SSE Undergraduate Studies Committee Meeting

September 27, 2010


Minutes

Present: Terry Christenson (PSYC), Steve Darwin (EBIO), Gary Dohanich (NSCI), George Flowers (EENS), Erin Forte (SSE), Dayna Gessler (Advising Center), Nancy Hopkins (CMB), Carol Pizer (Advising Center), John Prindle (CBE), Mark Sulkes (CHEM), Andrew Tumen (Student rep), Beth Wee (SSE Associate Dean)

Introduction

All committee members, including student representatives and non-voting members, were introduced to each other.

Approval of Minutes

The meeting minutes from the February 10, 2010, meeting were approved for inclusion on the SSE website.

Election of Committee Chair

The floor was opened to new nominations for committee chair but receiving none, John Prindle offered himself for another term. The committee approved and accepted the choice.

Course Changes

EBIO 3690 – Change in course description – approved
EENS 4800 – Change in course title and description – approved
       Old title: Air Pollution Fundamentals and Modeling
       New title: Air Pollution
EENS 6160 – Change in course title and description – approved after email with information from George Flowers which indicated that this was just a course description change, but not a fundamental change in the course content.
       Old title: Fluvial Responses to Allogenic Controls
       New title: Contruction and Interpretation of 3D Stratigraphy
CENG 3420 – Change in course description and cross-listing – approved
       Existing course BMEN 3420/7420 cross-listed with CENG 3420
       Note: Minutes of SSE Undergrad committee for Sept 21, 2009 SHOULD have indicated that BMEN 342/742 replaced the former BMEN 642. However, the minutes for the SSE grad committee did show approval of BMEN 742.
ENGP 3410/3421 – change in course format – approved
       Old version: ENGP 3310 Summer Design Internship (6 credits)
       New version: ENGP 3410 Summer Design Internship I (3 credits)
              ENGP 3421 Summer Design Internship II (3 credits)

New Courses

CELL/NSCI 4500/6500 Advance Molecular Neurobiology – approved
COSC 3200/6200 Large Scale Computation – approved
       Note: The committee voiced a concern over the differentiation between the undergraduate and graduate level work for this course. The undergraduate level was approved and an advisory sent to the graduate committee.
EBIO 4300/7300 Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles –approved
EBIO 3290/7290 Behavioral Ecology – approved
       Note: Both EBIO 4300 and EBIO 3290 were approved on the condition that Steve Darwin double check the prerequisites for both classes.
MATH 4411 Introduction to Algebraic Topology with Applications – approved
       Note: Approval is pending the receipt of a revised syllabus.
PHYS 3230/6230/ENGP 3230 Quantum Information Science and Engineering – approved

Old Business

Newcomb-Tulane catalog description – Beth Wee informed all committee members that the catalog was updated summer 2010 and is updated each semester. She expanded that she did not know if there was a cutoff date for revisions, but to get any and all changes to her as soon as possible and she would submit them to Newcomb-Tulane College Dean Maclaren as received.

600 level courses – The committee repeatedly raised the issue of 600 level course inconsistencies over the course of the meeting but were deferred until this time as it was already entered on the agenda for ‘Old Business’. The committee discussed various suggested solutions, such as no longer accepting classes with a 3000/6000 split and letting SSE serve as a model, raising the issue with the Education Policy Committee, and forming an ad hoc committee with members from both graduate and undergraduate committees. It was decided that Beth Wee would consult with Dean Nick Altiero and the graduate committee about what solution we might pursue.

Double majors/minors – The committee raised the question of the capstone requirement for double majors or minors. Carol Pizer revealed that Newcomb-Tulane treated the capstone as a core requirement and thus, to graduate, a student only had to complete one capstone. However, a major may require a capstone and so if a student majors in two such departments, they would have to complete two capstones to graduate with both majors. Steve Darwin voiced disagreement with the inconsistent policy. Nancy Hopkins agreed and said the policy would have to become consistent to achieve SACS accreditation.

Meeting Adjourned

Minutes submitted by Erin Forte, SSE Dean’s Office