Oswego State University -- Academic Policies Council

Minutes of meeting held on Friday, October 6, 2006

Persons present: J.Jubin, F.Kirk, R.Mandel, J.Nichols, T.Pieraccini, P.Rosenbaum, J.Smith, P.Tomascak

The meeting was called to order shortly after the 3:00 p.m. scheduled start time.

5.  Review of APC responsibilities

Given a majority of new members on the Council, this agenda item was put first and Mandel gave summary remarks on the nature of work for this committee.

2. Election of Council Chair

After unanimous nomination, Smith agreed to serve as Chair for one year, but would like someone else to take over after that period.

3, 4. Election of Council reporter to FA and designation of meeting recorder

Rosenbaum, one of two FA reps on the APC, agreed to serve as reporter to the Faculty Assembly. Tomascak volunteered to serve as meeting recorder.

After this business, introductions were made around the table for the full assembled Council.

6.  Review of meeting schedule and time

It was noted that in order to keep in synch with Faculty Assembly business, APC meetings were generally held on the Friday of the same week. Some discussion of changing the Friday afternoon meeting time was put aside due to a schedule conflict. The next APC meeting time will be 10/13, although some members will not be available. Meeting time was adjusted to 4:00 p.m. in order to help achieve quorum.

The remaining meeting dates for Fall 2006 are: 10/27, 11/10, 11/17, 12/1, and, if needed, 12/8.

7. Items left from AY 05-06

#14: Risk Management & Insurance B.S. Program (announcement). There were concerns about the number of new courses that underpin the program (5), but this was otherwise considered a good proposal and worthwhile program. Motion to approve with comments passed nem con.

#4: Biochemistry B.S. program revision. Despite a few typographical errors this proposal was clearly formatted and justified. Motion to approve with noted revisions passed nem con.

#5, 6, 7: Cognitive Science program revisions. The proposals to make substantive changes to the Cognitive Science B.A., B.S., and Minor programs lacked necessary support letters, and were made difficult to follow by lack of course titles. The proposals were to be returned to initiator for revision.

#8, 9, 10: Computer Science program revisions. The proposals make required superficial changes to the B.A., B.S. and Minor programs resultant from the reduction in hours of one course, CSC 222. Motion to approve with noted revisions passed nem con.

Meeting adjourned at 5:01 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:

Paul Tomascak, 10/9/06

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policy Council Minutes October 13, 2006

Attendance: J. Jubin, F. Kirk, R. Mandel, T. Pieraccini, J. Smith

Updated materials for the Cognitive Science Major were distributed  as well as additional information about Advance Placement (AP) credit.

1. Minutes of October 6, 2006 were approved as written.
2. # 5 Cognitive Science BS Revisions were reviewed.  Titles were added and letters of support from Psychology and Linguistics were included.  T. Pieraccini moved approval; F. Kirk seconded.  The motion was unanimously passed.
3. #6 Cognitive Science BA Revisions were reviewed. Titles were added and letters of support from Psychology and Linguistics were included.  T. Pieraccini moved approval; J. Jubin seconded.  The motion was unanimously passed.
4. #7 Cognitive Science Minor Revisions were reviewed.  F. Kirk moved approval; T. Pieraccini seconded.  The motion was approved unanimously.
5. #11 Advanced Placement Policy. R. Mandel provided a context for the request to review the AP Policy.  The policy that is currently in place was reviewed and the pro’s and con’s of changing were discussed.  At present any AP course with a 3, 4,or 5 grade is accepted for college credit.  The credit may apply toward a major course or an elective. The policy allows individual departments to decide if AP credit can be used or how it can be used in their majors.  Following more discussion about how CLEP is transferred, T. Pieraccini moved to leave the policy as it is written with the addition of a statement to remind students to see their individual major departments’ policies.  J. Jubin seconded.  The motion was unanimously approved.
6. # 13 Biological Sciences Proposed Policy for Accepting AP and CLEP Credit.  The proposal was reviewed and compared to the College Policy.  F. Kirk moved approval, T. Pieraccini seconded.  The motion was unanimously approved.

The meeting adjourned at 4:55.  The next meeting is scheduled for October 27, 2006 in 702 Culkin Hall at 3:00.

Minutes submitted by J. Smith.

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policy Council Minutes October 27, 2006

Attendance: F. Kirk, J. Nichols, T. Pieraccini, J. Smith, P. Tomascak

Meeting was called to order at 3:06 p.m.

1. The minutes of the October 13, 2006 meeting were approved as written.
2. The APC report to the FA from the 10/23/06 meeting was summarized (by J. Smith, as P. Rosenbaum was absent). The revisions to the Cognitive Sciences and Biological Sciences programs were announced.
3. (#12) The letter from P. Murphy was reviewed.  It was judged that the scope of this proposal is not within the charge of the APC.
4. (#15) Enforcement of prerequisites, as recommended by the Academic Quality Committee was reviewed. Despite concerns on the complications involved with handling transfer courses, the idea in the memo was considered to have merit.  T.  Pieraccini moved to support enforcement of prerequisites across campus and to ask the FA to address this and to implement a pilot project; F. Kirk seconded.  The motion passed nem con.
5. (#16) Rehabilitation/improvement of the APC website was discussed. A student intern with Bill Bosch will work to develop the site for his Senior project. Making the site useful both for APC personnel and the general faculty was considered an important resource. Among the items the site will include are: new/revised program procedures, the updated queue of APC tasks, links to routing forms, meeting minutes, and Committee membership.
6. (#1) 48-credit rule was discussed and it was affirmed that this was an item at which the Committee needs to take a serious look. However, further action was put off until R. Mandel could be present to share her historical background on the topic.

The meeting adjourned at 3:36 p.m.  The next meeting is scheduled for Friday November 10, 2006 in 702 Culkin Hall at 3:00.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak.

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, November 10, 2006

Attendance: J. Jubin, F. Kirk, R. Mandel, T. Pieraccini, J. Smith, P. Tomascak

Meeting was called to order at 3:04 p.m.

1. Minutes of the October 27, 2006 meeting were reviewed.  T. Pieraccini moved approval as written; F. Kirk seconded.  The motion passed nem con.
2. (#1) 48-credit rule was discussed and it was affirmed that this is a particular problem for a number of departments, particularly those with transfer students seeking BA degrees. Although there is an institutional mandate that the BA degree be broad-based, the Council considered what is the most reasonable interpretation of this. T. Pieraccini moved that we propose that all BA programs limit the number of hours within discipline to 54, revising current Catalog p.178; J. Jubin seconded. Discussion that followed highlighted the need to complete the list detailing how other SUNY schools face this issue, so as to point out that this change moves Oswego toward a more “normal” requirement. J. Smith will compose a brief on this issue and T. Pieraccini will be available to present it at FA.
3. (#17) The Philosophy major revision was reviewed, in which a Capstone course was added. The committee saw not problems with the proposal. T. Pieraccini moved approval; F. Kirk seconded.  The motion passed nem con.
4. (#16) The Public Justice minor was discussed. The committee saw this as a potentially important program. Ways of improving the program were discussed, including grouping elective choices, adding more upper level courses to the core, and requiring 12 hours of which 9 are taken within the major. J. Smith will relay the Council’s suggestions to the Department.
5. (#2, 3) Rules governing minimum # hours in a major and maximum # hours in a minor were discussed. After some discussion, T. Pieraccini moved to support the 30 hour major minimum and 18-24 range for minors; J. Smith seconded. The move was tabled as more information was needed. R. Mandel will acquire data on # students enrolled in the various Minor programs. In the meantime it was considered worthwhile that Departments be asked to review their Minor programs, as many of the departmentally-set credit hour limits are apt to be ancient and hence would likely benefit from a re-evaluation.

The meeting adjourned at 4:39 p.m.  With the current workload, the meeting previously scheduled for Friday November 17 is not necessary, so the next meeting will be on Friday December 1, 2006 in 702 Culkin Hall at 3:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak, 11/17/06 (with amendments following discussion at the 11/17/06 Council meeting).

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, November 17, 2007

Members in attendance: J. Jubin, F. Kirk, R. Mandel, J. Nichols, T. Pieraccini, P. Rosenbaum, J. Smith, P. Tomascak

Guest: R. Mohammadi

Meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m.

(item #18) R. Mohammadi detailed the BS in Software Engineering proposal. Artificial intelligence and software engineering are currently in place in CS major, but they want to split software engineering out, based in part on a recent external review. The change would make promotion easier (there are few BS Software Engineering programs nationally). T. Pieraccini moved to accept the proposal; F. Kirk seconded. The motion passed nem con.

T. Pieraccini moved to approve the minutes of the 11/10/06 meeting as amended; J. smith seconded. The motion passed nem con (with two abstentions).

(item #1) The Council examined the memos concerning the maximum # hours in a discipline (the 48-hour rule) and the appropriate # hours in a minor. Does APC need to make a recommendation for this or try to set a policy? We favor a recommendation.

(item #19) Council opened discussion on the definition of a prerequisite. Departments need to look seriously at prerequisites, as Banner will soon be programmed to recognize and enforce. J. Smith will invite A. Westfall to visit to discuss.

The potential Spring 2007 meeting dates were reviewed.

The Council considered recent FA floor discussion on the process by which AP/CLEP credits are evaluated. R. Mandel considers this a Departmental matter.

The meeting adjourned at 4:32 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak, 3/29/07.

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, February 23, 2007

Attendance: F. Kirk, R. Mohammadi, T. Pieraccini, P. Rosenbaum, J. Smith, P. Tomascak

Meeting was called to order at 3:13 p.m.

The Council welcomed Rameen Mohammadi, new acting Associate Provost.
Minutes of the 12/8/06 meeting were reviewed. T. Pieraccini moved to approve; F. Kirk seconded. The motion passed nem con. Minutes of the 11/17/06 meeting had not been reviewed previously, but were not present today, so they will be reviewed next meeting.
P. Rosenbaum reported on Faculty Assembly business. President Stanley spoke at FA about the recent weather-related closures. Biological Sciences did a blanket change in prerequisites. T. Pieraccini will represent the APC as part of the Ad Hoc Committee to recommend procedures for enforcing Prerequisites.
J. Smith announced that the APC web site will be active in about two weeks. In addition to the Council agenda and meeting minutes, the site will include necessary forms and details on procedures.
P. Rosenbaum asked for an update on the faculty input to the development of Engineering programs. This is based on continued concerns that the programs have not originated from a mandate from the faculty, but rather from the administration. The Software Engineering program is in the hands of SUNY central administration, and the Computer & Electrical Engineering program will not move forward until the former is approved. J. Smith will ask the Provost to visit in order to render an update and any necessary clarification.
(item #16) The Public Justice minor was returned, fixed as per APC recommendations. Electives noted to be selected in advisement of fcaulty. T. Pieraccini moved to approve; P. Tomascak seconded. The motion passed nem con.
(item #21) Proposal to identify Liberal Arts and Sciences courses in the S.O.B. and S.O.E. was considered. This appears to be a case of loss of institutional knowledge. T. Pieraccini moved to affirm/endorse the proposal; F. Kirk seconded. The motion passed nem con.
R. Mohammadi pointed out that the S.O.B. is going to have to revisit this topic in AY 08-09 when the current critical thinking requirement elapses. P. Rosenbaum asked if this should be in the catalog (we were unable to find it at the time)--it should be recommended to the FA President that it should be. T. Pieraccini recommended sending a copy of the affirmed memo to the General Education Council.
J. Smith mentioned that the previous APC recommendation to consider making MAT 158 & 258 General Education courses had been rejected. Discussion followed.
(item #22) The misinterpretation of I/IP grades was considered. Policy regarding this matter never passed Graduate Council, where it may be most important. Our charge is to more clearly define when I/IP should be assigned (note that IP is not specifically defined in the Catalog). J. Smith will ask the Dean Bozak to visit in order to elucidate what is really needed.
(item #23) Discussion began on the revisions to the BFA Studio Art curriculum. However, due to the concerns involved, will not be discussed until next meeting (when J. Jubin is present to help).

The meeting adjourned around 4:30 p.m.--the recorder failed to note the exact time. The next meeting is set for Friday March 9, 2007.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak, 3/6/07.

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, March 9, 2007

Members in attendance: J. Jubin, F. Kirk, R. Mohammadi, J. Nichols, T. Pieraccini, P. Rosenbaum, J. Smith, P. Tomascak
Guest: D. Bozak

Meeting was called to order at 3:08 p.m.

T. Pieraccini moved to approve the meeting agenda; F. Kirk seconded.
(item #22) I and IP grades were discussed. The problem stems from the Dean’s office not wanting to have to deal with I grades on projects designed to last beyond one semester. Due to a peculiar coincidence when the original proposal to clarify I/IP grades was made, the details that got into the Catalog were unclear. Bozak would like IP to be used only for a specific grade category of classes that Departments decide. J. Smith will write up a definition of IP for review. The section of the Catalog with I/IP needs reorganization and the I grade needs exception #1 removed for clarity. Smith will also bring modified text for this.
Due to a variety of mistakes, no meeting minutes were available to review. Next meeting the minutes from the 2/23 and 3/9 meetings, as well as the missing 11/17/06 minutes, will be reviewed.
P. Rosenbaum read out two items at the last FA meeting.
J. Smith clarified the ways proposals make their way to APC, other than course proposals. P. Rosenbaum questioned whether various functional and procedural issues related to Summer School were referable to APC.
J. Smith announced that Provost Coultrap-McQuin will attend the next APC meeting to discuss the emerging engineering programs.
An email query on minors from J. Forbes was discussed. R. Mohammadi will follow up with email based on previous APC recommendations.
J. Smith advised that members be aware of the potential impending reorganization of the College of A&S, prompted by an email from the FA Chair to the Provost regarding faculty input. APC may at some point be involved in this process. P. Rosenbaum pointed out the appearance of another instance of programmatic initiation driven by the administration rather than the faculty.
(item #23) Discussion of the BFA Studio Art proposal. J. Jubin explained that changes were needed, among other reasons because of changes in technology. No unapproved courses are involved in the change, that keeps the total hours relatively unchanged. The Provost has apparent concern that the program has too high a credit burden on students (although this may relate to the previous Art proposal and not this one). [J. Jubin then excused herself while the Council deliberated.] There was discussion that # hr in major studio area and/or electives might be reduced. T. Pieraccini moved to send the proposal back to consider merit of reducing hours by as many as six; F. Kirk seconded. The motion passed nem con.
(item #25) Gerontology minor. J. Smith will invite the initiators to visit.

The meeting adjourned at 4:44 p.m. The next meeting is set for Friday March 30, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in Culkin Hall rm.702.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak, 3/29/07.

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, March 30, 2007

Members in attendance: J. Jubin, R. Mohammadi, J. Nichols, T. Pieraccini, P. Rosenbaum, J. Smith, P. Tomascak
Guests: S. Coultrap-McQuin, P. Clark

Meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m.

Provost Coultrap-McQuin visited to give updates to the Council on a number of fronts:
Engineering programs: The proposal for the Software Engineering major was moving along but was held up by SUNY Central and is now in revision. The first software Engineer has been hired and new funding for a Computer/Electrical Engineer has materialized. We are holding on moving forward with the Computer & Electrical Engineering program until Software Engineering is closer to completion. The Provost noted that Engineering is in the MOU signed off on by SUNY Central.
Learning outcomes (graduation) project: A committee has been established to make a draft for the community to comment on based on the data gathered during the semester (hopefully available by end of semester). Perhaps this will be followed by request to APC/FA to recognize the results. Following this, Departments can act to implement, and APC will hopefully see program revisions that stem from the implementations.
Size of academic degree programs: The Provost noted a trend toward hours required for majors creeping up over time, which she feels runs contrary to the spirit of a liberal arts degree. She asked that APC make a recommendation for “normal” credit hour standards for majors (are there national benchmarks for this? how variable?). Accreditation is commonly cited as an excuse for large hour totals for majors, but the Provost noted that accreditation commonly can be accomplished with a broad infusion of specific goals/characteristics in existing major courses, rather than just adding courses to the total.
Related projects: Things that the Provost thinks are likely to appear before APC in coming months include (1) programs responding to the International Opportunities Office (new and revised programs); (2)ways of making students recognize the importance of civic engagement; (3) moving undergraduate and graduate research more seamlessly into curricula, as pertains to faculty getting workload credit for research mentoring activity.
(item #24) Pat Clark visited to discuss the proposed revision to the African and African-American Studies Minor program. This revisions were initiated following conversations with students and faculty, particularly in C&I. The ARS prefix has been resuscitated for use in the program. The # hours is unchanged, but the ratio core/electives has.
There were questions about the approval status of ARS 499, about students taking courses under advisement, and that “double-dipping” should be acknowledged. The proposal would be helped by letters of support from participating departments (verifying ARS 210 will be consistently offered). J. Smith suggested the proposal be returned after these points are taken into consideration.
Given the packed schedule of visitors, review of the backlog of meeting minutes was put off to next meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 5:04 p.m. The next meeting is set for Friday April 13, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in Culkin Hall rm.702.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak, 4/12/07 (accepted as amended 4/13/07).

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, April 13, 2007

Members in attendance: J. Jubin, R. Mohammadi, J. Nichols, T. Pieraccini, J. Smith, P. Tomascak

Meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m.

Meeting minutes from the recent and not so recent past were reviewed. T. Pieraccini moved to approve the minutes of 11/17/06 as written; F. Kirk seconded. T. Pieraccini moved to approve the minutes of 2/23/07 as written; F. Kirk seconded. T. Pieraccini moved to approve the minutes of 3/9/07 as amended; F. Kirk seconded. T. Pieraccini moved to approve the minutes of 3/30/07 as amended; F. Kirk seconded. All motions passed unanimously
There was brief discussion on the flow of information from FA. It is apparent that decisions are not uniformly registered into institutional memory, which can cause problems years later with which APC must wrestle.
(item #23) The proposed revision to the BFA Major program was back from the Art Department for consideration. J. Jubin pointed out that the revised program (a) is in line with what the accrediting body recommends for coursework and hours, and (b) has credit hour requirements that are, in fact, below those of BFA programs at parallel SUNY Colleges. P. Tomascak moved to approve the program proposal; F. Kirk seconded. The motion passed nem con.
(item #29) The Software Engineering Major proposal was again considered. SUNY Central recommended a differently-pedigreed group of consultants for the program from their previous recommendation. These consultants were more current in their knowledge of ABED accreditation, and the revised proposal reflects their input in terms of the need for University Physics and a year-long Capstone program that is content-free. R. Mohammadi pointed out that the program is expected to present no impact on resources, as existing students will enter the major. There was brief discussion on the effect changing SUNY leadership may have on support to Software Engineering at Oswego--this is one reason why we would like to have this proposal passed quickly. T. Pieraccini moved to approve the proposal; F. Kirk seconded. The motion passed nem con.
(item #27) The recent proposal from the General Education Board was discussed, concerning the reduction in Intellectual Issues requirements from 6 to 3 hours. Do we want to get rid of our Oswego-specific initiatives? R. Mohammadi made the compelling case for a change: considering all seats available in Fall Gen. Ed. courses, only 100 were free (“we are choking on Gen. Ed.”). There was general acceptance that such a change should not have the “within-major” clause. T. Pieraccini moved to support the proposal; J. Nichols seconded. The motion passed 3-0, with two abstentions.
(item #28) The Public Justice Minor program proposal, which passed APC on 2/23/07, returned after the C- minimum grade had been removed in FA by friendly amendment. T. Pieraccini moved to approve (re-approve?) the proposal, retaining the C- minimum; J. Jubin seconded. The motion passed nem con.
(item #22) I and IP grades were again discussed and the following concluded: (1) IP as defined is acceptable; (2) exception #1 in catalog for I grade should be deleted; (3) extend deadline to end of semester. T. Pieraccini moved to support the modified language; P. Tomascak seconded. The motion passed 4-1.

The meeting adjourned at 4:43 p.m. B. Schaber and L. Brown will be asked to visit for the next meeting, set for Friday April 27, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in Culkin Hall rm.702. If quorum is not attained or if further work remains APC will meet on 5/4/07.

Respectfully submitted by P. Tomascak, 4/26/07.

SUNY Oswego – Academic Policies Council Minutes, April 27, 2007

Members in attendance: J. Jubin, F. Kirk, R. Mohammandi, J. Nichols, P. Rosanbaum, J. Smith, Guest – L. Brown.

Gerontology Minor. Since Laura Brown was in attendance to discuss the Gerontology Major, this item was moved ahead on the agenda. Laura reviewed the rationale for creating the minor and discussed the population that it will serve. Council members offered some editing suggestions – delete the list of electives and in place use just the statement, “Nine semester hours of electives under advisement.” Also, it was suggested that the presentation for the program be shortened for Faculty Assembly – just the rationale and a catalog copy of the program. In addition, the course titles need to be reviewed to make sure all titles agree with the course titles in the Catalog. Following Laura’s departure, a brief discussion was held after which P. Rosenbaum moved approval of the Gerontology Minor; J. Jubin seconded. The motion for approval was passed.
Approval of Agenda. The agenda was amended to include a second review of the General Education proposal to reduce Intellectual Issues to 3sh at the request of P. Rosenbaum.
Second Review of General Education Proposal to Reduce Intellectual Issues to 3sh. P. Rosenbaum shared his concerns about the proposal that is that General Education should only be reduced for educational reason, not for lack of seats. R. Mohammandi shared his knowledge of the difficulties that related directly to the number of seats available versus the number of seats needed by students. P. Rosenbaum responded that the lack of resources for this program was an administrative responsibility, not one that the faculty should be doing something to fix. P. Rosenbaum moved that the Council reconsider its vote to support the proposal. There was no second so the motion was dropped. P. Rosenbaum asked to have the minutes show that he intends to make an minority report at Faculty Assembly voicing his concerns about the proposal to decrease Intellectual Issues to 3sh.
Approval of Minutes of 4-13-07. The minutes were approved as written.
New Materials. J. Smith distributed an addendum to #24, African and African American Studies Minor; #31, a request from the Academic Quality Task Force; and a summary of materials reviewed by APC during the 2006-07 year. She ask members to review it for correctness and let her know if changes should be made.
GPA Policy for Second Majors. The concern that is presented with the current policy is the fairness to returning Oswego students in respect to their gpa’s versus the policy for students from another institution returning for a second major. A. Westfall clearly stated that he didn’t believe anything could be programmed into the current system to allow a change. There were questions about whether or not this is a SUNY or an Oswego policy and the number of students per year that this policy effects. After some discussion, it was decided to Table the item until a later meeting when A. Westfall, S. Fish, and D. Bozak can attend.
Review of Pass/Fail Policy. The proposal developed by the Academic Quality Task Force as well as the examples provided from other Colleges were discussed. The Council wondered about the number of students taking the Pass/Fail option each semester since so many programs have no true elective spaces. There was great concern that if the proposed policy was approved, students would not get any credit for C- or D grade level work. However, if the course was taken as a graded course, credit for passing the course would be given. J. Jubin moved the following, “After review of the Academic Quality proposal, APC recommends that the Pass/Fail Policy remain as it is currently stated; P. Rosenbaum seconded. The motion was approved.
The final meeting of APC for the 2006-07 year will be May 4, 2007 at 3:30. Two members have other commitments until that time. The agenda will include the English Literary Studies BA and the African and African American Studies Minor.

Meeting adjourned 4: 55.
Minutes respectfully submitted by J. Smith