Minutes March 18, 2022

• U of A
• Undergraduate Council
• Meeting Minutes
• UCPC Minutes 3-18-2022
• Minutes March 18, 2022

UNIVERSITY COURSE AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE
MINUTES
March 18, 2022
2:30 p.m.
Zoom: 
 https://uark.zoom.us/j/86145064818?pwd=c1JxbmlqTG5QcHVPU0NXVHl6WTJhZz09

MEMBERS PRESENT: 
Voting:  Stephen Caldwell, Leah Cheek, Alan Ellstrand, Matthew Ganio, Jim Gigantino, Adriana Gonzalez, Casey Harris, Tiffany Murphy, Lona Robertson, Manuel Rossetti, and John Treat

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

MEMBERS ABSENT: 
Voting: Kris Allee, Neil Allison, Paul Cronan, Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, Kevin Hall, Jeannie Hulen, Rhett Hutchins, Tamara Kuykendall, and Garry McDonald 

Non-Voting:  

GUESTS:  Robert Brady, Dave Dawson, Miran Kang, Matthew Leftwich,, Ketevan Mamiseishvili, and Susan Schneider

Chair Lona Robertson called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.

 

1. The minutes for the February 25, 2022 meeting were approved.

 

2. 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 April 13, 2022
      ·  Graduate Council meeting scheduled for April 21, 2022

3. Old Business:  None

4.  New Business:  

⦁ Online Credit hours for On-Campus Undergraduate Students – Policy Discussion 
(https://catalog.uark.edu/undergraduatecatalog/academicregulations/requirementsforgraduation/) – presented by Dave Dawson

Jim Gigantino moved and Alan Ellstrand seconded to delete the policy.  After a lengthy discussion, the motion passed.  

 

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 April 13, 2022
⦁ Graduate Council meeting scheduled for April 21, 2022

 

a. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean– IDSTBA - Interdisciplinary Studies, Bachelor of Arts presented by Robert Brady.

1) Added a new option (Option 2) that allows students to pursue certificates and microcertificates.

2) Added IDST 2003 and IDST 4013 as requirements.

3). Removed the 75 hour minimum before declaring the major.

1) Takes advantage of the diverse credentials that have become available since the launch of the IDST program.

Examples of Online Certificates:
• Certificate of Proficiency in Child Advocacy Studies
• Certificate of Proficiency in Geospatial Technologies

Examples of online microcertificates going through the approval process:
• Equine Management Undergraduate MicroCertificate

2) IDST 2003 serves as an introduction to the area and provides different pathways for students to consider as they pursue the degree. IDST 4013 was created to meet 6.1 and provides closure for each student despite possibly pursuing very different paths.

3) No other major has such a restriction and there are still safeguards like the “residency” requirement that students must meet in order to receive the degree (4a_idstba_report_03182022).

b.   Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Industrial Engineering-
 OPMGGC – Operations Management Graduate Certificate presented by Manuel Rossetti. 

Corrected administrative error. Removed requirement for STEM degree for admission to match the MSOM master of science program admission requirement.

 Administrative error (4b_opmggc_report_03182022).

c. Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering- MSENPH - Materials Science & Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy presented by Matthew Leftwich.

During August 2021, the MSEN faculty and program director determined it best practice for the MSENPH program to remove the unique topic based written candidacy exam from the MSENPH candidacy exam process. A unanimous decision was reached via email and the changes herein remove the narrative/wording regarding the unique written candidacy exam. The same changes have been implemented in an updated MSEN Graduate Student handbook published on Jan. 10, 2022.

The primary reason that this decision was made was to:
1) level the playing field in regards to candidacy exam requirements in other STEM graduate programs on campus.
2) To improve enrollment and retention of MSEN PhD students.
3) To reduce the additional burden on MSEN faculty and staff that was required to conduct the unique written candidacy exam process from Dec. 1 - February 1 each year (4c_msenph_report_03182022).

 

d.   Proposed graduate program change for the School of Law, Department of Law – 
AGLWLM – Agriculture Food and Law, Master of Laws presented by Susan Schneider. 

i. Changes to the LL.M. Admission Policy.

Proposed Changes to the University Catalog: LL.M. Admission.

The following changes reflect amendments to our admissions policies, as approved by the Graduate Legal Studies Committee and the law faculty. We sought to clarify our admissions process and made specific changes to the admissions criteria. These changes reflect our current applicants, many of whom are experienced attorneys with distinguished careers. The reliance on a specific GPA for a degree obtained decades ago seemed inappropriate.

ii. Proposed Changes to the University Catalog: J.D. Electives in Agricultural and Food Law - J.D. students who take LL.M. courses as J.D. electives and later apply for and are accepted into the LL.M. Program can request that up to 6 credits of the LL.M. courses taken be counted toward their LL.M. degree.

The changes clarify the opportunities available to our J.D. students and reflect the recent amendments to our credit policy, as approved by the Graduate Legal Studies Committee and the law faculty and as proposed for UA approval.

iii. Changes to the Non-Degree Program Section - language clarification.

The following changes clarify the opportunities available to non-degree students. The current language is a little confusing and is duplicative. There are no substantive changes made, just edited wording. Also, this particular opportunity is not a separate “program,” so this is removed from the title.

iv. Changes to the Degree Requirements to clean up language and add our required courses.
There is one substantive change to policy that adds mention of our three required courses. These courses have been required for decades, as reflected in UA Connect and on the law school website. However, they were never added to the catalog. The Graduate Legal Studies Committee and the law faculty approved this addition.

v. Dual Degree Program language clarification.
We added "and food law" to reflect the name of our program.

vi. Course of Study language clarification.
Added language to include the requirement of the Director to approve proposed course schedules and our required courses.

vii. Costs and Funding language clarification.
Corrected minor errors and updated the language.

viii. LL.M. Courses language clarification.
Corrected minor errors and updated the language (4d_aglwlm_report_03182022,  4d_edits_to_llm_admissions_catalog_2_03182022, 4d_edits_to_ last_sections_catalog_2_03182022, 4d_edits_to_non_degree_catalog_2_03182022, 4d_edits_to_jd_electives_catalog_03182022). 

5.   Additional items/Announcements:  None

Next Meeting: April 22, 2022 (agenda deadline is April 8, 2022). 

 

Meeting adjourned at 3:42 p.m.