Graduate Curriculum Committee Minutes
February 4, 2003

Members Present:        Barbara Eide, Thomas Krueger, Jonathan Majak, Carol Angell, Mark Kelley, Steve Simpson, Kasilingham Periyasamy

Members Absent:        Sandra Krajewski, Susan (Boon) Murray, Patricia Wilder, Carey O’Kelly

Consultants:                Greg Wegner, Carla Burkhardt, Charles Martin-Stanley, R. Daniel Duquette, Diane Schumacher

Guests:                        Robert Dixon, Kathryn Hollon

 1.        Announcement: See new business (#7).

 2.     M/S/P to approve minutes of November 19, 2002.

 3.     Second Readings: None

 4.     First Readings:

 Proposal #8, PSY 754, Applications of Pupil Services, course deletion, effective Fall 2003.

PSY 757, Intellectual Assessment: Theory and Applications, course deletion, effective Fall 2003.

PSY 771, Effective Interviewing, course deletion, effective Fall 2003.

PSY 756, Early Childhood Assessment, Offered Sem. II., effective Fall 2003.

PSY 759, Assessment of Personality and Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, title, effective Fall 2003.

SPY 700, School Psychology: Role and Function, course description, prerequisite, 3 credits, effective Fall 2003.  This course covers the roles and functions of school psychologists. Students will learn the history and foundations of their profession; various service models and methods; public policy development applicable to services to children and families; and ethical professional, and legal standards. Students will also learn the skills needed to work with individuals of diverse characteristics. Prerequisite: admission to the school psychology program. Offered Sem. I.

SPY 752, Academic and Behavioral Interventions, title, course description, prerequisite, effective Fall 2003.  Students will learn methods of systematic data collection and how to translate assessment results into empirically-based interventions. Students will also learn how to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of appropriate cognitive, behavioral, and academic interventions for children with different abilities and needs. Offered Sem. II.

SPY 757, Psychoeducational Assessment I, new course, 3 credits, effective Fall 2003.  After a review of the history of psychological assessment, students will be introduced to theories of intelligence. After learning general assessment and testing practices, students will develop specific competencies in the administration and interpretation of current major individual intellectual, cognitive and achievement measures. The course also includes an introduction to test scoring and report writing software. Prerequisite: PSY 451/551 or concurrent enrollment in PSY 551. Offered Sem. I. Lect. 2, Lab. 4.

SPY 758, Psychoeducational Assessment II, title, course description, prerequisite, effective Fall 2003.  This course further develops student skills in psychoeducational assessment. Besides learning additional intellectual and cognitive measures, students will apply advanced interpretation skills to professional report writing. Students will learn varied models and methods of assessment that yield information useful in identifying strengths and needs, in understanding problems, in designing empirically-based interventions, and in measuring outcomes. Overall, students will acquire data-based decision-making skills. Prerequisite: SPY 757. Offered Sem. II.  Lect. 2, Lab. 4.

SPY 762, Supervised Practicum in School Psychology I, title, course description, prerequisite, effective Fall 2003.  This is a 200-hour, supervised field experience in the application of school psychology professional skills in a school setting. The applied skills include: data-based decision-making; assessment behavioral, intellectual, cognitive, and academic functioning; and designing and implementing cognitive, academic, and behavioral interventions. Prerequisite: SPY 757, concurrent enrollment in SPY 758, and acceptance into the school psychology program. Offered Sem. II.

SPY 763, Supervised Practicum in School Psychology II, title, course description, prerequisite, effective Fall 2003.  This is a 250-hour, supervised field experience in the application of school psychology professional skills in a school setting. The applied skills include data-based decision-making, psychoeducational assessment, counseling, and consultation. Prerequisite: SPY 762. Offered Sem. I.

SPY 764, Supervised Practicum in School Psychology III, title, course description, prerequisite, effective Fall 2003.  This is a 250-hour, supervised field experience in the application of school psychology professional skills in a school setting. The applied skills include: data-based decision-making; assessing behavioral, intellectual, cognitive, and academic functioning; and in collaboration with others, designing and implementing cognitive, academic, adaptive, social, and behavioral interventions for students of varying abilities, disabilities, strengths, and needs. Prerequisite: SPY 763. Offered Sem. II.

SPY 775, Behavioral Assessment and Management, title, course description, prerequisite, 3 credits, effective Fall 2003.  Students will learn functional behavioral assessment, behavior management techniques, and how to design effective behavioral interventions. Specific topics include interviewing, systematic data collection, and measuring progress and outcomes. Offered Sem. I.

PSY 776, Psychoeducational Consultation and Collaboration, title, course description, 3 credits, effective Fall 2003.  This course emphasizes theory, research, and applications of psychological consultation and collaboration in a school setting. Students will acquire skills for consulting and collaborating with teachers, parents, and related professionals. Additional topics include organizational systems, organizational development, pupil services, prevention, crisis intervention, home/school/community collaboration, program assessment, and needs assessment. Prerequisite: admission to the school psychology program or the special education program. Offered Sem. II.

SPY 800, Specialist Thesis Proposal, title, course description, prerequisite, 3 credits, effective Fall 2003.  This course is designed to help students complete a these proposal and the initial stage of writing a thesis. Topics include resource utilization, ethical issues, protection of human subjects, proposal development, research design, data analysis, scientific writing, and APA-style writing. A student must have his/her thesis proposal approved by the school psychology program before beginning his/her internship. Prerequisite: PSY 420/520. Offered Summer session.

SPY 801, Specialist Thesis, course description, prerequisite, maximum credits 1-6 credits, effective Fall 2003.  Students complete an independent research project and thesis under the direction of three graduate faculty members. Topics must be in an area related to school psychology and be approved by the student’s thesis committee. Prerequisite: SPY 800 and consent of instructor. Students must register for at least one credit of SPY 801 each semester, beginning the first semester of their third year and continuing until their thesis is approved. A minimum of six thesis credits are required. A maximum of six credits applicable to degree. Repeatable for credit – maximum 10.

School Psychology Program, 66 credits, required courses, effective Fall 2003.  The UW-La Crosse graduate program in School Psychology offers an Education Specialist in School Psychology degree. The degree requires two years of full-time study, one summer of study, a one-year internship during the third year, and completion of an Education Specialist thesis, and the passing of either the National School Psychology test or UW-L comprehensive examinations. Successful completion of the 66 semester credit hour program leads to full licensure as a School Psychologist in Wisconsin and most other states. Students earn a 30 credit hour Master of Science in Education degree before completing the remaining Education Specialist degree requirements.

The UW-La Crosse School Psychology program is part of the Psychology Department and the College of Liberal Studies. The program is approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and has full approval from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP). Upon completion of all program requirements, students are eligible for certification as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP). Graduates of the program are employed in public schools or in educational agencies that serve public schools.

The School Psychology program adheres to state and national training standards for school psychology. Graduate students must develop professional competencies for each of the 11 DPI/NASP training standards: data-based decision-making and accountability; consultation and collaboration; effective instruction and development of cognitive/academic skills; socialization and development of life skills; student diversity in development and learning; school and systems organization, policy development, and climate; prevention, crisis intervention, and mental health; home/school/community collaboration; research and program evaluation; school psychology practice and development; and information technology. Over the course of their UW-L training, graduate students will maintain an evolving portfolio that documents professional growth and achieved competence in each of the 11 areas.

The emphasis of this program is to train school psychologists who are effective teacher, parent and school consultants. The program also emphasizes a pupil services model that addresses the educational and mental health needs of all children, from early childhood through high school.

Graduate students are placed in local schools as early and as intensively as possible. During their second, third and fourth semesters, students spend two days per week working in local schools under the direct supervision of experienced school psychologists. During these school practica, students develop professional skills in assessment, consultation, intervention, counseling, and case management, and in each of the NASP standards. Many of the core courses require projects that are completed in the schools during practica.

An information and application packet can be obtained by writing the School Psychology program director, Psychology Department, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI 54601, or by sending an e-mail to dixon.robe@uwlax.edu. In addition to meeting all the requirements established for general graduate admissions, students must also meet School Psychology program requirements before admission to the program. These additional requirements include: three letters of recommendation, scores on the GRE Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing sections, a score from the GRE Psychology subject test, a writing sample, a resume of educational and work experience, and a statement of purpose.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION SPECIALIST IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE

General Requirements:

1. Complete the following requirements for a Master of Science in Education: School Psychology degree.

                      1)      Complete 30 graduate credits.

                      2)    A minimum of 15 of the 30 credits need to be completed at the 700 level.

                      3)     Complete the following courses: PSY 420/520 and 451/551, SPY 700, 752, 757, 758, 762, and 775.

    B.  Complete a minimum of 66 graduate credits (includes thesis and credits completed for the Master of Science in           Education degree), with at least two thirds of these at the 700 or 800 level.

3. Complete an Education Specialist thesis within seven years of beginning the program.
   
4. Obtain a passing score (set by the National Association of School Psychologists for NCSP certification) on the National School Psychology Examination.  (Note: the rest of this section is missing from this document---see current catalog)

5. Complete a professional portfolio that demonstrates achieved competence for each of the 11 NASP training standards.

 Course Requirements:

A.        Psychological Foundations

Complete at least two credits in each of the following areas. Coursework completed at the undergraduate level need not be repeated. At least nine credits must be completed at the graduate level:

       Developmental Psychology        Credits

 
       Cognitive Psychology

Statistics

      Childhood Behavior Disorders

Research Methods

Personality Theories

Psychological Measurement

Or electives approved by the School Psychology program director.

B.        Educational Foundations

Complete three credits in each of the following areas. Course work completed at the undergraduate level need not be repeated. At least six credits must be completed at the graduate level.

Human Relations                        Credits

                Note: Curriculum course was deleted 

Special Education Methods

Educational Foundations

Reading

Or electives approved by the School Psychology program director.

C.    Core Professional Training

Complete each of the following courses.

        Or electives approved by the School Psychology program director.

 Licensure, Internship, and Thesis Requirements:

Note: First 4 paragraphs of this section from current catalog are not shown. Changed final paragraph is:

Beginning the first semester of their third year in graduate school, students must register for at least 1 credit of SPY 801: Specialist Thesis each semester until their thesis is approved. A minimum of 6 thesis credits are required. A maximum of 10 credits can be earned but only 6 apply toward the degree.

This proposal will adjust the necessary courses in order for all of the courses in the program to be worth three credits, and will address licensure and accreditation requirements.  GCC requested the following information: 1) what should SPY 700 be a prerequisite for? 2) SPY 801 has problems due to the fact that it is listed as repeatable for up to 10 credits.  This makes the course not available for GRC 799 which contributes money to graduate travel and research.  If it was changed to repeatable for up to six credits, it would resolve this problem.  The committee needs to know whether the program wants the credits to stay as they are and the money go back to the program or if the program wants to change the course to repeatable for up to six credits and the money go to graduate research and travel; 3) Carol Angell will check to see if any of these changes will impact SPE; and 4) the current changes to the program are marked retroactively to cover all catalogs.  The committee felt that the change would be better if it were made effective  for new students instead of retroactive.

This was a first reading. There will be a second reading.

 5.     Consent Agenda

ESS 435/535, sports for Persons with Disabilities, number was 335/535, prerequisite, effective Fall 2004.

Prerequisite: ESS 231.

 M/S/P to approve proposal on the first reading.

6.     Old Business

      Dan Duquette will keep the committee informed as to how the Graduate Council proceeds in regards to the strategic plan.

 7.     New Business

        Announcement

The Faculty Senate has been assigned the task of reviewing committee sizes and making recommendations as to whether the size of committees could be reduced.  Twelve graduate faculty, two from each college and four at large, and four graduate students, one from each college currently represent GCC.

      The committee feels that this cannot be reviewed until the reorganization has been determined.  A question was raised whether all colleges should be equally represented when some colleges are more involved in graduate education than others.  The question was raised as to how the School of Education will be represented on the committee if the reorganization goes through.  Steve Simpson will email Faculty Senate back and let them know of the concerns of the committee.

      Change in Members for Spring Semester 
Kent Koppelman is on sabbatical and will not be on the committee this semester.  Roger Haro has class scheduled at this time and will not be on the committee this semester.  Jim Finch also has class scheduled at this time, but as a consultant, will watch the agenda and ensure that the CBA dean’s office is represented as needed.

Method of Notification
It was reported that the agenda for the meetings will be emailed to the department chairs and program directors and posted on the web in addition to delivered to the committee members.

 
The meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.  The next GCC meeting is February 18, 2003.

 
Diane L. Schumacher, GCC Secretary