AC-01-90 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, February 26, 2002, at 3:00 p.m. in Room 409, Dawson Hall. PRESENT: Dean Shaver (Chair), Associate Dean Mendelson (Vice- Chair), Professors Arkani-Hamed, Baker, Bennett, Drury, Farrell, Rasmussen, Wechsler, Yau (in the absence of Prof. Leighton); H. Walia, C. Ward; J. D'Amico. REGRETS: Professors Baines, Lapointe, Nishioka, Panangaden, Silvius, Sutton; Associate Dean Hendershot; H. Waluzyniec; S. Hadland, R. Hourani, S. Merani, D. Shanks, A. Wong; D. Crawford. DOCUMENTS: AC-01-76,76A AC-01-77 to AC-01-89 Dean Shaver welcomed new members of the Academic Committee. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA Prof. Baker moved, seconded by Prof. Drury, that the Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF JANUARY 22, 2002 AC-01-77 Prof. Rasmussen moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES - Minute 502.2, Geography 183-202A 603.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the above course had been reviewed for its statistics content, and it had been decided that the course should be added to the first list of overlapping statistics courses in the Calendar. He added that the course had been approved by Faculty with this restriction. (4) REPORT ON MINOR COURSE CHANGES AC-01-78 (for information) (5) ANATOMY & CELL BIOLOGY Program Changes: - Major in Anatomy & Cell Biology AC-01-79 - Honours in Anatomy & Cell Biology AC-01-80 605.1 Prof. Bennett moved, seconded by Prof. Wechsler, that the program changes be approved, pending confirmation of the overall credit weight of the programs. The motion carried. (6) SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE Program Changes: - Major in Computer Science AC-01-81 - Honours in Computer Science AC-01-82 Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. Yau, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. (7) NEW OPTION FOR M.Sc.: COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (CSE) OPTION - CSE at McGill AC-01-83 607.1 A number of concerns were raised, including the general vagueness of the document; the lack of clarity in the description of the prerequisites for the option; the references to, and proposal to, request money from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, soon to be disbanded; the precise role of the CSE Program Option Committee, and that this committee will not be able to approve courses, etc., for the Option, but will be able to make recommendations to the Academic Committee; the procedures that would be involved in admitting new departments into the Option; the appropriateness of "engineering" in the option title; the possibility of students in other departments applying for the option on an ad hoc basis; and precisely how the option would be integrated into departmental M.Sc. programs. 607.2 Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Associate Dean Mendelson, that the proposal be referred back. The motion carried. SINCE THE ABOVE ITEM WAS REFERRED BACK, THE FOLLOWING PROPOSALS WERE NOT CONSIDERED AT THE CURRENT ACADEMIC COMMITTEE MEETING: New Course: 189-799D/N AC-01-86 - Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences AC-01-87 - Computer Science AC-01-88 - Mathematics & Statistics AC-01-89 (8) REPORT: FRESHMAN SCIENCE PROGRAM (FSP) 608.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the purpose of this committee was to advise the Academic Committee concerning the future direction of the Freshman Science Program. The committee consists of: Associate Dean Mendelson (Chair), Professors J. Brawer (Anatomy & Cell Biology), M. Lapointe (Geography), S. Drury (Mathematics & Statistics); and students Candace Lapp (U0) and Momoe Hyakutake (U2, Biochemistry). 608.2 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the committee had met once, and had had a productive discussion. (9) CENTRE DE RECHERCHES MATHÇMATIQUES (CRM) AC-01-76(Revised) McGill Guidelines and Checklists for Research Centres AC-01-76A (Tabled) 609.1 Discussion centered on the relationship of the CRM to research and to McGill, and on the administration of the CRM. 609.2 Dean Shaver mentioned that funding of centres in QuÇbec is changing, with centres being required to be associated with more than one university in a formalized fashion. Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Prof. Arkani-Hamed, that the proposal be adopted. 609.3 Prof. Farrell moved an amendment, seconded by Associate Dean Mendelson, to recommend that the membership of the CRM Board should appropriately reflect the composition of CRM with respect to its membership. The amendment carried. A vote was held on the original motion. The motion carried. (10) Advanced Placement International English Language Exam AC-01-84 610.1 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the above item and explained the reasons for the adoption of the APIEL system. Associate Dean Mendelson moved, seconded by Prof. Bennett, that a score of 4 on the APIEL be approved as evidence of fulfillment of the English language requirement for admission to the Faculty of Science. The motion carried. (11) BACHELOR OF ARTS AND SCIENCE AC-01-85 611.1 Associate Dean Mendelson introduced the document. He said its purpose was to provide information and to obtain feedback from the Academic Committee. The proposed Bachelor of Arts and Science was not intended in any way to replace the current Arts and Science degrees, but rather would provide another option for students. 611.2 Members of the committee thought a Bachelor of Arts and Science was a good idea. It could serve students entering such disciplines as law, as well as provide a general education. Several suggestions were made as to the possible form of the degree; however, its structure is to be discussed by a joint committee of the Faculties of Arts and of Science, and specific recommendations will be brought to the Academic Committee. (12) OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. The meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m. ACMinFeb26.doc