DATE:  September 21-23, 2005

TO:  Montana Board of Regents

FROM:  Roger Barber, Deputy Commissioner for Academic & Student Affairs

SUBJECT:  Level I Approvals and Announcements

This memorandum is intended to inform you of the Level I changes in academic programs that have been approved in the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education since the May 2005 meeting of the Board of Regents. It also includes announcements that may be of interest to the Board. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them with the help of my colleagues in academic affairs.

Montana State University-Bozeman:

  • ITEM 128-2007-R0905:  Montana State University Bozeman seeks approval to offer the junior and senior years of its program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education: Early Childhood Education Option by distance delivery. This program is in specific response to requests by Montana's Tribal Colleges, to provide training for Head Start teachers in their communities. Students will take two courses per semester by WebCT and will need approximately two years to complete the 45 upper division credits required for the Bachelor's degree. The degree requirements are unchanged from the current program offered through traditional instruction.
  • ITEM 128-2008-R0905:   Montana State University - Bozeman submitted a Level I request, with Level II documentation, asking permission to add an option in Japan Studies to its existing Bachelor of Arts degree in History. The College of Letters and Science currently offers a non-teaching, interdisciplinary minor in Japan Studies through the Department of History & Philosophy and the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures. The proposed new history option would be housed in the Department of History and Philosophy. Currently, the faculty required to oversee the History/Japan Studies option are in place, the courses have been approved and taught, funding for library material has been generated, and the Japanese exchange opportunities overseen by the Office of International Programs remain active.  Summary  Proposal  Budget
  • ITEM 128-2009-R0905:  Montana State University Bozeman submitted a Level I request, with Level II documentation, asking permission to add an option in International Relations to its Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. The proposed program will utilize existing courses, and any increased enrollments can be easily managed within existing structures, so no additional funding is required.  Summary  Proposal  Budget
  • ITEM 128-2010+R0905:  Montana State University Bozeman submitted a Level I request, with Level II documentation, asking permission to add an option in Religious Studies to its existing Bachelor of Arts degree in History. The Department of History & Philosophy currently offers an option in Religious Studies within the Philosophy degree. The proposed new option would respond to growing interest in the study of religion and formalize a course of study for students interested in religious studies in an historical context. Faculty expertise and courses already exist, and no additional funding will be required. Summary  Proposal  Budget
  • ITEM 128-2011+R0905:  Montana State University-Bozeman has requested permission to change the title of its existing College of Graduate Studies to the Division of Graduate Education. The change is based on a recommendation from the Montana State University Graduate Studies Review Task Force, and is more consistent with the nomenclature used for academic units on the MSU-Bozeman campus.

Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology:

Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology has removed its Associate of Applied Science degree in Physical Therapy Assistant from moratorium. The program has been in moratorium since November 2003, primarily because the College of Technology was unable to hire a program director who met the expectations of the program's accrediting agency, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTA). That problem has been resolved, and a more detailed explanation is included in the materials that accompany this memorandum.

The University of Montana:

  • ITEM 126-1007+R0105: The University of Montana-Missoula filed a Notice of Intent to terminate its Bachelor of Arts degree in German, with an option in Linguistics, at the January 2005 meeting of the Board of Regents. That Notice of Intent was included in the Level I memorandum distributed to the Board at the January meeting. All of the steps in the termination process have been completed; and The University of Montana-Missoula has filed a program termination checklist with the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. Sixty (60) days have also elapsed since the Notice of Intent was included in the January 2005 Level I memorandum. The Bachelor of Arts degree in German, with an option in Linguistics, is, therefore, eliminated from The University of Montana-Missoulas degree and program inventory. It should be noted that The University of Montana-Missoula will continue to offer the Bachelor of Arts degree and the minor in German as part of its modern language programs.

The University of Montana-Missoula College of Technology:

  • ITEM 128-1007+R0905: The University of Montana-Missoula College of Technology filed a notice of intent to terminate its Human Resources Option in the Associate of Applied Science degree in Administrative Management. That A.A.S. degree was renamed, in July 2004, and the intent at that time was to terminate this option as part of the new title. That intent was not explicitly stated in the paperwork filed in 2004, however, so this Level I termination process is now being initiated. The Missoula College of Technology will continue to offer the Associate of Applied Science degree in Administrative Management.
  • ITEM 128-1008+R0905: The University of Montana-Missoula College of Technology filed a notice of intent to terminate its Office Administration Option in the Associate of Applied Science degree in Administrative Management. As noted in the previous item, that A.A.S. degree was renamed, in July 2004, with the intent of terminating all companion options that went with the degree. That intent was not explicitly stated in the 2004 paperwork, however, so this Level I termination process is now being initiated.

Recognition of Out-of-State Institutions:

The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education has received communications from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, expressing its intention to offer its Master of Education degree programs on-line in Montana. In conformity with the requirements of Montana statute 20-25-107, and Board of Regents' Policy 320.1, Lesley University has provided a letter from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges Inc. affirming its institutional accreditation by that regional accrediting agency.