UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING April 23, 2007 Rowe Conference Room
Present: Andrew Bonamici, Herb Chereck, Hilary Gerdes, Dave Hubin, Dan Keller, Anne Laskaya, Dean Livelybrooks, Kathy Roberts, Ron Severson, Karen Sprague, Kate Wagle, Malcolm Wilson, Pat Bartlein, Paul Engelking, and Lyllye Parker
Absent: Dan Patton, Martha Pitts, Steven Pologe, Ashley Rees, Bill Ryan, Arkady Vaintrob, and Ken Calhoon
Minutes:
Minutes from the previous meeting were not available for review.
Agenda: The Chair distributed the meeting agenda (HO#1) to the Council.
Proposed name change for Physical Activity and Recreation Services (HO#2) Karen Sprague presented some background regarding the request for a name change of Physical Activity and Recreation Services to the Department of Physical Education and Recreation. The current name does not reflect the fact that the department offers physical education courses that carry elective credit and thereby contribute to baccalaureate degrees. This education component of the department will report to Karen Sprague as of July 1, 2007. The unit as a whole will report jointly to the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies. The new name would go into effect in Fall 2007. Cost of the transition would be minimized by use of existing letterhead stationery and other pre-printed materials.
· Discussion Council members did not have any comments to make regarding the proposal. The Council was generally in favor of the request to rename PARS the Department of Physical Education and Recreation. The Chair called for a motion.
The motion was made that the Undergraduate Council accept the proposal of a departmental name change from Physical Activity and Recreational Services (PARS) to the Department of Physical Education and Recreation. Moved: Dean Livelybrooks Seconded: Malcolm Wilson The motion passed unanimously.
NWCCU Accreditation Visit Karen Sprague announced that the NWCCU Accreditation Review, which occurred April 16-18, had gone well. The university received commendation for a good learning environment. Karen thanked the library for its contribution of the expanded course description website in preparation for the review. Dave Hubin pointed out that the university was told that it needed to utilize better assessment of learning outcomes in students. The university was commended on the new budget model it will be implementing. The next step of the Accreditation process will be the receipt of a written report from the NWCCU Review Team within two –three weeks.
Multicultural status of newly proposed 400-level courses OIP Proposal: Study Abroad as a Means of Satisfying International Cultures Requirement Paul Engelking distributed copies of a rebuttal from the CAS Curriculum Committee (CASCC) (HO#3) to the recommendation from the University Committee on Courses (UOCC) that UO “deny multicultural status to all newly proposed 400-level courses for which this status was requested, specifically HIST 438, HIST 423, and PSY 459.” Paul, speaking on behalf of the UOCC, requested some guidelines from the Undergraduate Council.
A proposal from the Office of International Programs (HO#4) was distributed to the Council for consideration. The proposal requests that study abroad satisfy the Category C: International Cultures category of the Multicultural requirement.
The Chair advised the Council that it would be better to take up these two items pertaining to the Multicultural requirement after the Council’s review of Multicultural courses had moved further along. The Council concurred.
ROUND 1 Tally Summary
The Council discussed the syllabi that had been used as a test of the review method in Round 1. Tally summaries were distributed to each member. The review identified courses as falling into one of the following categories: “OK” means the course meets the current criteria for the category in which it is listed; “May not fit” the course appears not to meet the current criteria for the category in which it is designated as satisfying the Multicultural requirement; Council will reconsider after both teams have looked at syllabus. “Needs more information” or “Needs further review” means there is insufficient information or some ambiguity which prevents reviewers from making a judgment on the course.
The Council discussed the results of Round 1. Several points were noted: - Someone should just do a quick check with the University catalog to check for prerequisites and to note any discrepancies between the catalog description and the syllabus; - Although the quality of syllabi is not a focus of the Council’s review, it is apparent that quality (or lack thereof) determines the adequacy of the information that is available to reviewers; - Whether or not Multicultural courses should be offered as both upper- and lower-division levels is a question. If the Multicultural requirement is a General Education component analogous to Group-satisfying courses, then Multicultural courses should be more available at the lower-division level. On the other hand, the Multicultural requirement is distinct from the Group requirement, and is not subject to the same Senate legislation. The question of the appropriate level for Multicultural courses needs to be considered on its own, independent of current practice with respect to Group-satisfying courses. The Council also noted that insistence that Multicultural courses be lower-division could encourage students to take them in community colleges; - There appears to be a dearth of courses satisfying Category A: American Cultures.
Council members reviewed about half of the tabulated syllabi from Round 1. They received Round 2 syllabi from the Chair.
The meeting was adjourned.
The next UGC meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 7, 2007, 12:00pm at Rowe Conference Room, Knight Library. 
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