AC-05-60 FACULTY OF SCIENCE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, November 29, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. in Arts Council Room, Arts 160. PRESENT: Dean Grant (Chair), Associate Dean Hendren (Vice-Chair), Associate Dean Leighton; Professors Abouheif, Andrews, Baines, Chmura, Cline, Drury, Fabry, Mandato, Martin, Panangaden, Allard (in place of Prof. Shultz), Wechsler, Yau; E. Gibb; L. Das, T. Ebanks, Y. Lu, J. Pasternak, J. Zhai; J. D’Amico. REGRETS: Professor Silvius; Associate Dean Hendershot; J. Gale, M. Lagodich. GUEST: Prof. Rudiger Krahe, Department of Biology DOCUMENTS: AC-05-29 to AC-05-31 AC-05-32A to AC-05-32I AC-05-33 to AC-05-59 Dean Grant called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA - EPSC 396 (AC-05-32I) to be added to Item #6, Undergraduate Research Project Courses. - Item #15, Computer Science, to be considered after Item #6 of the Agenda. Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Prof. Cline, that the amended Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 1, 2005 AC-05-29 Prof. Cline moved, seconded by Associate Dean Hendren, that the Minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the Minutes. (4) REPORT ON MINOR COURSE CHANGES AC-05-30/MCC-05-14 (for information) 304.1 Associate Dean Hendren mentioned that SCTP has streamlined its procedure on course retirement. She said that units are not required to fill out individual Course Revision Forms for each course retirement, but that a spreadsheet was sufficient. (5) B.A. & Sc. AD HOC HONOURS PROGRAM IN HUMAN EVOLUTION AC-05-31 (For Information Only) (6) UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECT COURSES New Courses: ANAT 396 (Anatomy & Cell Biology) AC-05-32A ATOC 396 (Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences) AC-05-32B BIOL 396 (Biology) AC-05-32C COMP 396 (Computer Science) AC-05-32D EPSC 396 (Earth & Planetary Sciences) AC-05-32I GEOG 396 (Geography) AC-05-32E MIMM 396 (Microbiology & Immunology) AC-05-32F PHYS 396 (Physics) AC-05-32G REDM 396 (Redpath Museum) AC-05-32H 306.1 Dean Grant thanked units for preparing in a timely fashion the Undergraduate Research Project Course Proposal Forms. He said he realized there had been a lot of work involved. 306.2 Associate Dean Hendren said other units (Chemistry, Mathematics & Statistics, and Physiology) would be submitting Undergraduate Research Project Course Proposal Forms for the next Academic Committee meeting on December 13, 2005. 306.3 In response to a member who questioned the validity of having a 396 course from Redpath Museum, Dean Grant said that Redpath Museum was an academic unit in the Faculty of Science, and the director of Redpath Museum attended meetings of the heads of Science units. 306.4 A member said that his unit was concerned about the potential for 396 projects to take longer than a single term. In response, it was suggested that in such a case it would be possible for students to register for another research course in order to continue the project. Another member said that his unit definitely did not want projects to last more than one semester. Associate Dean Hendren moved, seconded by Prof. Mandato, that the above Undergraduate Research Project courses be adopted. The motion carried. In response to a request from Associate Dean Hendren, Prof. Cline moved, seconded by Prof. Andrews, that the Associate Dean (Academic) be given authority to bring any subsequently submitted Undergraduate Research Project Course Proposal Forms directly to the next Faculty of Science meeting, scheduled for December 6, 2005, thereby enabling the proposals to be submitted in time for the January 12, 2006 SCTP meeting. The motion carried. (7) PHYSICS New Course: PHYS 580 AC-05-33 Prof. Cline moved, seconded by Prof. Panangaden, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. Program Change: - Honours in Physics AC-05-34 Prof. Cline moved, seconded by Prof. Panangaden, that the program change be approved. The motion carried. (8) MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS New Course: MATH 352 Problem Seminar AC-05-35 1 credit Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Prof. Panangaden, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. Program Changes: - Major in Mathematics AC-05-36 - Honours in Applied Mathematics AC-05-37 - Honours in Mathematics AC-05-38 - Honours in Probability & Statistics AC-05-39 - Faculty in Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science AC-05-40 Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Associate Dean Leighton, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. For Information Only - Documents Available Upon Request: B.A. Program Changes Minor Concentration in Statistics Major Concentration in Mathematics (9) BIOCHEMISTRY Program Changes: Faculty in Biochemistry AC-05-41 Major in Biochemistry AC-05-42 Honours in Biochemistry AC-05-43 Associate Dean Hendren moved, seconded by Prof. Fabry, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. 309.1 Associate Dean Hendren mentioned that the course changes that had occasioned the above program changes, had been made the previous year. She asked members to try to submit program changes at the same time as course changes that cause those program changes. (10) IMMUNOLOGY INTERDEPARTMENTAL HONOURS (Program Changes) AC-05-44 310.1 A new version of the proposal was tabled, and Prof. Baines explained this new version. He said he wanted to retain the lists of U1, U2 and U3 Required and Complementary courses, in order that these be spelled out clearly for students, since many students did not consult advisors. Prof. Baines moved, seconded by Prof. Mandato, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. (11) BIOLOGY BIOL 427 Herpetology AC-05-45 Changes in number [from BIOL 327] & Prerequisites 3 credits Prof. Abouheif moved, seconded by Prof. Andrews, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. New Course: BIOL 507 Animal Communication AC-05-46 3 credits 311.1 Prof. Krahe, instructor for BIOL 507, introduced the proposed course, and answered members' questions. Prof. Abouheif moved, seconded by Prof. Fabry, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. (12) REDPATH MUSEUM New Course: REDM 601 Writing Science Articles 1 AC-05-47 3 credits New Course: REDM 602 Writing Science Articles 2 AC-05-48 3 credits Associate Dean Hendren moved, seconded by Prof. Chmura, that the above courses be adopted. The motion carried. (13) PSYCHOLOGY PSYC 314 Computational Psychology AC-05-49 Changes in number [from PSYC 503] & description 3 credits Ms. Allard moved, seconded by Prof. Abouheif, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. PSYC 562 Measure. of Psych. Processes AC-05-50 Change in number [from PSYC 336] 3 credits The following restriction should be added to Box #22: “Not open to students who are taking or have taken PSYC 336.” Ms. Allard moved, seconded by Prof. Cline, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. B.Sc. Program Changes: - Honours in Psychology AC-05-51 Ms. Allard moved, seconded by Associate Dean Leighton, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. B.A. & Sc. Program Changes: Joint Honours Component in Psychology AC-05-52 Ms. Allard moved, seconded by Associate Dean Hendren, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. (14) McGILL SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT B.Sc. Program Changes: Major in Environment; Biodiversity and Conservation Domain AC-05-53 Prof. Fabry moved, seconded by Prof. Yau, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. B.Sc. Program Changes: Major in Environment; Environmetrics Domain AC-05-54 Prof. Fabry moved, seconded by Prof. Cline, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. For Information Only: B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) Program Changes: Major in Environment; Biodiversity and Conservation Domain Major in Environment; Environmetrics Domain B.A. Program Changes: Faculty in Environment; Environment and Development Domain (15) COMPUTER SCIENCE Program Change: B.Sc.; Major in Software Engineering AC-05-55 Prof. Panangaden moved, seconded by Associate Dean Hendren, that the IYES component be formally added to the above degree program. The motion carried. 315.1 It was agreed that Associate Dean Leighton would look into the possibility of a blanket formal addition of the IYES component to Science programs. This issue would be brought to the Academic Committee in the near future. For Information Only: Minor in Computer Science for Engineering Students (16) AFRICAN FIELD STUDY SEMESTER AC-05-56 316.1 Associate Dean Hendren introduced the changes to the AFSS. She said that a consultation report from the Department of Anthropology would be required. Associate Dean Hendren moved, seconded by Prof. Chmura, that the revisions to the AFSS be approved pending consultation with the Department of Anthropology. The motion carried. Secretary’s Note: The consultation report from Prof. Galaty, Department of Anthropology, was received on December 1, 2005. (17) CHEMISTRY CHEM 514 Biophysical Chemistry AC-05-57 Change in number [from CHEM 404] and description 3 credits The following restriction should be added to Box #22: “Not open to students who are taking or have taken CHEM 404 or BIOC 404.” Prof. Andrews moved, seconded by Prof. Abouheif, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. New Course: CHEM 533 Small Molecule Crystallography AC-05-58 3 credits Prof. Andrews moved, seconded by Prof. Mandato, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. (18) RESTRICTION ON WORLD OF CHEMISTRY COURSES FOR B.A. & SC. STUDENTS (For Information Only) AC-05-59 318.1 Associate Dean Hendren explained the purpose of the restriction, and said that the restriction was the same as that for Science students. (19) OTHER BUSINESS 319.1 Associate Dean Hendren said that the research courses for the Dean's Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research List (DMURL) would be discussed at the next Academic Committee meeting scheduled for December 13, 2005. She said that course titles and descriptions did not always make it clear whether a course involved research or reading. With this in mind, she asked members to examine their courses submitted for the DMURL. 319.2 A student member announced that the Dean would be funding a scientific journal (Journal of McGill Undergraduate Research) to publish the results of undergraduate research. Any Science undergraduate student would be potentially eligible to publish in the journal. Articles would have to be written at a general scientific level. There was no further business. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. 7 ACMinutesNov29.doc