THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

 

                                                                   FACULTY SENATE

 

 Senate Document Number     4908S

 

 Date of Senate Approval      04/10/08

 

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

APC Document 40:                   Change Requirements for Declaring a Major in Sociology

 

Effective Date: Fall 2008

 

 

1.         Delete:  On page 234, under Declaration of Major in Sociology, item II:

           

                        II.      Complete SOC 225 and either ANTH 100 or SOC 100 (depending on concentration) with a grade of C or better.

 

            Add:     On page 234, in place of deleted entry:

 

                         II.      Complete either ANTH 100 or SOC 100 (depending on concentration) with a grade of C or better, and have at least 6 hours of course work in Sociology or Anthropology, with at least 3 of the hours completed at UNC Asheville.      

 

Impact:

The change eliminates SOC 225 from the requirement to declare the major. It allows students to declare the major if they have at least 6 hours of Sociology or Anthropology, of which 3 hours must be from UNCA.

 

Rationale:

Essentially, SOC 225 was the gatekeeper for the entire curriculum. We know that this had serious implications. SOC 225 is a theory course, and many students often came to believe that all, or most of what Sociology (and Anthropology) is and does is theory. While the department recognizes that social theory (both social and anthropological) is important, we also feel that a) SOC 225 is not the only course that affords students insights to theory and b) while it is representative of what Sociology is and does, it is not the only representative. Therefore, eliminating this requirement is in part demand driven, i.e. we believe that more of our students will be led to take other courses rather than feeling (and fearing) that they cannot do so prior to taking SOC 225 or declaring their major.