022
2:30 p.m.

Zoom:
 https://uark.zoom.us/j/86145064818?pwd=c1JxbmlqTG5QcHVPU0NXVHl6WTJhZz09

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Voting:  Kris Allee, Neil Allison, Stephen Caldwell, Paul Cronan, Alan Ellstrand, Matthew Ganio, Jim Gigantino, Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, Kevin Hall, Casey Harris, Jeannie Hulen, Rhett Hutchins, Garry McDonald, Tiffany Murphy, Manuel Rossetti, and John Treat 

Non-Voting: Amanda Corbell, Alice Griffin, and Suzanne Kenner 

MEMBERS ABSENT:
Voting: Leah Cheek, Lona Robertson, and Joel B. Thornton

Non-Voting: 

GUESTS:  Gina Daugherty, Anna Harris, and Lisa Kulczak

John Treat, serving in place of Chair Lona Robertson called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.

 

  1. The minutes for the December 17, 2021 meeting were approved.

 

  1. 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 February 9, 2022
      • Graduate Council meeting scheduled for February 17, 2022

 

  1. Old Business: None

 

  1. New Business: 

i.  Course Delivery Method Definitions – presented by Kevin Hall.

After a lengthy discussion, Kevin Hall moved and Jeannie Hulen seconded to approve the

Course Delivery Method Definitions as presented (4i_course_delivery_modes_definitions_01282022).

 ii.     Annual Course Review – Active Courses with No Enrollment in 4-5 years - Amanda Corbell. 

Jeannie Hulen moved and Kevin Hall seconded to approve the list of courses to become inactive (4ii_active_courses_with-no_enrollment_in_4-5_years_01282022).                       

                       

The following program change proposals were approved on the CIM Program Report without opposition. The program changes will be forwarded for consideration as appropriate to the:

      • Faculty Senate, meeting scheduled for February 9, 2022
      • Graduate Council meeting scheduled for February 17, 2022

 

a. Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Graduate Dean – ENGL Lang Prof - English Language Proficiency Requirements presented by Jim Gigantino.     

Changes to the English Language Proficiency Requirements for Graduate Students are as follows, approved by EASL Committee of Faculty Senate, September 2021:


1) Clearing up catalog language allowing waiver of test score requirement for bachelors and masters degrees earned at US institutions

1) Provides clarity and reflects GSIE practice of waiving requirements for those with bachelors degrees

2) Adding additional options for students to meet admission requirement without test scores through various internationally recognized certificate programs AND creating appeal process through Graduate Council Academic Appeals Committee for certain instances

2) Provides clarity and reflects GSIE practice of waiving admission requirements for those with internationally recognized certificates. Also, creates a pathway for appeal for those with strong language credentials but no test score to be exempt from this requirement--see attached graduate handbook entry for process

3) Elimination of DET to meet GA contact requirement

3) DET is a relatively new exam. It was approved in February 2020 to be used for the contact GA requirement, though there are still inconsistencies in test results. DET was supposed to be only for case by case basis when other exam options were not available (ie during pandemic). There are multiple options available to students once they are admitted to fulfill the contact GA requirement.

4) Resetting minimum test scores for ELAC course requirements through Elimination of "recommended" ELAC requirements for graduate students.

4) The Graduate School has had a long policy of "recommending" ELAC courses to students in certain score bands and then "requiring" for students in lower score bands. Data shows that the majority of students who are recommended to take ELAC courses do not and those that do have minimal difference in academic outcomes from those that do not. Therefore, to make the process more efficient and easier for student/faculty to understand, we are eliminating the recommended bands and instead resetting minimum test scores to the already approved required bands. The change therefore is minimal--anyone who previously was required to take ELAC is still required to take ELAC. The recommended is the only elimination.

5) Elimination of ELPT as an option as Testing Services will no longer offer that exam after Spring 2022

5) ELPT is an in-house testing option for students to meet writing requirement. This exam is cumbersome and costly to administer and no other SEC or benchmark school offers an in-house option. Testing Services will no longer administer this exam after Spring 2022 so we are updating catalog to reflect that change (4a_engl_lang_prof_report_01282022, 4a_engl_lang_prof_handbook_changes_for_english_lang_proficency_01282022).

 

b.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Graduate Dean – Grad Cert – Graduate Certificates (Non-Degree) Requirements presented by Jim Gigantino.     

Adding 2.85 GPA requirement to Graduate Certificate Programs

Graduate Certificate students, in order to graduate with their certificate, have long been required to meet the Graduate School's minimum GPA (2.85) but it has never been explicitly spelled out in the catalog (4b_grad-cert_report_ 01282022).

 

c.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Graduate Dean – PhD and EdD Degree Reqs – PhD and EdD Degree Requirements presented by Jim Gigantino.     

1) At request of Ed.D. programs, recommending a change allowing Ed.D. students to have a more applied path towards finishing their degrees and allowing seminar coursework to count towards their doctoral dissertation requirement

1) Carnegie Foundation and benchmark Ed.D. programs allow dissertation projects on applied problems of practice--this language allows for that instead of a traditional research based dissertation. Also, Ed.D. students who are mostly working professionals in K-12 schools would benefit from structured dissertation hours, as capstone/seminar courses versus independent research hours. Ed.D. programs indicate this will increase degree completion and student success

2) Adjusting PhD dissertation requirement to allow up to three hours of internship to count towards 18 hour dissertation hour requirement with approval of program

2) New Homeland Security requirements will soon eliminate the ability of international doctoral students to engage in internships unless the internship is directly required in the student's degree plan. This allowance for internship hours (at program/department discretion) would allow international students to meet Homeland Security requirements and also allow domestic students to gain practical training as they pursue their doctoral degrees without additional cost.

3) Clarify language on the GPA on graded coursework

3) The Graduate Council adopted a policy several years ago to allow transfer credit of all graded coursework for doctoral students (except candidacy exam and dissertation hours). This would allow a student who transferred all coursework to have a 0.0 GPA since dissertation hours have no grade. This language clarifies that the GPA requirement is for graded coursework only, and would not prevent a student who transferred in all coursework from graduating (4c_phd-and-edd-degree-reqs_report_01282022).

 

d.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Graduate Dean – STANGC - Statistics and Analytics Graduate Certificate presented by Jim Gigantino. 

             Program Deactivation Proposal

Under-enrollment over several years (4d_stangc_report_01282022, 4d_stangc_ltrofnotification_01282022).

 

e.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering – EMSAGM – Systems Engineering Analytics Graduate MicroCertificate presented by Manuel Rossetti.

Adding new Graduate MicroCertificate to meet demand; based on industry/student feedback and market research.

Market research and student feedback point toward a growing need for flexibility in program offerings based on working professionals, travel schedules, and family requirements (4e_emsagm_report_01282022).

 

f.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering – EMSEGM - Systems Engineering and Engineering Management Graduate MicroCertificate presented by Manuel Rossetti.

Adding new Graduate MicroCertificate to meet demand; based on industry/student feedback and market research.

Market research and student feedback point toward a growing need for flexibility in program offerings based on working professionals, travel schedules, and family requirements (4f_emsegm_report_01282022).

 

g.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering – OMAMGM – Advanced Air Mobility Autonomous Operations Graduate MicroCertificate presented by Manuel Rossetti.

Adding new Graduate MicroCertificate in Advanced Air Mobility Autonomous Operations ; demand based on industry and student feedback and market research. 

Market research and student feedback point toward a growing need for flexibility in program offerings based on student season of life, travel schedules, family requirements, and economic situation. Supports the University Advanced Air Mobility partnership for research and workforce development  (4g_omamgm_report_01282022).

 

h.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering – OMDSGM – Decision Support for Operations Managers Graduate MicroCertificate presented by Manuel Rossetti.

Adding new MicroCertificate based on student and industry demand.

Market research and student feedback point toward a growing need for flexibility in program offerings based on working professionals, travel schedules, and family requirements (4h_omdsgm_report_01282022).

 

i.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering – OMLCGM – Leading Operational Change Graduate MicroCertificate presented by Manuel Rossetti.

Adding new microcertificate in leading organizational change; demand based on industry and student feedback and market research.

Market research and student feedback point toward a growing need for flexibility in program offerings based on student season of life, travel schedules, family requirements, and economic situation. Rapidly changing technology, social climate, culture change, and economic conditions require new skills to lead, sustain and manage change (4i_omlcgm_report_01282022).

 

j.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering – OMOAGM – Analytics for Operations Managers Graduate MicroCertificate presented by Manuel Rossetti.

Adding new Graduate Micro-Certificate based on student and industry demand.

Market research and student feedback point toward a growing need for flexibility in program offerings based on working professionals, travel schedules, and family requirements (4j_omoagm_report_01282022).

 

k.  Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Occupational Therapy – OTDEDP - Doctor of Occupational Therapy presented by Matt Ganio.

Clarified credit hours to complete capstone experience & project.
Added statement clarifying that Fieldwork & Capstone must be completed within 2 yrs of didactic course completion
Added accreditation status & name & address of accreditor ACOTE,
Added in statement clarifying that drug screens & background checks may affect clinical placements & may result in dismissal from program.

Giving students flexibility to reenroll in additional credit hours to complete degree requirements.
Clarification statement required by accreditation.
Added accreditation status & address, as required by the ACOTE standard - please make sure this is not a duplication.
Clarified potential impact of drug screens & background checks.

Add one credit hour to OCTH 5141 (5242) for Spring 2022 for the new cohort, and will remove OCTH 6631 from program requirements to keep the degree at 115 total credit hours.

Increasing OCTH 5141 to two credit hours is needed to strengthen our research series of courses and better prepare students for their capstone experience. OCTH 6631 will still need to be taught for 2 years (first two cohorts), but does not have accreditation standards attached to it, so resembles an elective.

Move OCTH 5372 and 5372L from fall to the summer of year 1.

2 cohorts of students have provided feedback that the summer of year 1 is light and recommended that we move the more rigorous Anatomy course into that semester.

Move OCTH 5581 and 5591 from summer year 2 to fall of year 1

With this anatomy move, the UE rehab courses (5581 & 5591) need to move into the following semester to apply the knowledge learned in anatomy. Additionally, the extended time (vs May intersession) will benefit the students.

Reorganized the entire section of Program Progress to make it clearer and less repetitive. I removed procedures (like grade appeal & leave of absence request). No now policies were added (4k_otdedp_report_01282022). 

 

  1. Additional items/Announcements:

a.  Guidance and Counseling – Non-Degree/Certificate – Revision to An Approved Licensure Program (5a_cnslms-educator_licensure_revision-cover_page_and_section_c_01282022, 5a_cnslms-educator_licensure_revision-curriculum_01282022, 5a_cnslms-educator_licensure_revision-first_time_license_matrix_template_01282022, 5a_cnslms-educator_licensure_revision-professional_development_01282022, 5a_cnslms-educator_licensure_revision-program_of_study_01282022).

 

b.  The Collaborative – Establishing a New Off-Campus Location (5b_clbt-new_off-campus_location_ltrofnotification_01282022).

 

c.  Annual Course Review – Amanda Corbell (5c_active_courses_with_no_enrollment_in_6+_years_01282022, 5c_inactive_courses_3+_years_01282022).

 

Next Meeting: February 25, 2022 (agenda deadline is February 11, 2022).

 

Meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.