Download 1 PROPOSAL FOR SUBSTANTIVE MINOR CHANGE

PROPOSAL FOR SUBSTANTIVE MINOR CHANGE
DEPARTMENT / PROGRAM
Biology/Geography and Environmental Studies, Faculties of Science and Arts
Honours BSc Biology and Physical Geography
TYPE OF CHANGE
Other (describe below)
Change to program name and requirements
MOTION
Motions should be framed in the affirmative and limited to a brief sentence or two.
On the recommendation of the Senate Academic Planning Committee, that Senate approve changing
the name of the Honours BSc Biology and Physical Geography to Honour BSc Environmental Science
and changes to required courses.
APPROVED AT:
(Please note date of approval at previous levels and delete unused rows)
Biology Department-In-Council
March 18, 2015
GES DIC
April 8, 2015
FOS Curriculum Committee
April 10, 2015
Arts Curriculum Committee
April 10, 2015
FOS Divisional Council
April 17, 2015
Arts Divisional Council
April 17, 2015
Senate Academic Planning
Committee
May 12, 2015
EFFECTIVE DATE:
All changes are effective September 1st of the following academic year, unless otherwise noted
September, 2016
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED CHANGE:
Provide a brief description of the proposed curriculum change.
The proposal is to change the name of the existing Honours BSc in Biology and Physical Geography
program to an Honours BSc in Environmental Science.
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RATIONALE FOR PROPOSED CHANGE:
Explain the rationale for the major modification.
The existing Honours BSc in Biology and Physical Geography program contains the elements of a typical
Environmental Science program with a focus on ecology and physical geography courses. The program
is currently undersubscribed, with only a few students entering each year. Renaming the program to an
Honours BSc in Environmental Science will align it better with the University’s priorities and reasonably
reflects the current curriculum of the program. Furthermore, it is anticipated that renaming the
program will facilitate student recruitment by explicitly aligning it with student demand.
ALIGNMENT WITH UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC PLAN:
Comment briefly on how the proposed change aligns with the Academic Plan.
The current program already aligns well with the University’s Academic Plan. As an interdisciplinary
science program, the program aligns well with the Core Principles of Quantitative and Scientific Analysis
as well as Integration. Furthermore, the focus of the program directly addresses the Core Principle of
Sustainability as well as the Domain of the Environment. The program name change makes the
alignment with these components of the Academic Plan more explicit.
IMPACT ON PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Comment on how the proposed change impacts the learning outcomes of the program.
There will be no substantial impact on learning outcomes.
IMPACT ON RESOURCES:
Comment on the impact of this change on the human, physical, and financial resources of the program.
The impact on resources will be minimal, since no new courses are proposed. The change in
requirements from a choice between CH202/203 and CH261/262 to requiring CH261 and CH262 will
have a minor increase in laboratory hours because the number of laboratory hours for these courses are
different.
OLD CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Include existing calendar copy related to this change, where applicable.
Honours BSc Biology and Physical Geography
The Honours BSc Biology and Physical Geography program consists of a minimum of 20.0 credits, of
which at most 6.0 may be at the 100 level.
Required Courses:
BI110, BI111, CH110, CH111; CH202 and CH203, or CH261 and CH262;
GG101, GG102, GL101, GL102
Both MA100 and MA101 (or MA110*), MA241
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GG251, GG254, GG281, GG282
0.5 credit from: GG260, GG270, GG290/ES290;
GG399/ES399
1.0 credit from Group 1: GG336, GG381, GG382, GG383, GG384, GG385, GG386, GG388, GG389, GG481,
GG486
1.0 credit from Group 2: GG351, GG355, GG360, GG361, GG368, GG369, GG380, GG480
BI226, BI236, BI256, BI266, BI276 and BI296, and an additional 3.0 BI credits at the 300 or 400 level, and
1.0 additional senior GG credit as specified in Note 3.
Notes:
1. For progression into Year 2 of the program, a GPA of at least 5.00 is required BI110 and BI111, and a
GP of 5.0 in each of GG101, GG102, GL101 and GL102; for progression into subsequent years, the
cumulative GPA must be 5.00 in Biology courses and 5.00 in Geography courses. For graduation, the
cumulative GPA must be 5.00 in Biology courses and 7.00 in Geography courses. For progression and
graduation, an overall GPA of 5.00 is required to maintain the Biology program and an overall GPA of
5.00 to maintain the combined program.
2. Senior HN courses count as senior BI courses to fulfill program requirements; grades earned are
included in the cumulative GPA in Biology.
3. Either BI499‡ or GG450* (but not both) may be taken. If GG450* is taken, then the senior Biology
courses must include at least 1.0 credit at the 400 level. If BI499‡ is taken, or if a thesis is not taken, then
a 0.5 400 level Physical Geography credit and one of GG395, GG396 or an additional Group 1 course
must be taken.
4. Honours students are expected to attend all department seminars.
5. Electives must include a 0.5 credit from Curriculum Division A.
NEW CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Include any new or edited calendar copy which may be relevant to this change, where applicable.
Honours BSc Environmental Science
The Honours BSc Environmental Science program consists of a minimum of 20.0 credits, of which at
most 6.0 may be at the 100 level.
Required Courses:
BI110, BI111, CH110, CH111; CH261 and CH262;
GG101, GG102, GL101, GL102
Both MA100 and MA101 (or MA110*), MA241
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GG251, GG254, GG281, GG282
0.5 credit from: GG260, GG270, GG290/ES290;
GG399/ES399
1.0 credit from Group 1: GG336, GG381, GG382, GG383, GG384, GG385, GG386, GG388, GG389, GG481,
GG482, GG486
1.0 credit from Group 2: GG351, GG355, GG360, GG361, GG368, GG369, GG380, GG480
BI226, BI236, BI256, BI266, BI276 and BI296, and an additional 3.0 BI credits at the 300 or 400 level, and
1.0 additional senior GG credit as specified in Note 3.
Notes
1. For progression into Year 2 of the program, a GPA of at least 5.0 is required for BI110, BI111, GG101,
GG102, GL101 and GL102. For progression into subsequent years, the cumulative GPA must be at least
5.0 in the Biology and at least 5.0 in the Geography courses, and at least 5.0 overall. For honours
graduation, the cumulative GPA must be at least 5.0 in the Biology courses, 7.0 in the Geography
courses, and 5.0 overall.
2. Senior HN courses count as senior BI courses to fulfill program requirements; grades earned are
included in the cumulative GPA in Biology.
3. Either BI499‡ or GG450* (but not both) may be taken. If GG450* is taken, then the senior Biology
courses must include at least 1.0 credit at the 400 level. If BI499‡ is taken, or if a thesis is not taken, then
a 0.5 400 level Physical Geography credit and one of GG395, GG396 or an additional Group 1 course
must be taken.
4. Honours students are expected to attend all department seminars.
5. Electives must include at least 0.5 credits from outside of the major discipline(s) and outside of those
offered by the Faculty of Science.
IF THIS CHANGE IS PART OF A SUITE OF CHANGES, PLEASE DESCRIBE:
Some curriculum changes involve a combination of templates and/or types of changes. This section can be used to note any other curriculum change templates that
accompany this major modification.
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