The
University Senate of Michigan Technological University
Proposal
21-10
(Voting Units: Academic)
Change
of Name of an Academic Program from
“Bachelor
of Arts in Liberal Arts with a
Concentration
in Interdisciplinary Studies”
to
"Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts”
Introduction
This is a proposal to change the name of the current
degree program, "Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts with a Concentration in
Interdisciplinary Studies", to "Bachelor of Arts in Liberal
Arts".
Description
The curriculum of the current degree, "Liberal Arts
with a Concentration in Interdisciplinary Studies", cultivates reading,
writing, and speaking skills. It affords
insight into human nature through an interdisciplinary course of study drawing
from the fields of philosophy, communication, scientific and technical
communication, cultural studies and modern languages as well as English.
This degree has proven beneficial in advanced studies and
career pursuits. Students who are better
able to think critically, write well and creatively, read fluently, and
communicate effectively are in increasing demand in every field. Our graduates from this program have
continued to law school or graduate school in areas such as creative writing,
environmental journalism, library science and rhetoric and technical
communication.
Rationale
The change in the name of the degree from "Bachelor
of Arts in Liberal Arts with a Concentration in Interdisciplinary
Studies", to "Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts" will be more
properly descriptive of the curriculum and education offered to undergraduates.
The current degree program was originally approved to
accommodate the University’s need for major programs in the Humanities. Renaming the current "Liberal Arts with
a Concentration in Interdisciplinary Studies" to “Liberal Arts” will
accurately reflect the true nature of that degree. Students seeking this degree take courses
from a representative range of liberal arts disciplines—philosophy,
communications, modern languages, English, etc.
The Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts is the most appropriate name for this
degree, which is a designation that has the advantage of currency in the wider
academic community. This name change
will help our students in representing their achievements to external
audiences.
Timeline
If this proposal is approved in Spring 2010, this name
change will be implemented in fall 2010. Students currently in the program will
be given the option to finish their current degree/concentration, or to change
to the new degree.
Adopted by Senate: 14 April 2010
Approved by administration: 21 April 2010