Program Proposals

• College of Arts & Letters
• College of Engineering & Computer Science
• College of Health & Human Services

• Program List #1
• Program List #2
• Program List #3
• Program List #4
• Program List #5

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

Communication Studies Graduate Degree

Justification:

This proposal does not alter the total units to graduate, it carries no request for supplemental funding, and it has no fiscal or programmatic impact on any other academic unit's offerings. Furthermore, the change would increase efficiency while maintaining diversity and flexibility in course offerings.
Summary of the changes proposed.

• 1. Coms 200 course description changed to reflect its status as a Qualitative Research Methods class
  
• 2. Coms 202 course description changed to reflect its status as a Quantitative Research Methods class
  
• 3. Prerequisites divided accordingly; none dropped.
  
• 4. Present Coms 213 renamed/numbered as Coms 201 to make numbering of Core Courses consistent.
  
• 5. Present Coms 201 dropped from required core and renumbered as Coms 214 to make numbering of core classes consistent.
  

Explanation of the Change.
This proposal is offered as a means to update the Communication Graduate Program curriculum so that it more accurately reflects the present state of theory and practice in the field, thus strengthening and broadening the pedagogical currency and force of the degree offered.

SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

MA in English, Plan A: Thesis/Composition

Justification:

The Composition Emphasis in the Master of Arts in English is offered for graduate students who are interested in either teaching writing at the college-level or pursuing further education in rhetoric and composition. The Emphasis provides students with coursework in the theory and practice of teaching writing as well as hands-on practice in a classroom environment (either teaching or interning). Because of budget cuts, courses for the program are not able to be offered as frequently as they used to be; therefore, the non-substantive change proposed is designed to allow students to complete the emphasis in a timely fashion. In an effort to allow students more flexibility during a budget time which reduces course offerings, we would like to modify the required courses to include another option from among our electives. Currently students are required to take English 220C-Topics in Composition as a further study in the field. We would like students to have the option of taking either English 220C OR English 220D-Research in Teaching and Writing (a course previously accepted as an elective within the emphasis). We feel that both of these course options fulfill the desired requirement of having further study in the field. Allowing students to have more options; however, allows them to more easily complete the required coursework in a timely manner.

SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES

Computer Science Graduate Certificate: Computer Architecture

Justification:

Revising the course requirements to reflect currency and relevance to Computer Architecture. These changes will allow more flexibility in course selection by adding other courses which cover topics related to computer architecture such as distributed systems and performance modeling and evaluation. Also, reducing the number of units required to 9 for consistency with other 9-unit CSC certificates.

Computer Science Graduate Certificate: Computer Engineering

Justification:

Revising the course requirements to reflect currency and relevance to Computer Engineering. Also, reducing the number of units required to 9 for consistency with other 9-unit CSC certificates.

Computer Science Graduate Certificate: Data Mining

Justification:

To meet the changing needs of computing industry, we decided to tighten up the certificate program and focus on data mining. Towards this objective, CSC 177 is added to be a required course; Bioinformatics has become one of the application areas of data mining; CSC 215, CSC 258, CHEM 245, and Bio 224 are removed due to their less relevance to data mining.

The 9-units course requirement will make this certificate in Data Mining match with other existing 9-units certificates in CSC graduate program.

Minor in Information Security and Computer Forensics

Justification:

After a few offerings of the CSC 114-116 sequence, it has been recognized that the prerequisites for the sequence are too restrictive. The desired background for CSC114-116 sequence consists of a) basic programming skills, and b) basic knowledge of web technology. Also, CSC 115 and CSC 116 do not need CSC 114 as a prerequisite.

Changing the required courses will allow more flexibility in the Minor for non-major students.

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES

Computer Science Graduate Program

Justification:

CSC 142 is removed from the list of acceptable upper-division courses towards the Restricted Electives requirement due to the extent of coverage of  advanced computer organization topics in the revised CSC 205, Computer Systems Structure.  CSC 205 is a core course required for all Computer Science graduate students.

Computer Science Graduate Program (Software Engineering)

Justification:

CSC 142 is removed from the list of acceptable upper-division courses towards the Restricted Electives requirement due to the extent of coverage of  advanced computer organization topics in the revised CSC 205, Computer Systems Structure. Students in the MS in SE program should take CSC 205 as an elective if they are interested in studying computer organization topics.

SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

MS in Computer Engineering

Justification:

Currently, the CpE graduate  program allows CpE 201 credit for only those students opting for the Plan A (Thesis) or Plan B (Project) culminating experience. However, the CpE 201: Research Methodology course is proposed to be required for all graduate CpE students, opting for any one of the 3 options : Plan A (Thesis), Plan B (Project) or Plan C (Comprehensive exam). Hence this proposal is to require CpE 201 for all CpE graduate students.

MS in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Justification:

Currently, the EEE graduate program allows EEE 201 credit for only those students opting for the Plan A (Thesis) or Plan B (Project) culminating experience. However, the EEE 201: Research Methodology is proposed to be required for all EEE graduate students, opting for any one of the 3 options: Plan A (Thesis), Plan B (Project) or Plan C (Comprehensive exam). Hence this proposal is to require EEE 201 for all EEE graduate students.

NEW PROGRAM

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Justification:

Approval is requested for the new degree program Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT).  Development of the new professional entry-level doctoral program is in response to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education issuing a mandate that all professional education programs in physical therapy must award the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)as the entry degree for the profession by 2015.  The California legislature authorized the CSU to award the degree in AB2382 last year and the Board of Trustees authorized placement of the degree on the Master Plan for the CSU Sacramento campus projecting a fall 2012 implementation date.  The 2012 implementation date will result in the first graduating class in 2015.  The class entering the existing MPT program in fall 2011 will be the last MPT class admitted.  The program continues to help meet the severe healthcare workforce needs of the northern California region.

The new program builds on the existing entry-level Master’s in Physical Therapy (MPT) degree.  The new curriculum provides greater depth and breadth for student learning particularly in the area of evidence-based practice.  Expanded research courses provide greater opportunities for student mastery of the ability to search and critique the research literature of the profession to derive evidence for efficacy with clinical decision-making.  The existing MPT program was 2 ½ years in length and required 77 units for completion.  The new DPT will require 107 units and 3 years for completion.  We are able to incorporate previously prerequisite coursework into the new curriculum.  These courses will now be more focused on application of the needed material for practicing physical therapists.  In addition, students will be required to do an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) project, Research Project, or in-depth Case Study and disseminate the results in both written and oral form.  This project will become a part of the student portfolio and will be the Doctoral Project/Culminating Experience required for the degree completion.  A complete list of the courses and the units to be offered is appended to this document.

The new program fee structure will be based on the existing rates established for the EdD program on campus.  With the implementation of this fee structure, the program will bring in additional revenue to the campus to meet the increased costs associated with additional faculty required for the new program.  The program will not take revenue from other existing campus programs and will not negatively affect the graduate/under-graduate student ratio.

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES

BA in Social Work

Justification:

The change involves a minor modification to add additional courses as options in the major. Thecourses (SWRK 118, SWRK 132, and SWRK 138) will be options in the Social Work major under Social Welfare Policy and Human Behavior. Students will be allowed to count either of these courses toward the 6 units of electives they are currently required to take. The overall unit requirement (48) will not change as result of this addition of courses to the major.

MS in Social Work

Justification:

The proposal is to raise the minimum GPA for entry into the graduate program from 2.5 to 2.8. A detailed analysis of the GPA for incoming students for 2010/2011 indicates the average GPA of incoming students to be 3.4. We further concluded that very few students with lower than a 2.8 GPA gained entry in to the program because of the highly competitive applicant pool. We also believe that students with less than a 2.8 GPA will have more difficulty maintaining the minimum 3.0 GPA required in order to remain in the program. The overall requirements of the program, particularly the writing component, has become more rigorous in recent years with increased writing requirements and expectations for active engagement in research and the culminating experience. Applications for the graduate program exceed considerably the available slots for admission. As an example for the 2010/2011 academic year the division received over 500 applications for 96 slots. Increasing the GPA will allow for a more competitive and qualified pool of applicants. Review of historical data also indicates that although potentially the pool could be smaller, there will be very little adverse impact on the demographics, e.g., Ethnic and gender balance will remain relatively the same.

SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

MS in Speech Pathology

Justification:

The SPHP 218 course was divided into 2 separate components due to course content divergence. Although both courses have as their basis the biological, acoustic, psychological, developmental, linguistic, and cultural bases for motor speech disorders, the SPHP 218 segment of the course focuses on oral communication and its assessment and evaluation. The SPHP 217 segment of the course focuses on augmentative and alternative communication and assistive technologies and their assessment and treatment techniques.