Academics Committee SA Senate October 28 th, 2013 Presenters: Hanna Downing, Brett Gutstein NSRs: Sawyer Knight, Jackie Olive, Paul Wu, Daniel Zhang Project Leaders: Nitin Agrawal, Hannah Chen, Alina Dattagupta Committee Chairs: Lynn Gai and Nicole Zhao

Committee Mission & History Mission: ▫To initiate, facilitate, and follow-up on students’ academic needs ▫Keep Rice’s academics globally competitive and true to the voice of the student body Term : ▫Electronic transcripts: initiated system at Rice ▫Study abroad culture: statistical analysis of Rice vs. peers ▫New Registration system: feedback, research, analysis ▫Academic Fellows: per-college best practices ▫3 rd Annual SA-GSA Research Mixer

Committee Mission & History Mission: ▫To initiate, facilitate, and follow-up on students’ academic needs ▫Keep Rice’s academics globally competitive and true to the voice of the student body Term : ▫Electronic transcripts: initiated system at Rice ▫Study abroad culture: statistical analysis of Rice vs. peers ▫New Registration system: feedback, research, analysis ▫Academic Fellows: per-college best practices ▫3 rd Annual SA-GSA Research Mixer

Current Projects Immediate Action Registration Student Creation of Language Classes Petroleum Engineering Concentration (CHBE) Restructuring Policy Studies Major Long-Term Vision Modeling Northeastern’s Co-op/Internship Program Minor Creation ▫Psychology ▫English ▫History ▫Foreign Languages Business Major Creation Hiring Professors

Current Projects Immediate Action Registration Student Creation of Language Classes Petroleum Engineering Concentration (CHBE) Restructuring Policy Studies Major Long-Term Vision Modeling Northeastern’s Co-op/Internship Program Minor Creation ▫Psychology ▫English ▫History ▫Foreign Languages Business Major Creation Hiring Professors

Student Creation of Language Classes Peer institutions ▫Stanford Special Language Program ▫Brown Independent Language Study ▫Columbia Language Resource Center How could this work at Rice? ▫Adjunct lecturers ▫Current faculty members or grad students ▫More structured student taught language courses Gauge feasibility ▫Meeting with Center for Foreign Languages ▫Student input and feedback

Restructuring Policy Studies Major Background ▫This is a beneficial adjunct second major ▫Features ▫Degree Requirements Current Problem ▫There are very few specifically designated “Policy Studies” courses available besides those of the Basic Curriculum ▫This inclusive major has the potential to grow in popularity if it is more easily accessible

Restructuring Policy Studies Major Solution ▫Survey on current courses which could additionally be approved for the Policy Studies major ▫Survey opinions of current Policy Studies major to determine which of the courses are most desirable ▫Formal approval of classes not designated “Policy Studies”

Contacts Committee Chairs Lynn Gai Nicole Zhao Presenters Hanna Downing Brett Gutstein