Faculty are to vote by mail ballot on whether to approve an interdisciplinary minor honors program that would be open to students who apply during the fall of their sophomore year.
Steve Leavitt and Karen Brison, directors of the Union Scholars program, described the “second scholars” program known as the Seward Interdisciplinary Fellows at a meeting of the faculty on Tuesday.
“Prospective students who were not invited to apply (as Union Scholars) will have a chance to participate,” Leavitt said. “The (Seward Interdisciplinary Fellows) program is for high-performing students already here.”
Open to students from any discipline who have at least a 3.5 GPA, Seward Fellows would take at least seven courses from at least two departments and complete a faculty-supervised independent project that will be supported by up to $1,000. Fellows would be allowed to take one extra course tuition-free if they maintain at least a 3.2 GPA.
Students who apply would be asked to complete a form and write an essay that “makes logical sense in terms of a theme of courses, much like we ask of organizing theme majors,” Leavitt said.
The Union Scholars Program has 51 members of the incoming class. The targeted enrollment for the first year of the Seward Interdisciplinary Fellows would be about 20, Leavitt said.
The Academic Affairs Council has approved the program.
Faculty also are to vote by mail ballot on a number of faculty governance positions. The positions and candidates are: two at-large AAC positions (Tom Jewell, Mary Carroll and George Shaw); SAC (John Cramsie, Jon Marr); FRB (Jim Adrian); FAC chair (Bill Zwicker); and FAC alternate chair (Karl Zimmermann).
Faculty approved changing the minimum term of junior faculty member of the FRB from two years to one. The change allows junior faculty not to serve during a review year, explained Tom Werner, chair of the FEC.
Kimmo Rosenthal, associate dean for undergraduate studies, urged faculty to limit the use of incomplete grades and to address them before the deadline. “As painful as it might be, we have to try to enforce the rules,” he said. “This is fundamental in terms of fairness to other students.” There were 197 incompletes given at the end of last term, he noted. Registrar Penelope Adey said that long outstanding incomplete grades affect her office's work with the committee on standing, class ranking, Latin honors and monitoring seniors for graduation requirements.
Dianne Crozier, associate dean of admissions, gave a report on admissions, which saw a 41 percent admit rate (compared to 47 percent last year) and a yield rate of 34 percent (29 percent last year).
Faculty approved the granting of degrees to 466 undergraduate students, and 152 graduate and continuing studies students.