The L&S Curriculum Committee is the key curricular committee for the college. In that role, members advise the Dean on the integrity of the undergraduate degree requirements andchanges to requirements for L&S majors. The committee reviews proposals to add, change, or delete courses from the L&S subject listings in the Course Guide; and, for courses offered outside L&S, the committee considers requests to allow non-L&S courses to count toward the L&S degree requirements. The committee also considers other curricular issues that arise. All of this work is conducted with an emphasis on safeguarding the principles of degree programs in the liberal arts and sciences.

Meetings and Membership

The committee meets regularly on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 3:30 p.m. Professor Michael Morgan (Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) will chair the committee in 2009-2010. Faculty and academic staff members serve three year terms and are chosen to represent the various academic areas of the College; a departmental undergraduate adviser and two student representatives also serve as members of the committee. The Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs assigns two L&S Student Academic Affairs staff members who serve as ex officio members of the committee. Nancy Westphal-Johnson, Associate Dean Undergraduate Education and Academic Administration, also serves in an ex officio capacity, as does Assistant Dean Elaine M. Klein, Director of L&S Academic Planning, Program Review, and Assessment of Student Learning. Assistant Dean Klein also assists the chair and serves as a consultant to the committee.

2009-2010 Membership:

Term members:

• Robert Asen, Communication Arts, Year 3 of 3
• Marc Fink, Music, Year 1 of 3
• Diane Gooding, Psychology, Year 1 of 3
• Liane Kosaki, Political Science, Year 1 of 3
• Venkat Mani, German, Year 1 of 3
• Naomi McGloin, East Asian Languages and Literature, Year 2 of 3
• Michael Morgan, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, Chair
• Kris Olds, Geography, Year 2 of 3
• Ned Sibert, Chemistry, Year 3 of 3
• Jeremi Suri, History, Year 3 of 3
• Kenneth Sytsma, Botany, Year 2 of 3

Ex Officio:

• Elaine Klein, L&S Administration (Academic Planning, Program Review, and Assessment of Student Learning)
• Christopher Lee, L&S Student Academic Affairs (Undergraduate Academic Services)
• Molly McGlone, Assistant Director for Curriculum, L&S Honors Program (Curriculum)
• Mike Pflieger, L&S Student Academic Affairs (Undergraduate Academic Services, DARS)
• Nancy Westphal-Johnson, L&S Administration (Undergraduate Education and Academic Administration)
• ad hoc: Tori Richardson, L&S Student Academic Affairs (publication liaison)

Student Members:

• Emily Kesner

2009-2010 Activities

In addition to conducting its ordinary business with respect to courses and academic programs, Dean Sandefur has asked this year's committee to consider a variety of curricular initiatives related to enhancing the undergraduate student experience, as part of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. In addition, the committee will be asked to advise the dean as to how the college can reasonably approach the challenge of assessing student learning on a college-wide scale, to gauge the extent to which L&S students are achieving the liberal education learning outcomes expressed in the BABS 07 degree requirements, and in the Wisconsin Experience at UW-Madison.

Course Proposals

The Curriculum Committee reviews all proposals to add, change or delete L&S courses. Proposals are sent to the L&S Curriculum Committee at least four (4) weeks prior to the Divisional Executive Committee meeting at which departments would like them considered. L&S administrative staff and the committee chair review all proposals prior to consideration by the Curriculum Committee in order to resolve technical questions they may contain; once approved, notice of approval is sent to the department and to the Divisional Executive Committee Office.

Course Proposal forms are available online at http://www.secfac.wisc.edu/divcomm/courses/CourseProposals.htm.

Proposals may be sent electronically (pdf files preferred), c/o Tammy Weisensel (weisensel@ls.admin.wisc.edu). If submitting hard copies, please send three (3) copies of each proposal to the L&S Curriculum Committee in care of Tammy Weisensel, Room 307B South Hall.

Course proposals must be accompanied by a letter from the department chair indicating that the department has approved the proposal. This memorandum should explain why the changes are being sought. It is useful to note whether changes are requested as a result of efforts to assess and improve student learning (see Chapter V.6, "Academic Assessment" for more information on that subject). If several proposals are being submitted, each packet of proposals may be accompanied by one letter; there is no need to attach the cover letter to each proposal if one letter can address all changes sought.

The three copies will be used to conduct the initial review. The committee will consider proposals after all technical and substantive questions (if any) are addressed, and the proposal is revised to reflect those changes. The department will be notified and asked to send 20 copies of the approved version to the Divisional Executive Committee Office (134 Bascom). In the interest of saving paper and reducing duplicating costs, please do not send the 20 copies until they are requested.

Liberal Arts and Science (LAS) Course Review

In addition to reviewing L&S course proposals, the committee reviews on request courses offered by other Schools and Colleges to consider whether L&S students may count non-L&S courses for degree credit. Courses that may be counted are expected to meet the committee's "Criteria for Liberal Arts and Science Courses".

This aspect of the curriculum changed substantially with the implementation of the 2007 L&S BABS degree requirements. Under the old curriculum, approved non-L&S courses were known as "T" or "C" courses, and L&S undergraduate students were allowed to count up to 20 credits of "T" courses toward an L&S degree, and could count "C" courses just as they would count credits earned in L&S courses. Under the rules that went into effect in Summer 2007, the "T" course rule will be eliminated, and L&S undergraduates admitted after May 21, 2007, or who elect to "opt in" to the new curriculum, must earn at least 108 credits of "Liberal Arts and Science" courses; they will also be allowed to count for degree credit up to 12 credits in any other credit-bearing UW-Madison courses.

The L&S Curriculum Committee will review departments' requests to consider courses that meet its criteria for Liberal Arts and Science Courses. Requests to review non-L&S courses may be forwarded to the L&S Curriculum Committee by the Divisional Executive Committee office or by the department. Ideally, requests should include the following information:

• A cover letter explaining the course's contribution to liberal education;
• A course change form requesting LAS designation;
• A detailed syllabus that includes weekly lecture topics and subjects covered by them,
  readings, and method of student evaluation; and,
• If breadth designation is sought, an explanation of the course's contributions to general principles important to understanding the world through the Arts, Humanities, or the Social, Natural, Physical, or Biological Sciences

Please contact the committee chair or Assistant Dean Elaine Klein (kleine@ls.admin.wisc.edu) for more information.

Changes in the Major

The L&S Curriculum Committee reviews proposals to change undergraduate major requirements (including requirements for admission to the major) for all L&S degree and certificate programs. Proposals must be submitted to the Curriculum Committee for review before they can be implemented; when approval is granted, Departments are given an implementation date after which they may admit students under the new requirements. Departments and Programs are encouraged to contact the Chair of the Curriculum Committee and consult the Committee's Guidelines for Curricular Change (which includes a discussion of time to implementation) before undertaking any changes. As part of this process, we encourage Departments to consider the impact of their proposed changes on programs closely related to their own, such as School of Education programs for which L&S departments provide content instruction. Departments may wish to consult School of Education Associate Dean Jeff Hamm (hamm@education.wisc.edu) for assistance in considering theimpact of proposed revisions on School of Education programs.

Please send proposals to the attention of the committee chair, c/o Elaine Klein (Room 307E South Hall).

Consultation on Curricular and Policy Matters

The L&S Curriculum Committee serves as the primary vehicle for the consideration of new curricular initiatives such as Freshman Seminars, and advising the Dean and L&S Student Academic Affairs on the interpretation of L&S curricular policy as the need arises. As part of this responsibility, the Curriculum Committee completed a multi-year assessment of the L&S BA/BS requirements. That assessment led to changes to the L&S baccalaureate degree requirements that were approved by the L&S Senate in April 2005, and which have since been the focus of much of the committee's work. As questions arise, the committee continues to consider issues related to the implementation of those changes in the L&S degree requirements (a.k.a. BABS07).

The Committee has issued recommendations related to the following topics:

• L&S Undergraduate Catalog Text. These changes are intended to explain more clearly what students can expect in the course of pursuing a degree in the liberal arts and sciences, and how breadth of study intersects with depth of study in more focused inquiries in the major. Importantly, the various types of "breadth" are described (albeit in general terms). This work will lay the foundation for future efforts to assess student learning in breadth areas.
  
• Directed Study. The committee's inquiries into student course taking patterns and faculty surveys about the role and use of Directed Study courses led to specific advice to departments about how to use these courses more effectively.
  
• Topics courses. The committee has discussed the issues presented by an aging course array, and noted that many departments and programs lack "topics courses" under which infrequently offered courses might be taught. The committee has issued advice regarding the role topics courses might play in the curriculum.

L&S Interdisciplinary Subject Listing

In accordance with the administrative guidelines for the L&S Interdisciplinary subject listing, the L&S Curriculum Committee serves as the faculty body that approves whether courses may be listed in that timetable. For procedures on how to list a course in this area, please contact Associate Dean Nancy Westphal Johnson (westphal@ls.admin.wisc.edu), who serves as the Chair of this "virtual department".

Last revised:  August 18, 2009 .