10:38 a.m., March 5, 2010----The addition of an honors bachelor of science degree in neuroscience and revisions to the major in elementary teacher education were among the measures approved by the University of Delaware Faculty Senate at its regularly scheduled meeting held Monday, March 1, in Gore Hall.

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Senators also voted to revise minors in music, astronomy and Japanese, and to revise the degree requirements for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program.

Revisions of the concentration for the master of music and degree requirements for the political science and international relations program and the master's degree in mathematics and applied mathematics were approved, as were program revisions in the Department of Biological Sciences master of science concentrations in molecular biology and genetics.

Approved changes to doctoral programs include revising mathematics, applied mathematics and the molecular biology and genetics concentrations in biological sciences.

New graduate certificate programs approved by the Faculty Senate include parent family, early language literacy and early childhood and human services.

The approved actions were included in the consent agenda and do not require approval by the UD Board of Trustees.

Before engaging in a question and answer session with members of the Faculty Senate, UD Provost Tom Apple discussed the progress in changing the UD Academic Calendar as well as the weekly calendar.

“During the regular academic year, most of the committees of the Faculty Senate are busy working and don't really have time to think about these other things,” Apple said. “We have talked about forming an ad hoc committee from the Faculty Senate to look at this issue.”

Apple said the committee might also consider incentives for faculty to teach early morning and evening classes.

“We might do that to encourage faculty who are excited about teaching at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., so that we can better utilize our classroom space and make sure that we have the least amount of overlap between classes so that students can get the courses they want,” Apple said. “We will be forming that committee as soon as possible to let the committee think about moving forward.”

Regular agenda items

Departmental status was approved for the Black American Studies and the Women's Studies programs, both in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The Faculty Senate also approved the establishment of a 4+1 Bachelor/Master program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The program would lead to the concurrent awarding of the bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering after the equivalent of five years of full-time study.

Measures approved during the regular agenda by the Faculty Senate also require approval by the UD Board of Trustees.

The next regular meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held at 4 p.m., Monday, April 5, in Room 104 Gore Hall. Preceding this meeting, a general faculty meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m., at the same location.

For more information, visit the UD Faculty Senate Web site.

Article by Jerry Rhodes