Senate Document Number 3803S

Date of Senate Approval 02/13/03

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 30:  Computer Competency for Philosophy Majors

Effective Date: Fall 2003

Add:
On page 178, under Major in Philosophy, section III:

"Demonstration of computer competency: completion of PHIL 402."

Impact:
No significant impact is foreseen; this addition merely clarifies a competency that is already provided in the coursework that majors are required to complete. Consequently, no additional resources are required, no concurrences are required, and no change is made to the student workload.

Rationale:
The use of computers in philosophy as a discipline is involved primarily in two ways: for writing and for research. Our majors must conduct research for their senior thesis in PHIL 402, demonstrating their ability to use the data bases available on internet sites that are appropriate to their research. They must also write the senior thesis, which is a minimum 25 page thesis requiring sophisticated word-processing including the use of footnotes, etc. As this is the general competency required in the field, the computer work required for the course PHILOSOPHY 402 is sufficient.