The Council of Academic Affairs committee passed revisions to the criminology minor today. Richard Wandling, a political science professor, was one of the writers of the proposal to revise the minor.

The proposal was brought forward to permit students with a criminology minor to count either Politics and the Legal Process (PLS 3513), Criminal Law (PLS 3523), or Civil Liberties in America (PLS 3543) for one of the three courses in the core requirements of the minor.

The Civil Liberties course is currently only being offered in the spring semester because of staffing constraints Wandling said. Because of this, the college has been flooded with substitution requests.

“We’re trying to keep up with the growth of the minor,” Wandling said.

By offering three different classes to satisfy the core requirement, criminology minor students will no longer have to put their progress on hold.

“All three classes cover important facets of the legal process,” Wandling said.

However, the classes will not be able to satisfy another requirement for any other minor. The revision was passed by the council with a unanimous vote and will take effect Fall 2011. Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs, addressed the CAA on Integrative Learning.

“It’s my hope that some of our thoughts will be reflected in the curricular re-designs,” Lord said.

“I encourage (the CAA) to consider and reflect on (the Integrative Learning proposal),” said CAA chair Larry White. Integrative Learning is the concept of encouraging students to make connections in all aspects of their life at Eastern: academic, professional, and personal and to apply these experiences to new complex, situations. Integrative Learning is broken up into four pillars, Lord said. The first includes challenging students to integrate academic and experiential learning to reflect what they learn. Intentionality, reflection, problem solving, collaboration and engagement are the focus of this pillar.

Appreciative Advising, including First-Year Seminars, Service learning, internships, and study abroad makes up the third pillar. The fourth pillar includes emphasizing deep and engaged learning while developing lifelong learning habits, confidence and responsible citizenship. In the coming weeks, Lord also wants to examine how integrative learning will have an effect on general education at the university. Lori Smith, family and consumer science professor proposed that integrative learning be an ongoing item on the CAA agenda for continuous feedback from the council.

The CAA also approved the re-appointment of Kathlene Shank, chair of special education, as the College of Education and Professional Studies representative on the Committee of Reinstatement for another three-tear term.

Shelley Holmgren can be reached

at 581-7942

or

meholmgren@eiu.edu