Baccalaureate Core Committee
November 1, 1999
Minutes
Present: Bob Jarvis, John Lee, Kurt Peters, Satish Reddy, Michael Scanlan, and Christine Snow
Agenda/Notes:
1. Minutes of 10/18/99 meeting were approved.
2. Refinement of policy concerning 300-level Perspective courses was deferred until our next meeting.
3. We are charged with reviewing the HHP baccalaureate core requirement this year. Mike Scanlan will summarize
our charge and give some background at the next meeting.
4. Periodic Review of Baccalaureate Core Courses: We discussed the information provided by Bob Jarvis about the
size of the review job and key issues to address. Courses approved more than 5 years ago should be reviewed. It
was decided that courses should be review by category - all WC courses one year, all CD courses the next, and
so on. This seemed manageable with perhaps 20 to 40 courses being reviewed each year.
The review format should be roughly as follows: (a) A cover letter is sent explaining why a review is needed and
outlining the process. There should be a check-off indicating whether the department wishes to offer the course in
the future. (b) A form is developed that lists each criterion for the category and give space for a short response.
Total response length should be limited and a syllabus should be requested. (c) The form should have a "data
section" with a table that can be filled in giving term taught, total enrollment, and enrollment by class rank and by
college, for the last three times the class was taught.
The review process should begin Winter Term 2000, if possible.
5. Three courses from Southwestern Oregon Community College were approved for Cultural Diversity: (1) Humanities
204 "World Mythology and Religion: Archetypal and Shamanic Mythologies", (2). Humanities 205 "World Mythology
and Religion: India and Far East, and (3) Humanities 206 "World Mythology and Religion: Middle East and Western.
6. One course, GS 101, from Lane Community College was not approved. GS 101 is primarily a field-trip base class
and it was difficult to evaluate the academic depth and the extent to which the baccalaureate core requirements for
the biological sciences were met. The committee would reconsider the course if more content information were
provided. The instructor should provide lab packets and exams so we can better judge the level of work required in
the course.
7. CSS 205 Soils Sustainable Ecosystems was approved for Perspectives under physical sciences and was not
approved for biological sciences. The course is more focused on the physical aspects of soils and deals with some
biological implications. In a general discussion, the committee reaffirmed its belief that the intent of the Perspectives
physical sciences and biological sciences categories is that courses in either category should be primarily focused
in that category.
8. The next committee meeting will be Mon. Nov. 15 at 9:30.
