Senate Document Number 0201F

Date of Senate Approval 11/08/01

APC Document 1:   Add Computer Competency to Academic Regulations

Effective Date: Fall 2002

Add: p. 34 of current catalog under Competency and Proficiency Examinations, following the end of the second paragraph titled "Oral Competency," a new paragraph as follows:

Computer Competency. A demonstration of computer competency is required of every degree candidate. Departmental faculty determine the form of the demonstration. The Director of Interdisciplinary Studies will determine the form of the demonstration for students pursuing interdisciplinary or individual degree programs. As a condition of graduation, any academic deficiencies or weaknesses revealed by the demonstration of competency must be corrected to the satisfaction of the supervising faculty group.

Impact Statement:
This addition is mandated by the 2001 SACS Review. It will require all academic departments to develop a proposed method of satisfying the requirement within the Major program(s), or to identify an appropriate Computer Science course which will be required to satisfy the requirement. It is assumed that most academic majors will be able to identify or create an appropriate method of satisfying the requirement within the major, and that few if any will turn to requiring students to take a course in Computer Science. No additional or substantive impact on the Computer Science program is anticipated.

Rationale:
Beyond conformity to the SACS requirement itself, it remains self-evident today that all students graduating from college must be computer competent in their field. Many, if not most traditional-aged students will bring a significant level of competency with them from high school, but each major program retains an obligation to identify the specific type(s) of competency needed within that program--and to determine how such competency is acquired and fulfilled.