UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES COMMITTEE MINUTES
2002:Feb 5, Mar 5, Apr 2, Sept 23, Oct 30, Dec 4
2003: Feb 19, Mar 26, Apr 23, Sept 17, Oct 22
13 April 2004
Members Present: Geller, Larson (chair), Sivakumar, Stecher
Absent: Lewis, Lima-Filho, Pilant
Special Guests: David Manuel
The meeting began at 10:00 a.m. There were five topics put up for discussion: Scholarship Management Plan, Proposal for 'W' Course, Proposal for 120 Hour Degree Plans, Teacher Certification Changes, and Other Business. Below is a summary of each.
Scholarship Management Plan.Dr. Larson informed the committee of the need to create a formal scholarship management plan to administer all scholarships controlled by the Math Department. This is due to the increased number of endowed scholarships, particularily the Koss family scholarships. A subcommittee has been formed with members being Dr. Mike Pilant (chair), Dr. Al Boggess, Dr. David Larson, Rhonda Faust, and two other faculty members to be named later. The goal is to establish a plan to recruit incoming freshman honors students as well maintain adequate support for existing majors.Proposal for 'W' Course. Every department must submit at least one proposal for a Writing or 'W' course to the Writing Committee by July 1, 2004. A course will be designated as a 'W' course if the course is 1 credit and grade totally based on writing, or a 3 hour course that 1/3 of the grade is based on writing. After a discussion, the committee decided to submit a proposal that states that we have 5 proof courses, Math 220, 416, 423, 442, and 467 that are currently being offered that meet the 'W' course criteria. Examples of the homework sets in all 5 courses will be submitted as evidence of the writing content of the courses.
Proposal for 120 Hour Degree Plans. Dr. Larson reported to the committee that the University is moving toward degree plans totaling 120 hours, down from the 128 hours currently. Dr. Stecher distributed a handout that showed the excess free hours in each degree plan. The BS APMS plan has only 9 hours currently and if reduced by 8, leaving the plan with only 1 hour of free electives is of concern. The idea of just reducing the BS in Math degree plan was discussed, but no decision was made. Committee members agreed to leave the degree plans at 128 hours at this time.
Teacher Certification Changes. The State of Texas has passed legislation that allows districts to certify teachers after two years if they pass two tests. This is leading the University to push Alternate Certification and Post-Baccalareate Certification instead of Teaching Field based (TEFB) classes that are currently built into the BA degree plan. This coming fall, the College of Education will be offering two TEFB courses for the last time and TEFB 407 will be offered for the last time in 05C. They are phasing out a net of 5 courses altogether. A plan will need to be devised for the BA students that will not be able to complete the BA in Math degree plan with teaching courses as their area of emphasis. David Manuel will attend the upcoming meeting with Education to find out what the options will be available. Some possibilities include allowing students to take graduate level education courses, finishing up with methods courses, etc.
Other Business. Dr. Stecher announced that April is Math Awareness Month. Drs. Peter Kuchment, Mila Mogilevsky and others are organizing a Math Open House on Saturday, May 1 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. There will be booths, puzzles, contests and presentations given. Pizza will also be served to those in attendance.
The meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Hoffman