COUNCIL
ON CURRICULAR PROGRAMS AND INSTRUCTION
Thursday, 21 September 2006
3:30 p.m.
Algonquin Room - University
A C T I O N M
I N U T E S
MEMBERS PRESENT: W. Bailey,
L. Conover, J. Engel, B. George, J. La Prad, A. Melkumian, N. Parsons, T. Waldrop,
E. Woell
Ex-officio: B. Baily, D.
Williams
MEMBERS ABSENT: K. Myers
GUESTS: Vicki Nicholson, Shawn Meagher, Mike Romano, Tim Spier
I. Consideration
of Minutes – 7 September 2006
APPROVED
AS DISTRIBUTED
II. Announcements
Chairperson
Parsons reminded members to look at the webpage emailed from University
Assessment Coordinator Tere North (http://www.student.services.wiu.edu/survey/surveys/EKY4M7/EKY4M7.PDF)
which shows daily results of her survey
of 20 peer institutions on behalf of the CCPI subcommittee.
III. Old
Business – None
IV. New
Business
A. Requests for New Courses
1. BIOL 350, General Ecology, 4 s.h.
Motion: To approve BIOL 350 (La
Prad/Melkumian)
Changes:
· Change the list under library request section into a
complete sentence.
· Change BOT 200 and ZOOL 200 in prerequisites to BIOL
102 and BIOL 103 respectively to remain
consistent with other requests and since the name/number change request has not
yet been approved.
MOTION APPROVED WITH CHANGES 9 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
2. BIOL 451, Ecological Techniques, 3 s.h.
Motion: To approve BIOL 451 (Conover/La
Prad)
Professor Romano told CCPI that the department
plans to submit a request for graduate credit for the course, which has been
previously taught experimentally at Kibbe Life Science Station.
Change: Change the list under library
request section into a complete sentence.
MOTION APPROVED WITH CHANGE 9 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
3. BIOL 452, Biological Applications of GIS, 3
s.h.
Motion: To approve BIOL 452
(Melkumian/Conover)
Changes:
· Change abbreviated title of course to BIOL APP OF GIS
· Change “and” to “or” in prerequisites so that it
reads, “BIOL 102 and 103, GEOG 308, or
permission of the instructor.”
· Change the list under library request section into a
complete sentence.
MOTION APPROVED WITH CHANGES 9 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
4. BIOL 458, Plant-Animal Interactions, 3 s.h.
Motion: To approve BIOL 458 (Melkumian/La
Prad)
Changes:
· Change “consent of instructor” to “permission of the
instructor” in prerequisites.
· Change abbreviated title to PLNT-ANML INTER
· In Relationship to Existing Courses within the
Department, change “The biology Department” to “The Department of Biological
Sciences” in the first sentence.
· In Relationship to Existing Courses within the
Department, remove the word “options” from the second sentence so that it
reads, “This course would provide a complementary bridge across Botany and
Zoology options as well as providing use of …”
· In Student Needs to be Served, change first sentence
to read, “…develops a course that ties together the course of study for the
Botany and Zoology options.”
· Change the list under library request section into a
complete sentence.
MOTION APPROVED WITH CHANGES 9 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
5. BIOL 459, Biogeography, 3 s.h.
Motion: To approve BIOL 459 (La
Prad/Melkumian)
Changes:
·Remove reference to graduate students under
Relationship to Existing Courses within the Department, so that it reads, “This
course will be an 400(G)-level
elective for graduate and advanced undergraduate students.”
· Change the list under library request section into a
complete sentence.
MOTION APPROVED WITH CHANGES 8 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB
6. BIOL 479, Tropical Ecology, 3 s.h.
Motion:
To approve BIOL 479 (Conover/La Prad)
CCPI
discussed travel study abroad courses and how students are notified of the
additional travel expenses. The
recommendation was made to add a notification in the catalog description.
Changes:
·
Change Catalog
Description to read, “Introduction to tropical ecology, biodiversity, and
ecosystem function in a variety of tropical ecosystems. Includes a required field trip to several
research stations in
·
Change Class
Hours Per Week from IRR to ARR
·
In Course
Objectives #6, change “and” to “an.”
·
In Relationship
to Existing Courses within the Department, remove “and graduate students” from
the first line. In the second line,
change “courses” to “course.”
·
In Relationship
to Courses in Other Departments, change “ebiology” to “ecology.”
·
Change Frequency
of Offerings from biannually to biennially.
·
Change the list
under library request section into a complete sentence.
MOTION
APPROVED WITH CHANGES 9 YES – 0 NO – 0
AB
7. BOT
455, Fire/Disturbance Ecology, 3 s.h.
Motion: To
approve BOT 455 (Conover/La Prad)
Dr. Romano told CCPI that this course will
apply techniques in fire ecology on-site at state or federal preserves. Students will work with fire in the course
and will burn prairie, making them eligible for fire certification. CCPI questioned the exact title of the fire
certification and asked that it be included in the catalog description of the
course.
Changes:
·
Change biannually
to biennially in the Frequency of Offerings section.
·
Remove “or
graduate” from the Relationship to Existing Courses within the Department”
section.
·
Change the list
under library request section into a complete sentence.
MOTION APPROVED WITH CHANGES AND PENDING
TITLE OF FIRE CERTIFICATION 7 YES – 0 NO
– 2 AB
8. ZOOL
408, Field Ornithology, 3 s.h.
Motion: To
approve ZOOL 408 (Melkumian/La Prad)
Dr. Romano explained that the course differs
from the classroom Ornithology course (ZOOL 410) because ZOOL 408 will be
taught at Kibbe and will be more of a field methods course. CCPI questioned if there was significant
overlap between ZOOL 408 and 410 and to what extent material would be duplicated. Dr. Romano explained that ZOOL 408 is
proposed as a stand-alone course which would not include all of the lecture
materials available in ZOOL 410. CCPI
noted, however, that ZOOL 410 also mentions “frequent field trips” in its
catalog description and questioned whether there were sufficient differences
between the two courses.
Changes:
·Remove the word “distinctly” from the sentence in
Relationship to Existing Courses within the Department so that it reads, “It is
distinctly different from Ornithology (ZOOL 410) because field-work will
be emphasized with related field study techniques.”
·Change Date of First Offering to Summer 2007
·Add the word “by” in Redistribution of Teaching Load
so that it reads, “This course will be taught by current faculty.”
·Change the list under library request section into a
complete sentence.
Motion: To table ZOOL 408 until further
information can be provided regarding the significant differences between it
and ZOOL 410 (La Prad/Melkumian)
MOTION TO TABLE APPROVED 9 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
B. Request for Change in Credit Hours
1. MICR
200, Introductory Microbiology, 3 s.h.
Current: 3 s.h.
Proposed: 4 s.h.
Chairperson Parsons explained that the proposed
change would require her department to offer a comprehensive instead of their
current non-comprehensive major, and the Health Sciences chair had not been
notified that such a change was being considered. Dr. Parsons also named several additional majors
that would be affected by the proposed change.
Dr. Romano explained that the changes to the Biology program were
suggested as the result of a five-year assessment and consideration of similar
programs nationwide. He explained that
changes are proposed in the 102-103 level courses, in cellular biology, and in
molecular genetics to bring them up to the desired national level. Dr. Romano added that the Biology Department
has spent over a year attempting to revise its curriculum, including a plan to
require all Biology students to take MICR 200, which would be expanded to a 4
s.h. course, and breaking out the specific botany and zoology portions of BIOL
102 and 103 to make them more specific.
He added that these are trends that are being implemented by many of
Western’s peer institutions.
Dr.
Romano outlined other changes proposed to the Biology curriculum as a result of
the five-year assessment, including the general ecology course proposal (BIOL
350) and altering the genetics and cellular biology curriculum to uncover more
of the basic principles. But Dr. Romano
admitted that the department apparently neglected to consider how the changes
would affect other programs at Western.
In response to a question, he stated that transfer students and
articulation issues could be handled with advising.
Motion: To table MICR 200 until the
affected departments are notified and have an opportunity to respond to the
proposed change (Parsons/La Prad)
MOTION
TO TABLE APPROVED 8 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB
Biology was asked to notify the specific
departments and to document their responses, such as copies of emails, which
would then be appended to the request form.
C. Requests for Changes in Course Prefixes,
Titles and Descriptions
1. BIOL
102, Biological Diversity, 4 s.h.
Current: BIOL 102, Biological Diversity
A survey for science majors and minors of the features
of all major groups of microbes, plants, and animals, with detailed study of
the anatomy, physiology, and development of flowering plants and vertebrate
animals.
Proposed: BOT 200, Introduction to Plant Biology
Lecture and lab emphasize basic principles in plant
biology, including scientific inquiry, cell biology, genetics, ecology,
evolution, and diversity in plant anatomy and physiology.
Motion: To
approve BIOL 102 (Melkumian/La Prad)
In response to a question about how the
proposed change would affect transfer students, Dr. Romano stated the
department feels this can be addressed on an individual basis by considering
the syllabi/content of student courses taken at other institutions. Dr. Romano stated that Biology feels that
students really need to understand microbiology and molecular biology, so these
should be taught in 102/103 to satisfy the basic groundwork of what a student
needs to continue in the program. He added
that half of the peer institutions that were included in the Biology comparison
are adopting this program of study.
Registrar’s Office representative Donna Williams explained that there
are many institutions that submit courses as BIOL 102 or 103, and that if this
change is approved, what would happen is that all of those would automatically
change to BOT 200 or ZOOL 200 respectively.
Associate Provost Baily stated that she would feel more comfortable with
a statement from Biology Chair Rick Anderson verifying that this automatic
conversion for transfer students is acceptable to the department.
Provost’s office representative Vicki Nicholson
added that Western has an Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) course number
and description on the books that may not match any longer once the change is
approved, so a new number may need to be obtained at the state level. It was also noted that BIOL 102 and 103 are
Gen Ed courses. Ms. Nicholson remarked
that Gen Ed affects a lot of departments who would not know about the change
since it does not go on to Faculty Senate but straight to the Provost after
approval by CCPI. She added that the courses
would need to be submitted to the state Gen Ed panel to determine the best fit
for them after the proposed changes. Dr.
La Prad asked if the changes were great enough that they should be new course
requests rather than changes to existing courses.
Motion: To table BIOL 102 pending the
necessary supporting documentation, to include a letter from the department
regarding articulation of all BIOL 102/103 to BOT/ZOOL 200 and consideration by
the Council on General Education (Melkumian/Woell)
MOTION TO TABLE APPROVED 8 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB
2. BIOL
103, Biological Principles, 4 s.h.
Current: BIOL 103, Biological Principles
An introduction to biology for science majors and
minors covering ecology, cells, cell metabolism, genetics, evolution, and
behavior.
Proposed: ZOOL 200, Introduction to Animal Biology
Lecture and lab emphasize basic principles in animal
biology, including scientific inquiry, cell biology, genetics, ecology,
evolution, and diversity in animal anatomy and physiology.
Motion: To approve BIOL 103
(Melkumian/La Prad)
Motion: To table BIOL 103 pending the
necessary supporting documentation, to include a letter from the department
regarding articulation of all BIOL 102/103 to BOT/ZOOL 200 and consideration by
the Council on General Education (La Prad/Melkumian)
MOTION TO TABLE APPROVED 8 YES – 0 NO – 1 AB
D. Request for Change in Course Description,
Division, and Prerequisite
1. ZOOL 220, Invertebrate Zoology, 3 s.h.
Current: ZOOL 220
Structure,
evolution, behavior, and economic importance of invertebrate forms.
Prereq:
BIOL 102 and 103
Proposed: ZOOL 415
A study of invertebrate form and function as it
relates to taxonomy, evolution, ecology, behavior, and physiology. Laboratory will involve comparative
experimental and observational approaches.
Prereq: ZOOL 200
Motion: To approve ZOOL 220 (La Prad/Melkumian)
CCPI remarked that more justification needs to be
provided as to what makes this a 400-level course rather than a 200-level
course. Dr.
Meagher explained that ZOOL 220 is currently being taught more like a 400-level
course at the herpetology, ornithology, or mammalogy level. He added that this course will go into more
detail on the diversity of mammals and will be a follow-up to what will become
the 200-level zoology course. It was
remarked that the change cannot be approved at this time since the prerequisite
specifies ZOOL 200, which was tabled by CCPI.
Motion: To table ZOOL 220 (Malkumian/George)
MOTION TO
TABLE APPROVED 9 YES – 0 NO – 0 AB
E. Request for Change in Course Title,
Description, Credit Hours, and Prerequisites
1. BIOL
330, Cell Biology, 3 s.h.
Current: Cell Biology, 3 s.h.
Morphological and functional aspects of the cell. Course will emphasize current understanding
of cell structure and how this relates to physiological and biochemical
processes.
Prereq: BIOL 102, 103, one year of chemistry, ENG 280
Proposed: Cell and Molecular Biology, 4 s.h.
Morphological and functional aspects of the cell. Lecture and lab will emphasize cell structure
and how this relates to physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes.
Prereq: Two of the following: BOT 200, MICR 200, ZOOL
200
Motion: To
approve BIOL 330 (La Prad/Conover)
It was noted that the prerequisite courses
proposed had been previously tabled. It
was also noted that the department is stating that BIOL 330 will no longer be a
WID course, which is also reflected in Biology’s requests for changes in minors
and options. Dr. Meagher told CCPI that
there are more WID courses in the Department of Biological Sciences than are
needed, but CCPI felt that the WID Committee needs to be notified of the
proposed change.
Motion: To recess (Melkumian/La Prad)
The
Council adjourned at 5:12 p.m. The remainder of the agenda will be considered at
the CCPI meeting of October 5.
Ed Woell, Secretary
Annette Hamm, Faculty Senate Recording Secretary