The Council of Academic Affairs met briefly Thursday afternoon via Blackboard Collaborate.

There were two items to be acted upon in the meeting and both were the introduction of new one-hour classes in the Department of Public Health.

The first course, PUBH 2500, would be an introductory course about motivational interviewing. The rationale for the course states:

“Motivational interviewing is a type of intervention used in many different disciplines to encourage behavior change. By active listening, change talk, building motivation, and an understanding of theory-based practices, students will learn the basics of the technique. Students from all colleges can participate, as the intervention technique is utilized in many one-on-one therapeutic modalities crossing multiple disciplines.”

It will be taught by instructor Amanda Harvey.

“I will actually demonstrate what motivational interviewing is and what it looks like, and then at the end of the semester they will actually demonstrate it, practice and be graded on it.”

Motivational interviewing is a counseling technique that seeks to help people resolve insecurities and help them find motivation to change them.

The proposal was unanimously approved by the council.

The other proposal, PUBH 4775, is a seminar course designed for students to reflect on internship or job experiences they may have had in the public health field.

The proposal was tabled, however, after it was determined there was a need for revisions to allow for framework for graduate students to take the course.

A discussion item that was set for the meeting was also pushed until the council’s next meeting.

Lu Ding, an instructional designer at the Faculty Development and Innovation Center at Eastern, was set to join the council to discuss hybrid delivery models for classes.

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