The Optimist

Fifteen new courses will be offered next fall including four undergraduate, seven graduate and four online graduate courses.

Dr. Tom Winter, chair of the University Undergraduate Academic Council and associate provost, said proposed new classes go through an intensive process to become a new course.

"A new course is scrutinized very, very carefully to make sure it is as good as we can possibly make it," Winter said. "In most cases, these courses have been taught as special topics courses so we usually have some information about how well the course has been received."

The scrutiny includes analyzing many different aspects including enrollment, budget, library resources and many other areas. 

"We try to include everything we need to make an informed decision," Winter said.

The University Undergraduate Academic Council has approved 16 undergraduate courses, and most of them will be offered next year, Winter said.

Most of the approved classes are upper-division courses, but Winter said he expects more lower-division courses to be developed if the faculty approves the new undergraduate degree plan.

Of the seven new graduate courses, five will be offered in the new master's in social work program, said Dr. Carol Williams, professor of mathematics, dean of the Graduate School and assistant provost for research and service.

The other two graduate level classes will be offered as part of the second year of curriculum for the master's in higher education program.

The master's in conflict resolution program and the master's in leadership and learning program will each offer two new courses online next fall and one this summer, Williams said.

Second semester first-year Greek will be the new undergraduate online course and will be offered this summer.

Williams said undergraduate online courses are not typical, but the class is being offered because students who studied abroad were not able to take the course.

Two or three other new graduate courses will also be offered next fall, Williams said.

E-mail Hansen at: optimist@acu.edu

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