April 2^nd, 2007

Present: Judith Anderson (Chair), Simon Brassell, Tom Busey, Sandra Dolby, Hal Evans, Roger Levesque (Recorder), Rosemary Lloyd, and Patrick McNaughton

Our meeting was convened at 4:02.

We read and approved the minutes of our March 26th meeting.

We discussed the election ballot and agreed to begin the election for next year’s CPC committee.

At 4:27 we were joined by Catherine Larson, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. We had invited Dean Larson to provide us with an update on activities relating to the new General Education Program ("Gen Ed"). We learned that the campus-wide Gen Ed Committee has been meeting and working diligently. Numerous courses already have been reviewed to determine whether they fit into the "Common Ground" requirements. The committee has yet to address the "Shared Goals," which are recommended in each degree program. Although progress is being made, it was noted that much work needs to be done before the College can plan for the impact of the new requirements. Planning is particularly difficult since the Gen Ed Committee still needs to address very fundamental issues, such as whether variable-numbered courses can be used more than once, whether courses can count simultaneously for different categories, whether on-line correspondence courses should be considered, whether upper level (300 & 400) courses are appropriate for general education, and how regularly courses must be offered. It was noted, however, that the Gen Ed Committee had decided, at least for now, that courses would have a maximum prerequisite of one. It was highlighted that there was a pressing need to communicate with Chairs and Directors about the progress being made and the possible implications of Gen Ed, especially since the College places a high value on faculty governance and hopes to receive feedback from departments. Dean Larson and CPC members also explored the possibility of having several informational meetings in the early fall for members of the campus-wide Gen Ed Committee, Chairs and Directors, and College faculty in general. Dean Larson left the meeting at 5:03.

At 5:03 we were joined by James Davis, Chair of the Department of Mathematics. We had invited Professor Davis to share his views of the potential impact of a policy that would limit the times at which faculty could administer make-up exams. We learned that his department teaches the largest number of students (with over 31,000 credit hours) and offers some of the classes with the largest enrollments (e.g., per semester, Finite Math courses regularly exceed 3000 students and Brief Calculus courses range between 1800 to 2000 students). Professor Davis explained the many challenges faced by departments that offer large-enrollment courses. Scheduling exams, let alone make-up exams, is difficult when there are many course sections with literally thousands of students taking exams at the same time. Creating multiple versions of exams raises unique issues of fairness. What appears to complicate matters is the need, in some courses, to offer the same midterms and final exams. Exams must be consistent across numerous sections and make-up exams must be comparable so as not to advantage or disadvantage students who took regular exams and those who take the make-ups. In addition, large enrollments create unique situations when midterm grades must be calculated and provided quickly so that students can, if needed, withdraw from classes. Further complicating matters is the need to find times at which large numbers of students most likely will not have other scheduling conflicts, such as classes that may begin at 8:00 in the morning. We very much appreciated his comments and his ability to shed light on the complexities involved in teaching very large numbers of students. He left the meeting at 5:47.

We continued discussing the development of a policy relating to the times at which exams are offered. We examined the first draft of a proposal. The proposal led to lively discussion about the need for a policy. We decided to table our discussion until we hear back from the College. The College is gathering more information, especially from other departments that teach large courses.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:58.

Roger Levesque, Recorder

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the College Policy Committee may be addressed to its Chair, Judith Anderson (anders@indiana.edu – 855-3845). Past minutes and College Policy Statements can be found at the CPC web page: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml.