University Forum held its second-to-last meeting at the Ezra Lehman Library on April 23, in which the University Curriculum Committee (UCC), Student Affairs and other groups exchanged progress updates. 

The first item that UCC recommended was to approve the removal of the Mathematics Pedagogy Certificate, which was approved in the spring of 2023 in response to a spike in interest in pedagogy throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania school districts. 

These pedagogy certificates emphasized student-centered learning and better ways to train their new teachers seeking employment in math classrooms before or during formal training for a mathematics education degree.

Since these classes couldn’t offer a complete certificate in education, UCC Secretary Grant Irnest said that school districts slowly lost interest in “a certificate that doesn’t end in teacher certification,” prompting the committee to agree on the suspension of Math Pedagogy I, II and Mathematical Technology in Pedagogy.

That wasn’t the only program put into moratorium. The Department of Geography and Earth Science removed its Master of Science graduate programs due to a decline in student enrollment and reduced faculty, from 16 to only 10 professors since 2020.

But as one program fell, another rose. UCC moved to approve their newest addition to the Department of Sociology/Anthropology: a major and minor in Public Health. The program aims to give students who are not STEM majors a background and a chance to get involved in public health.

“If you look at graduate programs, they actually look for the social science background more than the STEM background,” Allison Carey, the sponsor of the proposal said. 

These programs will include a general education 100-level course in the Introduction to Public Health, 200-level Health Policy, 300-level Social Epidemiology and a 400-level internship. Carey says the university should make the most of their professors’ backgrounds in medical sociology, regardless of the declining sociology majors.

More course revisions went underway afterwards, including a modification of course selection flexibility in earning a Master of Science in Supply Chain Analytics. After a student survey was considered, Robert Neidigh, who is a part of the Finance & Supply Chain Management Department, motioned to change the number of required courses from 8 to 6 and increase the number of elective courses required to earn a master’s from 2 to 4. 

Vice President of Student Affairs Lorie Sheetz briefed the forum on how Student Affairs has been “holding fraternities and sororities more accountable” and in return promoting good things that Greek Life has recently done.

Sheetz reported that in the last few weeks, Alpha Psi Fraternity and Chi Upsilon Sigma, part of the National Latin Sorority, hosted a “For the Culture: Basic Needs Drive” for cultural care products. They also donated $3,400 to the development of Greek Life scholarships and raised over $6,000 for Colleges against Cancer during Relay for Life.

She mentioned specific Greek Life members doing good work, like Alpha Omicron Pi President Morgan Tarr. She received the Gero award on International Women’s Day and received a Kent L. Gardner scholarship from Order of Omega, a Greek honor society.

Student Government Association also announced Kim Rockwell as the Outstanding Administrator of the Year. She is the Interim Director of SUSSI. Asha Early, the general manager of dining, was awarded Outstanding Staff Member of the Year. Sharnine Herbert, an associate professor in Communications, was given Outstanding Faculty of the Year. 

UCC wrapped up the meeting by responding to a proposal made in 2016 regarding class size policy and explained the protocols that will evaluate class size appropriateness during curriculum approval and revision processes. To cater to future students and improve the student-to-faculty ratio, departments and programs provide yearly class size recommendations and rationale for each course, with a formula used to determine caps for courses for which don’t have any recommendations. 

These recommendations, which only apply to in-person classes, can be found on the UCC website. They are updated annually, reflecting faculty input based on data, classroom needs, pedagogical considerations and field expertise. All cap sizes are not final without approval from university administration. 

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