CAS Meeting Minutes

February 23, 2006

Rose Parlor

12-1:15 p.m.

The meeting was called to order at 12:03 pm.

I. Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the January meeting were approved.

II. Summer/Fall Course Scheduling: A. Henderson reviewed general issues regarding scheduling for the upcoming semesters. She stated that the course rotations that all programs submitted in December 2005 should be used as the basis to inform scheduling with the current changes.

She announced to program chairs that a new version of the course scheduling forms was now available and needed to be submitted electronically in the future. She also discussed specific data about upcoming slots for Summer 2006 with program chairs.

Henderson then stated that Dean Burke preferred that foundational courses be offered in weekly formats rather than 2-day formats per week.

New CAS time slots: Henderson reiterated that the Middle States Report emphasized that there were foundational skills that we regarded as important. Students therefore must successfully complete these courses as gateways to their success and increased retention at the university. To this end, there is a specific subset of courses intended for the MWF slots.

Moayedi requested that the faculty see the data that served as the basis for the changes in time slots. Henderson stated that the data were not yet accessible but would bed provided as soon as possible.

Rampolla noted that there were two faculty members who were contracted to teach only foundational courses and inquired about the ways in which this issues of breaks would be handled for these persons. Henderson stated that these issues should be handled through program chairs and the Office of Academic Affairs.

Henderson stated that she would place a copy of the schedule and information about the course rotation in all CAS faculty boxes.

Farnsworth raised the issue of the content of the INT 115 course and the uncertainty surrounding the course of the upcoming academic year. Henderson stated that it may be offered in a modified form or be replaced.

Henderson also reiterated that courses for CAS students need to be offered in CAS time slots and not in SPS time slots. SPS will eventually develop free standing faculty to handle many of their own courses. She explained that the alternate work format was being retained for SPS graduate students, but were not viewed as an appropriate format for SPS undergraduates and thus would be eliminated. Henderson stated that faculty should check with C. Chance about the course rotation for the Bachelor of Liberal Studies.

She mentioned that Dean Burke and the faculty were analyzing data to see how many electives were needed for the graduate program.

III. Curricular Reform in CAS General Education Program: C. Ocampo, as co-chair of the CAS CAP Committee summarized and framed feedback about the faculty experiences of the general education curriculum. She outlined the process for the changes from the old to the new FLC as well as a summary of the roundtable discussions from the December CAS meeting. She stated that a new sense of urgency had arisen about curricular reform, and the CAS-CAP asked for volunteers to examine curricular issues and to offer suggestions for changes. She mentioned a memo from S. Blanshan outlining the steps for the appointment of a committee that would spearhead the reform.

Ocampo reported that at the February CAS-CAP meeting, the committee focused on the following questions: What are our goals and what are the steps to achieve those goals? The committee concurred that the CAS-CAP should have meaningful input in curricular reform and viewed General Education reform as a faculty responsibility. The Governance Handbook stated that this is indeed within the purview of the CAS-CAP and the CAS faculty.

Hayes stated that the fundamental issue regarded the role of faculty in decision making. She noted that when there were major interschool changes, U-CAP spearheaded that effort. She pointed the faculty to p. 17 of the Framework for Academic Governance which addresses new programs, new degrees and the responsibilities of the local CAP Committee:

The Local CAP Committee may choose to refer any question to the full faculty of the school for discussion and possible action, or guidance before taking an action; the Committee must refer questions to the full faculty of the school when the proposal reflects a substantial departure from established programs and disciplinary requirements (for example, adopting an Anthropology major in CAS, requiring demonstrable fluency in a modern language in the International Affairs major).

Hayes also discussed the work of the task force, which was convened to address some of the general education issues and curricular reform. The members were: R. Goldberg, S. Farnsworth, L. Shpunt, M. Hayes, M. Rampolla, L, Child, and L. Losada. All except L. Child and L. Losada met with the VPAA after the distribution of the memo announcing the appointment of an independent task force to review curricular reform.

Goldberg reported that after the meeting with the VPAA, there were no changes. The VPAA would appoint the task force as stated in the memo.

Shafer reminded the CAS faculty that at the January CAS meeting the CAS faculty were invited to participate in the changes, yet had been excluded from substantive involvement.

Blanshan pointed to the shared governance structure and emphasized that this was also a core administrative responsibility. She stated that curricular reform was a collegiate job and that the role of academic administration was to support and guide the process. Blanshan also assured the faculty that the appointment of the task force would not be accomplished in isolation, but would involve the guidance and support of the CAS-CAP and the whole faculty. She emphasized that CAS-CAP and the full CAS faculty were critical in the process. She articulated her goal to spearhead a process that was maximally inclusive in a timely fashion. Blanshan also stated that developing a new schedule was also a collaborative process and that she believed she had demonstrated her openness and her style of collaboration and consultation throughout the process.

Shafer stated that CAS faculty left January’s meeting thinking a process was in place, but the process was thwarted and those who had been working lost a month’s work. Others present echoed similar sentiments.

Blanshan recalled that at the last CAS meeting, it was established that the CAS-CAP would serve a leadership role and a group of volunteers also emerged in the meeting. She stated that, upon reflection, she realized that the process was too important for the college and the university for her not to take a more active role in the developments, hence the idea about an appointed task force, which would allow her to participate more fully.

Ocampo clarified that there was no intention to exclude the VPAA or disrespect her. She stated that she was concerned with preserving the governance structure and the role of the faculty, given that the last time there were changes to the FLC a similar process was followed.

Blanshan noted that she needed more involvement and collaboration in the process and reiterated that she would seek the help of CAS-CAP in the formation of the task force.

Padgett stated that the volunteer task force understood that the VPAA would not recognize the work of the task force. She stated that she understood that Blanshan served a supervisory and stimulating role.

Gallagher raised the principle of subsidiary and asked about the Dean’s role amid these changes.

Farnsworth stated that there was still a lack of clarity about the course offering and scheduling and she indicated that the CAS-CAP would help in the process of discussing the First Year Experience. She indicated that she would be happy to meet with the Dean and CAS-CAP to discuss these issues.

Shafer pointed to the CAS December minutes that contained a summary of the discussion and suggested that the CAS-CAP refer to it.

Easby raised the concerned about CAS students not being able to take classes in SPS format. She noted that Dance classes were currently offered in the evenings, and would not necessarily be suited for a daytime format.

Tomkins stated that these scheduling changes raised crucial retention questions and stated that she believed enrollment would decrease next year as a result of these changes.

Hayes stated that data about students who need to work 25-40 hours a week needed to be kept in mind as changes were instituted.

Goldberg mentioned that much of the confusion had emerged because of lack of faculty consultation.

Gallagher stated that retention was a problem for all three schools and eliminating weekend classes would be problematic.

IV. Announcements and Updates: Ocampo announced that the CAS-CAP approved a new Business Administration major proposal and thanked C. Parsons and M. Reinstma for their hard work. She also announced that the Jack Kent Coke competition would open on March 1 and graduating senior who had been accepted to a graduate program were eligible to apply.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane A. Forbes Berthoud