AC-98-140 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, at 3:00 p.m. in the Arts Council Room (160). PRESENT: Dean Shaver (Chair), Associate Dean Mendelson (Vice- Chair), Professors Brawer, Damha, Drury, Paquette, Pasztor, Rasmussen, Yau; Associate Dean Norris; Ms. H. Waluzyniec; G. Tsimiklis; J. D'Amico. REGRETS: Professors Baines, Franklin, GrÅtter, Lapointe, Panangaden, Silvius, Wechsler; A. Chaudhry; J. Lefebvre, J. Liao, T. Samanta; Ms. D. Cowan. DOCUMENTS: AC-98-109(Revised) AC-98-133 to AC-98-136 AC-98-137(Revised) AC-98-138 to AC-98-139 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. ADDITIONS/CHANGES TO THE AGENDA - MSE, Item #5, to be considered first on the Agenda. - Biology 177-4XXA, to be considered under Other Business, Item #9. (5) MCGILL SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT - B.Sc. Major in Environment: Ecological Determinants of Health Domain - Prof. M. Scott AC-98-109(Revised) 905.1 Prof. Scott gave an overview of the structure of the domain. She added that recommendations made by both the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Curriculum Committee and the Academic Committee had been incorporated. Associate Dean Norris moved, seconded by Prof. Brawer, that the domain be adopted. The motion carried. (1) MINUTES OF APRIL 20, 1999 AC-98-133 Prof. Yau moved, seconded by Prof. Damha, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (2) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES - Minutes of March 23, 1999, Minute 702.1, Page 1, APPC: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences/Chemistry Courses 195-219, 195- 419, 195-619 and 180-219, 180-419, 180-619 902.1 Dean Shaver said the above courses had been approved by APPC. However, the general issue of double-prefix courses was not necessarily resolved. He said he would be meeting with Prof. Martha Crago, Chair, SCTP, for further discussion. Dean Shaver said he had explained to APPC that administrative rules are supposed to comply with academic goals, rather than vice-versa. (3) REPORT ON MINOR COURSE CHANGES AC-98-134 (for information) (4) PSYCHOLOGY Course Tabled to the Next Academic Committee Meeting 204-536B Correlational Techniques AC-98-135 3 credits Changes in course number from 204-435B, course description and prerequisite 904.1 Referring to prerequisite courses, a member pointed out that rather than "a course in calculus or linear algebra," specific course numbers should be given. Also, the rationale for the prerequisite should be explained, since calculus and linear algebra are not the same. 904.2 Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Prof. Paquette, that the course changes be tabled to a future Academic Committee meeting. The motion carried. (6) MINOR IN HUMAN NUTRITION AC-98-137 (Revised) 906.1 Dean Shaver said that the above Minor was being presented as a program change. However, since the Minor had never been available to Science students, in practice the Academic Committee would actually be approving the Minor in Human Nutrition for Science students. 906.2 Associate Dean Norris explained the changes and said that they would be considered by the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Curriculum Committee in several weeks. Associate Dean Norris moved, seconded by Prof. Brawer, that the Minor in Human Nutrition, as described in document AC-98-137, be made available to Science students. The motion carried. (7) DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES AC-98-136 907.1 Dean Shaver said the above document had already been circulated by e-mail to members of the Academic Committee. He said there were three possible models described in the document. Dean Shaver asked members for comments. 907.2 The major concern during the discussion was the issue of security, i.e. whether it was possible for students involved in distance education courses to have their work/examinations done by someone else. 907.3 The Academic Committee was in favour of Option `C' in document AC-98-136 with the following modification: Option C. The same as B, but also require the Associate Dean's approval of the mode of delivery, the method of evaluation, and security measures. 907.4 Dean Shaver said that this issue could well be re- opened and he asked the Associate Dean to report back to a future Academic Committee meeting on the types of security measures available for distance education courses. He said if security measures were lacking, Option `A' in the document should be reconsidered. 907.5 Associate Dean Mendelson suggested that perhaps Prof. Peter Burpee, Distance Education, Faculty of Education, could be invited to a future Academic Committee meeting. (8) ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENTS (APs) AC-98-138 908.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that he would like Faculty's approval to bring the proposal in document AC- 98-138 to the University's Admissions Committee. He said he had spoken to Associate Vice-Principal (Academic) de Takacsy and to Ms. Geller, Registrar and Director of Admissions, who both were very uncomfortable with the idea of having different admission requirements for advanced placement in different faculties. Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Prof. Pasztor, that the above proposal concerning admission requirements for APs be adopted. The motion carried. (9) OTHER BUSINESS - BIOLOGY New Course: 177-4XXA Genetic Basis of Life Span AC-98-139 3 credits 909.1 In response to a member, Prof. Pasztor said that attempts had been made to contact Prof. Wang for consultation concerning possible overlap between the above course and a course taught by Prof. Wang. Prof. Wang could not be contacted. However, the Chair of Anatomy & Cell Biology thought this course would be complementary and not overlapping. Prof. Pasztor moved, seconded by Prof. Damha, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. 909.2 Dean Shaver thanked members of the Academic Committee for their hard work during the year and he wished them a good Summer. The meeting adjourned at 4:04 p.m. josie\academic\acmn1998Mf.doc