Baccalaureate Core Committee

Voting members present: Aidas Banaitis, Kathy Becker-Blease, Kelsey Emard, Daniel Faltesek, McKenzie Huber, Jack Istok, Matt Kennedy, Lori McGraw, Rene Reitsma, David Roundy, Kaplan Yalcin
Voting members absent: Andrew Harker, Heather Arbuckle, Rorie Solberg
Ex-Officio members present: DPD Director – Bradley Boovy; Academic Programs & Assessment – Heath Henry; WIC Director – Sarah Perrault Tinker

Course Proposals

• Discussion Needed
  • REL/PHL 308 – Cultural Diversity
    • One of the key problems is that some of the topics are western culture. Their final project allows them to select one of these topics to focus on. Are they getting enough cultural diversity if they pick one of these topics?
      • Can they add a compare and contrast element to pick a non-western tradition to compare to the more western tradition.
    • One of the main ways Learning Outcome (LO) 3 is met is through career development, which doesn’t seem like a social process. The responses have been very generic.
    • Doesn’t feel like a 4 credit course – ask that they explain how it meets the 4 credit contact hour requirements.
      • Motion to send back: A. Clarify to non-western in the final, B. Impact logic global processes, C. Student Contact Hours. Motion passes 11 in favor, none against. One abstention.
  • HSTS/REL 476/576 – Difference, Power & Discrimination (DPD)
    • Is a good course for DPD and comes at a good time.
    • Recommending some reorganizing of the syllabus to make things a little more clear for students.
      • Approve with notes to reorganize the syllabus to make it easier to read, seconded. Motion passes with 11 in favor, none against. One abstention.
  • WSE 240 – Biological Sciences
    • Ecampus only
    • Lack of laboratory component
    • The students are required to design an experiment – the liaisons pointed out that this is not enough of a lab. They have added some lab lectures and homework assignments, but they don’t seem to expand on the lab requirement.
    • There is no sign that students are given real or simulated data to work with.
    • There are only 5 assignments. It’s unclear if this course meets the contact hours for a 4 credit course.
    • Every week is a lecture topic that has its own learning goals and outcomes. None of them mention calculating or working with data. There is also no calendar or timeline for the assignments.
      • Motion to roll back to develop weekly lab component that develops hands on experience with all steps of scientific method and develop higher order course specific learning outcomes (CSLOs) and connect LOs to assessment methods, seconded. Motion passes with 9 in favor, none against. Two abstentions.

Category Review

• Discussion Needed
  • HSTS 417 – Science, Technology & Society
    • Fits the category well
    • No explicit issues.
    • Motion to approve, seconded. Motion passes 11 in favor, none against. One abstention.
  • HDFS 201 – Difference, Power & Discrimination
    • Approved with no discussion needed.
  • KIN 312 – Social Processes & Institutions
    • Ecampus was asked to respond more clearly with LO 2 – they have made the requested revisions.
    • Cascades responded saying they have no instructor for the course and indicated that they would adopt the Corvallis syllabus
    • Corvallis syllabus looks really good.
    • Motion to approve, seconded. Motion passes 11 in favor, none against. One abstention.

Synthesis Graduate Teaching Assistant Ratios for Course Capacities Over 70

• How can it be made more explicit on the site so there is rationale to back up decisions regarding course capacities over 70?
  • Once the language is developed, it can be added to the resources page of the Baccalaureate Core Committee (BCC) Faculty Senate website.
• Courses that exceed 70 will come to the BCC for approval. They will have to have a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) structure in place. The committee needs to language to point to for faculty who have questions about GTA structure.
  • Many faculty are unaware of the course limits for synthesis courses and it was not enforced.
• GTAs are only required if they go over 70.
• In some writing courses, there are ratios of 12-1 or 25-1 depending on duties of GTAs and how they TA’s are trained.
• If you go over 70, at least a .2 GTA. If it approaches 140, the BCC would expect more than that.
  • Motion to state that Synthesis courses over 70, require at least .20 GTA, courses over 100 at least .40 GTA, seconded. Motion passes 8 in favor, none against. Two abstentions.