An Affair to Remember

MURP

Elimination of the MURP Professional Paper Requirement: Vote PASSED

Currently, MURP students must complete both a group capstone project and an individual professional paper in order to graduate. This requirement has caused significant problems and so Ed Goetz introduced a MURP faculty proposal to eliminate it(which included a top 10 list of reasons).

This proposal passed unanimously. It now goes to the faculty and to the graduate school for final approval. The graduate school, due to its own processes and deadlines, will not make the change official until July 2009. Thus, those MURP students graduating in May 2009 will have to do so under the old rules(including a professional paper). Professor Ed Goetz will be at the Student Curriculum Committee to answer questions on this issue on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008.

Changes to PA 5202: American Cities II: Vote PASSED

PA 5202 will be relisted as PA 5201 and renamed “Urban Spatial and Social Dynamics.� The course will also be reduced from 4 to 3 credits as some content is revised and reduced in order to avoid overlap with other required courses. The course will also be more international in focus.

MPP

Changes to PA 5522: International Development Methods, Families, and Health: Vote PASSED

The current PA 5522 Latin American Development Policy has not been offered for some time due to low enrollment. Thus, the course is being widened in scope, including both quantitative and qualitative methods. The new course will be taught by Greta Friedemann-Sanchez, and may undergo further revision before being offered.

MS-STEP

Creation of a new PhD Minor in Prevention Science: Vote DELAYED

Miscellaneous

Creation of Global Seminar Course for the Undergraduate Leadership Minor: Vote DELAYED

Also discussed were the number of courses that are listed but that have not been offered as well as the issue of section numbers and sizes in relation to enrollment. There were no votes on these issues.

If you have any further questions about these or any other curriculum related issues, feel free to leave a comment or email me.