AC-00-28 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, September 26, 2000, at 3:00 p.m. in the Arts Council Room (160). PRESENT: Dean Shaver (Chair), Associate Dean Mendelson (Vice- Chair), Professors Baker, Cline, Cooper (in the absence of Prof. Wechsler), Farrell, Klemes, Leighton, Panangaden, Paquette, Pasztor, Rasmussen; Associate Dean Hendershot; Ms. H. Waluzyniec; J. D'Amico. REGRETS: Professors Baines, Brawer, MÅller-Wille and Silvius; D. Crawford. GUEST: Professor B. Lennox, Department of Chemistry DOCUMENTS: AC-99-173(Rev), AC-99-176 AC-00-1 to AC-00-27 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA Prof. Klemes moved, seconded by Prof. Paquette, that the Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF MAY 2, 2000 AC-99- 176 Prof. Klemes moved, seconded by Prof. Panangaden, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the minutes. (4) GRADUATE STUDIES REVIEW COMMITTEE REVIEW - PROF. B. LENNOX AC-00-1 104.1 Prof. Lennox, Chair, ad hoc Graduate Studies Review Committee, said that the mandate of the Committee was to assess the quality of graduate education in the Faculty of Science. A survey had been conducted for each department. Deliberations focussed primarily on issues related to monitoring graduate students' progress. 104.2 Prof. Lennox introduced the Report, and summarized the recommendations of the committee. 104.3 Among the points raised were: the actual quality of graduate students that McGill is producing; the possibility of incorporating feedback from students into the "Best Practices"; the possible effect of industrial contracts involving secrecy affecting the monitoring of graduate students; the question of how the Faculty of Science could ensure that departments follow the committee's recommendations; and the role of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in implementing the committee's recommendations. 104.4 In particular, the committee should address the issue of graduate student support in its report to the Faculty of Science. 104.5 Dean Shaver thanked Prof. Lennox for his very hard work on this Committee. (5) REPORT ON MINOR COURSE CHANGES AC-00- 2 (for information) 105.1 Associate Dean Mendelson reminded members to retire courses that have not been taught for a number of years. (6) PHARMACOLOGY New Course: 549-303B Toxicology AC-00- 3 3 credits 106.1 It was noted the course description consisted of 52 words, and that the name of the course coordinator should be specified under item #6 of the course proposal form. 106.2 The main concern raised was that the course title was too broad in scope, and that it was not clear what type of toxicology would be taught in the above course. 106.3 Dean Shaver suggested approving the course in principle, and said that the Department of Pharmacology should be informed that the Academic Committee had suggested that a modifier be included in the course title for clarity purposes. Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Cline, that the course be adopted, pending the above modifications. The motion carried. New Course: 549-503A Drug Design and Development I AC-00- 4 3 credits New Course: 549-504B Drug Design and Development II AC-00- 5 3 credits 106.4 Associate Dean Mendelson said that in the document describing the courses, it was not indicated how the proportion of the grade being assigned on the basis of class participation was going to be monitored, since the projected enrolment was 30-40 students. 106.5 A member commented that a high proportion of the grade being derived from class participation was manageable, because the projected enrolment was not realistic. 106.6 It was noted that since Chemistry 180-212 and 180-222 are prerequisite courses for 180-302, they should not be listed as prerequisites for 549-503A (Item #11, Document AC-00-4). Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the courses be adopted. The motion carried. - Minor in Pharmacology AC-00- 6 Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Pasztor, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. (7) PROGRAM CHANGES: - Joint Major in Physiology & Mathematics AC-00- 7 107.1 No written consultation report from the Department of Mathematics & Statistics was included in Document AC-00- 7. 107.2 After it was noted that 189-319B was not listed in the proposed program changes, Prof. Farrell moved that the course proposal be tabled to the next Academic Committee meeting scheduled for October 24, 2000. The motion carried. - Joint Major in Physiology & Physics AC-00- 8 107.3 Since there appeared to be no consultation report from the Department of Physics, Associate Dean Hendershot moved that the program proposal be tabled to the next Academic Committee meeting scheduled for October 24, 2000. The motion carried. (8) SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE For Information (Minor Course Changes): 308-273A,B Intro to Computer Systems AC-00-9 3 credits Changes: Title & Prerequisites 308-310B Comp. Systems and Organization AC-00- 10 3 credits Changes: Title & Prerequisites New Course: 308-558B Fundamentals of Comp. Vision AC-00- 11 3 credits Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. 108.1 Document #AC-00-11, under Restriction(s), Item #17, should read: Not open to students who have taken 308-766 prior to January 2001. Program Changes: - B.Sc. Minor in Computer Science AC-00- 12 - B.Sc. Major in Computer Science AC-00- 13 - B.Sc. Honours in Computer Science AC-00-14 108.2 It was noted that 308-558 should be included in the above B.Sc. Major and Honours Programs in Computer Science, under Complementary Courses. Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Klemes, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. For Information (Document Available Upon Request) - B.Eng. Minor in Computer Science AC-00- 15 (9) AD HOC MINOR IN KINESIOLOGY AC-00- 16 109.1 It was mentioned that the student's choice of Chemistry courses (Page 2 of Document #AC-00-16) was inappropriate. Chemistry 180-112B is not a corequisite for 180-222B. Chemistry 180-222B has a prerequisite course, and this prerequisite course is not listed in the student's plan of study. 109.2 However, it was pointed out that what the Academic Committee was supposed to approve was the student's proposed Minor as such (Page 1 of Document #AC-00-16), and not the overall plan of study. Prof. Cline moved, seconded by Prof. Panangaden, that the ad hoc program be adopted. The motion carried. (10) MINOR IN EDUCATION FOR SCIENCE STUDENTS AC-00- 17 110.1 It was pointed out that 416-300 has a prerequisite course that is not mentioned in Document AC-00-17. Prof. Paquette moved, seconded by Prof. Pasztor, that the program be tabled to a future Academic Committee meeting. The motion carried. (11) CHEMISTRY 180-277D Classical Methods of Analysis AC-00- 18 3 credits Change in credit weight from 4 to 3 111.1 Note: The implementation date for this change should read September 2001. Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Baker, that the change be approved. The motion carried. 180-547B Laboratory Automation AC-00- 19 3 credits Change in credit weight from 5 to 3 Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Cline, that the change be approved. The motion carried. (12) CHEMISTRY & PHYSICS - Joint Honours in Physics and Chemistry (New) AC-00-20 112.1 Note: The implementation date for this program should read September 2001. Prof. Cline moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the program be adopted. The motion carried. (13) MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS 189-525A Sampling Theory & Applications AC-00- 21 4 credits Changes: number (from 189-425), description & credit weight (from 3 to 4) Prof. Klemes moved, seconded by Prof. Panangaden, that the changes be adopted. The motion carried. (14) ATMOSPHERIC & OCEANIC SCIENCES - Ph.D. Program Changes AC-00- 22 Prof. Leighton moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. (15) GEOGRAPHY 183-497A Ecology of Coastal Waters AC-00- 23 3 credits Changes: Title, pre/corequisites, restriction, & description 115.1 It was felt that since this course is part of a proposed new program, the entire package, including consultation reports, should be considered simultaneously. Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the course be tabled to a future Academic Committee meeting. The motion carried. (16) ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, POLITICAL SCIENCE & SOCIOLOGY AC-00-24 For Information (Document Available Upon Request): - M.A. Economics; Social Statistics Option - M.A. Geography; Social Statistics Option - M.A. Political Science; Social Statistics Option - M.A. Sociology; Social Statistics Option (17) TOEFL AS AN ADMISSION REQUIREMENT AC-00- 25 117.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the University Admissions Committee had proposed that the minimum TOEFL (proficiency in English) requirement be raised from 550 to 575 (213 to 230 for the electronic version of the test). After some discussion, Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Ms. Waluzyniec, that the new minimum TOEFL requirement be adopted. 117.2 Associate Dean Mendelson later modified the motion to specify that performance of students admitted under the new TOEFL requirement be monitored, and that if necessary further increases to the minimum TOEFL be considered in the future. The motion carried. (18) ADMISSION OF APPLICANTS WITH ADVANCED LEVEL EXAMINATIONS AC-00-26 118.1 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the above item. After a short discussion, Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. Pasztor, that the changes in the A-level admissions criteria, Document AC-00-26, be adopted. The motion carried. (19) CREDIT WEIGHT/WORKLOAD FOR LABORATORY COURSES AC-99- 173(Rev)/AC-00-27 This item was postponed to the next Academic Committee meeting scheduled for October 24, 2000. (20) OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. The meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m. academic\ACSeptMin.doc