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MCS College Council
December 7, 2005

In Attendance:
Richard McCullough
Gregg Franklin
Eric Grotzinger
Elizabeth Jones
Hyung Kim
Roy Nicolaides
Fred Gilman
Bill Willams
Rea Freeland
Gordon Rule
Zebulun Krahn
Claire Tomesch


  1. APPROVAL FOR THE ADDITION OF A GRADUATE SECTION TO THE COURSE 03-315 MRI IN NEUROSCIENCE (handout)
    03-315 MRI In Neuroscience has been taught as an undergraduate course for several years and the department requested approval to add a graduate section, 03-815, for 12 units. Several graduate students have already taken the course for credit and the department anticipates that more will do so if it is offered at the graduate level, though they do not expect a significant increase in enrollment overall.

    Requirements for the graduate section will include additional reading, problem sets and more reading from primary sources, along with a 10 page grant proposal which students must present and defend to the faculty.

    Concern was expressed about who would own the grant proposal and whether there would be any intellectual property issues. Beth said that she would mention it to the instructor, Eric Ahrens, and to the department in general. She pointed out that having students write grant proposals as part of their course work is not a new idea and some universities even do this at the undergraduate level.

    COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The proposal was unanimously approved.


  2. CHANGES IN THE PHYSICS BS AND BA DEGREE REQUIREMENTS (handout)
    The Physics Department created a task force, headed by Roy Briere, to address concerns about undergraduate degree requirements. They have surveyed numerous undergraduates and also looked at comparable programs across the country. The task force concluded that students should have more flexibility in their degree requirements and should be able to take more physics electives. The Department voted to eliminate 33-339 Intermediate Electricity & Magnetism II and 33-332 Physical Mechanics II from the requirements for a BS or BA degree. Instead students will take two physics electives (for the BS). Students interested in going to graduate school in physics, however, will be strongly encouraged to take 33-339 and 33-332.

    For the BA, no additional electives will be required, leaving 9 free electives. This makes the BA a much more realistic option for students who wish to pursue other interests in addition to physics. The courses in question also require additional math preparation that BA students do not typically have.

    COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The changes were unanimously approved.


  3. PROPOSED REVISED GUY C. BERRY GRADUATE RESEARCH AWARD STATEMENT (handout)
    The proposed revised award policy includes the following changes:
    • Five copies of the nomination cases delivered to the Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs instead of nine copies to the Associate Dean for Special Projects.
    • Additional of a required Research Statement from the candidate.
    • Total number of supporting letters reduced from five to two.
    • Guidance for the letter writers has been added in an effort to make comparison of candidates more effective.
    • Reduction in the number of reprints from from one to zero.


    There were no concerns about the proposed changes, but the comment was made that these types of awards are very competitive and it is often difficult to apply selection criteria across departments. We should consider increasing the number of awards available. COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The proposed revisions were unanimously approved.