Summary: Fall and Spring, 2006-2007
Summary: Fall and Spring, 2005- 2006

Fall and Spring, 2006-2007
During the August 31 meeting, the committee discussed the review of the Interdisciplinary Program in Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) and the recommendation of the Review Committee to discontinue the major.  Based on the documents available to it at the time, EPC unanimously agreed to endorse the report and the recommendation of the Review Committee. 

At the same meeting, Dean Linda Maxson asked EPC to explore the formation of a collegiate curriculum committee.

During the meetings of August 31, September 7, 14, and 28, and in continuation from last spring, EPC discussed a proposal from the Department of Health and Sport Studies to institute selective admissions in the sport studies track. Professor Birrell, Chair of Health and Sport Studies, reviewed the department’s situation. Currently, there are 458 majors in HSS to 6.75 FTE. 405 of those students are in the sport studies track. The department has made internal changes to help manage enrollment, but the number of students in the track increases almost daily. The departmental review recommended that HSS request selective admissions status for the sport studies track in order to address the disparity in the faculty to major ratio. On September 28, the eventual proposal was approved unanimously by EPC.

Discussion of the HSS proposal raised a number of concerns for EPC, encouraging the committee to create procedures and guidelines for all future requests for a selective or limited access program or major. These procedures and guidelines were discussed and revised over four meetings. On October 5, the final document passed unanimously.

On September 21, Professors Jeske and Fumerton from the Department of Philosophy presented a proposal to convert the PEOPLE certificate (Philosophies and Ethics of Politics, Law, and Economics) to a major. EPC passed the proposal, strongly recommending that before the proposal moved to Faculty Assembly letters be obtained from DEOs stating that the departments offering the “field” courses had no objections to being part of this new major.

On Oct 5, EPC was asked, in an advisory capacity, to brainstorm ways to increase enrollment in foreign language courses and to consult on a first draft of a proposal from some of the foreign language departments concerning distribution Foreign Language Incentive Program (FLIP) credit.

On October 12 and October 19, the Educational Policy Committee continued its discussion of the formation of a collegiate curriculum committee, suggesting that a curriculum committee could facilitate communication and help with management issues. The curriculum committee might also work with other offices or programs on campus-wide curriculum issues. Discussion of a CLAS curriculum committee will continue during the spring.

During its November 2 meeting, the Educational Policy Committee began an initial examination of the CLAS fraud policy, discussing ways to reformulate the policy so that it might more clearly reflect current practice.

EPC also examined the Associate Provost’s request that the requirement of an additional thirty semester hours for a simultaneous or combined degree be dropped by all undergraduate colleges. Such degrees would also be awarded sequentially as well as concurrently. Guest Luke Flaherty from CLAS recommended approving these changes and EPC unanimously agreed.

EPC at this meeting also approved all recommendations of the General Education Curriculum Committee, including GE status for 16A: 112 Chicana/o History in the Cultural Diversity area and for 32:006/39:006 Introduction to Buddhism in the Foreign Civilization and Culture and Humanities areas.

On November 9, Larry Lockwood, Registrar and Assistant Provost for Enrollment Services, updated EPC on MAUI 2, the new student information system; the reasons for discontinuing the use of student social security numbers for ID purposes; and the status of the course renumbering project.

Professors John Finamore (Chair) and Carin Green of the Department of Classics sought EPC’s advice on November 16 concerning the possible formation of a new track within the Ancient Civilization major. The proposed track facilitates student-learning of classical influences on a number of modern disciplines, including that of literature. EPC was supportive of the idea behind the new track and made suggestions about a possible title for the track.

The Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Tom Rocklin, also spoke with EPC at this meeting on issues such as the reaccreditation process, assessment, and the new UI admission standards that will supplant the former standards of accepting all Iowa students who graduate in the top half of their class.

During the November 30 meeting, EPC discussed a proposal from the Executive Committee concerning a possible interdisciplinary cultural competency certificate. Professors Leslie Schwalm (History/Women’s Studies/African American Studies and Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee Cultural Competency Certificate Committee) and Ed Saunders (School of Social Work) discussed their recommendations with EPC. Following those recommendations, EPC approved the formation of a campus-wide committee of interested faculty willing to investigate the design of the possible certificate.

On December 7, the last EPC meeting of the Fall 2006 semester, EPC finished revising and approved unanimously the proposed draft of the CLAS Academic Fraud policy. The policy clarifies the role of the instructor, the DEO, and CLAS. The policy requires that instructors report all instances of academic fraud to the DEO; the DEO, in turn, will report the fraud to CLAS.

Professor Alan Sener, chair of the Department of Dance, presented upcoming modifications to the department’s audition process planned for the Fall 2008 semester. EPC, acting in an advisory capacity, was supportive of the changes.

The Educational Policy Committee also approved modifications to the Foreign Language Incentive Program (FLIP) during the December 7 meeting. The proposal for these modifications was supported by members of the Foreign Language programs and will move to Faculty Assembly for discussion on January 24.

February 1
EPC discussed current CLAS grade-distribution guidelines (available at this link), noting that they were recommendations only and were designed to help curb grade inflation. At a later meeting, EPC returned to the idea of eliminating the use of the A+ and the D- to curtail grade inflation. After discussion, there was a consensus that use of the A+ and D- should be continued
but used only in extraordinary situations, noting that the DEO has the authority to review faculty grading practices.

EPC also recommended to Dean Maxson that smoking be allowed on stage during theatrical productions of the Department of Theatre Arts only when essential to the artistic integrity of the production. The recommendation moved to the Faculty Assembly, which concurred with EPC on the matter.

February 8
EPC welcomed guest Pamela Brande, Student Disability Services (SDS) Senator, UI Student Government, who reviewed the recently passed UISG proposal asking CLAS to create an early textbook adoption policy. Around 60 students receive Alternative Media Services each semester, involving complex textbook modifications, a process requiring 6-7 weeks prior notice in part because of copyright issues. An early textbook adoption policy would facilitate this process and allow all students timely access to bookstore buy-back programs. EPC strongly agreed that students with disabilities are at a disadvantage if textbooks are not available by the first day of the semester and that this situation is not acceptable. EPC noted that faculty must be engaged in the effort to grant reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities, suggesting that faculty be educated on the importance of responding quickly to requests by SDS concerning textbook usage. Many faculty are unaware of the complexity and time needed to convert textbooks into alternate formats. However, EPC did not approve setting an early deadline for all textbook orders but asked that the proposal be revised and brought back to EPC for discussion.

February 22
James Cremer presented a proposal from the Department of Computer Science for the creation of a new major and minor in informatics. At the undergraduate level, informatics programs are interdisciplinary, focusing on applications of computing and their relation to other fields. EPC was supportive of the new major and recommended approval of the proposal. The proposal moved to the Faculty Assembly for discussion where it was also approved. The proposal is currently under consideration by the Regents.

March 1
Anh To, a member of DSAC, spoke with EPC about two concerns, students’ wish to evaluate textbooks and to have faculty post syllabi as part of the ISIS course description. The Educational Policy Committee discussed the pros and cons of these proposals. EPC did not recommend changing the current evaluation form nor did it recommend requiring that a syllabus be included with an ISIS description. However, members of EPC could see many good reasons to post a syllabus and hope faculty will become aware of the usefulness and ease of including a syllabus with an ISIS description.

At the same meeting, Luke Flaherty, Director of Student Academic Services and Standards, asked EPC to review the CLAS policy on granting exceptions to the General Education Foreign Language requirement. EPC decided that exceptions to this requirement should continue to be based on certified learning disabilities as they are now. No other exceptions will be allowed.

March 22
Guests Maggie Jesse and Angela Briggs from ITS-Instructional Services reviewed their current research on the use of electronic portfolios. They are assisting the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy in creating and using electronic portfolios and are interested in learning the possible portfolio needs of other UI Colleges. 

March 29
The EPC met at the Office of the Registrar to discuss new features of OSIRIS; uses of InfoBank; and progress on the new student information system, MAUI (Made at The University of Iowa). Faculty and staff advisors wishing access to OSIRIS student record pages must complete a simple, online FERPA training workshop, with the link available on ORISIS. All faculty are encouraged to use the new student records page since it includes essential student information. Since The University is moving towards a paperless environment, it is important that faculty learn to use the new system, which is elegant and easy to master.

April 5
Pamela Brande presented a revision of The University of Iowa Student Government Early Textbook Adoption Proposal, with an earlier deadline (before the start of Early Registration) for faculty to submit textbook orders to bookstores. UISG contends that the earlier deadline, concurrent with the bookstore buy-back period, will give all students the opportunity to purchase textbooks at significant savings. An additional benefit is that students needing to have their texts reformatted could work with Student Disabilities Services to begin the process much earlier.  While sympathetic to the needs of those disabled students needing reformatted textbooks, the Educational Policy Committee concurred that neither the original nor the revised proposal is presently acceptable. Student Disability Services will continue to contact individual faculty members who have students with disabilities in their courses.

At the same meeting, EPC authorized Helena Dettmer to request that the Registrar include up to three majors on the University of Iowa diploma. The inclusion will begin with degree conferrals in December 2007 and will not be available retroactively.

April 12
Educational Policy Committee members Professors John Menninger and Rex Honey, who serve on the Continuation of Operations College Advisory Working group, reported on the group’s progress on a plan to deal with a flu pandemic. The EPC discussion focused on a number of key issues, including whether it would be feasible for faculty to prepare for and to offer courses online if the University should close during a pandemic. EPC decided that it was “unreasonable to make such technology the backbone of operations during a crisis.”

April 19
Emil Rinderspacher, Deb Miller, and Karen Noggle from Admissions met with the Educational Policy Committee to update members on the 2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan for transfer students. Admissions plans to visit UI departments in the upcoming year to talk with them about the 2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan and other related transfer concerns. More about the 2 Plus 2 Guaranteed Graduation Plan may be found at its site.

April 26
Tom Rocklin, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of the University College, spoke with EPC about assessment issues and the reaccreditation process.

May 17
An additional meeting was scheduled to discuss news from the Registrar, including its announcement about the move to a paperless environment, the workflow course approval system to be instituted this fall, and other timely items.

Fall and Spring, 2005-2006

During the month of September, the Educational Policy Committee met five times. The committee discussed several topics, including:

• The College's policy on course syllabi. As instructional technologies change, it seems appropriate to review our policies on how much information should be required on the syllabus, how much class time should be devoted to the syllabus, and whether it is time to move away from a paper copy to an electronic version. The committee plans to continue discussion of these issues, with a view toward a revision of the current syllabus policy.
• The committee also gave advice on the modification and implementation of the College's Course Approval procedures, which resulted in a memo that was distributed to DEOs on September 21.
• The committee discussed changing the “Pre” prefix (e.g., pre-actuarial science, pre-business, pre-medicine) used for limited-access majors and some non-major advising designations. The committee agreed that “Interest,” which is already used for some limited-access majors, would be a better choice than “Pre,” which may imply to students (and parents!) that students will be admitted to specific programs. The College will be working further with the Provost's Office, Admissions, and the Registrar to explore this change in major designation practice.

The EPC also had three discussions with invited guests.

• Professor John Nelson met with the committee in his capacity as Director of the Honors Program. The EPC hopes to have continued fruitful discussions with Professor Nelson and looks forward to new proposals from the Honors Program.
• Professor Norbert Pienta met with the committee in his capacity as the recently appointed Director of the Center for Teaching. Professor Pienta described a number of new initiatives and continuing programs that he hopes will be of interest and usefulness to faculty in the CLAS.
• Dean Maxson met with the committee, as she does every semester. There was a lively exchange of views. Members encouraged the Dean to continue her efforts to maintain shared governance across the University and to maintain faculty size and increased recurring faculty compensation. The committee and the Dean also discussed College policies on plagiarism and cheating, which resulted in the memo on this topic that was sent to DEOs today.

The Educational Policy Committee met twice during the month of October. During these meetings, the committee discussed the following topics:

• Service Learning. Professor Judith Liskin-Gasparro (Spanish and Portuguese) and Professor Teresa Mangum (English) joined the committee to discuss their experiences at the Service Learning Institute held this past summer and to describe devising/teaching courses that include a service learning component. The EPC found the discussion engaging and saw many benefits to faculty and students, as well as to the larger community, in offering such courses. The committee also raised a number of questions, ranging from the ability of the University to sustain attention and resources for the continued development and support required for these courses to the need for guidelines and oversight to ensure that students and the community are well served.
• Eligibility for Collegiate Teaching Awards. The committee had a vigorous discussion about the possibility of expanding the scope of the current collegiate teaching awards to include non-tenure track faculty.
• The College's Syllabus Policy. The discussion of the College's S yllabus Policy began in September; the committee continued to explore ways to improve the current College policy. An update on the College's Syllabus Policy will be available soon on the CLAS web site.
• “The Iowa Great Teacher Awards.” The committee also advised the College on a proposal from faculty members in the Department of Physics & Astronomy to create a new program in which graduating CLAS students from Iowa would be offered the opportunity to nominate one of their pre-college teachers for “The Iowa Great Teacher Award.” More information on this award will be available as it is developed.

The Educational Policy Committee met three times in November and once in December. During our November meetings, we continued to work on revision of the College's syllabus policy.

We also began discussion of the need for a Grade Dispute Policy and possible modification of the Course Material Retention Policy. The committee received a report from the General Education Curriculum Committee and accepted the GECC recommendation for approval of 009:030 Cultural Misunderstandings: France and the USA for General Education in the Humanities area, effective Spring 2006.

The committee also met with Executive Associate Dean Raúl Curto to discuss the College's plans for allocation of teaching assistantships and Dean Curto's oversight of low-enrolled courses. Dean Curto will meet again with the committee in Spring 2006 to discuss two additional topics—n ew distance learning initiatives and new diversity initiatives in the College.

Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Lola Lopes, also met with the committee. That discussion included concerns of the EPC about admission standards, the Provost's interest in General Education, and the emphasis on improving the University's standing by external ratings institutions.

During the January meeting, the November discussion about the Student Complaints Concerning Faculty Actions policy and the modification of the Course Material Retention Policy was continued.

The committee received the General Education Curriculum Committee report and accepted the GECC recommendation for continued approval of the current General Education offerings in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and in the Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literature. The Department of Physics and Astronomy also asked that 029:005 Chemistry and Physics of the Environment be removed from the list of GE courses which EPC approved.

In February, the committee met with Lisa Troyer, Administrative Fellow with the Office of the Provost, to discuss the US News & Report rankings and their use as benchmarks to improve The University of Iowa and to facilitate such discussions.

During February, the committee slightly modified the Incomplete policy and added S/U as an additional grading option for undergraduate courses. Both policies are effective Fall 2006; information on implementation will be forthcoming.

In the last meeting in February, Philip Potter and Lisa Troyer discussed the ongoing migration of sites from WebCT and Blackboard to ICON, the new campus-wide course management system.

On March 2 , Steven Fleagle (Associate Vice President and The University of Iowa ' s Chief Information Officer), Molly Langstaff (ITS, Academic Technologies), and Lisa Troyer (Department of Sociology), members of the IT Campus Review Committee, updated EPC on the campus-wide IT review. The review, completed in April, provides an assessment of current IT organization, services, and resources.

At this meeting, EPC also approved changing the name of the African American World Studies major to the African American Studies major, in concordance with the unit name change (already approved by the Executive Committee).

At the March 9 meeting, Joseph Kearney, Associate Dean for Research and Development discussed issues of class scheduling, building space/ remodeling, and technology.

Because of Spring Break, the committee did not meet on March 16 .

On March 23, a proposal was introduced to add a second track to the Interdepartmental Studies major (BAIS) that would house a number of pre-made academic plans created to appeal to students interested in communication studies, health promotion, business, pharmacy, and nursing, suggesting alternatives for students and alleviating pressure on the communication studies and health promotion majors. The proposal was approved. EPC also approved the administrative move of the major from the Interdisciplinary Studies Program into CLAS.

During the March 30 meeting, guests Professors Kristine Fitch and David Hingstman presented a proposal from the Department of Communication Studies to raise the GPA requirement for the major to 2.60. The Department has attempted to curtail enrollment through restructuring the curriculum; by dealing with grade inflation; and by making courses rigorous, especially the prerequisite/foundational course, 36:001 Core Concepts in Communication. There are currently 12 full time faculty to about 1000 students in the department with no tenure-track hires anticipated. EPC was especially concerned about where students not able to declare Communication Studies as major might find another area of study. In attempts to solve this problem, EPC passed this proposal contingent on Communication Studies agreeing to help implement the business and communication plan of study in the second track of the Interdepartmental Studies major, thus giving students an alternative area of study. The Department agreed and the proposal was approved.

During the same meeting, guest Professor Joseph Frankel from the Department of Biological Sciences presented a proposal to limit second-grade-only options as a way of managing enrollment in biology classes where seats might be limited due to anticipated increases in the number of first-year students. The committee decided to return to the SGO issue during the May 4 meeting.

At the April 6 meeting, Dean Curto, Executive Associate Dean and Director of Diversity, discussed innovations in distance learning at The University of Iowa and then reviewed the findings of a report released in March 2006 by the Diversity Action Committee. The committee recommended twenty-one changes for making the campus more integrated and inclusive, including revitalizing the campus cultural houses and making “minority student recruitment the responsibility of the entire campus.”

 During the April 13 meeting, Professor Susan Birrell presented a proposal from the Department of Health and Sport Studies to institute a selective admissions policy for the sport studies track of the major. Susan Birrell outlined measures the Department has already undertaken to control enrollment including revising the curriculum and replacing bottleneck courses; increasing class size; using special permission codes; adding courses to the Saturday and Evening Program; offering classes in the summer; adding offerings from underutilized departments in the curriculum; and offering graduate classes on a two year rotation. The department has 450 majors with only 7.65 FTE (next year with retirements, 6.75 FTE). EPC decided not to vote on the proposal but asked the Department to rethink and clarify it, bringing it back to EPC at a later date.

EPC reexamined the language describing the Interpretation of Literature General Education area. (In 2005, EPC voted to allow departments to offer equivalent courses to 8G:001 to fulfill the Interpretation of Literature requirement in the GE Program.) This year EPC discussed whether or not these equivalent courses must be taught in the English language and if upper-level courses could be allowed. Guest Professor James Pusack, Chair of the Department of German, spoke in favor of his department's proposal to offer 13:101 Introduction to German Literature taught in German as a General Education course to fulfill the Interpretation of Literature area.

EPC delayed action on this until the April 20 meeting when it decided that continued reading, writing, and critical thinking skills in the English language are very important for all students, especially since these skills build on the rhetoric requirement and prepare students for upper-level classes. The committee voted to specify that all courses intended to fulfill the 8G:001 GE area must be taught in English and may not be upper level.

At the April 20 meeting, Dennis Moore (EPC member and Professor from the Department of Rhetoric) and Professor Mary Trachsel, Chair, presented information for discussion purposes only from the Department of Rhetoric about possible curriculum reorganization. Rhetoric has been considering eliminating the two-course sequence 10:001 and 10:002; all students would be held for 10:003 unless they had fulfilled the requirement in another way. Class size would be reduced from 23 to 16-18 students, allowing students to receive more individualized attention.

At the April 27 meeting, guest Pamela Trimpe, Academic Coordinator of the Museum Studies Program, presented a proposal to move the Museum Studies Program from its current administrative home in CLAS and in the Division of Interdisciplinary Programs to University College. The committee approved the proposal.

The committee also discussed a recommendation from the General Education Curriculum Committee to grant General Education status in the Health and Physical Activity area to 028:020 Alcohol and Your College Experience and 028:021 Tobacco and Your College Experience , 1 semester hour courses. The committee approved the status change for both courses effective with the next offering.

At the last meeting of the semester on May 4, EPC followed General Education Curriculum Committee's recommendations to grant GE Fine Arts status to 8N:20 Introduction to Creative Nonfiction (currently offered as 8N:20 Introduction to Nonfiction ) effective at the next offering. Following GECC's recommendations, EPC did not grant GE Interpretation of Literature area status to 13:101 Introduction to German Literature since this area now requires all courses to be taught in English and not to be upper-level. EPC likewise concurred with GECC that 29:002 Nanoscience be resubmitted for GE Natural Science status consideration after being taught at least once.

At the May 4 meeting, EPC also continued the discussion from March 30 of modifying the second-grade-only option. The committee discussed the importance of creating a more serious academic environment at The University of Iowa and that one way to do this would be to limit the use of the SGO standard in some manner. The committee voted nearly unanimously in favor of restricting SGO's to courses where the grade of C- or below had been earned. This change will take effect Fall 2007. All other SGO policies will remain unchanged.