Update on ICC Revision: Faculty Advisory Vote

By Kari Smoker, September 1, 2021

Faculty Advisory Vote and Submission to APC

On April 6, the Provost’s Task Force on ICC Revision submitted a revised proposal to amend the ICC to the Committee on College-wide Requirements (CCR), which oversees the ICC program. The proposal contains six substantial changes to the ICC, potentially effective for incoming first-year students in Fall 2022 or 2023. It can be accessed at the Provost’s Task Force on ICC Revision‘s webpage, along with a list of Frequently Asked Questions.  

Upon receiving the first draft of the proposal on Nov. 6, 2020, CCR requested feedback from each school's curriculum committee, Student Governance Council (SGC), Academic Advising Center, Ithaca Seminar Steering Committee, Dean’s Offices, and Faculty Council. CCR collated all feedback received and provided it, along with CCR’s own comments, to the Task Force on ICC revision on Dec. 6, 2020. The current revised proposal includes changes made by the Task Force in response to that feedback. 

CCR conducted an online faculty advisory vote on the proposed revisions from April 22 through April 30, 2021, after allowing for a two-week review period. Each faculty member was surveyed as to whether they supported the proposal overall, as well as each of the six proposed changes to the ICC. The results were as follows: 

  • Proposal as a whole (87.2% support) 

  • Recommended Change #1—E-Portfolio Elimination and Replacement with Course-Based Program Assessment and “Integrative Engagement” (97% support)  

  • Recommended Change #2—Decouple the Perspectives requirements from Themes so that students will be required to complete a Themed course in each of the four Perspectives (92.2% support) 

  • Recommended Change #3—Allow for departments or degree programs to formally designate one Perspective to be satisfied by completion of that major. (87.4% support)   

  • Recommended Change #4—Eliminate the CLA (76.3% support)   

  • Recommended Change #5—Adjust the Capstone Requirement (91.4% support)  

  • Recommended Change #6—Add a one‐course “Integrative Engagement” Requirement (53.2% support) 

CCR’s support for the proposal and each of the recommended changes was unanimous. CCR submitted the proposal, along with the results of the advisory vote, to the college's Academic Policies Committee (APC) on August 27, 2021. 

- Kari A. Smoker, Chair, CCR