Undergraduate Studies Committee

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

12:45 p.m.  On-line via Zoom Platform

Meeting Minutes

Attending Voting Members: C. Wetzel (ARCH), Y. Lin (BIOL), E. Corradi (CAEE), S. Hong (CHBE), R. Guan (CHEM), C. Hood (CS), E. Oruklu (ECE), M. Vural/C. Wark (MMAE), J. Miller (PSYC), J. Twombly (SSB), P. Ireland (SSCI).

Also attending: J. Alexis (IPRO), M. Haynes (UGAA), M. Lopez (Academic Affairs), N. Novak (Galvin), G. Pulliam (CAC), J. Gorzkowski (UGAA), A. Matari-Renno (Registrar), A. Patelidas (Registrar), G. Smith (UGAA), M. Krishnamurthy (Kaplan), K. Cassel (ACE).

Departments with absent voting members: AMAT, BME, FDSN, HUM, ITM, PHYS, ROTC, SGA.

Documents for this meeting are available at: <https://www5.iit.edu/~ugsc/documents/2020-2021/>.

Meeting chaired by Kathryn Spink.

Minutes recorded by Greg Pulliam.

Quorum declared at 12:46 p.m. Quorum lost at 1:17 when Ireland and Twombly left. Quorum regained at 1:32 when Ireland returned and Corradi arrived. Vural subbed for Wark as MMAE rep until Wark arrived at 1:33.

Adjourn at: 1:44 p.m.

1. Approval of the minutes for April 13, 2021. The minutes were approved by acclamation.

2.  Information item: elimination of minor in Electromechanical Design and Manufacturing (for AE majors), and addition of minor in Electromechanical Systems (for AE and ME majors) (Vural).

3.  UGSC Officers vote for AY 2021-22: Chair: Kathryn Spink; Vice-chair: Fred Weening; Secretary: Greg Pulliam. The committee voted 9-0-1 to retain all three. The UFC must approve of the Chair in their next meeting.

4.  I-Course  pilot program extension request (Alexis, Krishnamurthy). UGSC has no objections to extending this program for another year, to make up for lack of good data due to COVID during initial trial period, and to give new Kaplan director Krishnamurthy the ability to further develop the program.

5. Minor policy, continued (Spink).

Here is the current wording:

"A minor consists of at least five courses (minimum of 15 credit hours) not required for a degree program. Since a minor provides a coherent set of ideas, concepts, and educational experiences in a variety of areas, students may find that a minor will enhance potential for professional development. Students who choose a minor are encouraged to consult with the minor advisor. Students who take the standard core curriculum's distribution of courses may apply them toward the requirements of any approved minor."

Proposed change to the first sentence:

A minor consists of at least five courses (minimum 15 credit hours), of which at least four courses (minimum 12 credit hours) are not required for a degree program.

This change was approved 9-0-1.

6. Continued 'major/minor' discussion (subcommittee report is here) (Spink)

a. Guidelines for significant change

b. Schedule of program review

 Discussion to continue in the fall.

7. Permits for undergraduates to take online courses (Spink). Fall 2021 term is moot. Discussion to continue in the fall with regard to the spring 2022 term.

Adjourn.