Institute Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
2002–2003 Annual Report
Joseph L.A. Hughes
2002–2003 IUCC Chair
The IUCC held 24 meetings during 2002–2003 to
consider curriculum requests and student petitions. The Study Abroad Subcommittee, which also
reports to the Institute Graduate Committee, met three times and approved 19
proposals for Spring or Summer 2003 study abroad
programs.
Most of the curriculum
requests were for approval of new courses or modification of existing
courses. No new undergraduate degree
programs were requested this year.
Core Area B was revised to require three credit hours of free electives,
plus one excess credit hour from Core Area A.
Additionally, a policy was established that all
undergraduate degree programs must include required coursework to ensure that
graduates satisfy the general education requirements in computer literacy, including
computer programming. Two new courses
that satisfy the programming and computer literacy general education
requirements were approved: CS 1315 – Introduction to
Media Computation and CS 1371 – Computing for Engineers.
Reflecting
these changes, revisions in the introductory computer science course
requirements were approved for 15 degree programs (Biology; Building
Construction; Economics; Economics and International Affairs; Global Economics
and Modern Languages; History, Technology, and Society; Industrial Design;
International Affairs; International Affairs and Modern Languages; Management;
Materials Science and Engineering; Polymer and Fiber Engineering; Public
Policy; Science, Technology, and Culture; and undesignated BS with a major in
architecture).
Other modifications to degree requirements were approved for 10 programs (Aerospace Engineering,
Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Building Construction, Chemical Engineering,
Computer Science, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Management, and Materials
Science and Engineering). The committee
approved new or modified minors in Architectural History, Modern Languages, and
Multi-disciplinary Design /Arts History.
The IUCC received 903 student petitions during 2002-2003, including 249 requests for readmission. (By comparison, the respective numbers were 969 and 282 in 2001-02 and 885 and 266 in 2000-2001.) The majority of these petitions were handled by the Registrar under delegated authority or by a petitions subcommittee. The IUCC heard 17 appeals (compared to 16 in 2001-02 and 12 in 2000-01) from students whose petitions had previously been denied. The table at the end of this report summarizes the petitions received and actions taken by the committee.
Workload continues to be a major concern. The number of faculty members on the
committee was recently increased to 17. This has resulted in improved committee
performance in some areas, particularly the review of petitions by committee
subgroups. However, requests for
personal appeals have continued to increase and now consume a substantial
portion of full committee meetings. The
committee is considering the establishment of a written policy regarding the
handling of student petitions and appeals to address some of these concerns.
Two other issues, general education and program
review, are expected to require significant increases in committee attention
during 2003-04. Both of these issues are driven in part by external requirements and require
significant coordination with other campus groups.
Summary of Petitions
and Appeals for 2002-03
|
|
Petitions |
Denied |
% Denied |
Appeals |
Denied |
|
Re-admit
after drop |
249 |
38 |
15% |
2 |
2 |
|
Late
withdrawal or change all grades to “W” |
199 |
64 |
32% |
10 |
4 |
|
Substitute
course(s), use previous grade/credit |
110 |
15 |
14% |
1 |
|
|
Waiver
of 36 hr or 10 yr rule |
110 |
9 |
8% |
|
|
|
Return
after withdrawal without waiting |
96 |
11 |
11% |
|
|
|
Cross/concurrent
enrollment |
41 |
10 |
24% |
|
|
|
Register
for excess hours in a term |
19 |
1 |
5% |
|
|
|
Change
grade basis of a course |
14 |
6 |
43% |
|
|
|
Change
academic standing |
12 |
4 |
33% |
1 |
1 |
|
Add/delete
course(s) from schedule/transcript |
10 |
5 |
50% |
|
|
|
Participate
in varsity athletics with <12 hours |
8 |
1 |
13% |
|
|
|
Graduate
with a low GPA |
7 |
3 |
43% |
2 |
|
|
Extend
“I” grade for another term |
5 |
1 |
20% |
|
|
|
Humanities/social
sciences issues |
4 |
2 |
50% |
|
|
|
Graduate
with fewer than required credit hours |
2 |
2 |
100% |
1 |
1 |
|
Other
issues |
17 |
3 |
18% |
|
|
|
TOTALS |
903 |
175 |
19% |
17 |
8 |