Section One: Baccalaureate Degree Curriculum – Bachelor of Arts Courses

1. Procedures for Submitting BA Course Proposals

Courses proposed for designation in the six central fields must:

1. follow general course proposal guidelines to include documentation of support from all colleges in which the course is to be taught in the preparation of the proposal.
2. meet the criteria for designation as a GA, GH, GS, GN or GQ course (without the General Education learning objectives) or, if the course is for foreign language designation, involve a significant amount of speaking, reading and/or writing in that language (i.e. not courses taught in the English language that focus on culture, literature, civilization, etc.).
3. include pertinent information on the B.A. aspects of the course in the long course description (see item b.3. under Course Add).

Courses proposed for Other Cultures designation

In addition to items 1 and 3 above, courses seeking the Other Cultures designation should document how the course will address the criteria for this requirement.

The Other Cultures requirement denotes courses devoted to a culture or cultures differing significantly from the North American-European tradition. This requirement ensures that students have some familiarity with one or more of these cultures, which constitute a large majority of the earth’s population. Examples would include courses focused on Asia, Africa, Latin America, and/or indigenous cultures.

As a set of basic criteria, courses appropriate to the requirement should:

1. be limited to content that is fundamentally “non-Western” and devoted to a culture or cultures differing significantly from the North American-European tradition. (For example, a course on “The Origins of African Drama” would be viewed as applicable, while a course on “The Origins of English Drama” would not.)
2. be predominately centered on “non-Western” concerns in regards to course content and overall focus. Courses can include a small amount of Western material for the purposes of comparison, but courses that have only partial content in non-Western areas are not applicable. (For example, a course in “Asian Art” would be viewed as appropriate while a course in “World Art” that had only a portion of its content devoted to non-Western art would not.) For guidance, a requirement of at least 85% non-Western content is expected.
3. be specifically concerned with aspects of non-Western culture rather than holding a primary interest in Western responses or reactions to non-Western cultures. This does not mean that Western influences, reactions, responses, or perceptions should not play a role in course content but, rather, they should not be the principal focus or concern of the course.

Mechanism for action on proposal:

1. The proposal will follow the standard University procedures for curricular proposals.
2. The Faculty Senate’s Bachelor of Arts Subcommittee will review and make recommendations to the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs.
3. SCCA will act on the proposal and publish the results in a subsequent issue of the Senate Curriculum Report.