The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, May 19, 2006 Page: 4 of 28
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THE RICE THRESHER
MINORS
From page 1
having to make choices. There is a constant
tension — and this is independent of any
question about minors — between all the
things we would like to do and the constraints
imposed by our finite resources."
Interdisciplinary minors
The proposal states that "the intent of
the interdisciplinary minor is to foster new
ideas and creativity in the curriculum and
to provide additional value to students over
and above current departmental and other
program offerings."
Interdisciplinary minors would in-
clude required courses in more than one
department.
The approval and administration pro-
cesses for interdisciplinary minors and
minors in schools, departments, centers and
programs that do not offer undergraduate
majors are the same.
For each minor, a committee of fac-
ulty members will develop a plan specifying
courses, advising the students who declare
the minor, and appointing a chairperson and
undergraduate adviser. A committee is in
charge of each minor so the program does
not dissolve as it might if a single key faculty
member were in charge of it.
ERRATA
The article "Activists to camp on IM fields" in the April 28 issue incorrectly stated Rice
University Police Lieutenant Dianna Marshall would allow less experienced officers to
work at the Global Night Commute event. Marshall actually told event coordinators that
officers who are paid less would work at the event because they would be available to
do so. Also, the method by which RUPD determines the number of officers necessary
at an event includes consideration of the type of event, whether alcohol will be served
and the group's history at on-campus events.
The article "Parking rates rise, new surcharges for juniors," in the April 28 issue should
have said college lots are not included in the Night Owls pass for graduate students.
The Thresher regrets the errors.
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Forman said the collaboration of faculty
members will provide valuable academic
opportunities for students.
"It is clear that there are some faculty
members who are in a position to be able
to organize themselves and offer a really
interesting collection of courses that add up
into something bigger than the sum of the
parts," Forman said.
Interdisciplinary minor proposals will be
submitted to the Dean of Undergraduates
and then evaluated by the Undergraduate
Curriculum Committee, which will make a
recommendation to the Faculty Senate. The
senate has final approval.
Faculty Speaker Maij Corcoran, a physics
professor, said the senate will not just rub-
ber-stamp minors proposals.
"We intend to look closely at them to
make sure they're reasonable proposals
and they have enough [faculty] support,"
Corcoran said.
The proposal must include letters of sup-
port from the deans of the schools involved
and the relevant department chairs or pro-
gram heads. The proposal states, "These
letters must include a commitment by the
department that the relevant courses will
be offered with sufficient frequency that all
students registered will be able to fulfill Jhe
requirements within a four-year period."
The minors must be re-approved every
five years in a process identical to the ap-
proval process. However, the re-approval
must also demonstrate student demand
for the minor and that courses have been
offered often enough. In the event that a
minor is not re-approved or that the Dean
of Undergraduates determines there is not
enough faculty support for the minor, new
enrollment may be suspended and the minor
phased out Students who have declared the
minor at that time will be allowed to graduate
with the minor.
Student Association President Althea
Tupper, a Hanszen College junior, said
she thinks interdisciplinary minors will be
popular among students since interdisciplin-
ary majors, such as managerial studies and
policy studies, are popular.
Departmental minors
The Faculty Senate will not be involved
in the approval process for departmental
minors, which will be administered by
individual departments. Only department
chairs — with approval from the school's
dean — can propose a departmental minor,
which will then be considered by the Cur-
riculum Committee. The proposal states that
only in extraordinary circumstances should
these minors be denied.
The proposal outlines few specifications
for departmental minors, other than that the
minors will usually consist of six three- or
four-hour courses. Also, it states that gen-
erally departmental minors should require
three or four core courses and several elec-
tives that can be chosen from a larger list.
While the Undergraduate Curriculum
Committee did not favor the adoption of
departmental minors, the Faculty Senate
working group that considered the minors
proposals did recommend its adoption.
Corcoran said departmental minors will
probably be most beneficial for students who
major in science or engineering and whose
majors have too many required courses to
allow *» second major.
Student support
The Student Association conducted
an informal, non-scientific survey at each
residential college in the spring. When
former-SA President James Lloyd, a Brown
College senior, and Tupper met with Corco-
ran to discuss minors, Lloyd presented the
survey results. The survey showed that
62 percent of students surveyed favored
undergraduate minors. Slightly more stu-
dents responded that they would be more
interested in departmental minors than in
non-departmental minors.
Tupper said it is a good idea to offer
minors in order to gauge their popularity
among students.
"If [a minor] is underutilized by students,
then it should be re-c ^aluated," Tupper said.
"But why not try it? If it gives students more
options then it's a great idea."
Nearly 70 percent of the students sur-
veyed responded that they would add at least
one minor to the majors they already have
— not decreasing the number of majors. Of
those surveyed, 61 percent had only one
major.
Tupper said she thinks adding minors will
bring Rice more in line with other universi-
ties where students have one major and one
minor rather than multiple majors.
Tupper said offering minors allows stu-
dents to experiment academically.
"Students can take a wider variety of
courses," Tupper said. "It allows more flex-
ibility for students who want to take courses
based on their interests rather than just
fulfilling major requirements."
MINORS STUDENT SURVEY
Student Association new student representatives conducted a survey this spring to
gather student opinion on adding minors to the curriculum. The results of the survey were
relayed to the Faculty Senate. Below, non-departmental minors include interdisciplinary
minors and those offered by programs that do not currently offer majors. The number
of students who answered each question is in parentheses.
I currently have or plan to have majors. (248)
61% 1
34% 2
4% 3
1% 4 or more
would the offering of academic minors at Rice. (251)
62% support
23% be indifferent to
15% not Support
If academic minors are offered, I would be more interested in
57% departmental minors (biology, history)
(266)
43% interdisciplinary minors (communications, African-American studies)
If I could add minors, departmental or non-departmental, I wouid probably choose to
have . (251)
14% the same number of majors as I currently have and no minors
69% the same number of majors and one or more minors
12% fewer majors and one or more minors
5% other
If only non-departmental minors were available. I would probably choose to have .
(242)
37% the same number of majors as I currently have and no minors
53% the same number of majors and one or more minors
6% fewer majors and one or more minors
4% other
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 28, Ed. 1 Friday, May 19, 2006, newspaper, May 19, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443093/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.