September 28, 2020- Agenda & Minutes

Time:  10:30am
Location: Zoom invite sent to committee members. If anyone else would like to attend, please email Jen for details.
Items to be considered on this agenda are due by 9/14/2020

When available, the meeting minutes will be indicated within bold brackets [ ] and are in draft form until they are approved by the committee.

Relevant Links: Undergraduate Council Meeting Minutes/ Graduate Council Meeting Minutes

I. Call to Order [10:33 AM]

II. Approval of the August 24, 2020 Meeting Minutes [Approved]

III. Announcements/Discussion

General Discussion on the College Requirements for the BA Degree*

• Committee thoughts on if the Natural Science requirement (currently 8 credits) should be reduced to match the Mason Core requirement of 7 credits? Or should programs be able to choose 7 or 8 credits of natural science? [How do we feel about changing the natural science requirement to 7 credits or should we say 7 to 8 credits?  We are exploring the 7 to 8 credit option for the natural science requirement for the BA degrees. The committee weighed the options and asked for further information, i.e.: Is it possible to have varying requirements by BA degree?]
• This college-wide policy is in effect for the following programs: the Biology, BA, the Chemistry, BA, the Geography, BA, the Geology, BA, and the Mathematics, BA.

Updates to the new BAM policy (still under construction)* [The committee raised concerns about the cap of 90 credits as some transfer students arrive with 90 credits. They also requested clarification on the statement regarding undergraduate versus graduate tuition charging. The addition of wording making it clear that programs may have more stringent requirements was, again, requested. Jen will bring these concerns to Dr. Donna Fox, one of the college’s Graduate Council representatives.]

IV. Old Business

• PHYS 411: Renewable Energy Internship* [Approved pending the addition of a course description to the syllabus.]

V. New Business – Undergraduate

New Courses

• BIOL 429: Biological Foundations of Pharmacology [Approved]
• CHEM 472: Modern Polymer Chemistry [Approved pending an updated syllabus to indicate that the calendar isn’t “tentative,” but rather that it is an example.]
• GGS 426: Physical Fundamentals of Remote Sensing [Approved]
• GGS 429: Remote Sensing of the Environment and Earth System  [Approved, update required pre-req to GGS 379 or 416.]

Modified Courses

• FRSC 499: Comprehensive Examination [Approved]

Modified Programs

• Geology, BS [Tabled until departmental representation is available.]

VI. New Business – Graduate

New Courses

• GGS 626: Physical Fundamentals of Remote Sensing [Approved update recommended pre-requisite to GGS 579. GGS 700 to be inactivated at a later meeting.]
• GGS 629: Remote Sensing of the Environment and Earth System [ Approved update recommended pre-requisite to GGS 579.]

Modified Program

• Environmental Science and Policy, MS [Approved]
• Geographic and Cartographic Sciences, MS [Approved]

VII. Adjournment [12:04]

*= item added after the announcement