The Council on Academic Affairs will vote on an executive action brought forward by the psychology department, a course revision from the communications studies department and revising and adding other courses 2 p.m. Thursday in the Conference Room of Booth Library.

This week’s meeting will be the last one of the semester to wrap up the CAA’s agenda for the academic year.

Jeffrey Stowell, the assistant chair of the psychology department, said the psychology department has demanded an executive action to change the language regarding the requirements of elective hours.

“We requested the change in language because a few students had incorrectly believed that taking one course would count in two different places for the neuroscience minor,” he said. “We are changing the language (not the requirements) to prevent future misunderstanding.”

The previous explanation said the neuroscience minor required nine hours of electives from a list of disciplines, and no more than two classes from one discipline. The department wishes to add the word “additional” to the statement. The new statement will read  “nine additional hours from the following group of electives.”

Jim Novak, the interim associate dean of the College of Sciences, explained why the call of executive action was necessary.

“All curricular changes require either a formal proposal or, for minor changes, a request for an executive action,” Novak said.

Novak said all curriculum changes originate at the faculty level, and the dean’s office then passes the request onto the council where they make sure that the requests go through the proper proceedings for “discussion and vetting.”

Elizabeth Gill, an associate professor of communication studies, explained why the learning objectives needed to change and why the class changed its classification from a writing intensive class to writing active. The course in question is CMN 3660: Communication and Conflict Management.

“The course objectives for CMN 3660 have not been updated since 2002,” Gill said. “The course and its objectives needed to be updated to reflect current best practices in teaching conflict management, and the objectives were also revised to reflect the university’s learning goals.”

As far as communication and conflict management changing from a writing intensive course to a writing active one, Gill said a student’s writing in a writing intensive class would account for up to 35 percent of a student’s final grade, but because the objectives changed, the writing grades will not factor as much into the final grade. The course will focus on conflict management skills, case studies and presentations among other things.

“A writing-active course includes frequent, brief writing assignments and activities,” Gill said.

CAA will also be adding new classes in anthropology, biology and geology while revising classes in English and sociology among others. The Gateway Program will be revising its requirements to allow for possible letters of recommendation and proof of academic ability.

The CAA will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Conference Room of Booth Library.

Sam Nusbaum can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].