Senate Curriculum Report - March 13, 2001

March 13, 2001

Volume XXIX

Number 6

SENATE CURRICULUM REPORT

(Blue Sheets)

TO ALL SENATORS, THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY, HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS - PROGRAMS - DIVISIONS - INTERCOLLEGE PROGRAMS, CAMPUS EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, DEANS OF RESIDENT INSTRUCTION, AND MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATE COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PROGRAMS AND COURSES.

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At the February 27, 2001, meeting of the University Faculty Senate the following seven Core Competencies, Activities, and Strategies for Enhanced Learning were approved to replace the current Acting Learning Elements of General Education (see Appendix "D" of the 2/27/01 Agenda and the 2/27/01 Senate Record). The General Education section of the Guide to Curricular Procedures will be updated to reflect the following information:

CORE COMPETENCIES, ACTIVITIES, AND STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCED LEARNING

Knowledge domain courses must require each student to engage in activities promoting learning course content through practicing, typically, three or more of the following:

writing, speaking and/or other forms of self-expression,

information gathering, such as the use of the library, computer/electronic resources, and experimentation or observation,

synthesis and analysis in problem solving and critical thinking, including, where appropriate, the application of reasoning and interpretive methods, and quantitative thinking,

collaborative learning and teamwork,

activities that promote and advance intercultural and/or international understanding,

activities that promote the understanding of issues pertaining to social behavior, scholarly conduct, and community responsibility,

a significant alternative competency for active learning designed for and appropriate to a specific course.

Rationale:

Students should be actively involved in a significant part of their own learning in all General Education courses at Penn State. Through the use of active learning in assignments, exercises, and other formal activities associated with a course, students become engaged participants in the particular course's content and, simultaneously, build competencies, skills, and abilities that are necessary to promote learning in any situation.

A successful General Education course typically will involve students in several active-learning activities, not all of the same type. However, evidence of significant involvement by students is more important than the count of activities. Activities that promote intercultural and international competence, or that help students assess social behavior and scholarly conduct in the community, are especially valuable.
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I. OLD BUSINESS

Questions concerning items that have been held must be resolved within a 90-day period following the approval date of the Senate Curriculum Report. The proposals will be returned to the presenting departments if the hold is not resolved by the end of the 90-day period unless an extension of the hold is granted by the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs.

November 23, 1999, Senate Curriculum Report, Volume XXVIII, Number 3
Item #070 MEDVL 108 GH, Course Change, Liberal Arts (HOLD)

August 29, 2000, Senate Curriculum Report, Volume XXIX, Number 1
Item #068 CMLIT 153 GH;GI, Course Add, Liberal Arts (HOLD)
Pending review by the Intercultural and International Competence Subcommittee
Item #084 Information Sciences and Technology for Mathematics Minor, New, Science (HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.

October 10, 2000, Senate Curriculum Report, Volume XXIX, Number 2
Editorial Prerequisite Changes:
Item #331 ANTH 460, Course Change, Liberal Arts (HOLD)

November 21, 2000, Senate Curriculum Report, Volume XXIX, Number 3
Item #001 Business Administration, Change, Altoona College (HOLD)
Approved academically with change in footnote to read, "Students in the IS option to 2 BA may enroll in IST courses on a space availabe basis only and only on campuses that offer IST courses. IST 210 and 220 require IST 110 as a prerequisite, and IST 250 requires IST 110 as a prerequisite or concurrent enrollment."; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Item #013 English, Name Change, Capital College (HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Item #014 Psychology, Add Options, Capital College (HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Item #063 Mathematics, Change, Science (HOLD)

January 16, 2001, Senate Curriculum Report, Volume XXIX, Number 4
Item #009 Interdisciplinary Humanities, Name Change, Capital College (HOLD)
Item #010 ENGL 200W, Course Add, Capital College (HOLD)
Item #035 Civil Engineering, Change, Engineering (HOLD)
Approved academically, pending the approval of C E 410W and 438W.
Item #083 MATH 140D, Course Add, Science (HOLD)
Item #084 MATH 140E, Course Add, Science (HOLD)
Item #085 MATH 141D, Course Add, Science (HOLD)
Item #086 MATH 141E, Course Add, Science (HOLD)

February, 2001, Senate Curriculum Report, Volume XXIX, Number 5
The entire Curriculum Report was approved with the following exceptions and corrections:

Item #001 Computer Science, New, Behrend College(HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Item #002 Software Engineering, New, Behrend College (HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Item #011 Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts, Name Change, Berks-Lehigh Valley (HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Item #036 Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology Option, New, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Major, Liberal Arts (HOLD)
Approved academically; pending administrative approval by the Executive Vice President and Provost.

II. NEW BUSINESS

The Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs is considering the attached proposals. New majors, options, and minors become effective following the approval of the Executive Vice President and Provost; new courses and courses being dropped become effective the first semester following the approval of this Report unless otherwise specified, the date upon which changes in existing offerings will become effective is the date of the first published Schedule of Courses listing the changed course, unless written objection is received by the University Curriculum Coordinator Sherry F. Walk (sfw2@psu.edu) at the Senate Office, 101G Kern Graduate Building (863-1202) on or before April 12, 2001. A copy of any written objection sent to the Committee must also be sent to the college representative of the sponsoring college. The University Curriculum Coordinator will communicate the objection to the Chairperson of the Committee. Any item to which written objection is made will be reconsidered by the appropriate committee and may be delayed in becoming available for scheduling; however, reconsideration of any specific item will not affect the scheduling date of other items here listed.

Visit the Senate's home page at http://www.psu.edu/ufs and click on Publications for a listing of proposed and approved General Education Courses. After the courses are approved, the long (up-to-400 word) course descriptions are avilable in the electronic version of the Undergraduate Degree Programs Bulletin at http://www.psu.edu/academic/bluebook/.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

Phyllis F. Adams, Agricultural Sciences
Alison C. Altman, Student
Kevin Berland, Commonwealth College -- represenative for Fall 2000
R. Thomas Berner, Communications -- representative for Spring 2001
Ronald Bettig, Communications -- representative for Fall 2000
Douglas K. Brown, Altoona
Barton Browning, Liberal Arts
Garry L. Burkle, ExOfficio
Jeremy Cohen, ACUE -- represenative for Fall 2000
Robert G. Crane, Earth and Mineral Sciences/ACUE -- representative for Spring 2001
Brian Curran, Arts and Architecture
Jennifer L. Flinchbaugh, Student
Gary J. Fosmire, Health and Human Development
William Frank, Earth and Mineral Sciences -- representative for Fall 2000
George W. Franz, Delaware County/Commonwealth College
Louis F. Geschwindner, Chair
Sally Heffentreyer, Resources
J. Daniel Marshall, Vice Chair/Education
Kathleen Mastrian, Shenango -- Spring 2001
Robert D. Minard, Science
Robert A. Novack, Business Administration
Judith Ozment Payne, Abington
Sheila E. Ridley, Berks-Lehigh Valley
Howard Sachs, Capital and Graduate School
Richard J. Simons, Hershey Medical Center
Shelley M. Stoffels, Engineering
James B. Thomas, Information Sciences and Technology
Rodney Troester, Behrend
Diane Zabel, Libraries

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPENDIX A (Undergraduate)

Abington College (No proposals submitted)
Agricultural Sciences, College of
Altoona College (No proposals submitted)
Arts and Architecture, College of
Behrend College
Berks-Lehigh Valley College (No proposals submitted)
Business Administration, The Smeal College of (No proposals submitted)
Capital College
Commonwealth College (No proposals submitted)
Communications, College
Earth and Mineral Sciences, College of (No proposals submitted)
Education, College of (No proposals submitted)
Engineering, College of
Great Valley, School of Graduate Professional Studies (No proposals submitted)
Health and Human Development, College of
Information Sciences and Technology, School of (No proposals submitted)
Intercollege Programs (No proposals submitted)
Liberal Arts, College of the
Life Sciences Consortium (No proposals submitted)
Science, Eberly College of

APPENDIX B

Graduate

APPENDIX C

College of Medicine (No proposals submitted)

APPENDIX D

Dickinson School of Law (No proposals submitted)

SUBCOMMITTEE ON RETENTION AND TRANSFER (No proposals submitted)

CURRICULAR DEADLINES

2000-2001

Common Course Numbers (for which special titles may be given--as a one-semester offering--using one of the following letter suffixes: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, K)*

294/494 - Research Topics
295/395/495 - Internships
296/496/596 - Independent Studies
097/197/297/397/497/597 - Special Topics
098/198/298/398/498/598 - Special Topics
099/199/299/399/499/599 - Foreign Studies

All requests for special titles should be submitted to the Curriculum Coordinator, e-mail ID univfs@psu.edu, at the Senate Office four (4) weeks prior to registration:

Summer Session 2000 and Fall Semester 2000	- May 3, 2000
Spring Session 2001	- December 8, 2000
Summer Semester 2001 and Fall 2001	- April 16, 2001

Intercultural and International Competence and Writing-Intensive Course Proposals
All requests for one-semester Intercultural and International Competence and Writing course offerings should be submitted to the Curriculum Coordinator at the Senate Office six (6) weeks prior to registration:

Summer Semester 2000 and Fall Semester 2000	- April 14, 2000
Spring Session 2001	- November 17, 2000
Summer Semester 2001 and Fall Semester 2001	- April 2, 2001

Senate Curriculum Report (Blue Sheet) Schedule
All course and major/option/minor proposals are due in the Senate Office on the following dates:

Proposal Due Date	Record Publication Date	SCCA Meeting Date
August 14, 2000	for the August 29, 2000 Issue	September 12, 2000
September 25, 2000	for the October 10, 2000 Issue	October 24, 2000
November 6, 2000	for the November 21, 2000 Issue	December 5, 2000
December 21, 2000	for the January 16, 2001 Issue	January 30, 2001
January 29, 2001	for the February 13, 2001 Issue	February 27, 2001
February 26, 2001	for the March 13, 2001 Issue	March 27, 2001
March 26, 2001	for the April 10, 2001 Issue	April 24, 2001

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*The following alpha letters have been reserved for identifying special types of courses:

A-G,I,K - special topics courses
H - honors courses or sections
J - individualized instruction courses
L,P,R - lecture, practicum (or laboratory), recitation sections
M - both an honors and a writing intensive course
S - First-Year Seminar course
T - both an honors and a first-year seminar course
U - both diversity focused by section and honors
V - intercultural and international competence courses by section offering
W - writing intensive courses
X - First-Year Seminar courses and writing-intensive courses
Y - both diversity focused by section and writing intensive