THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

 

                                                                   FACULTY SENATE

 

Senate Document Number    8307S

 

Date of Senate Approval      05/03/07

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

FWDC 11:         Proposal to Revise the Faculty ILS Oversight Committee

                        (Revises SD0703F, SD0304F and SD0105F; Faculty Handbook 10.3.8)

 

 

Effective:          Immediately

 

Delete from Faculty Handbook Under Section 10.3.8

           

                        The entire text beginning with “Structure”.

 

Add the following:

 

Structure:

The Faculty ILS committee will be composed of:

  • Six voting faculty members, in staggered three-year terms, with at least one member from each of the three academic divisions. The committee will be nominated by the FWDC (in consultation with ILSOC) and voted upon by the Faculty Senate. 
  • One member of APC, chosen by APC (ex officio, without vote)
  • Dean for University Programs (DUP) or designate (ex officio, without vote)

 

One voting member will be chosen as chair of the committee at the first meeting of the academic year.

 

Each member of the Oversight Committee will be responsible for coordinating a particular area of the ILS.

    • One member will work with the DUP to coordinate Liberal Studies Colloquia.
    • One member will coordinate topical clusters
    • Four members will each chair one of the four subcommittees overseeing the intensive areas: Diversity, Writing, Quantitative and Information Literacy.  Membership on these subcommittees is organized by the subcommittee chairs, and reported to ILSOC and FWDC for approval. Membership for each subcommittee is set at a minimum of three, and will consist of staggered two or three-year terms.

 

Duties:

1) The ILS Oversight Committee will determine whether courses and clusters proposed by faculty members to fulfill ILS requirements conform to the charge for the relevant component(s), as approved by the Faculty Senate. APC is responsible for changes in component charges and criteria, while the DUP is responsible for staffing, faculty development, and course development related to the ILS program. Once clusters and courses are approved, the ILS Oversight Committee notifies the Registrar and the DUP.

 

In all component areas, ILSOC has both a formative and an evaluative function. If proposals are not satisfactory, ILSOC and/or the Intensive Subcommittee must explain its decision and provide guidance to faculty on ways to bring the proposed course in line with the charge for that area. Decisions may be appealed to the APC who may uphold the decision, reverse the decision, or send it back for further consideration. The submission and approval process for courses for each ILS component is as follows:

 

a) ILS Topical Clusters: Faculty members propose a cluster of courses to the committee. One faculty member is indicated as coordinator of the cluster. The proposal must (1) describe the topic of the cluster, (2) indicate the faculty member who will coordinate the cluster, and (3) clearly articulate the ways in which each course is appropriate for the proposed cluster.

 

The ILS Oversight Committee determines whether the connections among these courses are sufficient to justify designation as a cluster for the ILS program and whether the proposed cluster meets the criteria established for ILS clusters. ILSOC also determines whether cluster courses proposed for ILSN, ILSS, or ILSA designation satisfy their criteria.

 

Proposals to modify clusters by addition or deletion of courses must also be presented to the ILS Oversight committee with explanation. Course additions must be justified using the same criteria as the creation of new clusters. A complete description of cluster requirements may be found in the ILS Implementation Document which provides the charge for ILS topical clusters.

 

b) Intensive Courses: Faculty members apply for D, W, Q, or I designation for their courses by providing a sample syllabus of their course with attached explanation to the appropriate subcommittee. A course may carry no more than two intensive designations. The subcommittee will review each application and issue a recommendation to ILSOC. Based on their recommendation, the ILS Oversight Committee determines whether the course fulfills the requirements of the relevant Intensive category.

 

c) Colloquia: The ILS Colloquia Coordinator is responsible for receiving and reviewing LSIC colloquium proposals and for ensuring that each section meets relevant colloquium requirements. This faculty member will work with the DUP in securing sufficient numbers of sections of Colloquia as well as on faculty and content development. While the LSSC is in development, the DUP will oversee this component of the program.

 

d) Learning Foundations: Faculty who wish to propose additional courses for fulfilling the Writing, Natural Science Lab or Foreign Language requirements may make a proposal to ILSOC, which will, in consultation with appropriate departments, determine whether the course fulfills the criteria established for these courses.

 

e) Arts: Faculty members who wish for one of their courses to receive ILSA designation for a studio/workshop course or a topical cluster course must provide a sample syllabus of their course with attached explanation to the Arts and Ideas Program Director (aka ILS Arts Coordinator). This individual evaluates these proposals and provides a list of approved courses to ILSOC, which determines whether this list of courses fulfills ILSA requirements.

 

f) Humanities Cluster: Faculty development and participation in the Humanities cluster is administered by the Director of the Humanities Program, who will inform and consult with the DUP and ILSOC in the event of significant proposed changes to the program.

 

2) The ILSOC will receive annual reports from the Arts and Ideas and the Humanities Program Directors which detail any changes in course offerings, core content, and areas of concern. ILSOC will use this information in constructing its annual report to APC.

 

3) The Chair of the ILS Oversight Committee will report to APC at the end of each semester, providing information about decisions made by the committee during that semester, with rationale if necessary. In this report, the chair may also identify areas of concern with regard to clarity and specificity of component charges, proposals for ILS courses, availability of ILS sections, or any other issues.  The Chair of the ILS Oversight Committee will also report to APC at the end of each academic year, to outline broader developments, goals for the following year, issues and concerns.

 

Rationale:

The revisions proposed herein will result in greater flexibility, more efficiency and better lines of communication as the Integrative Liberal Studies Program moves into a more mature phase of development. The essential changes embedded in the document below are as follows.  It:

 

  • Increases the number of faculty on ILSOC from five to six.
  • Gives one member of ILSOC responsibility for overall Cluster coordination.
  • Gives one member of ILSOC responsibility for overall Colloquium coordination, and specifies a partnership with the Dean for University Programs in regard to that program area.
  • Adds Humanities to the ILS Document in the same fashion as Arts, to cleanup its absence from the original document.
  • Clarifies the language of ILSOC's authority in the Learning Foundations areas of the ILS.
  • Modifies the selection process for subcommittee membership to achieve consistency with other FWDC staffing procedures.
  • Clarifies the expectations for the "semester" report to APC as compared with those for the "annual" report to APC.