Curriculum and Assessment Policy Committee (CAPC)

given at the April 21, 2008 University Senate meeting

submitted by Deborah Vess

 

CAPC reviewed the following action items and presented them for deliberation before the full university senate:

  1. A proposal to forward a letter of intent to create a new Bachelor of Arts in Geography major. The proposal has passed the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences Curriculum and Instruction Committee on March 12, 2008.  CAPC unanimously passed the proposal contingent upon the proposers providing assurances that required GIS software would be available for students once the program is approved.  CAPC later learned that the SoLAS dean’s office had agreed to purchase the software.  The university senate passed the proposal unanimously.

  2. Dean Linda Irwin-DeVitis presented a proposal to forward a letter of intent to form a new graduate School Counseling Program in the School of Education. The program will require three new faculty positions.  The first position has been approved and the two additional positions will likely be approved in the following two years. The Program would fill a need within the state for licensed counselors as the requirements to be graduation coaches become more rigorous and with the demise of the Fort Valley State program. CAPC passed the proposal unanimously and the university senate also passed the proposal unanimously.

  3. Dean Sandra Gangstead presented a proposal to create a Cancer Exercise Specialist certificate program. No other program of its type exists in the Southeast. The program would be a four-course sequence and is intended for students who have already completed an undergraduate degree. Funding for the program for the first two years would come from a grant. The program would initially start as a summer program. Dean Gangstead reported that there are already 10 people who have expressed a serious interest in the certificate program once it is approved. CAPC approved the proposal unanimously and the university senate passed the proposal unanimously following some discussion of the status of students pursuing the certificate who might want to be admitted to graduate school.

  4. Dean Sandra Gangstead presented a proposal to create a Masters of Arts in Teaching Physical Education. The School of Education would oversee the degree. It is a fifth-year program that would be based on the Training in Movement Sciences core. Resources would come from the recently deactivated B.S. in Physical Education program. The program would be the first of its kind in the state and is consistent with the emphasis on growing our graduate programs. The proposal passed CAPC unanimously and the university senate also passed the proposal unanimously.

  5. Dr. John Swinton (with Dr. Gerald Atkins for informational support) presented a proposal from the Department of Management Information Sciences and the School of Business to discontinue the Office Communication Systems major. The program has been on hiatus since 2005 and currently has no students. The program dates back to a time when GCSU was a comprehensive regional campus (and before) and emphasizes the development of office management (i.e. secretarial) skills. The major is inconsistent with the campus’s current mission. CAPC agreed and passed the proposal unanimously and the university senate also passed the proposal unanimously.

CAPC also reviewed a number of discussion items for information and communication purposes that did not require any official action according to our charge.  Although these were not formally presented before the senate,  senators were referred to this report and our committee minutes for further information:

  1. The minor within the Department of Management Information Systems will no longer have different requirements for business majors and non-business majors. The minor will be renamed a “Minor in Information Systems.”

  2. Revisions to the Management Information Systems major, which reflect the evolution of the requirements in the job market (Removal of the following courses from MIS major degree requirements:
    
 CBIS 3211 Information Technology Hardware and Software
    
 CBIS 4211 Systems Analysis and Design
    
 CBIS 4221 Object Oriented Language – C++
    
CBIS 4222 Object Oriented Language – Visual Basic.
    Add the following coursed to MIS major degree requirements:
    
CBIS 3210 Business analysis Replaces CBIS 3211
    
CBIS 4219 Web Development Replaces CBIS 4211
    
CBIS 4225 Server Administration Replaces choice option between CBIS 4211, 4222, and 4225)

  3. The School of Business passed a motion to create an Education Policy Center: Dr. Ben Scafidi will head The Center. The purpose of the Education Policy Center (EPC) is to provide nonpartisan research and technical assistance in the evaluation and design of state and local education policy, including both tax and expenditure issues. The objective of the EPC is to promote the development of sound education policy and public understanding of education issues with the goal of maximizing student learning and achievement. The EPC will inform and stimulate discussion on education policy through activities such as the publication of policy briefs or essays on issues confronting the education system. The EPC may also organize periodic seminars, workshops, luncheons, and conferences.

  4. The MA in English will change its requirement of having students take the GRE subject exam as a part of the graduation requirement. Instead, the department will develop its own two-part exam that more accurately reflects their curriculum and the books students ought to read for their own program.

  5. The School of Health Sciences Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has elected to change the requirements of the minor in Outdoor Education as follows:
    1. The credit hours required for the minor will increase from 17 to 18.
    2. Elective coursework hours will decrease from 8 to 6.
    3. ODED 2120, 4500, 4520, and 4530 will become 3 hour classes instead of 2 hour classes.

  6. The School of Health Science will modify its area F requirement. It will remove courses HLTH 2510 (2 hours) and an Environmental Science elective (4 hours) and add ODED 2110 (3 hours) and an Environmental Science elective (3 hours).

  7. The Graduate Nursing Program will offer a new course, NRSG 6135, Healthcare Finance to augment its offerings. The course will be required in the MSN program in Nursing Administration, in the NSN/MBA program, and as an elective in the MBA with a concentration in Health Services Administration program.

CAPC reflected on what the Chair should report in the annual report as the Committee’s greatest accomplishments and failures. Items discussed included the need for thorough documentation for proposals,  and the need to take a more active role in spearheading assessment efforts.