Home > Faculty & Administration > Curriculum Committees > Agriculture Curriculum Committee -- Nov. 3, 2006
Minutes of the Agriculture Subcommittee of the DBCAFLS Curriculum Committee
Friday, November 3, 2006
Friday, November 3, 2006
Draft: 7-November, 2006
Approved: _________________________
1. The meeting was called to order at 3:30pm in the APC Conference Room by the Chair, Professor Scott. Attending were the following department/unit representatives: Parsch (AGEC), Scott (AGED), Brown (ANSC), Miller (CSES), Johnson (ENTO), Hettiarachchy (FDSC), Rom (HORT), Rothrock (PLPA), Emmert (POSC), and Griffin (Dean’s Office).
2. The agenda was reviewed.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the agenda as distributed.
3. The minutes of the October 6, 2006 meeting were reviewed.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the minutes as distributed.
4. Old Business
A. FDSC 6323 Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods was reviewed as the second reading.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the course FDSC 6323 as presented.
B. ENSC 1001L Environmental Sciences Laboratory.
This was the second reading of the course proposal. This course has been developed as a co-requisite to the ENSC 1003 Environmental Science course. The
combination, ENSC 1003/1001-L will be proposed as a university state core science course.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve ENSC 1001L as presented.
C. The following proposed honors program courses were presented for the second reading: AFLS 3231H Logic, Reasoning and Scientific Methods; AFLS 3412H Proposal Development; and, AFLS 3512H Laboratory Rotations.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the proposed honors program courses as presented.
D. Communications Intensive (CI) Courses. The list of CI courses developed by the ad hoc subcommittee and distributed to the committee was discussed. Two courses were omitted from the distributed list and the list was amended (see attachment 1) to a set of ten courses. The merits of the courses were discussed in light of the set of characteristics and outcomes for CI courses developed by the ad hoc committee. Consensus indicated that the list of courses would fulfill the intention of the CI requirement in the AFLS core and fulfill AFLS BSAg degree requirements. Operationally, departments may allow students to select from the list of courses or a program may select a specific subset of the CI courses which fit their department/major curricular needs.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried (7 yes, 1 no) to approve the set of ten CI courses with the following stipulations:
-The representative from ANSC asked that the minutes reflect that the ANSC department did not support the motion for a prescribed list of CI courses and therefore voted against the motion.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve that all revised degree program check sheets including the new CI course list (or sublist) do not have to be reviewed by the Agriculture Subcommittee of the AFLS Curriculum Committee and can be signed by the Chair.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the course FDSC 6323 as presented.
B. ENSC 1001L Environmental Sciences Laboratory.
This was the second reading of the course proposal. This course has been developed as a co-requisite to the ENSC 1003 Environmental Science course. The
combination, ENSC 1003/1001-L will be proposed as a university state core science course.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve ENSC 1001L as presented.
C. The following proposed honors program courses were presented for the second reading: AFLS 3231H Logic, Reasoning and Scientific Methods; AFLS 3412H Proposal Development; and, AFLS 3512H Laboratory Rotations.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve the proposed honors program courses as presented.
D. Communications Intensive (CI) Courses. The list of CI courses developed by the ad hoc subcommittee and distributed to the committee was discussed. Two courses were omitted from the distributed list and the list was amended (see attachment 1) to a set of ten courses. The merits of the courses were discussed in light of the set of characteristics and outcomes for CI courses developed by the ad hoc committee. Consensus indicated that the list of courses would fulfill the intention of the CI requirement in the AFLS core and fulfill AFLS BSAg degree requirements. Operationally, departments may allow students to select from the list of courses or a program may select a specific subset of the CI courses which fit their department/major curricular needs.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried (7 yes, 1 no) to approve the set of ten CI courses with the following stipulations:
A. The set of courses would be implemented in the 2007/2008 Catalog
B. Students enrolling in previous degree programs would be “grandfathered” and able to use previous course sets provided by the College or Departments.
C. Departments may select a subset of a few or an individual course from the CI courses list which would be most appropriate for a specific degree program.
D. Courses evaluated by the Dean’s Office for substitution and/or transfer credit of the College CI requirement must meet the criteria for a CI course developed by the Subcommittee (attached).
B. Students enrolling in previous degree programs would be “grandfathered” and able to use previous course sets provided by the College or Departments.
C. Departments may select a subset of a few or an individual course from the CI courses list which would be most appropriate for a specific degree program.
D. Courses evaluated by the Dean’s Office for substitution and/or transfer credit of the College CI requirement must meet the criteria for a CI course developed by the Subcommittee (attached).
-The representative from ANSC asked that the minutes reflect that the ANSC department did not support the motion for a prescribed list of CI courses and therefore voted against the motion.
-A motion was made, seconded, and carried to approve that all revised degree program check sheets including the new CI course list (or sublist) do not have to be reviewed by the Agriculture Subcommittee of the AFLS Curriculum Committee and can be signed by the Chair.
5. New Business
A. Election of a secretary for the coming 2007 calendar year was discussed. The notion of a rotating chair among the department/unit representatives was discussed but no consensus was reached. A secretary for the year will be elected from committee members at the next meeting.
B. No meeting will be held in December as there is no old business and no proposed new business at this time. Professor Rom (HORT) will serve as Chair for 2007 and convene the next meeting in January.
C. Mrs Griffin (Dean’s Office) asked that all committee members send her the department contact person responsible for maintaining and updating degree check sheets.
B. No meeting will be held in December as there is no old business and no proposed new business at this time. Professor Rom (HORT) will serve as Chair for 2007 and convene the next meeting in January.
C. Mrs Griffin (Dean’s Office) asked that all committee members send her the department contact person responsible for maintaining and updating degree check sheets.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned.
Minutes recorded by C. R. Rom, Secretary.
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Attachment 1
Communication Intensive Courses
Approved by the Agriculture Subcommittee of the
DBAFLS for the Curriculum Committee
For the College Communication Core Requirement – BSAg
Communication Intensive Courses
Approved by the Agriculture Subcommittee of the
DBAFLS for the Curriculum Committee
For the College Communication Core Requirement – BSAg
1. AGED 3142 Agri Communications (Sp, Fa) An overview of communications in the agricultural, food and life sciences, including newsletter design, slide presentations, news writing, electronic communications and web publishing. Corequisite: AGED 3141L.
2. COMM 2303 Public Speaking (Sp, Su, Fa) Continuing study of the invention and adaptation or oral discourse to the needs of listeners. Consideration of the problems of communication in platform presentation. Prerequisite: COMM 1313
3. COMM 2323 Interpersonal Communication (Sp, Su, Fa) Personal and interpersonal factors affecting communication in everyday life. Emphasis upon ways in which interpersonal perception, physical environment, semantic choices, and nonverbal cues affect communication primarily in the context of work, family, and other personal experiences.
4. COMM 3303 Small-Group Communication (Sp, Su, Fa) Procedures used in exchanging information, solving problems, determining policies, and resolving differences in committees and other small groups. Prerequisite: COMM 1313 and junior standing.
5. CSES Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Colloquium (FA) A communication-intensive course covering topics in agronomy and environmental, soil, and water science with particular emphasis on spoken communication but also including written communication, group activities, professionalism, ethics, problem solving, and information retrieval. A student-oriented class with collaborative participation. Colloquium workshop: 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing only.
6. ENGL 3053 Technical and Report Writing (Sp, Fa) Intensive practice in such types of writing as processes, descriptions of mechanism, abstracts, and laboratory and research reports. The criteria for effective written exposition in the scientific areas, including agriculture and engineering.
7. JOUR 1033 Fundamentals of Journalism (Sp, Su, Fa) Introduces students to the skills of observation, critical thinking and concise writing required in all aspects of journalism, as well as to the technology needed in upper- upper-level courses. Practice using references for grammar and journalistic style. A prerequisite to JOUR 2013, 2033, 2063 and 4143. Corequisite: Lab component. (Same as JOUR 1033H, JOUR 1033I)
8. COMM 2373 Introduction to Debate (Sp, Fa) An introduction to the basic principles and procedures of debate as an instrument of critical choice and decision.
9. COMM 3383 Persuasion (Fa) Introduction to theories of persuasion with emphasis on application and effect.
10. ENGL 2013 Essay Writing (Sp, Su) Prerequisite: ENGL 1013 and ENGL 1023.
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Attachment 2
Characteristics and Desired Outcomes of
Communication-Intensive Courses
Bumpers College Curriculum Committee
Communication Intensive (CI) Course Characteristics
Characteristics and Desired Outcomes of
Communication-Intensive Courses
Bumpers College Curriculum Committee
Communication Intensive (CI) Course Characteristics
Working from descriptions of other C-I courses at other universities, and drawing upon the subcommittee members’ own knowledge of the topic, the subcommittee developed a list of characteristics that describe a C-I course:
1. The primary focus of the course should be on writing and speaking, and not on technical subject matter unrelated to communications.
2. Communication assignments should dominate the course and should be accompanied by instructor feedback and evaluation.
3. Instructor feedback and evaluation should focus primarily on communication skills (writing and speaking).
4. The majority of the course grade should be dependent on communication-related assignments.
5. Communication assignments should be varied and practical. Examples include
a. Memos
b. Technical reports
c. Proposals
d. Oral presentations
e. News releases
f. Sales presentations
g. Speeches
h. Editing assignments
b. Technical reports
c. Proposals
d. Oral presentations
e. News releases
f. Sales presentations
g. Speeches
h. Editing assignments
6. Course assignments should allow students to practice communicating within the context of their academic discipline.
Expected Outcomes of Bumpers College Communication Intensive Courses
Upon completion C-I courses, students should have strengthened and newly-developed skills in practical communication, especially related to writing and speaking.