CAA to vote on 6 items in Thursday meeting

Corryn Brock, News Editor

The Council on Academic Affairs will vote on revisions for the Public Relations and Neuroscience programs during its meeting Thursday.

The Public Relations program will be moving the required hours for the major from 51 to 52 semester hours.

Some courses will be removed and added to the various course categories and options for those with the major.

Courses being removed from the core courses are Management and Organizational Behavior, and Communication Law. Being added Message Strategies and Influence, Strategic Social Media Communication and Public Relations Capstone.

The changes will also removed the advance application elective cluster for public relation majors. New courses will be added to other elective clusters.

Additionally, three new elective clusters will be added; Intercultural Communication and Diversity, Law and Political Communication.

The Neuroscience Program will go from a 66-67 credit hour requirement to a 65-66 credit hour requirement. This is due to the Research Methods and Experimental Design course being removed and the Research Methods in Neuroscience course being added to the program’s core group of courses.

There is also a proposed catalog change for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Music.

The change will specify the ensemble requirements within the core of the degree. According to the proposal, “This change will result in clearer expectations for students and less cumbersome  degree audits.”

CAA will also vote on three new course proposals.

One potential new course is Advanced Band Repertoire and Score Study. According to the course description the course will give students the opportunity to “engage in an in-depth study of several band masterworks, which will include score analysis, listening assignments, and presentations. The course will focus on works representing different time periods and featuring varied aesthetics regarding aural characteristics and compositional techniques.”

The rationale for the course is: 

“This course draws on experiences and skills students gained in music theory, music history, instrumental conducting and literature, instrumental methods, and performing ensembles. It provides aspiring band directors an opportunity to assimilate, reframe, and apply concepts and procedures learned in these classes to their primary teaching medium — the band.”

Another course being voted on is Public Relations Capstone.

The course is intended to help “public relations students transition to the public relations profession. It discusses employment trends in the profession and aims to prepare students for the job market. Students learn and practice how they can leverage their public relations knowledge and experience to present themselves professionally and effectively to the industry and potential employers.”

The reason for the proposal is:

“Our major currently does not offer a capstone course that helps prepare seniors to navigate their transition into the profession. As part of the class, students will submit a professional portfolio with their best public relations work to share with potential employers. This portfolio will also serve as a base for program assessment. Because the class doesn’t require extensive reading and the portfolio assignment builds on already completed work, the content of this class fits well with a 2-0-2 format.”

CAA will also vote on the Neuroscience Research Methods.

The course will focus on the “examination of research methodology in neuroscience with emphasis on general experimental principles and research techniques that are specific to the study of brain. The entire research process will be considered with additional emphasis on techniques related to study of the human brain, animal neuroscience, and genetics.”

The rationale for the course is:

“Currently, neuroscience majors must take PSY 3805 Research Methods and Experimental Design which focuses on research methods used in psychology for studying mental processes and behavior. Neuroscience majors will need exposure to specific research methods used in their discipline such as electrophysiological and brain imaging techniques to prepare them for future graduate programs or careers in neuroscience. Such methods and techniques are not covered in the PSY 3805 course.

 

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].