Attachment F
Faculty Senate Agenda
December 1, 2011
BACKGROUND.
In
August 2011, Executive Committee asked the Curriculum Policies Committee to
examine the current Sacramento State policy regarding upper division major unit
requirements for the BS and BA degrees on this campus, in the context of Title V
requirements. The issue arose in response to difficulties faced by the Biology
Department during revisions to curriculum and a proposal for a new BS
concentration. Sound curriculum dictated a progression in course work that
required a large number of lower division science requirements in preparation
for more complex upper division work. Structuring the curriculum in this way,
however, was not allowed under present Sacramento State policy even though the desired
number of upper and lower division units fell well within Title V requirements.
Structuring the program in a way that faculty thought was both rigorous and
pedagogically sound would require an exemption to the upper division unit
limitation granted only upon the recommendation of the Academic Senate's
Curriculum Committee and approval of the school dean and the Vice President,
Academic Affairs.
CPC therefore looked at this issue in a broader context by examining Sacramento
State requirements and Title V requirements for both BA and BS degrees and
questioning these requirements in the light of sound curriculum development and
ownership of curriculum as close as possible to the department level.
CPC
Findings:
1. Requirements
for majors under Title V
BA: minimum of 24 semester units in the major with
at least 12 semester units at upper division.
BS: minimum of 36 semester units in the major with at least 18 semester
units at upper division.
The
maximum number of units will be determined by the campus.
2. Requirements for majors at
Sacramento State
Major requirements vary from
a minimum of 31 units to a maximum of 108 units.
BA: minimum
of 24 upper division units
BS: minimum
of 36 upper division units.
3. The history of this
Sacramento State policy dates back to 1987 and policy has not been changed since
that time. CPC could not find any record of why we had chosen to double the
number of upper division units as required by Title V.
4. CSU campuses with the same policy language as Sacramento State:
San Diego State
CSU Channel Island
CSU campuses that do not
have requirements beyond Title V:
CSU Chico
Humboldt State
Cal Poly Pomona
San Marcos
CSU Monterey Bay
Cal Maritime
CSU Fullerton
Spokespeople from a number of these campuses stated that although their campus policy did not go beyond Title V, many or most of their majors required more than the minimum number of upper division units required under Title V.
CPC could not find information for every CSU campus, but we felt we had a good representative sample.
RECOMMENDATION
Based
on a review of current Sacramento State policy, Title V and policy documents
from other CSU campuses, as well as direct discussions with other Sacramento
State faculty, the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and staff and
faculty from other CSU campuses, the Curriculum Policies Committee recommends changing
current policy to align with the requirements of Title V.
In
making this recommendation CPC was very aware of the issue of a perceived
“watering down” of curriculum requirements. In reviewing other campuses that
used Title V minimum requirements, it could be seen that this had not occurred
on other campuses in that the majority of majors had requirements beyond the
minimum requirements of Title V. Committee members were in unanimous agreement
that this change in Sacramento State policy would give greater freedom to
departments to interpret their curriculum needs based on sound pedagogy. We
could see no reason to choose an arbitrary number of units somewhere between
Title V and current Sacramento State requirements as we could find no credible
data to support such a number for the wide array of majors offered. There is no
requirement in the proposed language for any program to use only the minimum
number of upper division units for their major.
Proposed
Policy Change
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Current Policy |
Proposed Policy |
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Bachelor
of Arts Degree majors require a minimum of 24 upper division units and are
limited to 48 units in the major field, including lower division
prerequisites. The comprehensive liberal studies degree program which
includes both major and general education requirements is currently exempt
from the 48 unit limitation. Exemptions to the unit limitation are
granted only upon the recommendation of the Academic Senate's Curriculum
Committee and approval of the school dean and the Vice President, Academic
Affairs. |
Bachelor of Arts
Degree majors require a minimum of 24 semester units in the major with at
least 12 units at upper division. Bachelor of Arts Degree majors are
limited to 48 units in the major field, including lower division
prerequisites. The comprehensive liberal studies degree program which
includes both major and general education requirements is currently exempt
from the 48 unit limitation. Exemptions to the unit limitation are
granted only upon the recommendation of the Academic Senate's Curriculum
Committee and approval of the school dean and the Vice President, Academic
Affairs. |
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The
Bachelor of Science Degree has the same primary objectives as the Bachelor of
Arts Degree but is grounded in scientific methodology and emphasizes
applications in a wide range of technical and professional fields.
Bachelor of Science majors require a minimum of 36 upper division units, and
are limited to no more than one half the total degree unit requirements in
the major field, inclusive of both lower and upper division units, but
exclusive of co-requisite requirements. Exemptions to the unit limitation
of Bachelor of Science programs are made in the same fashion indicated for
Bachelor of Arts programs. |
The Bachelor of Science Degree has the
same primary objectives as the Bachelor of Arts Degree but is grounded in
scientific methodology and emphasizes applications in a wide range of
technical and professional fields.
Bachelor of Science majors require a minimum of 36 semester units in the
major with at least 18 semester units at upper division, and are limited
to no more than one half the total degree unit requirements in the major
field, inclusive of both lower and upper division units, but exclusive of
co-requisite requirements. Exemptions to the unit limitation of
Bachelor of Science programs are made in the same fashion indicated for Bachelor
of Arts programs. |