All curricular changes in this memo have been implemented for Fall 2018 unless otherwise noted. This memo was also sent at the beginning of the summer session, with additional information now included.

The General Catalog for the academic year of 2018-2019 lists the specific requirements for any new program of study. The degree audit is based on the Catalog and together these represent the official requirements for any program of study.

• If your department or program is considering the addition of a new major, minor, or certificate in the next several years, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can create a reasonable timeline for the project. New majors must be approved by the Regents and must be added to the UI and Board of Regents’ planning list for at least 6 months before the official approval process begins. Closure of any major or degree program must also be approved by the Regents.

New Undergraduate Programs of Study
The Data Science major (BS) was approved in June by the Board of Regents. The program of study will be administered by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science in consultation with the Department of Computer Science, with each department offering around half of the required 59 s.h. for the major.  As the proposal for the new major states, the Data Science BS prepares students to understand “statistics as well as algorithm and software design to create and develop the next generation of data analysis tools.”  Questions may be addressed to Joseph Lang, Professor, DEO of Statistics and Actuarial Science.

The Jazz Performance track within the Bachelor of Music (BM) is now a performance option. As the proposal for the new track notes, “The role of jazz has had a long history at the University of Iowa, with the legacy of jazz luminaries from UI well known and including such artists as Al Jarreau, David Sanborn, Patricia Barber, Dale Oehler, and Paul Smoker. Students interested in the performance of jazz will now find an official home in the School of Music.” For more information, contact Alan Huckleberry, Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Music.

The new Music Theatre track within the Theatre Arts major (BA) introduces students to the range of skills necessary for music theatre performance. The track requires a minimum of 51 s.h. of course work, including 36 s.h. required for the theatre arts major, 8 s.h. in dance and 7 s.h. in music. Each student’s program of study will culminate in a final presentation. Students who wish to enter the program must audition. Questions may be addressed to John Cameron, Professor, Department of Theatre Arts.

The Certificate in Public Digital Arts was approved as part of the Public Digital Arts initiative, with a cluster hire in the public digital arts supported by the Office of the Provost. The first courses in the area have been taught, with an enthusiastic reception by students. The certificate builds on these foundational courses, preparing students from many disciplines, including Engineering, to create art using new technologies.  For more information, contact Daniel Fine, Assistant Professor, Theatre Arts, the certificate coordinator.

A Certificate* in Resilience and Trauma Informed Perspectives, to be administered by the School of Social Work, grew out of work done by Education, Public Health, Nursing, and CLAS through an interdisciplinary initiative to help students prepare for professional studies in the helping professions. Courses offered through the certificate will also educate undergraduates about resources on campus and avenues of help related to resilience and trauma. Please contact Yvonne Farley, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and the certificate coordinator, for more information.

*Please see the end of this memo for a review of CLAS policies related to certificates.

New Undergraduate to Graduate Programs
A BA in Health and Human Physiology (Exercise Science track) and the MS in Athletic Training (AT) has been implemented as an undergraduate to graduate opportunity to encourage UI undergraduates to earn the MS in AT through the University of Iowa. Please contact Clayton Peterson, Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Health and Human Physiology.

An undergraduate to graduate program in Geography (Geographic Information Science track BA/BS; Environmental Studies track BS; and Health and Society track BS) and Informatics MS (Geoinformatics subprogram) is now available for undergraduate students interested in this professional specialization in Geoinformatics. Please contact David Bennett, Professor and Chair, Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences.

Closed Undergraduate Programs of Study
The Board of Regents at their August meeting approved the closure of the Journalism and Mass Communication major with the BS degree. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication requested this closure because of lack of student interest. The BA in Journalism and Mass Communication is unaffected. Questions about the closure should be directed to David Ryfe, Professor, Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The Engaged Social Innovation track within the Interdepartmental Studies major has been closed. The Interdepartmental Studies major offers an individualized plan of study option, allowing undergraduates to design their own major which helps to serve the same population of students.  For more information, contact Andrew Tinkham, Senior Professional Advisor and coordinator for the major.

Hindu-Urdu is no longer be offered as a choice within the Asian Languages and Literature major or minor or as a General Education offering. Students interested in advanced coursework in Hindu-Urdu may contact the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures for more information.

The American Sign Language and Deaf Studies Certificate is closed; the ASL minor will continued to be offered. Please contact Robert Vizzini, ASL Program coordinator, for more information.

Other Changes to Note
Four subprograms are now offered for students within the Biology BS rather than six. The Comprehensive Biology track has been renamed as the Integrative Biology track. Questions may be directed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Erin Irish, Associate Professor, Biology.

The Program in American Indian and Native Studies is now called the Program in Native American and Indigenous Studies. The undergraduate and graduate certificates and the minor are also known by this new title. At the same time, a new course acronym of NAIS is now in use for Fall 2018.

The Russian Program offers courses under the course acronym of RUSS rather than the former acronym of SLAV since Slavic language courses such as is Polish, Czech, or Uzbek are no longer offered by the department. Please contact Irina Kostina, Associate Professor of Instruction and Coordinator of the Russian Program, for further information.

Policy and Procedures Updates
Proficiency Exams for Languages not Taught at UI: GE World Languages
Proficiency exams for undergraduate students with the knowledge of a second language not taught at Iowa will once again be offered for CLAS undergraduates by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. If the student achieves an acceptable score at the fourth-level of proficiency, the results of the exam will be accepted for completion of the General Education World Languages (GE WL) requirement. Credit hours, however, are not awarded by CLAS for these proficiency exams. Additionally, the student will pay for the cost of the exam which will be around $100-$200, depending on the language requested. In the past when CLAS offered such exams, around 2-8 students per year requested them. For more information, visit this page.

For languages taught at Iowa, undergraduate students will continue to take a placement test and if reaching an acceptable level, may then request a proficiency exam administered by the related CLAS department. Both the placement test and the proficiency exam are required for students hoping to fulfill the GE WL requirement in this manner. No changes have been made to these procedures.

As a reminder, undergraduates admitted to UI must complete two years of a WL in high school, as one of the minimum high school course requirement for first-year applicants. CLAS undergraduate students for many years have been allowed to choose from the following options to fulfill the GE CLAS Core requirement in World Languages:

1. Complete four years of a single world language in high school.
2. Achieve the fourth level of proficiency in a world language by successfully completing the appropriate sequence of courses offered at the University of Iowa.
3. Achieve the fourth level of proficiency by successfully completing the appropriate sequence of courses at another college or university or through study abroad.
4. Achieve an equivalent score on a related Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other approved college-level examination accepted by the University of Iowa and CLAS. 
5. Earn an equivalent score on both a UI written placement test and on a UI oral proficiency exam in a language taught at the University of Iowa.
6. Earn an equivalent score on a proficiency exam in a language that is not taught at the University of Iowa.

Once the World Languages requirement is completed, a student may earn up to eight additional semester hours of college credit while studying a world language through the Furthering Language Incentive Program (FLIP).

Declaration of the Undergraduate Major Deadline
For a number of years, CLAS has had a policy that undergraduates must declare a major by the time the student had earned 72 semester hours. (Please note that advising designations such as pre-business or nursing interest, for example, are not majors.) Effective with the Spring 2019 registration for Summer and Fall 2019, all CLAS students must have a major declared by the time the student has earned 60 semester hours. In other words, a student who has earned 60 s.h. but does not have a major declared will not be allowed to register for Summer or Fall 2019 until a major is declared.

• Transfer students will continue to be able to register without a declared major for their first semester in CLAS.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants
A new undergraduate teaching assistants in the classroom policy has been implemented. The policy must be followed by any department or program using undergraduate teaching assistants:

• A UTA may be recruited only after the Associate Dean approves of the use of UTAs by that department or program. (See below for more information on applying for this approval.)
• For more information on the complete policy, see https://clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/undergraduate-teaching-assistants

Advising Designations for Selective Colleges
An Engineering interest advising designation has been created; the designation will be used to advise students admitted to CLAS who would like to apply to the College of Engineering.

For students who declare the Nursing Interest during or after Summer 2018, a new policy applies:

• If after two semesters of course work (including summer but excluding winter) and regardless of total earned hours, the student’s cumulative GPA is below 3.00, the Nursing Interest designation will automatically change to Open (if a primary designation) or will automatically be removed (if a non-primary designation) once grades are run for the related session or semester.
• Starting with Summer 2019, a transfer student with 24 or more earned semester hours may declare the Nursing interest if the transfer GPA is at least 3.00.

Reminder: Certificates and Undergraduate Students
These policies apply to all undergraduate certificates with their administrative home in CLAS and to any UI student earning a certificate awarded by CLAS.

• Students in CLAS may choose to earn a CLAS undergraduate certificate with or without earning or having earned a baccalaureate degree. These students may apply to UI as a non-degree seeking student. Most students earn a degree with a certificate but this is not required.
• The requirements for a particular CLAS certificate are the same for all students, regardless of the student’s UI college affiliation; of the student’s status as a degree-seeking student earning an online certificate; or as a traditional on-campus student. (Note: the number of course options for some certificate requirements might vary but the requirements themselves remain the same.)
• Students earning a certificate program but not a degree are held to the same CLAS academic standards as all CLAS students, including the GPA standards and the probation and dismissal policies; the drop and add deadlines; the grading policies; the Code of Academic Honesty; and others.
• No course taken Pass/Nonpass may be used as part of a certificate. Courses graded S/F may be used at the discretion of the offering department or program.
• There is a limit to the number of times that an undergraduate may apply a non-general education course toward both a certificate and a second program of study. A student may count a maximum of 6 s.h. toward a certificate that are also applied to a second program of study (a major, minor, or other certificate). GE CLAS Core courses do not count in this 6 s.h. limit and may be counted by the student multiple times for any major, minor, or certificate. See the General Catalog for specific double-counting rules that apply to each certificate.