THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

FACULTY SENATE

Senate Document Number 9410S

Date of Senate Approval 05/06/10

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 79: Add new courses, NEUR 216 and 480;

Changes to Requirements for Minor in Neuroscience

Effective Date: Fall 2010

1a. Add: On page 180, new course, NEUR 216, Fundamentals of Neuroscience:

216 Fundamentals of Neuroscience (PSYC 216) (3)

An introduction to psychological neuroscience. Topics include research methods, basic anatomy and physiology of mammalian nervous systems, mechanisms of neuronal development and integration, vision and other senses, sensory-motor control, basic drives and behavioral systems. No credit given to students who have credit for PSYC 215. Prerequisite: PSYC 101. Offered every year.

1b. Add: On page 243, to the title of PSYC 216, Fundamentals of Neuroscience, NEUR 216:

Fundamentals of Neuroscience (NEUR 216) (3)

Impact:

The proposed change to make PSYC 216 (to be cross listed as NEUR 216) a requirement for the minor may increase enrollment in the course over time as the number of students minoring in neuroscience increases. The department is aware of and has accepted this possible increase, and will make adjustments to its scheduling priorities to meet this new demand. This increase, however, may not have an immediately noticeable impact. An important mitigating factor is the change that Health and Wellness Promotion (HWP) has made in its required courses outside the major. Since its inception, HWP required its majors to take PSYC 320, Biopsychology. Starting in 2007, the HWP Department began accepting PSYC 215, Mind & Brain, as a substitute for its majors in place of the advanced PSYC 320. Due to the Psychology Department’s recent Senate document changing the names, numbers, descriptions and requirements of both 215 and 320, HWP has dropped requiring either of these courses (or their new versions) for the HWP major. Hence, enrollment in PSYC 216 should remain stable in the near term due to the exchange of HWP majors for Neuroscience minors.

Rationale:

Neuroscience is an academic discipline which seeks to understand how neural systems give rise to thought and behavior. Because neuroscience encompasses work at wide-ranging anatomical levels (from the neuron to entire brain systems), neuroscience students should have a foundation at both the “molecular/cellular” (chemical, neurotransmitter and biomechanical processes in neural functioning) and “systems” levels (neural and brain systems underlying larger-scale physiological processes, cognition and behavior).

The minor currently fulfills the first goal by requiring BIOL 116 and CHEM 111 & 132. To ensure a foundation at the systems level of brain science, PSYC/NEUR 216 is proposed as a new requirement for the minor. PSYC 216 will introduce students to gross anatomy and functioning of the nervous system, as well as the use of new neuroscientific methods (e.g., fMRI) and physiological models to explain human perception, thought, and behavior. Previously, PSYC 215 (now 216) was an elective counting toward the minor. The new PSYC 216 is now a pre-requisite for the upper-level neuroscience-themed psychology courses, PSYC 321 (née 320) and PSYC 3262 (née 325), which many non-psychology major neuroscience minors may take to complete the minor. PSYC 216 currently has as its own pre-requisite, PSYC 101. This requirement, however, should not pose a serious impediment to non-Psychology majors as many can be overridden into NEUR 216/PSYC 216 given either their likely background in biological subject matter (e.g., anatomy) or a presumed experience with the demands of a natural science course such as NEUR/PSYC 216. For these reasons, adding NEUR/PSYC 216 as a requirement should not pose an unreasonable added burden on neuroscience minors, especially those not majoring in psychology.

2. Add: On page 180, new course, NEUR 480, Seminar in Neuroscience

480 Topical Seminar in Neuroscience (1)

Students will apply neuroscience theory and knowledge during the presentation and discussion of diverse readings in topics chosen by the instructor. May be repeated as subject matter changes for a total of 3 hours of credit. Prerequisite: BIOL 116, NEUR 216, and permission of instructor. See program director.

Impact:

The proposed addition of 1 credit hour required seminar in the neuroscience minor can be met among the several faculty members that have teaching interests in neuroscience or related fields. Requiring only 1 credit should not unduly burden faculty meeting other course loads. Finally, the possible substitutions of 3-hour cross-listed and special topics courses will further reduce the necessity of offering frequent NEUR 480 sections.

Rationale:

The addition of a seminar in neuroscience that all minors must take is proposed to differentiate the minor from other biology-based or pre-health programs at UNCA. Most pertinent, pre-med students that are not biology majors may take courses to complete the pre-med program (and their major) which simultaneously fulfill requirements for the neuroscience minor. As another example, a chemistry major with a biochemistry concentration may similarly complete the neuroscience minor “by default”. The addition of a course (the seminar in neuroscience) which only applies to the minor is proposed in order to provide students interested in neuroscience with a unique educational experience at UNCA.

3. Delete: On page 179, the entry for Minor in Neuroscience:

Minor in Neuroscience

The neuroscience minor helps students understand brain science from different disciplinary perspectives. Students must complete 23 hours for the minor including BIOL 116, CHEM 111 and CHEM 132. 15 additional hours must be selected from the courses listed below. (Note: prerequisites for some of these courses may increase the total number of hours.) The minor must include a minimum of 9 hours at the 300-400 level of which 6 hours must be from outside the student’s major department. Appropriate special topics courses may be substituted with the approval of the director of the Neuroscience minor. One-half of the hours required for a minor must be completed at UNC Asheville. All minors require that a minimum of 6 semester hours of 300-400 level courses be completed at UNC Asheville.

Add: On page 179, in place of deleted entry:

Minor in Neuroscience

The neuroscience minor helps students understand brain science from different disciplinary perspectives. Students must complete at least 21 hours for the minor distributed as follows: BIOL 116; CHEM 111, 132; NEUR 216; 1 hour from NEUR 480; and 9 hours selected from the list of elective courses below. (Note: prerequisites for some of these courses may increase the total number of hours.) Six of the elective hours must be at the 300-400 level and must be outside the student’s major department. Appropriate courses may be substituted with the approval of the director of the Neuroscience minor. One-half of the hours required for a minor must be completed at UNC Asheville. All minors require that a minimum of 6 semester hours of 300-400 level courses be completed at UNC Asheville.

Impact:

Explained in #1-2 above.

Rationale:

Explained in #1-2 above. The number of elective hours at the 300-400 level were reduced in order to keep the total number of hours for the minor within ranges typical of other UNCA minors. Some of this reduction is made up by the requirements of PSYC/NEUR 216 and 1 hr of the new NEUR 480 or a 300-level substitute. As noted in the rationale for 1b, we do not believe the addition of NEUR 216/PSYC 216 and its prerequisite of PSYC 101 will excessively burden non-Psychology majors wishing to minor in Neuroscience. These minors will most likely come from the natural sciences (e.g.. Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics), and, given the scientific rigor of these backgrounds, faculty may feel comfortable waiving NEUR 216 prerequisites for these individuals. The addition of a 1-credit 480 seminar should also not pose difficulty for minors to complete as many special topics courses in other majors (e.g., BIOL 480; PSYC 412; relevant 373 courses) could be used to fulfill this requirement.

4. Delete: On page 180, in listing of elective courses:

PSYC 216 Fundamentals of Neuroscience (3)

Impact:

None.

Rationale:

Since NEUR/PSYC 216 will now be a required course, it is being removed from the list of neuroscience electives.