The Council on Academic Affairs Thursday accepted the request from the family and consumer science department to change its admission standards and degree requirements.

A student planning to major in family and consumer science must now complete 15 semester hours before being accepted into the major. In effect, those students who have not completed the 15 hours will be directed to university advisers rather than the department adviser, CAA Chair Andrew Methven, biological sciences professor, said.

Currently, there are around 500 family and consumer science majors and only one adviser within that department, Methven said.

“I don’t exactly agree with establishing admissions standards as a way to make up for lack of staff,” Methven said.

Jean Dilworth, family and consumer science professor, disagreed with the argument that the request was solely to assist the department staff and stated that the changes are being made to help the students.

“We believe that students are better served if they stay with broader-based advisement,” Dilworth said.

CAA also approved changes in degree requirements for family and consumer science majors that will help students meet future employer standards, Methven said.

Family and consumer science majors now must complete the department’s “core” classes with a grade of C or better.

In other business, the council approved two new foreign language courses: German for Reading Knowledge I, which will be implemented in the spring 2003 catalog and German for Reading Knowledge II, which will be first available in the fall of 2003.

The courses may not be used to fill foreign language major requirements. Instead, they will be designed to provide knowledge of the German language for students with a minor in German.

CAA also passed revisions made to an accountancy and finance course, Real Estate Investment. The course will now place emphasis on investment rather than real estate.