Holly Morgan hmorgan3@uwyo.edu
Alec Schaffer aschaff3@uwyo.edu
The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees passed the consent agenda for the Nov. 19 to 21 meeting Friday; it passed within an hour with all trustees in favor.
The agenda passed included several motions, including the passing of the default motion to raise tuition 4 percent for the 2016 academic year and approval to several changes in degree proposals.
The revenue generated by the annual tuition increase will be allocated to a 2 percent increase for faculty salarie, 1 percent for academic unit support budgets and the last percent will be allocated to libraries and IT. The total increases will come to approximately $two million.
The alternative tuition policy presented by ASUW and the UW staff senate did not pass. However, ASUW President Brian Schueler said he believed the increases will help with academics.
“If students are going to pay more, we want to make sure the money will be used wisely,” Schueler said.
Additionally the consent agenda included an approval of UW regulation revisions to UW residence’s policy and budget change decisions.
The board of trustees also granted approval to several changes in degree proposals.
The new add-ons include a revised major in earth systems science, a new minor in outdoor leadership through The Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and a new degree program through the political science department.
The current earth systems science major has a history of inhabiting different colleges and is receiving resources from the school of Arts and Sciences. The transition will designate the degree to be under the official supervision of The Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, although the program will continue to draw some resources from A&S, this responsibility will shift largely to the Haub School.
Doug Wachob director of academic programs at the Haub School, said the change will also streamline the program, making it easier for students to complete their degree in four years. The change will grant the major an official ‘double major’ status.
“It’s a good fit for the department because of the interdisciplinary nature,” Wachob said. “Students will also have better access to advising resources.”
The creation of the outdoor recreation minor is an effort to give students the opportunity to gain academic credentials for the “outdoor related experiences they are already doing like NOLS or the Wyoming Conservation Core,” Wachob said.
Since three community colleges in Wyoming offer associate degrees in comparable programs, students transferring to UW will be able to apply those credits to the minor in outdoor leadership. The minor will have 18 credit hours and will certification tracks such as, outdoor leadership and environmental science, concepts in field ecology, leadership, and ethics, applied field experience and wilderness first responder.
The revised major and the new minor requests have been reviewed and approved by the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, academic affairs with input from the academic deans’ council and UW President Dick McGinity.
The minor will be available starting spring 2016 with the major being more uncertain, but it will be offered in fall 2016 at the latest with a possibility of being offered in the spring.
During the same meeting the political science department received approval from the board of trustees for a five year BA-MA in political science after the participating faculty, college dean, academic deans’ council and office of academic affairs considered the pitch and unanimously supported the proposal.
The program will be the first BA-MA combination in A&S. The program will still require the average of four years to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science, but in the fourth year students will take graduate level courses that will count toward both degrees. Sterling Bacher, advising coordinator of the Political Sciences Department said the program will open to juniors majoring in political science in spring semester 2016.