THE
FACULTY SENATE
Senate
Document Number 4005S
Date
of Senate Approval
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Statement
of Faculty Senate Action:
Changing
Requirements for Declaring a Major
Changing
Requirements for Minor in Mass Communication
Effective Date:
Fall 2005
1. Delete: On pg.
165, under Mass Communication Major Requirements, I, II and III.
Add: On pg. 165, in place of deleted
entry:
I. Required
courses for the major – 37 to 39 hours, including: MCOM 104, 201, 390, 490,
492, 494; VMP 207; two courses selected from MCOM 301, 311, 313 or VMP 303,
305, 307; 8 hours selected from odd-numbered 4-credit hour MCOM or VMP courses
at the 300-400 level (note that 300-400 level VMP courses have VMP 209 as
prerequisite); 6 hours selected from even-numbered 3-credit hour MCOM courses at
the 300-400 level.
II. Other
departmental requirements—Mass Communication degree candidates demonstrate
competence through successful completion of academic and professional projects
and activities. Competence is expected in at least one of these areas: (1)
Print media, (2) Video and film media, (3) Communication research. Specific
requirements and procedures for documenting these should be obtained from the
department chair. Computer competence is demonstrated through successful
completion of MCOM 201. Oral competence is demonstrated through successful
completion of MCOM 494.
Impact:
This
encompasses four proposed changes: replaces VMP 205 with VMP 207, adds MCOM 104
as a new requirement, changes the workshop requirement from one print course
and one video course to any two types of workshops, and eliminates the
requirement of PHIL301. Replacing VMP 205 will have minimal effect. For majors
interested in print media and/or research, the size of the major is reduced by
one credit hour in the requirement of VMP 207 only. For students interested in video and film,
the major is increased by two hours, as VMP 209 is prerequisite to all other
production courses. MMAS will need to determine the effect of the change on
their program. MCOM 104 adds three hours to the major. However, there will be
no discernible impact on resources, since MCOM 101 and 102 will be phased out
over the next three years to accommodate new LSIC requirements. Allowing students to choose from a wider
array of workshops does not change the number of hours for the major, but
provides students an opportunity to focus on a specific craft. This change will
have no impact on resources. Eliminating
PHIL 301 will have no discernible impact, and the chair of Philosophy has
concurred with the proposal. The net hours in the major are not decreased
because of other additions in this proposal. MCOM 104 will provide a tighter
ethics content focus specific for mass media issues. It will be presented to
ILSOC for approval as a diversity intensive course.
Resources:
This change will result in
little impact on resources.
Rationale:
1)
Replacement of VMP205 (3) with VMP207 (2).
In requiring newswriting and video production of all majors, regardless of
the student’s primary interest, we have encountered a number of problems that
get in the way of student learning. The
cumulative pedagogy of newswriting is successful at
bringing “video” students around to the value of the course skills and content
by the end of the term. However, the
reverse has not been the case. The
pedagogy of the required video production course combines theory and practice
(like newswriting), but video does this with the
added layer of complicated technology.
Self-described “print” students, and more than
a few other students as well, are often frustrated at the extensive technology
requirement. The goal of requiring the
course was to provide students with the basic aesthetics of design for visual
media. In breaking the basic video
course into two, two-credit experiences, we hope to offer a pedagogy that helps
students to learn these important design elements through supervised
exercises. Those who are interested in
the video area can then follow this course with the other two-credit course
(VMP209), which emphasizes an introduction to hands-on production
activities. The latter course is a
necessary prerequisite for other production courses in the curriculum.
2) Addition of MCOM104 to
the required curriculum.
Here we must add that the
requirement of MCOM104 sorts the MCOM curriculum out in a more rational
way. With this change, Newswriting will precede our print media courses, Video
Elements will precede our production courses and Media, Ethics and Society will precede
our conceptual courses.
3) Change from requiring two
different area workshops to requiring two workshops from any areas.
This represents a sensible
response to student needs and demands.
We have, for some time, been waiving the requirement for separate workshops,
allowing two print or two video to count. This merely codifies the practice.
4) Elimination of PHIL301,
Media Ethics, from the required curriculum.
This change was not
undertaken lightly, but rather after much discussion and debate among the mass
communication faculty. We are unanimous
in proposing this change, with thanks to the Philosophy Department for its long
years of service to our majors. There
are several reasons for the change, the first of which is the logistical
difficulty of scheduling, which we will not discuss. More important, we believe, are the
conceptual issues. While it is
unquestionably valuable for all students, in all majors, to get grounding in
the ethics of modern decision-making, we believe that the specific application
of ethics theories to the particular case of any profession can be addressed
more directly within the particular content area of each. We have, for several years, been doing the
following: First, we have been
consciously mainstreaming ethics material into core requirements and conceptual
electives. Secondly, we have offered
experimental media ethics seminars at the upper-level. Thirdly, we have included significant ethics
components in the 101 and 102 courses as a way of testing out materials and ideas. Finally, the new 100 level course will
address media ethics directly and will get important ethics theories and issues
on the students’ agenda early in their careers with us.
2. Delete: On
pg.165, paragraph under Declaration of Major:
Students interested...from the department
chair.
Add: On
pg. 165, in place of deleted entry:
Declaring
a major in Mass Communication requires the student to complete
a
Declaration of Major form that must be signed by the department chair. Prior to
declaring a major, students, in consultation with a mass communication faculty
member or advisor, create a plan of study, which must be approved by the
department chair. Before declaring a major, students must satisfy the LANG 120
requirement.
Impact:
Students will be able to
declare the MCOM major sooner.
Resources:
We are already teaching the
students affected by this change. We
anticipate no impact beyond getting bookkeeping credit for their presence in
our department.
Rationale:
Requiring students to meet
with faculty to devise a plan of study and having them articulate that plan to
the department chair will set a tone of cooperation in the advising process
that will serve our students and faculty well.
Removing the MCOM 201 requirement allows for a more accurate counting of
majors, as many currently postpone that class as long as possible, yet still
function as “off the books” MCOM majors.
3. Delete: On pg.
166, the entry under Minor in Mass Communication
Add: On pg. 166, in place of
deleted entry:
18
hours distributed as follows: MCOM 104; MCOM 201, or VMP 207 and 209; MCOM 301
or VMP 303; one course from MCOM 390, 490, 492; one 3-credit hour course
selected from even-numbered MCOM courses at the 300-400 level; one 4-credit
hour course selected from odd-numbered MCOM or VMP courses at the 300-400 level
(note that 300-400 level VMP courses have VMP 209 as prerequisite).
Impact and Resources:
The course changes increase
the number of hours for the minor. There should be no impact on resources.
Rationale:
This is an editorial change
to accommodate the changes in number of credits for particular MCOM and VMP
courses.