April 29, 2013

1.     International Course Transfer – Discussion with Dr. Susan Carvalho

Guest Dr. Susan Carvalho, Associate Provost for International Programs, was present to follow up on the discussion held with the UKCEC on August 14, 2012 and April 15, 2013 regarding course transfers for international students. 

Dr. Carvalho would like to see UK develop a policy for international students who are not part of a 2+2 program, similar to the GETA agreement for in-state transfers.  It would be helpful if courses for international students were equated to more broad areas, like the five areas used for GETA (Communications, Arts and Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Natural Sciences, Quantitative Reasoning) instead of the ten individual UK Core areas.  Some UKCEC members raised concerns regarding this type of policy; the universities in a 2+2 program have provided UK with certain course information that we probably will not be able to get from all international schools.  Since this necessary information may not always be obtainable, some of the UKCEC feels uncomfortable granting this type of blanket approval, which may lower Core standards and allow drift.

Dr. Carvalho explained the problems that arise from not having a definitive policy: everyone has different ideas of what the policy should be and what limits should be set; international students are not told before they transfer and enroll at UK which of their courses will transfer; international students could enroll in US schools that have a higher rank than UK and more courses may equate there; some of our peer institutions have an international transfer policy similar to what is being suggested.  The UKCEC questioned the reasoning behind the peer institutions’ decisions to enact this type of policy, and also if it serves UK’s interests to have these students come here.  Dr. Carvalho argued that it benefits both the university and UK students to have international students on campus.

The UKCEC was undecided regarding this policy and did not reach a unanimous agreement.  However, most members felt that this conversation should be held somewhere in the university community beyond this committee (the 2+2 agreements weren’t made by the UKCEC, for example).   The statement was also made that UK should be fair to the students who began their undergraduate studies here and have done the most work. 

For the 2+2 agreement with Shanghai University that Dr. Carvalho brought to the UKCEC on April 15, the committee agreed to allow 27 hours of the students’ general education coursework to map to 9 areas of the UK Core (excluding US Citizenship, which those students would complete at UK).

For any other 2+2 agreement, the UKCEC would like to see evidence (through transcripts and syllabi) that the international general education curriculum is similar to UK’s.  The committee discussed the possibility of requiring International Affairs to obtain UKCEC approval of the international curriculum for students in a 2+2 program.  Another proposed solution is to just include language in the 2+2 program approval process stating that the Associate Provost for International Programs will ensure the general education curriculum of the international university is comparable to UK’s.

There are plans for a joint UKCEC and UGC meeting this summer, and this conversation will be continued at that meeting.  Before the meeting, the following information will be requested from Dr. Carvalho:

·       More information regarding the approval process for 2+2 agreements and where the UKCEC would need to insert themselves in that process

·       More information regarding the type of coursework that’s being taken as general education credit at those universities (transcripts)

·       Provide existing 2+2 agreements for the UKCEC to review

*It was also noted during this discussion that the Exceptions Committee is considering petitions from international students on a regular basis.  Since the UKCEC is not very familiar with the Exceptions Committee (members, operations, etc.) it was decided that there should always be a liaison from the Exceptions Committee to attend UKCEC meetings (currently Mike Shanks).

2.     UK Core Exceptions Committee Document – Mike Shanks

The intention of the document is to clarify UK’s course transfer policy so that as few students as possible have to appeal to the Exceptions Committee.  This policy, when finalized, should be included in an advising manual so that it is known and clearly understood.  The final version will be presented at the next UKCEC meeting for approval.

3.     Course Approvals

MUS 140 (Natural Sciences) – approved-pending: proposer should provide more details regarding information literacy

TA 388DL (Humanities) – approved-pending: on the Humanities course review form, proposer should provide more information in two instances where the only response is “See above.”

4.     UK Core Assessment – Chris Thuringer

The next round of assessment for UK Core courses will be held May 8 (C&C written and pilot of C&C oral) and May 9 (Citizenship).  Evaluators will spend the day scoring assignments from that area and will be paid a stipend for their time.

5.     Meeting adjourned at 3:50 pm.