OFF-CAMPUS STUDIES PANEL

MINUTES

December 14, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

WPH 201

I.	Minutes of November meeting, including report on items approved by chair (or chair plus one member).
•	APPROVED via email.

II.  	DISCUSSION ITEMS

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE			Requested by Qingyun Ma

A.	New International Summer Program

Graduate Studies Abroad Laboratory in Beijing [4 units]
Four-week program in Beijing.  Students take ARCH 599: Special Topics—D.I.I.P. (Delta Investigation and Inquiry Program): Beijing. USC is joined by the ETH, The Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, and by the hosting institution, Qinghua University in this collaborative endeavor.  All three schools are sponsored by the Beijing Urban Planning Committee.  Architecture’s ISP for graduate students in Summer 2006 took place on Hainan Island.
•	APPROVED for one year.  Programs consisting of one or more special topics course must by default be approved on a limited basis, because the same special topics course can be offered no more than three times in a three-year period.  Difficulties experienced by last year’s summer program not likely to be repeated due to change in venue.  In this program the students focus on research; two weeks of analysis and research and two weeks work on a proposal to produce a thesis. 

B.	Revised Summer Semester Program

Undergraduate semester in Asia [15 units]
Addition of a second section to the existing summer semester in Asia that focuses on Malaysia.  This section will start in India and include China and Korea.  For parts of the program, students will be in the same locale as the other section of this program or the graduate ISP in Beijing.  Students are in Asia for 13 weeks and spend a final week at USC.  Courses taken are:  ARCH 402abc Architectural Design IV  (6 units), ARCH 316 Place and Culture (3 units), ARCH 424 Field Studies in Architecture (2 units), ARCH 425 Field Studies in Urbanism (2 units), and ARCH 426 Field Studies in Tectonics (2 units).

•	DEFERRED TO CHAIR (see below:  APPROVED for one year after the meeting):  Dean Qingyun Ma, Dean, School of Architecture, and program directors Eui-Sung Yi, and Paul Tang, attended the meeting to discuss this and the graduate program proposal in Beijing.  Concern was expressed to the School of Architecture in advance of the meeting regarding the program as portrayed by the materials provided to the Curriculum office for discussion.  The main difficulty is that there are missing syllabi, perhaps more concerning because the evaluations show that some students did not receive syllabi for all the courses in the Summer 2007 program.  It is unclear exactly what the students are expected to do and when with regard to course- related requirements. Also noted is that there is no one staff or faculty member with the students for the entire thirteen weeks abroad.   The OSP is charged with maintaining a level of consistency among the various overseas programs.

Dean Ma summarized the existing program and explained the way this new section will be composed and integrated.  The existing program is so successful the number of students applying doubled, so the new section, which will involve some different cities (in India) and some of the same ones, is proposed rather than increase the size of the existing one.  35 students are expected to participate in 2008.  Jim Steele and Paul Tang oversee the program, taking turns and overlapping for some periods of time.  The existing program, ASAP I led by Jim Steele,  starts with 14 days in Japan, to China for 10 days, then to Southeast Asia Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, where the observation period ends, and the application to design exercise begins.  The new program, ASAP II, led by Paul Tang, and the existing one will coexist in China.  ASAP II starts with two weeks in India, followed by six weeks in China (including co-residency with the graduate program in Beijing, although the curriculum differs), following by a week in Korea and four weeks in Shanghai.  A fourteenth week is spent on campus at USC.

Paul Tang provided more details.  A former USC professor who specializes in India and is currently a Woodbury university professor has agreed to participate this summer.   He will follow the students to help them thru the transition to China.  Faculty directors also rely on Crown Travel, an outside agency, for some of the travel arrangements, such as transportation and accommodations.

Regarding the issue of the content of the courses, they commented that the materials in the different undergraduate courses cross-fertilize, feeding ultimately into the design studio, that serve as a reaction to the observations made in the early weeks.  The students from the local university are paired up with USC students, rather than one USC team and a separate local university team.  Jim Steele is responsible for cultural study and historical criticism, Charles Lagreco covers urbanism, and Paul Tang integrates studio and design discourses.  The students complete ARCH 415 in Spring prior to departure as preparation course.  31 students are currently enrolled in that course (but not all are necessarily going abroad, as ARCH 415 also counts toward the minor in Architecture).  The only course in the program that is required for the degree is ARCH 402abc (6-6-6) and the students enroll in a, b, or c depending on their need.

Concerns expressed about whether the grading was consistent between all the different faculty responsible for teaching the various classes.  Varying expectations about grading can be difficult for students, especially if syllabi are not provided.  Paul Tang and Jim Steele coordinate the undergraduate grading, and Eui-Sung Yi the graduate grades.  The inconsistency with faculty last year was due to unanticipated salary problems, which will be remedied for 2008.

This is undoubtedly a rich and valuable program;  the panel’s questions have to do with the logistics from an academic standpoint.  The connection between what is in the syllabus and what is offered in the countries is not clear.  Are there separate outcomes for each course?  How do the locations match up with the syllabi?  The ‘prerequisite’ course ARCH 415 is not specified in the program materials provided for review.  The syllabus for the course was provided at the meeting.  There were problems with communicating with the student participants before departure, suggested that it is best to articulate what can be foreseen; no surprises prevents backlash.  The panel suggests that it would be helpful to invite a student who participated in the program last year to a planning session for Q and A. 

The presentation by Ma, Yi and Tang was very informative and filled in many of the holes in the written materials provided to the Curriculum office for the panel to review.  The proposal should be resubmitted to include the rigor, structure, organization and detail that was presented at the meeting before the program can be approved.  More detailed syllabi for undergraduate courses that were previously requested are still needed, and a description of the overall program and how it all ties together; an ‘academic itinerary.’ Since the courses offered overseas are only offered overseas, and since the material covered seems to flow within the different courses, the panel recommends that the ARCH 424, 425 and 426 could be made into one 6-unit class. From the presentation it appears that more is required in these courses than what is shown on the materials provided; sketchbooks and other design projects are legitimate components and ought to be integrated into the syllabi if they are indeed required.  The panel strongly suggests that a former student participant, undergraduate or graduate, would be a helpful aide, and that one consistent faculty or teaching assistant or staff member participate from start to finish, in addition to professors Steele, Tang and Yi

APPROVED for one year by chair after receipt of additional information from the School.  Syllabi were fleshed out (although complete assignments were not listed) and the relationship to site visits was clarified to some extent.  The Regarding staff support, the School said, “Class assistants will be solicited from upper division undergraduate or graduate students with study abroad experiences and/or regional experiences for the first part of the program during the observation and documentation phase.  In lieu of class assistants in the second part of the program, additional professors from each corresponding university in Beijing, Seoul, and Shanghai will participate in the program with collaborating students from each of the universities to assist USC students with various logistic needs.”  When approving, the OSP chair requested that Architecture provide the final draft of course syllabi when they are completed.  In addition, the program director's report to be submitted at the program's completion should include specific references to the availability of needed pedagogic technology in each of the countries visited, the adequacy of student support by staff and/or faculty in each country, and the types of pre-program communication with students. These were among the main concerns expressed at the OSP meeting.

PROPOSALS APPROVED BY THE CHAIR, OR CHAIR PLUS ONE MEMBER
I.  NEW SEMESTER PROGRAMS
A.  MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Six new programs added to the current 13 international sites, part of the IEP (Interntional Exchange Program), which can fulfill the senior concentration in Business.  All programs involve direct enrollment in an international Business School.  All are effective Spring 2008.

1.  	IEP University of Navarra (15 units)
	APPROVED for 3 years.  Students will take courses in English at the School of Economics and 
Business in Pamplona, Spain.   They will live in on-campus dorms.  One unit at Navarra articulates to 0.66 units at USC.  
	Chair comment:  Full syllabi are requested as soon as they are available.

2.  	IEP WHU Koblenz (15 units)
APPROVED for 3 years.  Students will take courses in English at the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management in Koblenz, Germany.  They will live in on-campus dorms.  One WHU 
	unit will earn 0.5 USC units.
	Chair comments:  The subsequent report should reflect on the unit totals taken by the students. Full 
	syllabi are also requested as soon as they are available.

3.  	IEP University of St. Gallen  (15 units)
APPROVED for 3 years.   Students will take courses at the University of St. Gallen for Business Administration, Economics, Law and Social Sciences in Switzerland.  Students will live off-campus.  One unit at St. Gallen will earn 0.66 USC units.
Chair comments:  Regarding the course “ Doing Business in China” – Is there a means of integrating this course into further study involving China? The course is described as the first segment in a China study series, but USC students wouldn’t be able to complete this natural progression. Because it is part of this 	sequence, and it doesn’t require any readings, it might be worth examining its role in the curriculum.  Full syllabi are requested as soon as they are available.

4.	IEP Thammasat University (15-18 units)
APPROVED for 3 years.  Students will take courses at Thammasat Business School, at the Thaprachan campus in Bangkok.  Students will live off-campus.  One unit at Thammasat will earn 1 unit at USC.  This is USC's first overseas studies program in Thailand.
Chair comments:  This program requires students to live off-campus, but the application does indicate that students can be assisted by ‘staff.’ We assume this to be local staff, but this may be another item of responsibility for Marshall staff to coordinate. Full syllabi are requested as soon as they are available.

5.           IEP Singapore Management University (15 units)
APPROVED for 3 years.  Students will take courses at Singapore Management University.  There is a waiting list for the current site at National University of Singapore.  Students will live off-campus.  One SMU unit earns 3 USC units.
Chair comments:  The program seems very valuable for USC students. Full syllabi are requested as soon as they are available.

6.  	IEP National Taiwan University  (15 units)
		APPROVED for 3 years.  Part of the International Senior Concentration.  Students will take courses in 
English at National Taiwan University College of Management.  Students will live in on-campus dorms.  One NTU unit earns 1 USC unit.
	Chair comments:  Approved with enthusiasm.
II.  REVIEW AND RENEWAL OF SEMESTER/YEAR PROGRAMS
A.  MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Semester	Bocconi  (16)           Eff. Term:  Spring 2008
APPROVED for 3 years.  Initial review (3-year review, but provided 2 years late) of IEP.  Part of the International
	 Senior Concentration Program.  Students take courses in English at Universita Commerciale Luigi 
	Bocconi in Milan.
	Chair comments:  The very strong survey indicators for the program are impressive, but the lower 
evaluations of the on-site academic advising (especially in the past few years) should encourage us to at least examine this indicator. This item attracted attention because no student has ranked this element as four or five in the last three semesters, even though it generally received these marks in the early semesters.   A review of open-ended evaluations might offer more meaningful insight into this item. Potential housing concerns (including internet access) should be communicated to the students during orientation.

B.  ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION	Communication
Semester program at City University, London (16 units)	Eff. Term:  Spring 2008
Approved for 3 years.  Chair comment:  The recommendations made in the report were appreciated greatly.  
This spring semester program for Journalism majors includes 8 units of social science courses, 6 units of journalism 
courses, and a 2 unit journalism project.
III.  NEW INTERNATIONAL SUMMER PROGRAM
COLLEGE OF LETTERS ARTS & SCIENCES	Master of Professional Writing 
			Eff. Term:	Summer 2008
Master of Professional Writing Program in Cambridge, England (4 units)
Comments:	APPROVED for three years (although annual chair-only reviews are required).  Three-week residential program at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, for students in the Master of Professional Writing Program.  Students will take MPW-999 for 4 units, studying both creative writing and screen writing 
with faculty at Pembroke.	
Chair comment:  The reviewers were very impressed with the program. One suggestion is that MPW make 
the extra costs clear to the students early in the application process.
IV.  REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL SUMMER PROGRAMS—CHAIR ONLY REVIEWS
A.  ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION	Communication	
			Eff. Term:	Summer 2008
International Communication Studies [6 units]
Approved for one year.  Summer travel program to London, Paris, Geneva, and Prague for undergraduates.  One week at USC and four weeks of travel.  Chair comment:  Gordon Stables’ report is very thoughtful and informative.
B.  ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION	Journalism
Three summer journalism internship programs for graduate students.  All programs approved for one year effective Summer 2008.  All are 6-unit programs.  The locations are:
1.  Cape Town
	
2.  Hong Kong
	Chair comment:  The suggested information sessions for student expectations are encouraged.

3.  London 
	 Chair comment:  The recommendations in the director’s report are well thought out.

Members present			Members absent		Guests	

Stephen Bucher (chair)			Yehuda Ben-Zion		Qingyon Ma, Dean, ARCH
Amanda Custer (student)		Laurie Brand			Paul Tang, Program Director
Frances M. Fitzgerald (support staff)	Giuseppe Caire			Eui-Sung Yi, Program Director
Stacy Geck				Annalisa Enrile
Joan R. Piggott				Elizabeth Garrett (ex officio)	
Gordon Stables				Steven Lamy (ex-officio)
Erin Quinn 				Noosha Malek (ex-officio)		
Edwenna Werner (for Kenneth		Gunnar Nielsson
Servis)					Adam Powell (ex-officio)		
Kenneth L. Servis (ex-officio)