Educational Programs and Policies Committee

Minutes, February 9, 2009

Present: Robert Aiken, Bruce Conrad, Chris Dennis, Marge Devinney, Mary Anne Gaffney (Chair), Jason Gasper-Hulvat, Phil Harris, Tamara Johns, Wendy Kutcher, Dan Liebermann, Michele O'Connor, Kate Wingert

The meeting convened at 2:00 pm.

1. The Minutes of January 26, 2009 were accepted with minor corrections.

2. Student Feedback Forms (SFF)- Chris Dennis reported that the Student Feedback Forms are ready and will be available through Portal. Faculty will be notified. Peter Jones is reworking data on cutoffs in the upper performance ranges.

3.Latin Honors- Dennis explained that although the GPA thresholds had been applied across the board, individual Schools and Colleges will now base Latin honors on figures derived from rolling assessments based on the past five years. Bob Aiken suggested that Peter Jones might specifically inform Deans about the new, annual calculation.

4. Ambler Campus and Adult Learners- Mary Anne Gaffney presented an email message from James Hilty concerning the current status of university efforts toward adult learners, a valuable constituency.

5.Transfer Audits - Michele O'Connor reported on the need for guidelines and a mechanism for advisers who evaluate non-traditional transfer credits. She demonstrated the complexity of determining credits from diverse sources and the need for Temple to develop clear policies concerning the individual sources.Jason Gasper-Hulvat distributed a table comparing specific policies of comparable universities (Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, Pittsburgh) on accepting specific source credits. Dennis and Gasper-Hulvat explained the transfer process and the nature of several of the source credits (e.g., International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement). Dennis noted that the larger issue involved here is: what constitutes minimum work for a Temple University degree.

O'Connor emphasized the particular, pressing need: making sure the rules for transfer credit are clear, including an appeal process. The committee accepted the immediate task: suggest parameters, work on non-traditional transfer issues. O'Connor will bring additional information to the 2/23/09 meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 3:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Marge Devinney