THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

FACULTY SENATE

Senate Document Number 7511S

Date of Senate Approval 04/28/11

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 71: Increase the 8-hour limit for repeating music ensemble courses

Effective Date: Fall 2011

1. Delete: On page 225, after the description for MUSC 105:

Note: Courses 111 through 129 may be repeated for credit, but no more than 8 hours in aggregate may count toward graduation requirements.

Add: On page 225, in place of deleted entry

Note: Courses 111 through 129 may be repeated for credit. However, students may earn no more than 8 hours of credit per course, and no more than 20 hours in aggregate may count toward graduation requirements.

Impact statement:

There will be no impact on resources or staffing of the Music Department due to this change. The courses in question are already offered every fall and spring, and most have room for larger enrollment. Therefore, any additional enrollment created by this change will be absorbed into the existing courses without additional resources.

Rationale:

This change is being requested to support the Music Department's Student Learning Outcome #3: "Students will participate in public ensemble performance beyond the minimum requirements for their degree." This, in turn, supports the University's Student Learning Outcome #6: "Students are prepared to engage in lifelong learning."

Performing ensembles are the backbone of any university music program, and music students should be encouraged to participate in as many semesters of ensembles as possible. High levels of participation benefit both the students and the university. However, students have often decided not to continue in ensembles beyond the 8-hour limit because they feel it is unfair to invest full time, effort, and money into a course for which they do not receive full credit. This decision impacts the education of not only those students who choose not to continue, but also all the other performing students, because the ensembles lose their most experienced players who should be serving as leaders.

The music faculty believe that the proposed change will encourage more students to participate in ensembles throughout their entire time at UNCA. We feel that the current policy is an active barrier to student participation in what should be one of the most important elements of their music education.

As an additional benefit, this change will eliminate a registration problem that has forced students who are repeating ensemble courses to go to One Stop to be registered manually. This will make the registration process much easier for both the students and the staff in the Registrar’s office.