Minutes: Minutes of October 27, 1998 were approved as distributed.

Course Inventory Requests/Course Modification Requests:

CECS: The committee approved BME 470, CEG 210, CEG 305, CS 225, CS 302, ME 199, ME 220.

CEHS: The committee approved EDT 110.

The proposal from the College of Liberal Arts is that students admitted to WSU with NO HIGH SCHOOLS DEFICIENCY in Mathematics be eligible to enroll in MTH 145 unless placement tests indicate that the student is in need of developmental education and must therefore enroll first in DEV 073, 083 or 093. A student admitted to WSU with a deficiency in mathematics must pass MTH 127 in order to remove the deficiency prior to enrolling in MTH 145.

The following issues were identified concerning this proposal:

Is the current math placement test a valid indicator of which courses students should be placed? College of Engineering and Computer Science is currently working with the Math department to pilot some different placement parameters for their students. Would nationally standardized tests such as COMPASS be better indicators? Is the Lake Campus using a standardized test for math placement? The chair will request data from the math department on the distribution of entering students on the math placement tests and whether they are considering changing to a standardized test. The chair will request data from Lake campus on the same.

Are students bypassing the math placement problem by taking a GE math substitution at another institution and transferring those credits in to avoid lengthy delays in progression/graduation? It was widely felt by committee members that this was happening. The chair will request data from the Office of Institutional Research.

If the above proposal was approved, would students be prepared to succeed in the science courses such as Physics? The chair will request information from the math department on possible changes in the text book for MTH 145 that will include algebra.

There appears to be wide variation among state institutions in Ohio on how math placement is handled and what kinds of courses fulfill the transfer module requirements for math. 

What groups are currently examining this issue on campus? The planning group for University College has been looking at data concerning this issue. The chair will request input from the Provost's office on other groups that may also be examining this issue. The chair will send a memo to all Deans to share the proposal and ask for their perspectives from each college.

It is anticipated that the issues will be further discussed at the February meeting.