Home > Faculty & Administration > Curriculum Committees > Agriculture Curriculum Subcommittee -- Oct. 6, 2006
Agriculture Subcommittee of the DBCAFLS Curriculum Committee
Friday, October 6, 2006, 3:30 pm
APC Conference Room
Friday, October 6, 2006, 3:30 pm
APC Conference Room
1. Call to order – Freddie Scott, Present at meeting Jason Emmert (POSC), Navam Hettiarachchy (FDSC), Luke Parsch (AEAB), David Miller (CSES), Donn Johnson (ENTO), Hayden Brown (ANSC), Craig Rothrock (PLPA), Donna Graham (AFLS), and Non-voting Alice Griffin (AFLS).
2. Approval of Agenda – the agenda was approved as written.
3. Approval of minutes of the September 1, 2006 meeting – the minutes were approved as written.
4. Old Business
Discussion of Communication-Intensive Courses. Dr. Scott led the discussion, which included the criteria outlined by the sub-committee. Dr. Brown indicated that ANSC opposes aspects of the criteria, including the wording in objective 1, which states that “the primary focus of the course should be on writing and speaking, and not on technical subject matter unrelated to communications.” Dr. Scott responded that communication-intensive courses should focus on how to communicate, not on content-related communication. The general consensus was that because the additional 3-hour communication requirement of the college, it is appropriate for the Curriculum Committee to oversee a definition, and to determine which courses meet the definition (as proposed by the sub-committee). It was requested that the departmental representatives seek input from their respective faculty about the guidelines and list of potential courses, with a vote to follow at the November meeting.
Changes in ESWS Major and Minor. For the ESWS major, ENSC 3253 (Septic Systems, which has not been taught for several years) was proposed for deletion and AGME 3153 (Surveying in Agriculture and Forestry) and AGEC 3523 (Environmental and Natural Resources Law) were proposed for addition to the list of the courses available in the Natural Resources Core section. The proposal passed the second reading. It was suggested that in the future the department consider addition of ENTO 3013 (Introduction to Entomology), CSES 2003 (Introduction to Weed Science), and PLPA 3004 (Principles of Plant Pathology) to the list.
For the ESWS minor ENSC 3253 and AGEC 4413 (Economics of Environmental Management) were proposed for deletion, and AGEC 3523 (Environmental and Natural Resources Law) was proposed for addition to the list of the courses available for the minor. The proposal passed the second reading.
5. New Business
Election of committee Chair and Secretary. Dr. Scott reminded the committee that it was nearly time for elections, and asked the committee to consider a means of automatic selection based on an alphabetical list of department.
Dean’s office request. Dr. Graham requested that departments review the list of spring course offerings to ensure that all classes are on the schedule.
Dr. Graham also posed the question of “Why do we need cross-listed courses in our college?” It was suggested that this may help students identify courses of interest. Dr. Graham indicated that credit for teaching goes to the instructor and to the department in which the course is taught.
The committee was asked to consider whether ISIS should enforce prerequisites for undergraduate courses in the college. The committee was requested to seek input from their respective faculty.
Dr. Graham led a discussion related to learning outcomes, which will be considered during the spring accreditation process. Each unit will need to develop learning outcomes and an assessment plan (with direct and indirect indicators) for their undergraduate and graduate programs. Units will need to identify outcomes, both at the course level and globally across each program. This issue needs to be discussed at the unit level; examples from other schools are available on the internet.
New course: FDSC 6323 (Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods) was presented for the first reading. This has been previously taught as a special problems course and is in high demand. The proposal passed the first reading, and it was requested that any questions that may arise be directed to Dr. Hettiarachchy.
New Course: ENSC 1001L (Environmental Sciences Laboratory) was presented for the first reading. The course, which has been taught as a special topics) represents the addition of a laboratory section to ENSC 1003. Addition of the laboratory will qualify the course for potential inclusion in the University Science Core. The proposal passed the first reading.
New Courses for the DBCAFLS Honors Program: AFLS 3142H (Honors Proposal Development), AFLS 3512H (Rotations in Agricultural Laboratory Research), and AFLS 3231H (Introduction to Scientific Thinking and Methods). The courses have each been previously taught. It was requested that Dr. Hettiarachchy consider teaching AFLS 3412H over the entire semester, and the question was raised whether AFLS 3512H has been taught every spring or every other spring. The proposals passed the first reading.
6. Report of minor changes in the curriculum. No minor changes were reported.
7. Report from HES subcommittee – none
8. Report from the Dean’s Office. Dr. Graham requested that the units begin looking at the Catalog of Studies for necessary revisions. It was also announced that there is currently a moratorium on new Ph.D. programs in AR.
9. Announcements – none
10. Adjourn – Freddie Scott