Academic Planning Committee
November 13, 2008
3:45 p.m. - 126 Wing
1. The Academic Planning
Committee was called to order by Chair Senger at 3:45 p.m. Thursday
November 13, 2008 in room 126 Wing.
2. Committe members present: Senger,
Kastantin, Poulton, Glass, Sudhakaran, Czerwinski, Tiffany, Yu.
3. MSP approve the minutes of October 23,
2008 meeting with correction of Chia-Chen Yu's name.
4. Previously distributed to the committee
by email from Chair Senger was a document that included 7 questions (see
Oct 23 minutes) posed to certain on-line course proponents and the
responses to those questions. Various issues were discussed concerning
those questions and responses and some additional issues that could be
considered as part of APC charge. The additional issues included:
a. Why (what is the motivation) for courses
to be offered on-line? Committee members suggested the following
possible motivations though there may be many others: revenue
generation for the sponsoring academic unit; credit hour generation for
the sponsoring academic unit.
b. Should there be some criteria applied to
all on-line courses that would assure a degree of quality control in
on-line course offerings that would be, to the extent possible,
consistent with traditional classroom courses? If so, should APC
propose such criteria? Tiffany discussed a pre-course test that is
administered in SOC/ANT prior to admission to their capstone course.
c. Should all on-line courses include some
post-course test (evaluation, assessment or externally administered
examination) that would indicate the extent to which the planned outcome
of the on-line course was in fact achieved?
d. Should APC further explore how on-line
courses are actually conducted? To this end: via what media are
on-line courses offered (e.g.D2L or other); is there any record of
course progress produced and retained for future consideration either by
students, prospective students, or those charged with academic
governance (internal and external to UWL). After the meeting Kastantin
and Poulton had a brief discussion with Terry Wirkus who has
considerable knowledge and skills in among other things, on-line course
delivery media and record keeping/archive possibilities for such on-line
courses.)
5. Further to point 4d above Chair Senger
will extend invitations to one or more on-line course proponents to
attend one or more APC meetings. The purpose of such invitations is to
ask those who accept to briefly overview: the decision process to offer
a course on-line; how target student audiences are determined; via what
media the course is delivered; whether any records of the course are
retained within the media that would facilitate future review either by
students or those charged with governance; how the course is actually
conducted (activities and interactions between faculty and student);
what method is used to determine course grades; what post-course
evaluation or other assessment is administered and the results therefrom.
Various approaches were discussed on which on-line course proponents
should be invited. For example should APC only invite Gen Ed course
proponents (offering on-line Gen Ed courses) or should invitations be
extended to any course proponent included on the list of on-line courses
that was distributed for the October 23 APC meeting?
6. The next APC meetings are tentatively
scheduled for Thursday December 4 and 11 at 3:45 p.m. room 126 Wing. It
is hoped that at least one of these meetings will include proponents
discussed in point 5. Additionally the Medical Dosimetry program will
present its proposal at the December 11 meeting.
7. Meeting adjourned at approximately
4:45.
Respectfully submitted on November 15, 2008 by
Joseph T. Kastantin
Secretary