Overview Form

College And Department

Proposal For a Change in a Program

Proposal For a Change in a Program

Type of Change:

• Prerequisites
From
To
• Number of Credits
From
To
• Required Courses
From
To
• Removal of Courses from Program
Course prefix and number MALS 650 MBA 655
• Addition of Courses to Program
Course prefix and number COMM 576
• Remove entire program from catalog
• Other
Explain 1) add "Any additional COMM electives at the 500, 600, or 700 level" to "Choose any three courses (9 credits)" 2) after the third sentence under "Degree Requirements," add the sentence "Only courses in which the student receives a grade of B or better will count towards the Master of Arts in Communication degree." 3) other course title changes as reflected in proposals being submitted separately: - (Under "Choose any three courses") COMM 531 Communication for Diverse Audiences - title change to "COMM 531 Communication with Diverse and Targeted Audiences" - (Advocacy Concentration only) COMM 530 Communication to Targeted Audiences - title change to "COMM 530 Communication Across Differences"

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Catalog Description:

Proposal for a Change in a Program

Are you removing the course from the catalog?

Yes

No

Existing course prefix and number

Existing course title

Is this course cross-listed or is it a pre-requisite for anything outside of this department?

Yes

No

Justification For Request

What research has led to this request?

1) We have found that our students have a need for more in-depth coverage of specifically communication-focused research methods in order to set them up for success in their other classes and when conducting their capstone theses, and faculty have found it to be a struggle to address these areas as well as the broader liberal studies methods that the MALS 650 class accommodates. 2) We will be adding more COMM electives at the graduate level to provide students with more options as we grow our program, and the changes to the "Choose three" options allow the added flexibility needed to accommodate a variety of identified needs as we move forward. 3) We have determined that we need to establish higher standards for academic rigor in coursework.

What impact will this request have on existing academic programs?

Our students will no longer be required to take the MALS 650 class, and we will need to redirect communication faculty to teach our own COMM 576 class instead of MALS 650. However, we wish to continue supporting the MALS program in any way that we can, and any MALS students who are interested in learning communication or media focused research methods will be welcome to enroll in COMM 576. In addition, special permission for our students to take MALS 650 as a course substitution for COMM 576 in certain circumstances may be granted. We are also removing the MBA 655 course as an option for our students, but we believe the effect of this will be minimal as most of our students do not opt to take this class, and will still have the option to do so with special permission under certain circumstances.

What financial costs are associated with this request?

In order to accommodate the communication-focused methods class as well as the added elective possibilities for growth in our cohort, we will need to allocate 1-2 more communication faculty toward graduate teaching per academic year.

If NO change in cost is anticipated, how is this possible?

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Any additional information