To: LLCC Faculty, Staff, and Administration
Re: Request for feedback – proposed changes to Associate in Arts/Associate in Science degree requirements

Dear colleagues,

A workgroup was created by the Academic and Admissions Standards Team to review the current Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degree requirements at the college. A review of degree requirements has not been completed in more than 10 years and, in that span of time, a greater focus on completion rates and financial aid accountability has become vital. Attached you will see the workgroup’s charge Original Charge (please refer to the AA and AS Workgroup section) from the Standards Team as well as a clarification of the charge Clarification of Charge from Dr. Lesley Frederick and Dr. Eileen Tepatti.

The workgroup reviewed the General Education Core Curriculum requirements that are set by the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) and the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). You will see those requirements listed below. The requirements listed are for both the Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science degrees and are pulled directly from the IAI website: (http://www.itransfer.org/IAI/gened/).

	Communication: Three courses (9 semester credits)
	Select a two-course sequence in writing (6 semester credits, C grade required) and, Select one course in oral communication (3 semester credits).
	Mathematics: One course (3 semester credits)
	Physical and Life Sciences: Two courses (7 to 8 semester credits)
	Select one course from Physical Sciences. Select one course from Life Sciences. OR Select two interdisciplinary science courses. (If choosing interdisciplinary courses, students should take both an LP 900 or LP 900L course and an LP901 or LP901L course.) Select at least one laboratory course. (IAI laboratory course numbers end with L. {e.g., P1 905L}) (Students with the appropriate preparation may substitute an initial course designed for science majors for a more general course.)
	Humanities and Fine Arts: Three courses (9 semester credits)
	Select one course from Humanities, Select one course from Fine Arts and Select one course from either Humanities or Fine Arts.
	Social and Behavioral Sciences: Three courses (9 semester credits)
	Select three courses from at least two different disciplines (e.g., no more than 2 courses from, for example, psychology).

In addition to the workgroup’s charge and the clarification of the charge, attached you will find a document titled “Proposed Degree Changes” Proposed Degree Changes which provides an outline of the catalog requirements for the A.A. and A.S. degrees with markups reflecting the proposals made by the workgroup. Below you will find an explanation of the changes proposed for each group in the “Proposed Degree Changes” document. If you compare this document to the IAI standards listed above, you will notice that the A.A. and A.S. degree requirements currently in place at LLCC differ from the minimum standards set by IAI and ICCB in groups 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The proposed changes to groups 3, 4 and 5 all fall within the requirements set by IAI and ICCB, and many of these areas more closely align with IAI minimum requirements. Of these four groups with requirements not explicitly aligning with minimum IAI requirements, group 2 (Social Science) is the only section that the workgroup did not vote to amend.

We ask that you please review the proposed changes and provide feedback to the support person for this workgroup, Amy Williams. Amy’s email address is amy.williams@llcc.edu. All responses should be made by 5 p.m., Friday, April 17, 2015.

Group 1- Communication
The group voted to leave this section as it currently stands. LLCC currently aligns with the minimum IAI requirements.

Group 2- Social Science
The group voted to leave this section as it currently stands. LLCC currently requires one Political Science course (POS 101 or POS 201) and two additional Social Science courses from two different areas (e.g. one course from Psychology and one from Economics). IAI requires three courses from at least two disciplines without Political Science being a separate requirement, but rather one of the discipline options.

Group 3- Humanities & Fine Arts
The group voted to merge the Humanities A and Humanities C sections into one group to be named “Humanities.” Humanities B would be renamed “Fine Arts.” HUM 112 would move from the Humanities B (Fine Arts) section to the new Humanities section, as the course description suggests it is better suited to that section and IAI allows the college the freedom to make it either a Humanities or Fine Arts.

The current LLCC requirement is one course from each of the three Humanities sections (A, B and C). The new requirement will be one course from Humanities, one course from Fine arts, and one course from either Humanities or Fine Arts.

Group 4- Science & Mathematics
The group voted to change the required semester hours from 11 for the A.A. and 14 for the A.S. to 10 semester hours for either degree.

The group voted to change the Mathematics requirement to 3 semester hours for both the Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science degrees. The current requirement is 3 semester hours for the A.A. and 6 semester hours for the A.S.

The group voted to change the minimum number of semester hours in the Sciences to 7, rather than 8 as it currently stands. All other Science requirements remain the same, including the necessary one course from Life Science and one course from Physical Science with at least one having a lab. Astronomy 101 is a 3 semester hour course but is an acceptable IAI Physical Science. Changing the minimum semester hours to 7 allows Astronomy 101 to be an option for students without them then needing to take another Physical or Life science to meet the remaining one credit.

Group 5- Electives
The group voted to change the requirement from 22 semester hours for the A.A. and 19 semester hours for the A.S. to 23 semester hours for either degree. This change reflects the proposed changes in each of the other groups.

The workgroup will reconvene to discuss the feedback that you provide. Once feedback has been reviewed and discussed, a final recommendation will be made to the Academic and Admissions Standards Team regarding proposed changes to the degrees.

We thank you in advance for your time and feedback.

Sincerely,
Tim Maricle, chair, AA/AS degree review workgroup

Workgroup Members: Gerry Dalano, Claire Gordon, Elaine Guthals, Chris McDonald, Jennifer Ramm, Leslie Stalter, Colin Suchland, Cara Swafford, Jason Waddell