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December 7, 1999
MINUTES OF ACADEMIC COUNCIL
Present:
Anderson, Buis, Burton, Cron, Dahiya (McGowan), Hinkle, Holt, Janzow, Jones, Keys,
Kellerman, Lipetzky, McDougall, Miller, Naugler, Shaw
Guests:
Green, Hart, Jackson, King, Langenfeld, Nahikian-Nelms, Pujol
- Minutes: Naugler moved that the minutes of November 2, 1999 be approved. McDougall
seconded the motion. Motion carried.
- Action Items
- Nutrition Programs
- Changes to Minor in Nutrition: Nahikian-Nelms discussed the proposed changes to the
Minor in Nutrition. These changes are being requested to accommodate changes in the
Dietetics major. She advised that this is not a huge change, but a substitution of
coursework. One course will be removed, and HE520 will be added, which takes the
place of two old courses. Shaw moved to approve the change; Dahiya seconded the motion.
The motion was approved unanimously.
- New Master of Science in Nutrition and Exercise Science Program: Keys noted that
the M.S. is being proposed in response to a regional and national need. Nahikian-Nelms
advised that the program would be managed jointly by the Department of Health and
Leisure and the Department of Human Environmental Studies, and reported that the program
has been approved by Graduate Council. Nahikian-Nelms advised that before developing
this program, the departments began with a needs assessment surveying graduate students.
They believe that this program will be well-served by the collaboration of the two
departments involved. Nahikian-Nelms also reported that the departments have the
resources to provide this program under the current budget and staffing situation.
There are graduate faculty members in both departments, and they will be able to draw
on some current graduate-level courses as well as developing additional coursework.
Cron asked if they feel that the library resources are adequate at their current level
to support this program. Nahikian-Nelms replied that they think that there are excellent
library resources available, and they don’t see any need for additions. Holt noted
that there are no library expenses requested in the proposal. Naugler pointed out
that this degree would be the first Master of Science degree offered by Southeast
Missouri State University. He questioned whether it would be more appropriate for
the first Master of Science degree program at the University to be housed in the College
of Science and Technology. Nahikian-Nelms pointed out that the Master of Science
is the appropriate degree for this type of program. Holt advised that Southeast has
the authority to issue Masters degrees; this would simply be a new type of Masters
degree. Naugler suggested that the College of Science and Technology may want to
revisit their programs since they offer the Master of Natural Science degree, but
have no M.S. degrees; Dahiya agreed. Shaw thought that the College chose to offer
the Master of Natural Science degree. Janzow noted that the climate at the time of
the decision made the Master of Natural Science degree more politically palatable
than the Master of Science degree. Burton said that there is a trend toward the
development of more free-standing Master of Science programs. McDougall questioned
the way the number of faculty were listed in the proposal. He asked if the definition
of “full time” was different for various sections in the proposal, specifically in
reference to the calculation of FTE. Pujol advised that 9 hours is considered full
time for graduate students, but the formula for calculating FTE requires them to divide
by 12. This causes the discrepancies in the figures. There was also discussion of
the salary figures used in the projections. Holt advised that the proposal’s narrative
gives a clearer explanation of the financial projections. Holt also pointed out that
even if the program is approved, the additional faculty position requested in the
proposal may not be approved. Even if there are students who want to enroll in the
program, there are other considerations to approving faculty positions, such as available
funds. If an additional faculty position is requested at some point in the future,
that decision will be made separately, when the time comes. Anderson moved to approve
the new Master of Science in Nutrition and Exercise Science Program; Naugler seconded.
The motion was approved unanimously.
- Nursing Programs
- Revisions to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing: Green discussed the proposed changes
to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She advised that the second section of the
proposal sets out the rationale for the changes. The department felt that the curriculum
needed to be revised to reflect changes in needs in the field of nursing. They also
hope that these changes will help to streamline students’ entry into the Masters program.
Another goal that these changes should meet is to try to increase students’ licensing
exam scores. Southeast Missouri is a rural area, and these changes should give students
more rural exposure. Additionally, hospitals and other agencies can no longer provide
lengthy orientation periods for new nurses; these agencies expect the nurses to be
ready when they start working. The change of the practicum to the last semester of
the program addresses this need. Also, the program will now admit students to the
nursing program straight from high school. Under the old program, students had to
complete their freshman year and then be admitted to the nursing program at the beginning
of their sophomore year. This change should improve enrollment by attracting students
who were unwilling to come here for their freshman year not knowing if they would
be admitted to the nursing program as a sophomore or not. This change will also allow
students to start taking nursing classes as freshmen. Holt pointed out that the Department
of Nursing depends on other departments for the service classes that are required
by the program. He inquired as to whether the Department of Nursing had worked out
these changes with the other departments. Green advised that there have been no changes
to the support courses; these changes are only rearrangements to the internal content
of the program. McDougall asked if there would be any questions about library resources
since the curriculum has been totally redefined. Green advised that the department
does not think so. There will be new textbooks, but since the program is becoming
more community-focused, and the Masters program is already community-focused, the
journals are already in the library. Green described some of the curricular changes
to the program. She advised that in the Bulletin, under “Required Nursing Courses
(BSN),” NS009 will remain a part of the curriculum. The rest of the courses in that
portion have been revised or recreated. There are no changes to the courses listed
under “Required Support Courses (BSN).” Of the courses listed under “Required Nursing
Courses (RN to BSN),” NS380 and NS390 will remain, but 17 new courses will take the
place of the required courses. Green also reported that the new courses have all
gone through the thirty day review process and have been approved. There was some
discussion about the definition of “spirit” contained in the proposal. McDougall
asked if these changes will better position our students to take the licensure exam.
Green response was that it should since the practicum will now be at the end of the
program; students will get more direct clinical experience right before the exam.
Keys moved approval of the program revisions of the BSN. McDougall seconded. The
motion passed unanimously.
- Revisions to the Master of Science in Nursing: Jackson pointed out that the Department
of Nursing conducted a survey of nurses. The conclusions of the survey showed that
there are two nursing roles that are not addressed by the current program: nurse
educator, and nurse case manager. In redeveloping the MSN program, they looked at
core courses and meeting needs. The Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track is being
left as is. The Family Nurse Clinical Specialist track will be changed to better
meet the needs of the region. Holt questioned how pharmacology can be omitted from
the non-FNP track. Jackson responded that this change is consistent with what they
found in other programs, and they may revisit this issue later. Currently, pharmacology
is not in great demand. Also, with the revisions, students will have six hours of
electives, and pharmacology could be taken as an elective. McDougall clarified that
the Family Clinical Nurse track will be replaced with the Advanced Nursing Roles track,
which will not require pharmacology. Jackson advised that this is correct. Buis
commented that he thinks that the periodicals contained in the nursing collection
at Kent Library are sufficient and heavily used, but he thinks that the monograph
collection needs some work. He advised that he would be willing to work with the
department to correct this. Keys moved to approve the revisions to the Master of
Science in Nursing. McDougall seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
- Minor in Small Press Publishing: Jones reported that the objective of this minor
will be to provide students the opportunity to gain experience in small press publishing
regardless of their major. They expect a small number of students initially, and
they have discussed the question of a possible overlap with required courses for English
majors who want to take this minor, and they will address this situation with the
English department. There was a general discussion of the content and requirements
of the minor. Hinkle noted the GPA requirement for the minor. Anderson asked if
the courses will be solely for the Macintosh, or multi-platform. Shaw notes that
the IT course that is part of the minor is PC-based, so students will be exposed to
both. Jones moved that the minor be approved. Dahiya seconded. The motion was passed
unanimously.
- Graduate Assistantship Criteria: Burton reported that this issue was reviewed because
there was a department that wanted to grant an assistantship to a student whose GPA
was less than 2.7. The Graduate School rejected the assistantship. The matter was
taken to Graduate Council, which formed a subcommittee to review the issue. The subcommittee
brought forward the four criteria listed on the handout Burton provided; the Graduate
Council approved those criteria. Miller asked about the second point, which states
that students with a previous Masters degree being eligible. Burton clarified that
the Masters degree would have to be from an accredited institution. Jones moved to
approve the criteria. Dahiya seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
- Discussion Item: Clarification of Overlap of Courses in a Major and a Minor: Hinkle
advised that she has been asked several times about the “real” policy regarding overlap
of courses in a major and a minor. For example, all of the courses for the math minor
are fully contained in the majors of physics and computer science. She has been asked
several times if students who are physics majors can also have the math minor listed
on their transcripts since they have completed the required coursework for the minor.
Hinkle advised that the Bulletin states that a student cannot have a minor in the
same discipline or field of study as their major. She has also checked the registrar
listserv to see how other institutions address this question, and most will not allow
more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) to overlap. Shaw asked why we wouldn’t show
the math minor on the transcript if the courses are contained in the physics major.
If the student has completed the work, they should get credit for it. Naugler suggested
that credit could be given if a major/minor pairing was required, or if the math minor
was a second minor. Holt said that if this is not a pervasive issue, and if no standards
are being violated, this should not be a problem. If a student declares the minor
and completes the coursework, the minor should be reflected in the transcript. This
will be the interpretation unless future questions cause this issue to be revisited.