1995-96 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA No. 4
TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY MINUTES
MAY 2, 1996
The fourth meeting of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly for 1995-96 was
convened in Mayo Auditorium, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, May 2, 1996, at
2:00 p.m. Checking or signing the roll as present were 98 voting
faculty/academic professional members, 17 student members, 4 ex officio
members, and 7 nonmembers. Mr. Joel Bergstrom, Vice Chair of the Assembly,
presided.
I. EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE
Twin Cities Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Committee
Action
TWIN CITIES UNDERGRADUATE COURSE AND CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
INTRODUCTION
The Assembly Committee on Educational Policy (ACEP) received a
suggestion from Provost Shively and the Change to Semesters Coordinating Group
that it should consider recommending the establishment of a Twin Cities campus
undergraduate course and curriculum committee. ACEP, after discussing it, was
persuaded that there are several reasons that such a committee should be
established.
(1) All courses proposed for the semester system should be reviewed by
an all-campus oversight faculty/student committee to ensure adherence to the
Semester Conversion Standards, other Senate policies, and to guard as much as
possible against course duplication and overlap. The committee would also
approve majors and programs for the semester system.
(2) The committee would establish guidelines for approval of semester
courses.
(3) Once semester courses have been established, the committee would be
responsible for adjudicating disputes between colleges about curriculum and
course offerings.
(4) The committee would NOT duplicate the work of college curriculum
committees, nor would it, except in rare instances, review the substantive
content of courses. (For example, an exception might be when two colleges
appear to be offering courses with the same content.)
This proposal goes beyond the change to semesters to issues of the
University's financial environment and the possibility of implementation of
Responsibility Center Management (RCM). If units become more responsible for
generating revenue through tuition, it will be imperative to have a
faculty/student curriculum oversight body to govern competition among academic
units.
MOTION:
To amend Article III of the Bylaws of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly to
add a new Bylaw 9, as follows:
9. UNDERGRADUATE COURSE AND CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
The Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Committee shall establish guidelines
and procedures, within the framework of the educational policies adopted by
the Senate and Twin Cities Assembly, to review all undergraduate course
proposals that have been approved by the appropriate college curriculum
committee in order to consider factors that would affect curriculum and
policies across collegiate units and across the campus as a whole.
Undergraduate courses are all courses numbered 0-XXX, 1-XXX, 3-XXX, and 5-XXX
(except for 5-XXX courses limited to graduate or post-baccalaureate
professional students).
MEMBERSHIP
The Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Committee shall be jointly appointed
by the Twin Cities Assembly Committee on Educational Policy and the Provosts
of the Twin Cities campus and shall be composed of tenured or tenure-track
faculty and students. It shall have 17 members: 8 faculty (5 appointed by
the Committee on Educational Policy and 3 appointed by the provosts, one from
each provostal unit), 6 deans (or faculty members or collegiate administrators
with faculty rank designated by the dean, 3 of whom will be appointed by the
Provost of Arts, Science and Engineering, 2 appointed by the Provost of the
Professional Schools and 1 appointed by the Provost of the Academic Health
Center), and 3 undergraduate students appointed the Committee on Committees,
and ex officio representation as specified by vote of the Assembly.
The chair shall be a tenured faculty member, shall be appointed by the
President of the University, and shall serve as an ex officio member of the
Educational Policy Committee. Until September 1, 2000, the position of the
chair shall be a 50-percent time funded appointment.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
a. To review all courses proposed for the change to semesters.
b. To review and approve or disapprove all new undergraduate majors and
programs proposals.
c. To settle disputes between and among colleges involving a course or
courses.
d. To establish timelines for submission of course proposals to the
committee.
e. To develop guidelines for course approval and to review and approve or
disapprove course proposals, and to make suggestions for revisions of
course proposals.
In developing the guidelines for course approval, the committee will use
the following criteria:
1. Policies adopted by the University Senate and the Twin Cities
Campus Assembly, including but not limited to those that govern
the relationship between credits and contact time, the
relationship between credit and student academic effort, and the
number of credits necessary for graduation.
2. The degree and similarity between and among courses that are
offered in more than one college and will determine, with
consultation from the college curriculum committees, faculty
proposing the courses, and college administrators, the necessity
of offering similar courses and whether one or several courses
shall be offered.
3. The overall undergraduate curriculum of the Twin Cities Campus,
including the appropriateness of programs offered, the balance of
the programs, and the requirements of the programs (including
those established by the Council on Liberal Education).
4. The time required for the completion of a program or degree.
Students making normal academic progress must be able to complete
the program or degree in 4 years.
f. To report back to the college curriculum committees those courses that
have been approved, need revision, and disapproved, including the
rationale for disapproval.
g. To report to the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy and the Twin
Cities campus provosts.
h. To recommend to the Committee on Educational Policy such actions or
policies it deems appropriate.
i. To submit an annual report to the provosts and to the Assembly.
COMMENT:
The temporary funding for the chair's position, staff and general
support, and summer salary supplements for (1997) for the membership, will be
provided by central administration. The Assembly Steering Committee has
reviewed this proposal and recommends action by the Assembly.
LAURA COFFIN KOCH, Chair
Educational Policy Committee
WITHDRAWN
II. OLD BUSINESS
NONE
III. NEW BUSINESS
NONE
IV. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
Martha Kvanbeck
Abstractor