Academic Program Development 2614 University Hall (MC 103) 601 South Morgan Street Chicago, Illinois 60607-7126
January 18, 2015
TO: Ilene Harris, Chair
Senate Committee on Educational Policy
FROM: Dana Wright, Director of Academic Program Development
I am submitting for the review and action of the Senate Committee on Educational Policy the
attached Proposal to Revise the Bachelor of Arts in Public Health.
The proposal was approved by the School of Public Health’s Committee on Educational
Programs (December 18, 2014) and Undergraduate Oversight Committee (December 26, 2014),
and reported as an informational item to the School’s Executive Committee (January 5, 2015).
ATTACHMENT
Title: Proposal to Revise the Bachelor of Arts in Public Health Sponsor: School of Public Health
Executive Summary:
The BA in Public Health is a transfer program. Students complete two years (60 hours) of pre-public health coursework at UIC or another institution, and then complete their final two years in the UIC Public Health curriculum (60 hours). The Public Health curriculum is comprised of 11 courses (33 hours) of required coursework, and 27 hours of selectives, preapproved electives and free electives. The School of Public Health proposes to add an additional required course – PUBH 301: Critical Thinking in Public Health II (2 hours) – which would be taken in the spring semester of the junior year to extend the content introduced in the fall semester via PUBH 300: Critical Thinking in Public Health I. In order to maintain the Public Health curriculum at 60 hours, the increase in required hours (from 33 to 35) will be offset by a reduction in hours of preapproved electives (from 6 to 4).
Description: The BA in Public Health is a transfer program. Students complete two years (60 hours) of pre-public health coursework at UIC or another institution, and then complete their final two years in the UIC Public Health curriculum (60 hours). The Public Health curriculum is comprised of 11 courses (33 hours) of required coursework, and 27 hours of selectives, preapproved electives and free electives. The School of Public Health proposes to add an additional required course – PUBH 301: Critical Thinking in Public Health II (2 hours) – which would be taken in the spring semester of the junior year to extend the content introduced in the fall semester via PUBH 300: Critical Thinking in Public Health I.
In order to maintain the Public Health curriculum at 60 hours, the increase in required hours (from 33 to 35) will be offset by a reduction in hours of preapproved electives (from 6 to 4).
Justification: Critical thinking is a centerpiece of the Bachelor of Arts in Public Health curriculum. We wish to require a second Critical Thinking course in the spring that extends the content introduced in the fall course, PUBH 300, Critical Thinking in Public Health. A second course in the spring enables a year-long focus on developing critical thinking skills. Faculty felt strongly that learning to think critically is a process that cannot be accomplished in a single course. The rationale for adding PUBH 301 is that students need additional support and opportunities to apply the critical thinking skills from PUBH300 to their efforts to communicate public health information in response to the needs of various audiences and purposes as they progress through the public health curriculum. The change to the curriculum is minimal as students still will be permitted to select 4 credit hours of advisor-approved coursework.
Catalog Statement:
PRESENT
BA in Public Health
Degree Requirements Hours
Pre-Public Health
(includes 9 semester hours
of PUBH prerequisites:
60
PROPOSED
BA in Public Health
Degree Requirements Hours
SAME
PUBH 100 – Health and
the Public, PUBH 110 –
Public Health and Global
Societies, and PUBH 120 –
Public Health and the
Study of Disease and
Epidemics
Course Requirements in
Public Health
33
Public Health Fieldwork
aa Students in the professional track are required to take Public Health Fieldwork. Students in the academic track
may choose to take the fieldwork course or replace it with another 3-hour selective.
Selectives from a list of
courses representing an
array of disciplines
Electives: Preapproved by
advisor as relevant to plan
of study
3
12-15
6
Free Electives 6
Total Course Requirements: School
of Public Health 60
Required Courses
Hours
PUBH 300—Critical
Thinking in Public Health
4
Course Requirements in
Public Health
35
SAME
SAME
Electives: Preapproved
by advisor as relevant to
plan of study
4
SAME
SAME
Required Courses Hours
PUBH 300—Critical
Thinking in Public Health I No
change
PUBH 310—Public Health
and Global Citizenship
3
PUBH 320—Ecologies of
Health and Modern Life
3
PUBH 330—Health
Equity, Health Disparities 3
PUBH 340—Health
Literacy 3
PUBH 350—Health
Systems, Health Policy 3
PUBH 360—Local
Citizenship and
Community Health
Initiatives
4
PUBH 370—Using the
Public Health Toolbox 3
PUBH 410—Historical
and Contemporary Public
Health Challenges I
2
PUBH 411—Historical
and Contemporary Public
Health Challenges II
2
PUBH 397—
Baccalaureate Project in
Public Health
3
Total Hours—Required
Courses in the School of
Public Health
33
PUBH 393—Public Health
Fieldwork (required for
those in the professional
track, optional for students
in the academic track for
whom the course is
replaced with a selective)
3
PUBH 301 – Critical
Thinking in Public Health
II
PUBH 310—Public Health
and Global Citizenship
2
No
change
PUBH 320—Ecologies of
Health and Modern Life
PUBH 330—Health
Equity, Health Disparities
No
change
No
change
PUBH 340—Health
Literacy
No
change
PUBH 350—Health
Systems, Health Policy
No
change
PUBH 360—Local
Citizenship and
Community Health
Initiatives
No
change
PUBH 370—Using the
Public Health Toolbox
No
change
PUBH 410—Historical
and Contemporary Public
Health Challenges I
No
change
PUBH 411—Historical
and Contemporary Public
Health Challenges II
No
change
PUBH 397—
Baccalaureate Project in
Public Health
No
change
Total Hours—Course
Requirements in the
School of Public Health
35
PUBH 393—Public Health
Fieldwork (required for
those in the professional
track, optional for students
in the academic track for
whom the course is
replaced with a selective )
No
change
Minority Impact Statement:
No impact is anticipated because the proposed change affects only the distribution of credit hours, and the additional coursework in critical thinking will benefit all students equally.
Budgetary and Staff Implications:
No impact is anticipated because the proposed change affects only the distribution of credit hours, and the additional course will be taught be existing faculty.
Library Resource Implications:
No impact is anticipated because the fall PUBH 300 course already has incorporated a unit on evaluating information and involves a guest lecture by a librarian. Part II of the course will not revisit this content.
Space Implications:
No impact is anticipated because the proposed change affects only the distribution of credit hours. The addition of a new course – and the resulting need for classroom space - will be coordinated through the Office of Classroom Scheduling using existing university classroom space.
Unit (e.g. department) approval date: College
(educational policy committee, faculty) approval dates:
Approved by the SPH Committee on Educational Programs on Dec. 18, 2014 Approved by the SPH Undergraduate Oversight Committee on Dec. 26, 2014
Received by the SPH Executive Committee as an informational item on Jan. 5, 2015
Contact Person: Karin J. Opacich, PhD, MHPE, OTR/L, FAOTA Director of Undergraduate Public Health
Clinical Associate Professor, Health Policy & Administration University of Illinois at Chicago
1603 W. Taylor-Suite 1182 Chicago, IL 60612-4394 312-996-6081
[email protected] Proposed Effective
Date/Term:
Fall 2015 with new course to be first offered in Spring 2016