Stephen Canfield was dissatisfied with the Council on Academic Affairs decision to rescind the proposal previously passed that would require more foreign language credits.

“I was disappointed, but not surprised given all that had transpired since last April and that lead up to the vote,” Canfield, the chair of the foreign language department, said. “Still, I was disappointed.”

Canfield proposed the requirement change to CAA last spring.

The requirement would have changed the current two semesters of a foreign language to three. The proposal was passed April 17 and changes were to go into effect in the fall 2010 semester.

President Bill Perry and Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs, then asked CAA to reconsider their vote and re-look at the proposal.

CAA formed an ad hoc committee to review the requirement. The results of which suggested the council rescind the proposal. At Thursday’s meeting, CAA voted to rescind the proposal in a 9-3 decision. The foreign language requirement will now stay at two semesters.

“I respect their decision and admit that their arguments are viable though no more viable and often less so than those made in favor of the proposal,” Canfield said.

Kathleen Bower, associate professor of geology/geography and CAA chair, said as a faculty member, she thinks CAA’s decision was best for the university for several reasons.

She said the College of Education and the College of Sciences require students to take many credits in order to graduate. Bower said adding an extra one would be difficult for some of those students.

Another reason is the new requirement would be difficult for some entering students.

“Some of them simply do not have the three credits of foreign language already before they come in, especially the older non-traditional transfer students,” Bower said. “And some of them would have to start over with the first foreign language in order to get the third foreign language.”

Bower said she also doesn’t think the university has the resources to chance possibly losing a student population because of having to take three foreign language courses to graduate.

“Now I will say that I think that a third foreign language course is a wonderful idea so is a fourth and so is a fifth, but it’s up to the individual student to take more courses or if a department feels it is warranted for their particular major . the department should require the extra foreign language courses,” Bower said.

Along with rescinding the previous proposal, CAA also passed a resolution that encourages each academic program offering a major to review its foreign language requirement.

Bower said each program should study the current requirement and describe how students’ needs are being met in their current curriculum or to submit proposed changes by April 1, 2009.

“We would like to know what they find out after they do their assessment,” Bower said.

Canfield said he hopes the programs across campus will take this resolution to heart and do what it asks.

“My department will continue to emphasize what we see as our role across the curriculum and attempt to show the relevance and advantages foreign language study and proficiency development have for all programs with a particular emphasis on the personal, intellectual and professional value of study abroad,” he said.

Perry said when it comes to making any kind of academic requirements university-wide one has to look at those kinds of requirements in the context of the different departments and different majors.

The faculties of the department are the experts in what a major for that department should consist of, he said.

Perry said individual departments could require more than the general university requirements as long as it fits within the total number of hours required for a degree.

Emily Zulz can be reached at 581-7942 or at eazulz@eiu.edu.