The director of the Study Abroad Office proposed Thursday that students should be able to use study abroad experiences to waive the senior seminar requirement.

Wendy Williamson, the director of the Study Abroad Office, presented her proposed idea to the Council on Academic Affairs during its meeting.

“This proposal would dramatically improve the number of students who study abroad without any extra cost to the university,” Williamson said. “We could say that a study abroad trip of a certain number of weeks would qualify as a replacement for a student’s senior seminar.”

Blair Lord, the provost and the vice president for academic affairs, said the average of students who studied abroad in previous years was 350, and the average has decreased to about 300 so they are trying to find more ways to promote study abroad.

Stacey Ruholl, a council member and associate professor ofkinesiology and sports studies, said she was concerned about this proposal.

“Senior seminars are meant to be outside of a student’s major but waivers are already happening with study abroad opportunities even though it relates to the student’s major,” Ruholl said.

Rebecca Throneburg, a council member and a professor of communication disorders and sciences, said it would be better if Williamson came up with options for study abroad senior seminars instead of being able to replace any senior seminar with study abroad experiences.

Williamson said she is not aiming to fit study abroad to senior seminars because they are similar but not equal.

“Study abroad is great for students to learn how to think globally and outside of the box,” Williamson said. “Researching and learning every day in a different country is more valuable than sitting in a classroom.”

Larry White, a council member and an assistant professor of business, said in order for this proposal to work, they would need to make sure all study abroad components would need to support the same objectives as senior seminars.

Williamson said she would think about the council members’ feedback and then decide how to proceed.

The council also unanimously approved seven different new language course proposals.

Three of the new course proposals were titled “Advanced Oral Proficiency, 3402″, and there were separate proposals for this course in French, German and Spanish.

Stephen Canfield, the chairman of the foreign language department and an associate professor of French, said these courses are aimed at teacher certification students who have to pass the Oral Proficiency Interview.

The interviewer presents the student with a conflicting scenario such as wrecking a friend’s car, and the student is judged on different speaking aspects, Canfield said.

“The interview is set over the phone, and they have modified the test so that you have to pass with an advanced-low score instead of an intermediate-high score,” Canfield said.

He said the course was formed for two reasons, which are that faculty members already help students prepare for this during their own time, and students should get credit for the amount of work that they put in.

The other four approved courses were “Beginning Italian I,” “Beginning Italian II,” “Intermediate Italian I” and “Intermediate Italian II.”

“We have been offering some Italian for the past three years, and there has been enough interest that we can finalize it by offering more courses to accommodate students,” Canfield said.

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].