AC-01-29 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, October 23, 2001, at 3:00 p.m. in Room 409, Dawson Hall. PRESENT: Dean Shaver (Chair), Associate Dean Mendelson (Vice- Chair), Professors Arkani-Hamed, Baines, Baker, Brawer, Cline (in the absence of Prof. Sutton), Drury, Farrell, Lapointe, Nishioka, Panangaden, Wechsler; Associate Dean Hendershot; S. Hadland, S. Merani, D. Shanks, H. Walia, C. Wu; J. D'Amico. REGRETS: Professors Leighton, Rasmussen, Silvius; H. Waluzyniec, D. Crawford; G. Preston, C. Ward. DOCUMENTS: AC-01-9 to AC-01-28 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA - Physiology, item #8, to be considered after item #4, Science Minor in Music Prof. Brawer moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the amended Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 25, 2001 AC-01- 10 Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Associate Dean Hendershot, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES - Minute 103.1, Letter Grades in Banner 203.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said the issue of the possible implementation of a grade of A+ had arisen because under Banner no numerical grades would appear on students' transcripts. An A+ would recognize outstanding performance. Associate Dean Mendelson said that at the previous Academic Committee meeting he had mistakenly told members that the Faculty of Arts had passed a resolution recommending the implementation of an A+. In fact, it was the Arts Curriculum Committee that had passed this resolution. However, Arts students were against an A+, and the resolution was withdrawn from presentation to a Faculty of Arts meeting. The issue was also raised at the Committee on Student Affairs, but an A+ was vigorously opposed by a student, leading the CSA to drop the issue. Thus, if the Faculty of Science wanted a grade of A+, it would have to recommend it. 203.1 Dean Shaver suggested that the issue be discussed at the next Academic Committee meeting. If a grade of A+ was recommended, the proposal would go on to the Faculty of Science. If the Academic Committee did not recommend the grade, the issue would go no further. (4) SCIENCE MINOR IN MUSIC (Program Retirement) AC-01-11 (For Information) 204.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the Faculty of Music was retiring the 24-credit Minor in Music for Science students. However, Science students would be able to take the 18-credit Minor Concentration in Music. (5) PSYCHOLOGY New Course: 204-301 Learning AC-01-12 3 credits Prof. Baker moved, seconded by Prof. Nishioka, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. New Course: 204-317B Genes and Behaviour AC-01-13 3 credits 205.1 It was suggested that Physiology 552-314A be included among the prerequisite courses to 204-317B, since 552- 314A is equivalent to 204-308A. 205.2 It was pointed out that consultation reports should clearly indicate their origins. 205.3 There was a brief discussion concerning whether a molecular biology/genetics course should be required as a prerequisite. Prof. Baker moved, seconded by Associate Dean Mendelson, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. New Course Tabled to the Next Academic Committee Meeting: 204-503A Computational Psychology AC-01-14 3 credits 205.4 After some discussion concerning the lack of a prerequisite course and the restriction listed, Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Baines, that the course be tabled to the next Academic Committee meeting on November 20, 2001. The motion carried. New Course: 204-529 Music Cognition AC-01-15 3 credits 205.5 There was a brief discussion concerning this 500-level course having only 200-level prerequisites, the target audience for the course, and whether 'permission of instructor' should be added. Prof. Baker moved, seconded by Prof. Arkani-Hamed, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. Program Changes Postponed to the Next Academic Committee Meeting: - Faculty Program in Psychology AC-01-16 - Major Program in Psychology AC-01-17 - Honours Program in Psychology AC-01-18 205.6 Dean Shaver suggested that, since 204-503 had been tabled to the next Academic Committee meeting, the above program changes should also be dealt with at that meeting. (6) SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE New Course: 308-252B Data Structures and Algorithms AC-01-19 3 credits 206.1 It was pointed out that item #17, Restriction(s), of document AC-01-19 should read "Not open to students who have taken or are taking 308-251." Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Drury, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. New Course: 308-362A Honours Algorithm Design AC-01-20 3 credits 206.2 It was pointed out that item #17, Restriction(s), of document AC-01-19 should read "Not open to students who have taken or are taking 308-360." 206.3 It was pointed out that the title of the prerequisite course, 308-252, should be "Data Structures and Algorithms." 206.4 It was pointed out that the course description should read "Basic algorithmic techniques, their application and limitations. Problem complexity, and how to deal with problems for which no efficient solutions are known." Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Drury, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. Program Changes: - Honours Program in Computer Science AC-01-21 Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Drury, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. New Domain Tabled to the Next Academic Committee Meeting: (7) McGILL SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT - B.Sc. Major in Environment: Environmental Geochemistry AC-01-22 207.1 Since the domain listed two retired Chemistry courses, since the domain had apparently not been reviewed by the Department of Chemistry, and since there was a hidden prerequisite in the domain, Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Wechsler, that the domain be tabled to the next Academic Committee meeting scheduled for November 20, 2001. The motion carried. (8) PHYSIOLOGY 552-461D Experimental Physiology AC-01-23 9 credits Change in credit weight from 6 to 9 Prof. Wechsler moved, seconded by Prof. Brawer, that the change be approved. The motion carried. Program Changes: - Honours Program in Physiology AC-01-24 Prof. Wechsler moved, seconded by Prof. Brawer, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. - Joint Major in Physiology & Mathematics AC-01-25 Prof. Wechsler moved, seconded by Prof. Brawer, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. - Joint Major in Physiology & Physics AC-01-26 Prof. Wechsler moved, seconded by Prof. Brawer, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. 208.1 It was noted that the above two joint programs require a high number of credits (77 and 80, respectively). (9) REREAD POLICY AC-01-9 209.1 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the above item. He said that the Faculty of Science policy was inconsistent with the Charter of Student Rights. 209.2 Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Associate Dean Hendershot, that the Faculty of Science adopt the reread policy of the Faculty of Arts. 209.3 It was pointed out that the statement "The reviewer will assess the fairness of the original grade rather than re-mark the assignment as he or she would have graded it" suggested that the reviewer was not the person who originally graded the assignment. In practice, this is often not the case. 209.4 Since units are responsible for specifying reassessment procedures, it was felt that the reread policy should not be addressed until guidelines for such procedures were available. The motion was withdrawn. (10) ADMISSIONS FOR 12TH GRADE ONTARIO STUDENTS AC-01-27 210.1 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the above document, and said that it was necessitated by Ontario's eliminating grade 13 in the near future. 210.2 There was a lengthy discussion, during which Associate Dean Mendelson and Dean Shaver emphasized that the requirements in document AC-01-27 were minimum values; that having the minimum mark of 72% for each mathematics and science course allowed McGill to accept excellent students who, for one reason or another, may have happened to do poorly in one particular mathematics or science course; and that the values in the document had been shown by many years of experience with Ontario students to produce excellent McGill Science students. Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. Baker, that the proposed admission requirements be adopted. The motion carried. (11) STANDING DECISIONS AC-01-28 211.1 Associate Dean Mendelson made a presentation on the topic. He explained the current system, proposed modifications for the Banner Student Information System, and described problems with the current system and advantages of the modified system. 211.2 Associate Dean Mendelson answered members' questions. Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Associate Dean Hendershot, that the proposal described in document AC-01-28 be adopted. The motion carried. (12) OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m. josie\academic\acminoct23.doc