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- The meeting was called to order at 2:03pm.
- Minutes from November 18, 2015 were approved.
- The committee discussed ECE 298JA.
- The course is aimed at students who AP out of the intro calculus courses or transfer into the department having taken equivalent courses elsewhere. The experience has been that these students, although technically fulfilling the requirements, are not fully prepared for engineering mathematics. The course is developed to provide these students with a broad survey of important mathematic concepts.
- Allen described the first offering of the course in the fall 2015 semester. 10 students were enrolled in the course. Most students received an A or A-. One B and one B+ were given.
- Kudeki and Franke stated that they had heard generally good feedback from the students in the course.
- Kudeki asked if the original syllabus proposed for the fall 2015 semester ended up being too ambitious in the number of topics to be covered. Allen responded that it was and that the syllabus in the version currently under consideration reflected this.
- Karan asked how students would be guided to this course. Kudeki stated that his office had been steering the intended audience (AP and transfers) to the course, but eventually informal networks (Dr. Everitt's Neighborhood, Reddit) as well as department mentors would start doing this. If the course gains a good reputation, students will take it.
- Minin pointed out that the syllabus lacked information on how the grades were determined. Allen will add this information to the syllabus provided to the department, but stated that it was determined from the students' performance on homework and exams.
- The committee approved ECE 298JA for the fall 2016 semester.
- The committee discussed the proposed revision to ECE 422.
- Bailey described that the course is cross listed with CS 461 and that Computer Science controls the course. The proposed revisions reflect changes Bailey has implemented over the past year, moving the course from focusing on 2 exams and homework to one that is centered on the completion of five MPs. Bailey stated that each MP takes on average 15-20 hours over two weeks. There are still 2 exams to assess material not covered by the MPs. The workload associated with this change warrants the increase of credit hours from 3 to 4. Kudeki echoed that many students who have taken the course in the last year have complained that the workload was more appropriate for a 4-hour course.
- Makela asked about the enrollment in the class. Bailey stated it is typically maxed out at around 200 students (depending on room capacity for lectures).
- Kudeki asked if the addition of the MPs removes the need for the security lab (ECE 419). Bailey stated that if Security II (ECE 424) adopted the MP approach, yes, security lab might be redundant.
- The committee approved the revision of ECE 442 422 to a 4-credit course.
- Kudeki asked that CompE faculty look at the CS 498 courses being offered and determine which of them fulfill our requirements for technical electives and advance computing electives.
- Minin updated the committee on his subcommittee's work.
- Minin has summarized the few responses to his questionnaire that he has received. There is useful information regarding what resources instructors in the introductory courses are interested in and have experience with. There is also useful information about views on the populations for which certain instructional resources are most beneficial.
- There was a brief discussion about the use of second-chance exams, in what courses they were being implemented, and how students viewed them.
- Makela updated the committee on progress in updating the course goals and instructional outcomes on the departmental website. To date, approximately 13 of 65 courses have been updated.
- The meeting was adjourned at 2:53pm.
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