The University of Texas at Arlington

Undergraduate Assembly

Minutes

 

The Undergraduate Assembly met in regular session on Tuesday, November 2, 2004, at 2:15 p.m. in the UC Rio Grande B.  Provost Dana Dunn presided.

 

Attendance.

 

Member

Present

Excused

Absent

Alternate

James Spaniolo

 

ü

 

 

Dana Dunn

ü

 

 

 

Michael Moore

ü

 

 

 

Amy Ables

 

 

ü

 

Cheryl Anderson

 

 

ü

 

Susan Beckham

ü

 

 

 

Karen Bullis

 

 

ü

 

Bill Carroll

ü

 

 

 

Jinny Choi

ü

 

 

 

Tom Christie

 

 

ü

 

Theresa Daniel

 

 

ü

 

William Dillon

ü

 

 

 

James Epperson

 

 

ü

 

Donald Gatzke

ü

 

 

 

Michael George

ü

 

 

 

Jeanne Gerlach

ü

 

 

 

Karen Given

 

 

ü

 

Deborah Green

 

ü

 

 

Susan Grove

 

 

ü

 

Todd Hamilton

 

 

ü

 

Andy Hansz

ü

 

 

 

D. L. Hawkins

 

 

ü

 

Jay Henry

ü

 

 

 

Santos Hernandez

ü

 

 

 

Dan Himarios

ü

 

 

 

Karen Johannesson

 

 

ü

 

Lon Johnston

ü

 

 

 

Peter Lehmann

 

 

ü

 

Carl Lovely

 

ü

 

 

Dennis Marynick

 

ü

 

Jimmy Rogers

Don McConnell

ü

 

 

 

Robert McMahon

ü

 

 

 

Sung Seek Moon

 

ü

 

 

Jim Munch

ü

 

 

 

Paul Paulus

ü

 

 

 

Lynn Peterson

ü

 

 

 

Karl Petruso

 

 

ü

 

Elizabeth Poster

ü

 

 

 

Syed R. Qasim

ü

 

 

 

Steve Quevedo

ü

 

 

 

Peggy Quinn

ü

 

 

 

Dennis Reinhartz

 

 

ü

 

Lana Rings

ü

 

 

 

Gerald Saxon

ü

 

 

 

Marilee Schmelzer

ü

 

 

 

Richie Stuart

ü

 

 

 

Saibun Tjuatja

ü

 

 

 

Casey Townsend

 

 

ü

 

Patricia Turpin

 

ü

 

 

Mike Ward

ü

 

 

 

Alison White

ü

 

 

 

Beth Wright

ü

 

 

 

Kai Yeung

 

ü

 

 

Lara Zwarun

ü

 

 

 

 

 

Approval of Minutes.  The minutes of the regular meeting on April 13, 2004, were approved as published.

 

Proposed Bylaws Change.  The following Bylaw Change was approved unanimously.

 

Section I (A).  Officers of the Undergraduate Assembly shall be as designated in Section 3-501 of the Handbook of Operating Procedures.  The President The Provost of the University shall preside and a Secretary shall be elected from the members or ex-officio members for a two-year term.

 

Note:  This change strikes the words “The President” from Section I A and replaces them with “The Provost.”  A corresponding change would also be made to the HOP, Section3-501B.

 

Report of the Registration, Calendar and Scheduling Committee.  Michael George presented the 2006-2007 Academic Calendar for consideration.

 

A motion was made and seconded to delay the start of the fall semester a week to give two weeks after Thanksgiving before the last day of class and to reinstate Good Friday as a holiday in the spring semester. 

 

After much discussion about the logistics of changing the dates of the fall semester, a motion was made to return the calendar to committee and reconsider it at a later date.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

Report of the Academic Standards Committee.  David Gray presented two proposals.

 

The Student Responsibility proposal as stated below was accepted unanimously.

Proposed Statement of Student Responsibility for inclusion in the UTA Catalogs.

Student Responsibility

While University faculty and staff members give students academic advice and assistance, each graduate and undergraduate student is expected to take responsibility for his or her education and personal development. The student must know and abide by the academic and disciplinary policies given in this catalog, including rules governing quantity of work, the standard of work required to continue in the University, scholastic probation and dismissal, and enforced withdrawal. The student must also know and meet the requirements of his or her degree program, including the University's core education requirements; must enroll in courses appropriate to the program; must meet prerequisites and take courses in the proper sequence to ensure orderly and timely progress; and must seek advice from appropriate University representatives about degree requirements and other University policies when necessary.  The student must also know and adhere to all University deadlines.

 

Once a student registers for classes, the University commits resources to provide registered students with instruction by qualified faculty and sufficient class space for the course. Thus, upon registration, a student assumes full responsibility for either paying fees in full by a prescribed due date, or notifying the University in an appropriate time frame that he/she will not attend and take all appropriate action as prescribed to drop a course(s) and/or officially withdraw from the University.

 

A student’s registration is not automatically cancelled for non attendance or nonpayment of fees. A student should either pay fees in full by the designated deadline or take the appropriate steps to withdraw. To avoid financial responsibility to the University, this cancellation of enrollment must be completed as soon as possible, but no later than the day before the “first official University class day.” Prompt notification also helps to free up class space for other students who are interested in the same classes.

 

Courses in the Schedule of Classes are subject to change. Although unusual, a section may be cancelled due to low enrollment or staffing considerations. The department that cancels the class should notify any students already enrolled and assist with alternate arrangements. At the beginning of the semester, students should always check for changes regarding class meeting times or classroom locations.

 

The student must verify his or her schedule of classes each semester, must see that necessary corrections are made, and must keep documentation of all schedule changes and other transactions.

E-mail is the prime means for communication.  Therefore, the University has the right to send communications to students via e-mail and the right to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion.  The Office of Information Technology (OIT) will assign all students an official University e-mail address. It is to this official address that the University will send e-mail communications.  A student may choose to have e-mail electronically redirected to another e-mail address. If a student wishes to have e-mail redirected from his or her official address to another e-mail address, they may do so but at his or her own risk. The University will not be responsible for the handling of e-mail by outside vendors or by UTA departmental servers. Having e-mail redirected does not absolve a student from the responsibilities associated with communication sent to his or her official e-mail address.  Students are expected to check their official e-mail account on a frequent and consistent basis to stay current with University communications. The University recommends checking e-mail daily.

The student must give current and correct local and permanent addresses and telephone numbers to the Office of the Registrar and to the Dean of the student’s College/School and must notify these offices immediately of any changes.  Official correspondence is sent to the appropriate address depending upon the nature of the correspondence and the academic calendar; if the student has moved and failed to correct this address, he or she will not be relieved of responsibility on the grounds that the correspondence was not delivered.

 

All students should be familiar with the following sources of information:

University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs.  The catalogs give important information about academic policies and procedures that apply to all students. The official academic calendar, admission procedures and residence requirements, and policies on quantity of work, grades and the grade point average, credit by examination and correspondence course work, adding and dropping courses, withdrawal from the University, and scholastic probation and dismissal are all included in the catalog. These catalogs also give historical and current information about the University's organization and physical facilities. The services of the Vice President for Student Affairs, the libraries and research facilities that support the University's academic programs are also described in these catalogs.

 

The Undergraduate Catalog gives information about degrees offered by the undergraduate divisions and lists the faculty. The chapter for each college or school describes the academic policies and procedures that apply to students in that division and lists the division's undergraduate degree programs and courses. The Graduate Catalog gives similar information about graduate programs.

 

Catalogs are available on-line at http://www2.uta.edu/registrar/ .

 

The Course Schedule. The Schedule of Classes  (http://www.uta.edu/schedule/) is published by the Office of the Registrar and is available through the Office of the Registrar Web sites before registration for each semester, winter session, Maymester, and summer session. It includes information about registration procedures; times, locations, instructors, prerequisites, and special fees of courses offered; and advising locations.

 

The University Directory. The University directory is published and distributed by Student Publications each fall. It gives addresses and telephone numbers of University offices and of students, faculty, and staff members.

 

Dean's offices. Students are responsible to the appropriate Dean of a College or School.  Undeclared students are responsible to the Director of the University Advising Center.  In each college/school, the office of the assistant or associate dean serves as a central source of information about academic affairs and student services.

 

Academic Advising.  The responsibilities of the advisor at UTA are to empower students to discover and attain their academic and life goals; to serve as an advocate for student success; to serve as an interface to university services; and to provide accurate information about academic requirements and standards in a timely and efficient manner. 

 

The student is responsible for seeking academic advice, for enrolling in appropriate courses to insure progress toward a degree, for timely completion of his or her academic program, for familiarity with the appropriate Catalog, and for maintaining University standards.  Assistance from an academic advisor is not a substitute for the personal responsibility of the student described above.  

 

The student should consult the advising office in his or her department or, if he or she is undeclared, the University Advising Center for information not provided in the publications listed above.  A student who is in doubt about any University regulation should always seek clarification before proceeding.

 

 

The following proposal concerning Graduation with Honors was presented by David Gray representing the Academic Standards Committee.

Proposed changes concerning Graduation with Honors.

Graduation With Honors  - Current Text

Graduating seniors who meet the following conditions will be awarded the appropriate honors designation:

·A student must complete at least 45 semester hours at U.T. Arlington.

·The last 45 hours of resident credit will be used in the grade point average calculation (will include all hours completed in first and final semester that contain the last 45 hours).

· A student in an approved combined bachelor's/master's degree program is required to count the graduate course work used for the bachelor's degree in the grade point calculation. (Other graduate course work will not be counted.)

·One of the following grade point average categories for honors must be obtained:

Cum Laude: 3.50-3.69 GPA

Magna Cum Laude: 3.70-3.89 GPA

Summa Cum Laude: 3.90-4.00 GPA

 

Graduation with Honors – Proposed Text

A.     Proposed Rule

 

Graduating seniors who meet the following conditions will be awarded the appropriate honors designation:

 

·         A student’s overall grade point average (GPA) at this university must be equal to or greater than 3.30 to be eligible for Cum Laude Honors, 3.50 to be eligible for Magna Cum Laude Honors, 3.70 to be eligible for Summa Cum Laude Honors.

·         A student must have attempted and completed at least 45 semester hours at U.T. Arlington to be eligible.

·         Either a student’s overall grade point average or his/her last 45 hours of resident credit attempted and completed will be used in the grade point average calculation (will include all hours completed in the first and final semester that contain the last 45 hours).  Note, the university will choose the convention most advantageous to the candidate.

·         A student in an approved combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program is required to count the graduate course work used for the bachelor’s degree in the grade point calculation.  (Other graduate course work will not be counted.)

·         If a student meets the eligibility (overall) GPA indicated above, his/her overall GPA, or last 45 hour GPA, must fall within any one of the ranges below to graduate with honors:

 

o       Cum Laude:  3.50 – 3.69 GPA

o       Magna Cum Laude: 3.70 – 3.89 GPA

o       Summa Cum Laude: 3.90 – 4.00 GPA

 

 

Latin Honors Background

 

The current policy related to graduating with Latin Honors requires that students complete 45 hours at UTA and have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.50 in their last 45 hours (see specific language included in your packet).   It has come to our attention that a number of UTA students meet the catalog requirements for graduating with honors, however, their overall G.P.A. is below 3.50.  For example, in the Fall 2003 semester, 506 students graduated with honors with overall G.P.A.s below 3.50.   In the Spring 2004 semester, 629 students graduated with honors and an overall G.P.A. below 3.50.  This situation occurs because the student’s G.P.A. in their last 45 hours is 3.50 or higher, despite having a lower overall G.P.A.  The policy change included in your packet is proposed to address this situation.

 

A motion was made and seconded to accept the proposal for changes in the Graduation with Honors text.  Discussion followed and it was decided that the last bullet needed clarification.  A motion was made and seconded to have the committee edit the last bullet for clarification.  A motion was then made and seconded to accept the proposal with edits.  It was unanimously approved.

 

Report of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.  Kimberly van Noort first presented items approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. 

 

Agenda Items Approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

 

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Change in catalog text to include 3261 and 3302 to the Professional Program Courses; inclusion of word “proficiency” as relates to university computer requirement; updating of faculty list.

Department of Computer Science Engineering

Course Changes:

CSE 2340 Introduction to Digital Logic – addition of PHYS 1444 as a prerequisite

Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Change in faculty listing; change in suggested course sequence.

Course Changes:

IE 3301 Engineering Probability – change in course description to better define course.

IE 3314 Engineering Research Methods – change in course description to better define course.

IE 4315 Operations Research II - requirement of a group project added to the course description.

IE 4325 Automation and Robotics I – removal of “E-Enterprise” from course description.

IE 4339 Product Development- Minor wording change to better describe course.

IE 4350 Industrial Engineering Capstone Design – correction of mistake in description.

 

College of Liberal Arts

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Course Adds:

ANTH 3338 Kinship Family – due to drop off course inventory, reinstating

 

Department of Theatre Arts

Course Changes:

THEA 1304 Stagecraft I – change in catalog description to reflect how course is currently taught.

THEA 1343 Introduction to Theatre – change in short title and course fee.

THEA 3300 Directing I – THEA 1305 is being added as a prerequisite

THEA 3301 Scene Design I – THEA 1305 is being added as a prerequisite

THEA 3340 Performance Fundamentals II – change in course title to better reflect course content

THEA 3341 Acting IV: Advanced Acting and Portfolio - change in course title to better reflect course content

THEA 4301 Acting V: Period Styles - change in course title to better reflect course content

THEA 4343 Costume Design – addition of THEA 1305 as a course prerequisite.

THEA 4344 Advanced Design and Portfolio - addition of THEA 1305 as a course prerequisite.

 

 The following items were approved unanimously.

 

Agenda Items Approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

For Consideration by the Undergraduate Assembly

 

College of Business

Catalog text reflecting the addition of Business Leadership courses offered in conjunction with the Honors College and funded through a grant establishing the Goolsby Leadership Academy.

Course Adds:

LDSP 4110 Leadership Development

LDSP 4311 Leader as Communicator

LDSP 4312 Ethics, Leadership, and Personal Integrity

LDSP 4313 Senior Executive Leadership

LDSP 4314 Leadership in Context

LDSP 4315 Executive Internship

 

College of Engineering

Department of Computer Science Engineering

Course Changes:

CSE 1301 Computer Literacy – change in COSC equivalent from 1300 to 1301

Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Change in catalog text to clearly inform students of requirement for an appointment

to see advisor.

 

Honors College

Course Adds:

HONR 1426 – Honors Calculus I – A more rigorous intro to calculus than MATH 1426.

HONOR 1441 – Honors Cell and Molecular Biology – a more rigorous course than the introductory Biology sequence.

HONR 1443 – Honors General Technical Physics I – Emphasizes methodology of physics and is closely integrated with calculus.

HONR 1444 – Honors General Technical Physics II – stresses problem-solving skills over the learning of algorithms.

HONR 1451 – Honors Cell and Molecular Biology - A more rigorous intro to biology than BIOL 1441.

HONR 1452 – Honors Structure and Function of Organisms - A more rigorous intro to biology than BIOL 1442.

HONR 1461 – Honors General Chemistry I – a more rigorous course than CHEM 1441.

HONR 1462 – Honors General Chemistry II - a more rigorous course than CHEM 1442.

HONR 2425 – Honors Calculus II - a more rigorous intro to calculus than MATH 2425.

HONR 3305 – Honors Scientific and Technical Writing - a more intensive course than BIOL 3305.

 

The following six courses are counterpoints of the six Business Leadership Courses taught with the Goolsby grant.

HONR 4110 Leadership Development

HONR 4311 Leader as Communicator

HONR 4312 Ethics, Leadership, and Personal Integrity

HONR 4313 Senior Executive Leadership

HONR 4314 Leadership in Context

HONR 4315 Executive Internship

 

Interdisciplinary Studies

Change in catalog text to include 4301 Interdisciplinary Process as part of the INTS core, and the addition of the requirement for students to complete 30 hours of coursework while in the program.

Course Adds:

INTS 4301 Interdisciplinary Process – examines interdisciplinary theory and requires students to develop individualized research proposals for senior capstone integrative essay.

Course Changes:

INTS 2301 Interdisciplinary Perspectives – establishes course must be taken while in Interdisciplinary Program.

INTS 4391 Interdisciplinary Capstone – Adds the prerequisite of INTS 4301.

 

College of Liberal Arts

Department of English

Course Adds:

ENGL 3376 Business and Professional Writing – an advanced writing course taught in a computerized classroom.  Has been offered as a special topic for a number of years.

 

Department of Modern Languages

Course Adds:

SPAN 3302 Hispanic Literature in Translation – a topics class that can be repeated as topic changes

 

Department of Music – The following course changes are due to the inclusion of the requirement of a barrier exam after completion of the second year

Course Changes:

MUSI 3302 Form and Analysis

MUSI 3303 Counterpoint

MUSI 3391 Composition I

MUSI 3392 Composition II

MUSI 4301 Orchestration

MUSI 4491 Composition III

MUSI 4492 Composition IV

 

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Course Adds:

ANTH 4315 Growth, Development, and Evolution – human biological research in growth and development and the evolutionary records of hominid subadults.

Course Changes;

ANTH 3409 Human Evolution – change from ANTH 3309 to reflect addition of lab hours and removal of ANTH 1306 as a prerequisite

ANTH 4406 Human Osteology – change from ANTH 4306 and to reflect lab time associated with class.

ANTH 4407 Forensic Anthropology – change from ANTH 4307 to reflect addition of lab hours and addition of 4406 or 4306 as prerequisites.

 

Department of Theatre Arts:

Reinsertion of catalog text material describing the BA degree program.  The department had been approved some years ago to offer the BA, but had chosen to only offer the BFA for several years.  The department now wishes to once again offer the BA degree.  This is more of a general studies curriculum that the BFA.  Change in mission statement of catalog text to add in the BA degree.  Change in catalog text to better clarify the area of specialization ( performance or design focus under the BFA degree).  Change in catalog text to better define the differences between the BFA degree and the BA degree.  The BFA has higher admission standards, higher required GPA, and a more rigorous curriculum.

Course Adds:

THEA 1305 Introduction to Theatrical Design – Fundamentals of design elements.

THEA 3302 Film Studies – study of film narrative, film style and film history.

THEA 3306 Scene Painting for the Stage – instructional and demonstrative

Course Changes:

THEA 1307 Acting I - change in catalog description to reflect how course is currently taught.

THEA 3304 Stagecraft II – Course description to better reflect how course is taught.

THEA 3305 Lighting Design I - THEA 1305 is being added as a prerequisite

THEA 3308 Acting III: Acting for the Camera – change from THEA 4308 to better align courses

 

 

Adjournment.  The meeting adjourned at 2:56 p.m.

 

 

Michael K. Moore

Secretary