SUBJECT

DESCRIPTION

DATE

SENATE ACTION  

Kuntz presented nominations to ACC standing committees and announced outstanding vacancies. Members voted unanimously to approve a motion (forwarded by Tracy Thorndike and seconded) to confirm all proposed appointments to the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE); Graduate Council; Honors Board; International Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC); International Studies Curriculum Committee (ISCC), and Council on University Programs (CUP).  New appointees to the Recruitment, Admission and Support Committee (RASC) were determined by election (see Appendix A).

To Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE):
            At-Large, teaches GURs: Paul Chen, Political Science
            Area D, CFPA: Cher Carnell, Theatre & Dance
            Area G, Huxley: Grace Wang, Environmental Studies
            Area I, Libraries: Jeff Purdue, Libraries

To Graduate Council:
            At-large Graduate Faculty: Roger Anderson, Biology
           At-large Graduate Faculty: Wayne Landis, ENVS
            At-large Graduate Faculty: Allison Giffen, English
            CSE Grad Faculty: Gerry Prody, Chemistry
            CHSS Grad Faculty: Michael Fraas, CSD
            CFPA Grad Faculty: Bertil Van Boer, Music
            Huxley Grad Faculty: Ruth Sofield, ESCI
            WCE Grad Faculty: Beth Boland, Health and Community Studies

To Honors Board:
            At-Large: Tina Du Rocher Schudlich, Psychology

To International Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC):
            At-Large: Gigi Berardi, Environmental Studies
            At-Large: Lawrence Estrada, Fairhaven
            At-Large: Liz Mogford, Sociology
            At-Large: Farrokh Safavi, Finance & Marketing

To International Studies Curriculum Committee (ISCC):
            At-Large: Shawn Knabb, Economics
            At-Large: Deb Currier, Theatre & Dance 
            At-Large: Jianna Zhang, Computer Science

To Council on University Programs (CUP):
            Entrepreneurship: Art Sherwood, Management
            Sustainability: Grace Wang, Environmental Studies
            Canadian-American Studies: David Rossiter, ENVS

To Recruitment, Admissions and Support Committee (RASC):
            At-Large: Gerry Prody, Chemistry
            At-Large: Chris Sandvig, Decision Sciences
            At-Large: Mark Neff, Environmental Studies
            At-Large: Jill Mount, Health and Community Studies

General Education Task Force: Kuntz presented a draft charge for the General Education Task Force (see Appendix B). Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the General Education Task Force charge with minor edits (forwarded by David Rossiter, seconded).

Upon approval of the charge, Kuntz presented a suggested membership list compiled by the Ad Hoc Committee charged with examining the General Education Task Force charge (see Appendix C). ACC members voted to approve the General Education Task Force membership list with one abstention (forwarded by Doug Clark, seconded).

A motion to nominate Holly Folk (forwarded by Tracy Thorndike and seconded) to the position of ACC representative on the Senate Extended Education Committee (SEEC) was approved by general consent.

A motion to forward Graduate Council Academic Honesty Policy recommendations to the Faculty Senate as an informational item (forwarded by Michael Fraas and seconded) passed by general consent.

A motion to postpone consideration of proposed revisions to the Graduate Council charged until the ACC meeting of 27 October 2015 (forwarded by Tracy Thorndike and seconded) passed by general consent.

A motion to nominate Seán Murphy to serve as 2015-16 ACC Vice Chair (forwarded by Doug Clark and seconded) was approved by a unanimous vote.

Commissioners voted to approve a motion from the ACC Executive Committee to confirm the appointment of Patrick Buckley as Huxley Representative to the General Education Task Force.

A motion to approve proposed Graduate Council charge revisions with minor amendments (forwarded by David Rossiter and seconded) passed by unanimous consent with a friendly amendment to make articulation of meeting time and frequency more flexible.

A motion to approve proposed revisions to the Repeating a Course Policy with minor (forwarded by John Lund and seconded) passed unanimously. Approved revisions are as follows:

Repeating a Course

A few courses are approved to be repeated for credit. Such approval is included with the course description in this catalog. If a course not designated as repeatable for credit is retaken, the following will apply:

• Credit will be awarded only once for a repeated course.
• All grades earned will be considered in calculation of the student’s cumulative grade average and all grades remain on the record; a failing grade assigned subsequent to earning a passing grade in a repeated course will nullify the credit earned initially with the passing grade. The last grade earned will be used in the computation of the cumulative and major grade point averages.
• All grades will remain in the student's official record.
• A course cannot be repeated to change the student’s grade point average after a degree has been awarded.
• Students wishing to repeat a class in which they already received a P, S, or C- or better grade may not register for the class until Phase III of registration. Students, in this circumstance, who register for a repeated course prior to Phase III may be required to drop the course by the academic department or Registrar’s Office. The repeat registration for English composition prior to Phase III requires the written permission of the chair of the department.

Please note that Western’s registration system will not prevent a student from registering for a course in which the student has already received credit therefore students are responsible for ensuring they do not repeat courses unintentionally.

Also note that departments may require Graduate students to repeat a course in order to attain an acceptable level of competence. The rules above apply to any repeated course. Graduate students should review the Scholarship Standards under the Graduate School section of the catalog.

A motion to encourage the Registrar’s Office to seriously consider Curriculog and implement the software as soon as possible (forwarded by David Rossiter and seconded) passed.

Commissioners voted unanimously to confirm the appointments of April Bryan, Jennifer Devenport, Joan Hoffman, and Sean Knabb to the Scholastic Standing Committee.

Commissioners elected Mike Olson and Tim Kowalczyk to serve on the International Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC).

As of January 2016, ACC accepts all current certificate-granting programs as part of the approved curriculum. All new certificate-granting programs and any future curricular changes to existing programs must be submitted for ACC approval through Western’s curricular review processes.

 

Commissioners confirmed the following appointments by general consent:

To Scholastic Standing Committee:
At-Large: Patrick Roulet, Music
At-Large: Theresa Warburton¸English
At-Large: Neal Tognazzini, Philosophy

Commissioners passed a motion (forwarded by Tracy Thorndike and seconded) to postpone consideration of proposed PSY 301 revisions until all 2016-17 curricular items have been reviewed, for the purpose of ensuring time for discussion of the policy implications of allowing GPA requirements to serve as course prerequisites. Consideration of PSY 301 is not expected to take place until after the March 1st curriculum approval deadline, and revisions will therefore not be considered for inclusion in the 2016-17 Catalog.

Commissioners passed a motion extending appreciation to Leadership Studies for providing leadership and oversight over the Student Affairs Administration courses that serve an important role at Western (forwarded by Steve VanderStaay and seconded).

Commissioners noted and expressed support for the Graduate Council’s desire to have input on grade replacement for Graduate Students in light of proposed revision of the University Academic Policy on Repeating a Course, but passed a motion to return the Graduate Council’s action item, “General consensus of the Graduate Council is that it should be Graduate Council which recommends policy for grade replacement for Graduate Students,” as out of order (forwarded by Holly Folk and seconded). As it is written, the Graduate Council’s action item would appear to curtail the powers, rights, and duties of ACC to establish general University Academic Policies.

Commissioners expressed appreciation for the work of the General Education Task Force. Commissioners discussed the process for soliciting feedback on the three general education proposals described in the 2016 General Education Task Force Report.

A motion to file the 2016 General Education Task Force Report (forwarded by David Rossiter and seconded) passed unanimously.

Spencer Anthony-Cahill, Past Faculty Senate President, presented a revised Academic Honesty Policy and provided context on the policy revisions.  Commissioners inquired about a statute of limitations and asked if it would be possible to enforce the policy once a student has graduated or left Western. Anthony-Cahill emphasized the importance of reporting all academic honesty violations in order to facilitate due process. Commissioners provided feedback on the policy and discussed additional resources that the Western Coalition for Integrity may consider providing to faculty members.

A motion to approve the Academic Honesty Policy as edited (forwarded by Doug Clark and seconded) passed unanimously.

Following a Senate request of January 25th, commissioners discussed incorporating limitations upon course repeats in the Repeating a Course Policy in light of federal financial aid restrictions that limit the number of times that a student may repeat a course once it has been passed. Commissioners noted that a student may petition to use a previous grade for purposes of GPA calculation in the event that a worse grade is received for a repeated course. Commissioners clarified that this policy does not apply to graduate students and that all grades received for a class appear on a student’s transcript.

A motion to approve the Repeating a Course Policy as amended (forwarded by Doug Clark and seconded) passed unanimously. Approved revisions are as follows:

Repeating a Course
A few courses are approved to be repeated for credit. Such approval is included with the course description in this catalog. If a course not designated as repeatable for credit is retaken, the following will apply:

• Students may not repeat any previously passed course more than once.
• Credit will be awarded only once for a repeated course.
• All grades earned will be considered in calculation of the student’s cumulative grade average and all grades remain on the record; a failing grade assigned subsequent to earning a passing grade in a repeated course will nullify the credit earned initially with the passing grade. The last grade earned will be used in the computation of the cumulative and major grade point averages.
• All grades will remain in the student's official record.
• A course cannot be repeated to change the student’s grade point average after a baccalaureate degree has been awarded.
• Students wishing to repeat a class in which they already received a P, S, or C- or better grade may not register for the class until Phase III of registration. Students, in this circumstance, who register for a repeated course prior to Phase III may be required to drop the course by the academic department or Registrar’s Office. The repeat registration for English composition prior to Phase III requires the written permission of the chair of the department.

Please note that Western’s registration system will not prevent a student from registering for a course in which the student has already received credit therefore students are responsible for ensuring they do not repeat courses unintentionally.

Also note that departments may require Graduate students to repeat a course in order to attain an acceptable level of competence. The rules above apply to any repeated course. Graduate students should review the Scholarship Standards under the Graduate School section of the catalog.

Commissioners discussed the proposed IP designation recommended by the One World Committee. A motion from the ACC Executive Committee thanking the One World Committee for its work and suggesting steps for further exploration and possible revision of the International Proficiency designation passed with amendments. The language of the amended motion is as follows:

ACC would like to thank the One World Committee for their work and supports the intention to develop a pathway for students to explore their education in a global context.

ACC would like to see how this initiative might play out in the context of potential changes in General Education. If the International Studies Curriculum Committee is interested in further exploration of the IP designation outside of discussion of General Education, ACC asks for clarification on two parts of the IP proposal:

• Is there a way for the IP designation to be applied with some collegial oversight?
• Is there a way to clarify the purpose of the proposed Global Learning Outcome?

Commissioners discussed the benefits and drawbacks of approving the proposed Biology Catalog copy revisions and expressed concern that the revisions do not include a mechanism for petitioning lenience regarding the number of course repeats permitted for purposes of GPA calculation. ACC Chair Mark Kuntz observed that enrollment pressure is not articulated in the rationale. A motion to approve the Biology Catalog copy revision as written (forwarded by Doug Clark and seconded) failed to carry.

A motion to request that the Recruitment, Admissions and Support Committee educate the Academic Coordinating Commission on Western’s admission process and admissions requirements (forwarded by David Rossiter and seconded) passed.

A motion to file the Committee on Undergraduate Education’s motion to recommend a cap on WP3 courses (forwarded by David Rossiter and seconded) passed.

A motion to file the Committee on Undergraduate Education’s motion to endorse specific improvement opportunities presented in the 2016 General Education Task Force Report (forwarded by Holly Folk and seconded) passed.

A motion to nominate Seán Murphy to the position of Academic Coordinating Commission Chair (forwarded by Doug Clark and seconded) passed.

A motion to confirm all proposed appointments to the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE); Graduate Council; International Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC); Recruitment, Admissions, and Support Committee (RASC); Scholastic Standing Committee (SSC); Honors Board; and International Studies Curriculum Committee (ISCC) (forwarded by David Rossiter and seconded) passed:

To Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE):
            Area D, CFPA: Javier Berzal de Dios, Art
            Area G, Huxley: Aquila Flower, Environmental Studeis
            Area H, Woodring: Kate Wayne, Elementary Education

To Graduate Council:
            At-Large, Graduate Faculty: Yudong Liu, Computer Science

To International Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC):
            At-Large: Charles Patterson, Modern & Classical Languages
            At-Large: Tim Kowalczyk, Chemistry
            At-Large: Larry Estrada, Fairhaven

To Recruitment, Admissions and Support Committee (RASC):
            At-Large: Beth Leonard,Theatre & Dance
            At-Large: Roger Sasnett, Special Education

To Scholastic Standing Committee (SSC):
            At-Large: Lorrie Brilla, Health & Human Development
            At-Large: Scott Pearce, Liberal Studies           
            At-Large: Shaw Gynan, Modern & Classical Languages         
            At-Large: Gustavo Camacho, Music
            At-Large: Babafemi Akinrinade, Fairhaven
            At-Large: Monica Hart, Theatre & Dance

To Honors Board:
            At-Large: Monique Kerman, Art
            At-Large: Tina Du Rocher Schudlich, Psychology

To International Studies Curriculum Committee (ISCC):
            At-Large: Liz Mogford, Sociology
            At-Large: John Feodorov, Fairhaven