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
2004: Feb 10, Mar 9, Apr 13, Oct 12 , Nov 9 Dec 7 Jan 27
10 March 2005
Members Present: Allen (chair), Geller, Lewis, Mogilevsky, Pilant, Sivakumar, Stecher
Ex-Officio Members Present: Aurispa
The meeting began at 4:00p.m. There were six announcements and eight topics put up for discussion: Announcements – Career Fair Report, Aggieland Saturday Report, Scholarship Committee Report, Inquiry based course – University Priority, Math Majors Choice for Math 489, Is Mathematics Needed for the Workplace? Topics – Lunch with Majors Program, Biological Sciences Area of Emphasis, Actuarial Validation by Education Experience, Catalog Course Listings, Student Research Week Scholarships, Writing Course – Generic Writing Component, Who's Coming to College, New Course in Differential Geometry. Below is a summary of each.
Announcements-
Career Fair Report. Dr. Allen distributed a Career Day Questions and Tips handout to members. The handout is also being made available in the undergraduate lounge and was circulated via email. To view the document click Career Day Questions and Tips.
Aggieland Saturday Report. Dr. Allen represented the Math Department at this years Aggieland Saturday event on February 26th. Due to inclement weather, the attendance was very low. The Chemistry Roadshow was also presented as part of the College of Science presentation. For more information on Aggieland Saturday, see: Aggieland Saturday.
Scholarship Committee Report. The scholarship committee has met two times this spring, the first time to consider seven honors applications and make five offers from endowed scholarships (Koss/Klipple and Koss/McGee/Hillman.) The second meeting was to consider 21 academic achievement scholarship applications and two actuarial scholarhip applications. Preliminary rankings were done on these 23 applications and final decisions will be made during the review of second round honors applications in mid-late March.
Inquiry based course – University Priority. Dr. Allen reported that inquiry-based courses are going to be a top priority of the University in the future according to Mary Jo Richardson the committee chair. The initial report will go to Dr. Gates in May. Our proposed Math 482, Research Seminar, is going forward for approval.
Math Majors Choice for Math 489. A committee of undergraduates from all levels is being formed to consider and deliberate what courses might be of strong interest to many. Marta Kobiela, Math Club president, has agreed to chair the committee. Donna Hoffman emailed invitations to over 12 majors and has received positive response from 4 students to date. Once the committee turns in their list of courses they would like to be taught, instructors will be asked to submit syllabi.
Is Mathematics Needed for the Workplace? Dr. Stecher circulated an article from the latest Focus magazine that lists the different professions that use mathematics. There were only 6 that did not mention the use of mathematics: physical therapy, feature editor, advertising/PR, death care industry, bilingual careers, and security guards.
Topics -
Lunch with Majors Program. Tabled until next meeting.
Biological Sciences Area of Emphasis. Dr. Jay Walton devised a new area of emphasis in Bilogical Sciences for the BS APMS degree. Copies of the degree plan were passed out to committee members for approval. To see the current version, click Undergraduate Biology and Mathematics. After reviewing the degree plan, the committee noted several items that need to be discussed with Dr. Walton before approving. These include the total number of hours of the degree plan currently at 127 and possibly needing to be 128, the proposal to add 4 new courses, and the ommission of Math 220W, which is the only W course currently offered and a requirement for graduation. Dr. Walton will be invited to the April meeting to further discuss this degree plan.
Actuarial Validation by Education Experience/VEE. Dr. Lewis circulated a copy of the Application for Approval of Course/Experience for Validation by Educational Experience Credit form that we submitted recently to the Society of Actuaries. For VEE-Economics credit we are submitting the following courses: ECON 202 and 203 (option 1) and ECON 202 and 311 (option 2.) For VEE-Applied Statistical Methods credit we are submitting the following courses: STAT 212 and 626. Dr. Lewis stated it should take several months before we hear if SOA approves our request.
Catalog Course Listings. Mila Mogilevsky reported on discrepancies between the course catalog and the department webpages. In the future the department pages will be linked directly to the registrar's course catalog webpages to alleviate any confusion. Mila noted that she intends to continue the review process so that future catalogs will the most accurate descriptions of our courses.
Student Research Week Scholarships. Dr. Allen brought up a suggestion by Dr. Larson that students participating in the annual Student Research Week receive a small cash scholarship for their efforts. Dr. Allen spoke to Ragu Raghavan from Thompson Learning and he agreed to allow each student to select one book of their choice from a book list. Discussion continued on whether students should receive books and money or just books. It was decided to name the scholarhip the Thompson Learning Research Scholarship and books and/or money will be awarded to students participating in Student Research Week.
Writing Course – Generic Writing Component. Dr. Stecher presented a handout titled, Basic W-Course Requirements, that he retrieved from the Writing Programs Office. The WPO inserted a phrase that states, “...and students MAY NOT PASS the course without completing the writing portion.” Discussion followed as to whether this has been approved by the Faculty Senate or if this is just the WPO recommendation. Dr. Stecher will check on this and report back to the committee. Dr. Doug Hensley is reportedly interested in teaching Math 427 as a writing course in the fall. Dr. Stecher is working on a template that would enable any 400 level course to be 'fitted' as a W course. A discussion proceeded on whether there should be some Math 220 sections taught as non-W courses and it was decided that all Math 220 sections will be 900 (W) sections.
Who's Coming to College. Dr. Allen distributed binders with several tabbed sections of information on what the Higher Education Coordinating Board and other agencies are doing. Dr. Allen suggested committeemembers read the articles, “Closing the Gaps” and “How States Track Increases in Enrollment in College.” He noted that increases in attendance at 4 year colleges is minimal, but increases in 2 year colleges is more substantial. This translates to more transfer students and we should be gearing up to help them adjust and be successful.
New Course in Differential Geometry. Dr. Sivakumar and Dr. Schlumprecht, as advisors to graduate students, have encountered problems with enrolling students in the graduate sequence Math 622/623 because the course content has changed. Dr. Sivakumar suggests that if this is the level that the graduate office wants to maintain, it may be a good idea to have an undergraduate course in Differential Geometry that will serve as a pathway to the graduate sequence. It would also serve the needs of incoming Masters students who need to strengthen their background. The committee decided to table the matter until next fall when Dr. Paulo Lima-Filho assumes the Associate Head for Graduate Studies position.
The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Hoffman