APAC POLICY MANUAL
The Academic Policy Advisory
Council (APAC) was initiated in the spring of 1978 by agreement between the
Faculty Association and the Administration.
The purpose of the Council is to improve communication between faculty
and administration in academic matters.
Faculty representatives to APAC are charged to apply professional
judgment to matters of academic policy. Those issues relating to "terms and conditions of
employment" are reserved for consideration by the Faculty Association
Executive Council, and is not the responsibility of APAC. While each elected representative to APAC
represents his or her department and academic division, he or she is also
charged with representing the entire faculty in providing input and making
recommendations on academic matters at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
II. COMPOSITION
A. The Vice-President for Academic Affairs or
designee shall chair meetings and publish agenda.
B. Divisional Deans or designees and Director of
Instructional Resources shall serve as non-voting members.
C. One elected faculty member in each division
for each 25 full-time FTE faculty on the current academic year IFO Travel FTE
Roster, one of which shall serve concurrently as APAC Representative to the
Faculty Association Executive Council.
D. Two students shall be appointed by the
President.
E. The President or designee of MSUAASF shall
be a member.
III. STRUCTURE
A series of subcommittees
(APAC members) and task forces may be established to report to APAC. If all members of a task force are from
within APAC then they may be appointed by the Vice-President for Academic
Affairs. If not, then appointments shall
be made in the same manner as other committee appointments at MSUM. Special charges or procedures established by
or for standing committees of APAC are summarized in Section VI.
IV. POLICY AND PROCEDURES OF APAC
A. All meetings of APAC shall be open and regularly
scheduled. (Currently meetings are held
on the first and third Tuesday during the regular academic year unless
cancelled.) Orientation for members will be held at the beginning of the
academic year. (6/99)
B. Agenda and minutes of APAC are to be
distributed to all faculty (9/26/78) through the Continews.
(3/88) They can also be
downloaded from the MSUM website. (8/01)
C. Copies of curriculum revisions deemed minor
will be printed and distributed to APAC members prior to the meeting at which
they will be announced. Such revisions
will be approved automatically when announced unless challenged for further
discussion by APAC members. These
changes must be approved by the department and signed by the department
chairperson and appropriate dean.
Examples of minor changes are:
(3/88)
1.
Change
of course number, course title, course description;
2.
Reduction
of course credits;
3.
Increase
of course credits if such change will not increase the total required credits
in any major or minor;
4.
Dropping
of a course;
5.
All
workshops, titles and catalogue descriptions of Topics courses. If a specific topic is to be offered for the
third time it must be submitted as a new course proposal;
6.
Recommendations
from the Dragon Core Committee concerning designations of courses for general
education credit. (5/11/82)
7.
Course
level change if the criteria stated in the "Policy on Course Level"
are met. (2/6/98)
A request for review
would result in placement of that item on the APAC agenda on the following
meeting. Appropriate written materials
on that item would be distributed to APAC members in the interim. (5/11/82)
D. Proposals for new programs or substantial
modifications of existing programs should be submitted to APAC at least four
weeks prior to the meeting at which final action is anticipated. Processes
prior to final action include a preliminary hearing by APAC, and, where
appropriate, committee consideration before final action. (10/7/81) If a program
(not from a single department) has been approved before separate course
content, a brief outline of the history and admission requirements should be
included with the course syllabus when presented to APAC for approval. (3/88)
E.
New
course proposals should be submitted at least two weeks prior to APAC
consideration. (10/7/81) The new course proposal form should include
review and signatures, if approved, by concerned committees and
departments. (2/23/82)
F.
When an Outer Cluster course in Dragon Core is placed on an APAC agenda,
notice will be sent out on the academic affairs listserv that includes the
course title, number of credits, catalog course description, and faculty
contact person(s). The purpose of this
notice is to provide other faculty colleagues an opportunity to contact course
developer(s) to inquire about perspective and content, and to voice any
possible concerns.
G.
Dragon Core (formerly Liberal
Studies) committee members will monitor Outer Cluster course proposals based on
the need for course developer(s) to consult with other department(s) about
content and/or disciplinary perspective.
If
needed, the Dragon Core committee will assure that the needed consultation
occurs before the course is forwarded to academic affairs for placement on the
APAC agenda. (10/31/06)
H. When new course proposals are submitted by a
committee, not a department (i.e. those concerned with M.B.A., M.L.A.), a list
of qualifications of the instructor(s) shall be provided and the committee
shall designate those department(s) responsible for the course; in the case
where there is no designated department, the degree or other professional
qualifications required of the instructor(s) shall be listed. If a department is designated then it is presumed
that: (1) Control of the course content
will remain in the department. (2)
Staffing will be determined by the department in consultation with the
committee or director of the program.
(3) Scheduling will be determined by the department in consultation with
the committee or director of the program.
(4) Credits generated will be applied to the department. (3/23/82)
I. Course titles should have language which
reflects equity for female and male students.
(5/11/82)
J. GRADUATE CREDITS: may be earned in offerings at the
500/600-level and in graduate courses.
It is intended that there shall be qualitative differentiation in all
work for graduate credit. In graduate
courses the graduate student, through a specific product or performance, will
satisfy requirements IN ADDITION to those expected of the undergraduate
student. The additional requirements
will be designed so that the graduate student will acquire an understanding of
theoretical concepts beyond that expected of the undergraduate.
The
department will be responsible for indicating the manner in which a qualitative
differentiation will be made for all proposed graduate courses, and for
assuring the continued differentiation in graduate courses as they are offered.
Individual instructors, in compliance with approved policies, will determine
the specific requirement for graduate credit in a graduate course and will
announce, at the first class meeting, the expectation of graduate students in
succeeding sessions. (1995)
Graduate
Council minutes shall be accessible online. (4/88)
V. MSUM PROCEDURES FOR CHANGING
CURRICULUM
A. Proposed curriculum changes may originate
from any individuals (students, faculty or administrators) or from departments
or special committees.
B. Curriculum proposals shall be on a specified
form and submitted directly to the appropriate dean. Curriculum proposals from departments shall
be accompanied by the minutes of the department meeting at which action was taken
concerning the proposal.
C. The appropriate dean shall investigate the
proposal and shall add his or her signature and recommendation to the proposal.
D. The proposal then goes to the Vice President
for Academic Affairs or designee who will place it on the agenda of APAC.
F. All APAC recommendations are reviewed by
the Council of Academic Deans.
G. Actions of APAC and the Council of Academic
Deans, and positions of the Faculty Association as presented at meet and confer
are reported to the President.
H. The President announces his final decision
through the Continews, after considering the
recommendations of all parties concerned.
VI.
POLICY AND PROCEDURES OF
COMMITTEES
A. DRAGON CORE
I.
OVERVIEW
Based on Minnesota State University Moorhead's mission to develop
knowledge, talent, and skills for a lifetime of learning, service, and
citizenship, the Dragon Core provides a meaningful, linked, and coherent
general education experience for MSUM students.
Dragon Core is designed to develop engaged students
who are aware of their diverse world and physical environment and who know how
to interact productively and ethically with others in today's changing world.
The Inner Cluster offers a sampling of
introductory courses and provides a base of knowledge -- The Foundation Four.
The knowledge acquired in the Foundation Four is
applied and extended across disciplines in the Middle Cluster and culminates
with integrated application of knowledge in the Outer Cluster.
Dragon Core is a signature curriculum providing
a broad foundation of skills, knowledge, and perspectives that go beyond
students' chosen academic field. Students will learn to apply and extend
foundational skills in written and oral communication, mathematics, and
critical and multicultural thinking in an array of disciplinary areas, as they
formulate their perspectives and explore their values. Through the Dragon
Core experience, MSUM graduates will acquire:
§
Skills to effectively communicate ideas orally, use written
language effectively and ethically, think critically, use mathematical and
logical modes of thinking, and develop information literacy.
§
Knowledge of natural science principles and the methods
of scientific inquiry, the content of history and social sciences, the human
condition and cultures, and skills and attitudes central to living in and
contributing to a diverse world.
§
Perspective to understand and appreciate the world’s
nations and peoples, the ethical dimensions of personal and political
decisions, and the challenges of responding to environmental variables.
Dragon Core (DC) is comprised of 12 Competency
Areas and aligns with the Minnesota Transfer
Curriculum, an agreement that includes all public two and four year
institutions in
Liberal Studies Program Sunset Date. All new entering
freshmen (NEF) admitted Fall 2006 or later and all new
entering transfer (NET) students admitted Fall 2007 or later will satisfy the
University’s general education requirement by completing the requirements of
the Dragon Core. Both the Dragon Core and the MSUM Liberal Studies program will
be available for all previously admitted students until Fall 2009, at which
time students eligible to complete the Liberal Studies program (both pre- and
post-1992 admits) must have finished it.
II.
POLICIES
1.
Dragon Core requires 14 courses and
at least 42 credits. Students must
complete at least one course, but no more than two courses, from each of the
first 11 competency areas, 1A through 10.
Moreover, the final competency area, Information Literacy, is embedded
in the curriculum of the other areas and is satisfied by the completion of the
Dragon Core curriculum.
2.
Dragon Core is structured in three
levels, which are called the Inner Cluster, the Middle Cluster, and the Outer
Cluster.
Inner Cluster (4 - 8 courses at the 100-level). The Inner Cluster consists of two parts:
· Foundation Four, which consists of four, 3-credit courses which satisfy DC 1A, 1B, 2 and 3. The mathematics foundation course may satisfy DC 3, however, students may choose to take an additional mathemtics course as well. For approved options for Written Communication, DC 1B, or Mathematics, DC 3, please refer to APPENDIX C, Page 26-30.
· Other approved 100-level, introductory courses. Students may choose up to 4 additional, 100-level courses from DC 3 – 7. Some students may choose to focus in the Middle Cluster and will not enroll in any of these coursees.
The Middle Cluster (3 – 7 courses). Middle Cluster courses may be at the 100-, 200-, or 300-level and are drawn from competency areas DC 3 – 7. (See also pages 25 – 26.)
The Outer Cluster (3 courses). Outer Cluster courses are at the 300- or 400-level. Students complete one course from each of DC 8, 9, 10. (See also page 26.)
3. Dragon Core courses are 3-credits, with the exception of courses that augment three (3) lecture credits with a 1-credit laboratory or studio.
4. All students must complete one course in DC 4, Natural Sciences, which includes an approved Science Lab Experience. This course may be taken in either the Inner Cluster or the Middle Cluster. (See page 25 for the definition of Science Lab Experience.)
5. Students may take Inner Cluster and Middle Cluster courses during the same term, provided the Middle Cluster course requirements have been met by completing them in an earlier term.
6. Enrollment in an Outer Cluster course requires completion of the Foundation Four courses, as well as completion of two Middle Cluster courses in different DC competency areas.
7. Only courses approved for Dragon Core (or approved as an equivalent option in DC 3, Mathematics, SEE APPENDIX C, Page 26-30) can be used to satisfy the requirements of the Dragon Core program. Approved courses are designated by the Dragon Core competency area to which they belong. Moreoever, when competency areas are permitted to have courses from more than one Cluster, the Cluster designation (I = Inner, M = Middle) is also shown on the course schedule. Specifically, the following identifiers will be used: 1A; 1B; 2; 3I, 3M; 4I, 4M; 5I, 5M; 6I, 6M; 7I, 7M; 8; 9; 10.
8. Students may complete three, and no more than three, Dragon Core courses which carry the rubic of their primary major. No two of these courses can be in the same Cluster, that is, students may apply one Inner Cluster course, one Middle Cluster course, and one Outer Cluster course which carry the rubric of their primary major to their Dragon Core program.
9.
Only students officially admitted and
enrolled in the
10.
Courses taken Pass/No Credit may not be used
to satisfy Dragon Core requirements.
CCGE courses taken by
11.
Beginning Fall
2006, incoming freshmen must complete English 101 (or an approved alternative)
plus four additional Writing-Intensive (W) courses.
· Two Writing-Intensive courses. These courses must be in the Middle and/or Outer Cluster of the Dragon Core. At least one course must be at the 300 or 400-level.
· Two additional Writing-Intensive courses. One course is at the 300- or 400-level and must be designated in the student's major or designated as a related requirement for that major. The other course can be at the 200-, 300-, or 400-level and may be designated by the major.
Beginning Fall 2007, incoming transfer students who have completed the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum or an AA degree must complete at least the designated Writing-Intensive (W) course in the student’s major or designated by the major at the 300- or 400-level.
12. In addition to the MSUM graduation requirement of an overall cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 for al