THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

 

                                                                   FACULTY SENATE

 

Senate Document Number     0905F

 

Date of Senate Approval      12/01/05  

 

 

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

APC Document  1:                    Change of Program Requirements for Reading Licensure (K-12)

 

                                                                                               

Effective Date:   Fall 2006

 

1.         Delete:             On p. 105, delete the program description and all text under the title Reading                       

                                                Licensure   (K-12):

 

Add:                       On p. 105, in place of deleted entry:

 

Students may complete the K-12 Reading Licensure program with any major. See the appropriate Education advisor for details.

 

I.    Required courses in Education―36 hours: EDUC 310, 311, 313, 314, 317, 318, 380, 388, 389, 390, 455, and 490.

II.    Required courses outside Education—14 hours: DRAM 103; PSYC 101, 318, 312, 328.  Recommended elective: ANTH 100 or SOC 240.

      III.         Other departmental requirements as outlined above for all licensure students.

Impact: 

Dropping the requirement of a Psychology major will not significantly impact the number of majors in the Psychology Department because we have had so few persons completing the Reading Licensure program.  We have had only seven students completing the program from Fall 1999 to Spring 2005.

 

The 4-hour increase caused by requiring EDUC 314 as well as both EDUC 317 and 318 is balanced by not requiring PSYC 416.* Students in this program will still be able to finish with less than 128 hours depending on their major. If they select a Psychology major, they will be able to finish with 121 hours, depending on an efficient coverage of ILS requirements.

 

The impact of this change on the Education Department will be positive. Currently, the capstone course for this program has very low enrollment requiring it to be either taught as an independent study or as an under-enrolled course. Being able to regularly schedule the course will ensure the consistency of its quality. Also, increasing the numbers of students in this program will support the efforts of the Education Department to increase the numbers of its graduates.

Rationale: 

Dropping the requirement of a Psychology major was identified as very desirable in a retreat in Spring 2004 including members of the Education Department, the Psychology Department, and Buncombe County Schools. With the new federal mandate for all students to succeed in reading, there is a growing need for professionals licensed in reading to work in the schools. The low number of students completing the reading licensure program is due in part to the requirement of the Psychology major.  By opening up the academic major requirement, more undergraduates who have begun a major outside of Psychology would be able to pursue this licensure program. Also, there are significant numbers of post-baccalaureate students who did not major in Psychology who have sought to enter the program.  Every semester, the program coordinator receives one or two inquiries about this from persons who did not major in Psychology.  In addition, the Title I (Reading Program) lead-teacher for Buncombe County Schools reported that she has been working with persons who would enter this program if the Psychology major were not required.

 

The addition of EDUC 314 as a separate requirement will help graduates meet state and national standards. This course includes a fifteen hour tutorial in a diverse middle school as well as in-depth coverage of strategies addressing the reading and studying needs of students in 6-12 settings. This content

is only cursorily covered in EDUC 317 or 388.

 

*Currently, seventeen hours are required outside of Education (PSYC 101 and 318 are not counted in the current Catalog in the number of hours required outside of Education).