Liberal Learning Program Council Minutes 2007-2008

 

May 7, 2008

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Bob Anderson (Secretary), Mary Goldschmidt, Philip Sanders, Glenn Steinberg

1. The minutes of April 16th were approved as submitted.
2. IDS 103, First Experience in Community Engaged Learning and IDS 203, Second Experience in Community Engaged Learning were approved as zero credit, P/U graded courses for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the first and second community engaged learning requirements.
3. The following writing intensive courses, as submitted by the Writing Committee, were unanimously approved as indicated:
   • POL 380, International Political Economy (Mid-Level)
   • POL 335, International Organizations (Mid-Level)
   • MUS 4__, Issues in Music Performance Studies (Senior-Level)
   • BME (and CIV, ELC, MEC) 496/496, Senior Project I/II  (Senior-Level)
4. Citing a lack of council representation, the three voting members present (Profs. Anderson, Sanders, and Yan) unanimously decided that no further votes would be taken.  Action on the approval of the minutes, IDS 103, IDS 203 and the writing courses were deemed sufficiently non-controversial as to fall under the council’s long held policy of defining a quorum as the number of voting members present.
5. The remainder of the meeting was devoted to informal discussion of Dr. Goldschmidt’s proposal to award a quarter course unit (one credit) to students successfully completing WRI 101, First Year Writing.
6. Adjournment was decreed by Karen Yan at 2:45.  The next meeting was not set.  The first Wednesday is September 3rd, during the first week of classes; the third Wednesday falls on Community Learning Day,  September 17th.

 

April 16, 2008

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Bob Anderson (Secretary), Mary Goldschmidt, Philip Sanders, Glenn Steinberg, Donald Vandegrift, Piper Williams

1. The Minutes from April 2nd were approved as submitted.
2. COM 411, Intercultural Communication was approved for behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives and the race and ethnicity civic responsibility category.
3. COM 300, Intergender Communication was approved for behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives and the gender civic responsibility category.
4. NUR 300, Legal Challenges in Health Care was approved for World Views and Ways of Knowing.
5. AAH 220, Women, Art, and Society was approved for Literary, Visual and Performing Arts and Gender.
6. Action on MLD 220, Introduction to Romance Linguistics was tabled pending determination on an appropriate category (i.e, behavioral, social, or cultural perspectives or social change in historical perspective).
7. Adjournment was at 2:45.  The next meeting was set on an ‘as needed’ basis for May 7th at 1:30 in the regular location.

 

April 2, 2008

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Robert Anderson (Secretary), Mary Biggs, Richard Blumberg, Philip Sanders, Glenn Steinberg, Martha Stella, Thulsi Wickramasinge, and Ed Conjura (Guest)

1. The Minutes from February 20th were approved as submitted.
2. A motion to recommend to governance that the existing outcomes for the quantitative reasoning goal be replaced with three “more assessable” goals was approved by a vote of 6 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstaining.  The new outcomes would be:
   • Students will understand how real-world problems and social issues can be analyzed using the power and rigor of quantitative methods while also learning to recognize and articulate the limitations of these methods.
   • Students will be able to do all of the following: evaluate, interpret, and draw inferences from mathematical models such as algorithms, formulas, graphs, and tables.
   • Students will be able to use quantitative methods (such as algebra, geometry, statistics, and computation) to solve problems.
3. A motion to establish a QR Application Form was approved by a vote of 6 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstaining. The form will be accessable from the Liberal Learning home page and other appropriate locations.
4. Action on COM 300, Intergender Communication and COM 411, Intercultural Communication was tabled pending an examination of the texts for each course.  Bob Anderson agreed to procure a copy of each book.
5. HON 351, An Odyssey in Greece was approved for the global civic responsibility category (having been previously approved for Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts).
6. Action on NUR 300, Legal Challenges in Health Care was postponed due to lack of time.
7. Adjournment was at 2:55.  The next meeting was set for April 16th at 1:30 pm in Social Sciences 131.

 

February 20 , 2007

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Robert Anderson, Mary Biggs, Richard Blumberg, Gina Herrera, Alissar Jaber, Donald Vandergrift, Tulsi Wickramasinghe, and Piper Williams.

1. The minutes from December 5 were approved as submitted.
2. Society, Ethics, and Technology was approved as an interdisiplinary concentration.
3. Problems in publicizing interdisciplinary concentrations were addressed and discussed.
4. Adjournment was at 2:00 p.m.  The next meeting was set for March 5, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. in SSB 131.

 

December 5, 2007

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Mary Biggs, Philip Dumas, Ellen Friedman, Michael Peters, Philip Sanders, Glenn Steinberg, Donald Vandegrift, and Piper Williams.
Excused: Mary Goldschmidt and Robert Anderson.

1. The minutes from November 7 were approved as submitted.
2. The request to award gender credit for MUS 265, Music of the Stage was defeated by a vote of 0-6-1.
3. Action on HON 312, Global America was postponed until the course is approved by the Culture & Society curriculum committee and all documentation (including cover sheet) is provided.  Doubts were raised about whether the course fulfilled the goals for global, and a request was made to ask the course’s proposer to provide an additional rationale for the global designation.
4. Action on NUR 300, Contemporary Legal Challenges in Health Care was postponed until further information could be provided.  Committee members agreed that the course could satisfy either world views and ways of knowing or behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives, depending on its primary focus and thrust.  As presented, that focus/thrust was not clearly or overwhelmingly world views and ways of knowing.
5. HON 351, An Odyssey in Greece was approved for literary, visual, and performing arts but was declined for global by a vote of 7-0-0.
6. On a vote of 7-0-0, the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Gender and Violence was approved with the correction of three typos on the proposal, changing “three” to “two” in two places and adding “s” to “Required Course.”
7. The committee unanimously decided not to meet on December 19.
8. Adjournment was at 2:32 p.m.  The next meeting was set for February 6, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. in SSB 131.

 

November 7, 2007

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Mary Biggs, Rick Blumberg, Philip Dumas, Ellen Friedman, Mary Goldschmidt, Gina Herrera, Philip Sanders, Glenn Steinberg, and Piper Williams.
Excused: Tulsi Wickramisinghe and Robert Anderson.

1. The minutes from October 17 were approved with one correction of a typo (“defeted” to “defeated” under item #2).
2. LNG 372, American English was approved for race and ethnicity (on a vote of 4 in favor, 0 opposed, and 3 abstentions) with the understanding that a further revision of the syllabus would be submitted to the committee.
3. AFA 211, Painting I was approved for literary, visual and performing arts (7-0 in favor).
4. The following courses were approved for writing-intensive credit on the recommendation of the writing program committee:
• AAH 232: Introduction to Medieval Art
• AAH 499: Art History Senior Seminar
• ACC 498 : Seminar in Accounting Issues
• ADA 498: Digital Arts Theory & Practice
• AFA 498: Art Theory & Practice
• AGD 498: GD 8 Senior Research
• HES 302: Assessment & Evaluation of Human Performance
• HES 497: Research Seminar in Health & Exercise Science
• HES 498: Research Seminar
• LWJ 352: Advanced Criminology: Race and Crime
• PHL 305: Ancient Philosophy
• STA 498: Capstone
5. Discussion and action on three other courses (MUS 265, Music and the Stage; HON 212, Global America; and NUR 300, Contemporary Legal Challenges in Health Care) were deferred because of shortness of time.
6. Adjournment was at 2:50 p.m.  The next meeting was set for December 5 at 1:30 in SSB 131.

 

October 17, 2007

Present: Karen Yan (Chair), Bob Anderson, Mary Biggs, Ellen Friedman, Michael Peters, Philip Sanders, Martha Stella, Tusli Wickramisinghe, and Piper Williams

1. The minutes from September 19th were approved as written.
2. EFN 299, Schools and Communities was approved for behavioral, social, or cultural perspectives.  The vote was 7 to 0 with no abstentions.  After a good deal of discussion, a motion to approve it for the race and ethnicity civic responsibility was defeated by an identical vote.  Members of the council were agreed that a conceptual or theorectical framework for analyzing race and ethnicity in terms of the learning goals for that category was insufficiently defined in the proposal.  Such a framework more closely tied to those learning goals is needed.  A secondary ‘objection’ was based on the perception that the course appears more or less equally to deal with gender and race/ethnicity issues–that the course appears not to have a primary focus on race.
3. Action on LNG 372, American English was deferred pending receipt of additional information linking the course content to the race and ethnicity goals.
4. Action on IDS 100, Race, Class and Gender was deferred pending receipt of additional information linking the course content to the gender goals.
5. Adjournment was at 2:50 pm.  The next meeting was set for November 7, at 1:30 in SB 131.

 

September 19, 2007

Present: Bob Anderson, Mary Biggs, Richard Blumberg, Daryl Fair (Guest) Mary Goldschmidt, Philip Sanders, Glenn Steinberg, Martha Stella, Donald Vandegrift, Tulsi Wickramasinghe, and Karen Yan

1. Outgoing chair, Daryl Fair presided over the election of council chair.  Karen Yan was elected chair for 2007-2008 by a secret ballot with Phil Sanders coming in second.  Dr. Fair then absented himself as he is no longer a member of the council.
2. With Karen Yan presiding, Bob Anderson was re-elected vice-chair and secretary (with the understanding that Glenn Steinberg would stand in for him during his required absenses approximately every other meeting).
3. The minutes of May 2, 2007 were accepted without vote (as most of those present for that meeting were not at this meeting).
4. The syllabus and separate rationale for race and ethnicity designation were distributed to council members present.  After a brief discussion consensus was reached regarding a need to see the list of readings that are available through the SOCS site.  Bob Anderson agreed to contact Terry O’Connor regarding such availability.
5. Adjournment was at 3:00 sharp.  The next meeting was set for October 17th.