CAA to consider proposal for new organizational development program option

Brooke Schwartz, News Editor

The Council on Academic Affairs will discuss a new organizational development, agricultural and rural enterprise option at its meeting on Thursday.

According to the new option proposal, this addition to the organizational development program is to attract students who complete associate degrees in agricultural fields.

The proposed option would be composed of 120 semester hours, 25 of which must be from Eastern.

The proposal states that in addition to the six core classes required for the organizational development program, “these students will complete six additional courses (3 required and 3 electives) and can choose to meet the requirements for a minor in Entrepreneurship at EIU.”

The council is also looking at a new occupational experience course. 

The proposal says that, currently, students who complete an occupational portfolio receive credit in OPD 3200.

The point of the change is so “students writing to the learning objectives of lower division courses should receive lower division credits,” the proposal stated. 

If approved, this would mean that students writing to the learning objectives of upper division courses will receive OPD 3200 credit, while students writing to learning objectives of lower division courses will receive OPD 2200 credit.

The hospitality and tourism professionalism course is having revisions proposed to the council at its meeting Thursday.

The proposal says this change is because “(The School of Family and Consumer Sciences) is being split into separate programs.”

The program is not being eliminated, and the proposal says “similar content will be explored, but with an emphasis on the hospitality and tourism industry instead of family and consumer sciences.”

Currently, the course is described as instilling a sense of professionalism in students who are preparing to began or complete an internship in the area of hospitality and tourism. 

All of the proposed changes and new programs will be discussed and voted on at the council meeting.

Brooke Schwartz can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].