Fall 2007
For the approved minutes from each Educational Policy Committee meeting, please visit the EPC web site.
Questions may be addressed to Helena Dettmer, Associate Dean of Programs and Services.
On September 6 and over a number of meetings, the Educational Policy Committee drafted an academic plan in case of a pandemic and approved academic options for students affected by a more limited disaster such as a tornado. Both proposals were approved by the Faculty Assembly and have moved to the Office of the Provost. The proposals may be read at this link.
On September 13, the Educational Policy Committee unanimously endorsed a new minor in Environmental Sciences. The Faculty Assembly and the Provost approved the minor in November.
EPC discussed a draft proposal for a new writing track from the Department of English, presented by DEO Professor Jonathan Wilcox on September 20. The selective admission track focuses on creative writing, including fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. EPC expects the proposal to return to its agenda in early spring.
Professors Peter Hlebowitsh, from the College of Education, and Denise Moore, from the Department of Rhetoric, visited EPC on September 27 to discuss the new General Education Advisory Committee and its relation to the previous Common Academic Experience subcommittee. The report from the CAE subcommittee and its recommendations concerning the General Education Program are available at the Provost’s reaccreditation web site.
The Registrar visited EPC several times to discuss the cessation of paper grade reports and degree audits as well as related issues. On October 4 and 11 EPC continued these discussions, including those surrounding prerequisites and co-requisites and their automated enforceability once MAUI, the new student information system, is operational.
Pat Folsom, Assistant Provost for Enrollment Management Services and Director of Academic Advising, and Professor David Gier, School of Music, representing the Task Force on Learning Communities visited EPC on October 4 to discuss academic and residential integration opportunities and the progress of the Task Force.
On October 11, Vice Provost Tom Rocklin spoke with EPC on reaccreditation, noting that two years of reaccreditation work will culminate in the Higher Learning Commission UI site visit this April. He additionally discussed the Message Project, the creation of a message for students about the meaning of an education at Iowa.
On October 18, Tom Kruckeberg from the Office of the Registrar and a number of other guests returned to EPC to discuss the replacement of the current student information system with a new integrated web-based system referred to as MAUI (Made at The University of Iowa). A course repository is being built and will feed into other systems such as those that check for prerequisites or construct degree audits. Enforceability of prerequisites has been requested by Iowa faculty for some time and is a priority for the new system, raising related procedural and policy issues which EPC will continue to discuss over the next year.
Professors Diane Jeske and Richard Fumerton on October 25 presented a proposal to convert the certificate program Philosophies and Ethics of Politics, Law, and Economics (PEOPLE) into a new major, Law, Ethics, and Society, to be administered by a faculty steering committee from participating departments. The proposal was unanimously recommended by EPC for approval. At the same meeting, Professor John Nelson, Director of the University of Iowa Honors Program, outlined recent Honors initiatives approved by the Provost.
On November 1, EPC unanimously approved that all new tracks be reviewed and recommended for approval by the Educational Policy Committee before implementation.
At the same meeting, Executive Associate Dean Curto spoke to EPC about a change in low-enrollment reporting, with all DEOs now asked to submit a low-enrollment report each semester by the end of the early registration period. A new UI initiative to schedule additional courses on Fridays in order to affect the undergraduate culture was also discussed.
Dean Linda Maxson visited EPC on November 8, encouraging the committee to take on additional curricular responsibilities, such as examining new course proposals. After pointing out that all of Iowa’s CIC counterparts have collegiate curriculum committees, she suggested that it might be useful to have an EPC subcommittee give advice to the associate dean on new course proposals and related issues. Dean Maxson recommended the creation of a three year pilot to see if such a subcommittee might prove helpful.
On November 29, EPC discussed whether or not to regulate GE three-week summer offerings to assure that they are equivalent to those offered in other sessions. EPC referred oversight of the issue to the General Education Curriculum Committee. Professor Alan J. Christensen, Chair of the Department of Psychology, and other guests also spoke with EPC concerning curricular changes to the BA and BS in psychology. EPC made a number of advisory suggestions.
On December 6, Professor Alan MacVey, Director of the Division of Performing Arts and Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, presented proposals recommending the discontinuation of the BA in Performing Arts Entrepreneurship and its replacement with a new certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. The Educational Policy unanimously recommended approval of both proposals.