2016-04-12

 
The Curriculum and Instruction Policy Committee met on April 12, 2016, at 3 p.m. in the President’s Conference Room.  In attendance were Jim Atkinson, Ava Connelly, Peter Dorman, Kimberly French, Donna Hobbs, Tammy Johnson (for Michael Farris), Jeff Laub, Jim Lemons, Brent Lester, Cynthia Lofaso, Muriel Mickles, Elizabeth Narewood (Workforce), Kris Ogden, and Ernie Wade.
 
Brent Lester called the meeting to order.   The minutes from the January 6, 2016, meeting were distributed.  Jeff Laub made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Muriel Mickles seconded the motion. The minutes were approved.
Administrative Support Technology A.A.S. Degree Specializations
Jim Lemons presented the changes to the specializations in the Administrative Support Technology program.   The first recommendation is to change the title to Administrative Management Technology, which more accurately reflects changes in job responsibilities and will align more closely with similar programs in the VCCS.  The course prefixes will remain AST until a change is made at the systems level.  In the Administrative Management Technology degree program, BUS 200 Principles of Management will replace AST 244 Office Administration II and MTH 151 Mathematics for the Liberal Arts I may be substituted for MTH 120 Introduction to Mathematics. These courses will afford some opportunity for transfer credit if the student wishes to further their studies.  Jeff Laub recommended that a higher level of math could be substituted.  The footnote will be changed to reflect this recommendation.  Kimberly French inquired about the option to take a Cooperative Education course as a substitution for BUS 100. Jim stated that the course has not been requested in more than ten years.  The committee recommended removing this option in the Administrative Support Technology degree program and the Medical Office Specialization.  In the Medical Office Specialization, AST 245 Medical Machine Transcription is being deleted since this technology is now obsolete. AST 211 Principles of Accounting I is being added as a result of the program assessment results.  The Office Accounting Specialization was developed as a result of request from the Administrative Support Technology and Accounting Curriculum Advisory Committees.  The program will prepare individuals for jobs in which some basic knowledge of account concepts is required. Smaller businesses in our area require an administrative assistant to also be responsible for billing, payroll, or office administration.  The existing Accounting A.A.S. Degree program does not train this type of employee for office administration skills. The implementation date for the Office Accounting Specialization is Fall 2016.  Jeff Laub made a motion to approve the changes to the Administrative Support Technology degree and specializations.  Kimberly French seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
 
Commercial Indoor Farming Operations Career Studies Certificate
 
Jeff Laub presented the proposed Commercial Indoor Farming Operations Career Studies Certificate. The program was designed in cooperation with COPE USA, a nonprofit organization that assists in the development of self-sustaining indoor farming programs. A classroom and grow center have been established in Lynchburg and the first two indoor farming classes have been offered as electives. An advisory committee for the initialization of the program met during the Fall of 2015 to determine the curriculum.  Kimberly French asked what developmental studies are needed for this curriculum.  Jeff will add a statement indicating the level of mathematics and English.  Jeff stated that a memorandum of agreement had been signed and a grant has been written for expansion of the program.  Kris Ogden asked about the memorandum of agreement. Muriel stated that an agreement was signed.  She said that she would review the agreement after the meeting and get with Kris.  Peter Dorman made a motion to approve the career studies certificate.  Ava Connelly seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
 
Engineering Fundamentals Career Studies Certificate
 
Jeff discussed the proposed changes to the Engineering Fundamentals Career Studies Certificate.  EGR 120 is being reduced to 1 credit to align with the offerings in the transfer Engineering program. EGR 115 is being reduced to 2 credits due to the time constraints of the STEM Academy students who are on campus for a limited time. MTH 115 and 116 are no longer offered and will be replaced by MTH 157 and 158. Muriel made a motion to approve the changes. Jim Lemons seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
 
Welding Technology Certificate
 
Jeff presented the curriculum change for the Welding Technology Certificate.  WEL 195 Advanced Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (3 credits) will replace WEL 138 Pipe and Tube Welding (GTAW). This change is necessary since WEL 138 is 2 credit hours in the VCCS Master Course File and the faculty state that more lecture time is needed to fully develop the skills needed in this course. This change will allow the additional time needed by the students.  WEL 195 will be submitted to the VCCS for a permanent course number.  Ava Connelly made a motion to approve the change. Muriel Mickles seconded the motion.  The motion was approved unanimously.
 
Prerequisite Changes: Chemistry and Physics
 
Jeff discussed the prerequisite changes for sequence classes in Chemistry and Physics. Based on data supplied by the Office for Institutional Effectiveness (which was distributed to the committee), the data supports the faculty’s observations that students who received a grade of “D” are unlikely to be successful in the class sequences of CHM 111-112, CHM 241-242, PHY 201-202, and PHY 241-242.  A statement will be included in the course descriptions indicating that a grade of C or better is required to take the sequence class.  Jim Lemons made a motion to approve the prerequisite changes. Kimberly French seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
 
Muriel asked that recommended changes be send to Brent with a copy to Ava for final approval.  Copies should be sent to Jessica, along with an electronic copy, for the Board.
 
The meeting was adjourned at 4 p.m.
 
Submitted by Ava Connelly