Provost’s Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Programs
September 2, 2025, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m., 817 Cathedral of Learning
Minutes
Members Attending
Brian Batell (Dietrich – Natural Sciences), Mary Besterfield-Sacre (SSOE), Betty Braxter (SON), Jonathan Chitiyo (UPB/UPT), Luke Condra (SPIA), Dawn Drahnak (UPJ), Kylie Engdahl (UPB/UPT), William Garrison (SCI), Deborah Good (CBA), Brandon Grace (Pittsburgh SGB – Student), Adriana Helbig (Dietrich School – CGS), Jonathan Helm (Office of the University Registrar), David Hornyak (Frederick Honors College), Paula Janikowski (OTP – Staff), Logan Johnson (UPG), Kathy Kelly (SHRS), Adam Lee (OTP – PACUP Chair), Denise Schiff (Pharm), Belkys Torres (OTP), Liann Tsoukas (Dietrich – Social Sciences), Kelly Wagner (DenMed), Ada Youk (SPH)
Members Absent
Lorraine Denman (Dietrich – Humanities), Toya Jones (SSW), Michelle Sobolak (SOE)
UPG student representative, UPJ student representative, and SEPC representative had not been appointed as of date of first meeting
Substitutes
John Stoner (SEPC) – SEPC representative not yet appointed – John co-chairs SEPC and attended the meeting
Guests
Patty Wharton-Michael (Pitt-Johnston), Gian Downs (Dietrich School – Theatre Arts)
Announcements/Discussion Points/Updates
Member Introductions
- All members of the committee introduced themselves.
PACUP Actions 2024-2025 (attachment)
Overview of PACUP – Vice Provost Lee presented on the following:
- Policy AC 52 Provost’s Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Programs establishes the membership and responsibility of PACUP
- Role of PACUP – goals and objectives
- What to expect in PACUP
- Academic Planning Process
- What PACUP can focus on
- What happens to proposals after PACUP
- Resource slide presented – VP Lee noted he would share with the committee
Academic Policy Review
Updated - DRAFT Awarding Posthumous Degree Guidelines (email attachment)
- VP Lee gave an overview of the current policy before the updates and quick history of what occurred prior to the regulation existing.
- VP Lee noted the changes to the regulation that require feedback from PACUP
- On the bottom of the document where it states University Registrar – this practice was already in place; it is now being documented. Registrar completes final validation, has it ordered, gets it to the Dean for presentation.
- Added the sentence for when a student passes away when they are not in active status (enrolled within the last three terms).
- This could happen due to terminal illness, military service, someone who had separated previously and a child comes back and would like their parent to receive a degree posthumously.
- Feedback from PACUP
- Questions about eligibility before and after this proposed revision, as well as where requests for posthumous degrees typically originate.
- PACUP was supportive
Academic Planning Proposal Review
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: modify the major in Communication leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree
- Patty Wharton-Michael attended to give an overview of the proposal and answer questions from PACUP.
- The changes are coming out of strategic planning at UPJ. An innovative goal that emerged from planning was to help students gain a richer understanding of career and professional pathways.
- UPJ wanted to show what careers are connected to this degree.
- Communications - BA is housed in the Humanities Division. Communications wanted to be more visible to students and parents.
- Renaming department as Communication and Media Studies would increase visibility for students interested in public relations and social media strategies
- UPJ is also reframing the related areas as “professional concentrations” (tracks – not to be recorded on transcripts) and increasing each from 12 credits to 15 credits.
- The overall credit count for major will increase by 3 credits
- The Professional Concentrations will be:
- Advertising and Public Relations
- Journalism and Broadcast Digital Media
- Social Media Strategies
- Sports Communication
- Mass Media
- Global Communication
- Organizational Communication
- Capstone required, internship is not required.
- No new courses, expenses, or new faculty are needed – program could start tomorrow.
- Public Speaking is required in the major, but it is also a GenEd requirement
- PACUP Questions/Concerns/Key Takeaways
- Do you anticipate any new courses will need to be developed within the department for the new “professional concentrations”?
No – the modified program could start tomorrow. - Why is the internship not required? The major pushes professionalism, why do you not want to make students go and practice it? Are there enough internship opportunities?
The Capstone course is required. There is an internship supervisor in the department. Students can come to the supervisor with a suggestion of an internship (can do the internship during the summer in their hometown – or be creative on-campus since some students do not have access to transportation to get an internship. It could be tricky to require it, UPJ places as many students as possible.
- Do you anticipate any new courses will need to be developed within the department for the new “professional concentrations”?
- PACUP was supportive.
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences: establish an undergraduate certificate in Musical Theatre
- Gian Downs attended to give an overview of the proposal and answer questions from PACUP.
- Jointly offered by Theatre Arts and Music
- Provides undergraduates with interdisciplinary liberal arts approach to musical theatre by combining training and performance, design, history, music, and criticism.
- 21 credits – 12 credits in theatre arts, 6 credits in music, and 3 credits from either department – students will choose all classes from a preapproved course list.
- Meets demand from students – a lot of undergraduate students in musical theatre
- Musical theatre classes are meeting caps – club has hundreds of students
- No additional budget – uses existing faculty and resources and has strong support from both departments
- PACUP Questions/Concerns/Key Takeaways
- It was noted that the assessment matrix provided scales with only positive values.
Revisions requested to address situations where students do not meet expectations. - In the budgetary impact section, additional musicals are mentioned. Do these generate income?
Typically, these are money-makers but also use additional hiring of labor and faculty/adjuncts/professionals. - At 21 credits, why not a major instead of a certificate?
In theatre arts this would be in between a minor and a major (42 credits for the major) - How many students would be getting this certificate already? (did not know)
- Will students have a relationship with PMT or CLO?
Do not have a formalized relationship but have an informal relationship and placed theatre majors at the CLO this summer. Some theatre majors get placed with PMT. Goal is to have a fall musical and hopefully a spring musical. - Is there enough overlap that if a student starts the certificate and decides to move to the major, they will have an easy transition?
Yes. - PACUP was supportive, modulo updates to the assessment matrix
- It was noted that the assessment matrix provided scales with only positive values.
Provost’s Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Programs (PACUP)
Academic Year 2024-25
Proposals, Policies/Regulations, and Presentations
Distributed to PACUP September 2, 2025
Revised September 19, 2025
PACUP September 24, 2024
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences: establish a major in Korean leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree
School of Dental Medicine: establish a major in Dental Hygiene to be offered hybrid leading to the Bachelor of Science degree
PACUP October 15, 2024
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: establish an undergraduate minor in Communication Science
PACUP November 19, 2024
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford: modify the major in History-Political Science leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree
Policy/Academic Regulation Revision Review
Academic Probation/Suspension/Dismissal: policy revision was reviewed and discussed by PACUP. The revised Academic Standing for Undergraduate Students and Academic Standing for Graduate and Professional Students academic regulations have been approved – effective Fall 2026. The current regulation will remain in effect until that time.
Course Repeat: policy revision was scheduled for review by PACUP. Tabled for the next meeting due to time constraints.
PACUP December 17, 2024
Policy/Academic Regulation Revision Review
Course Repeat: policy revision was reviewed and discussed by PACUP. The revised Course Repeat academic regulation has been approved – effective Fall 2025.
PACUP January 21, 2025
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences: terminate the major in Political Science leading to the Bachelor of Science degree
Policy/Academic Regulation Revision Review
Academic Probation/Suspension/Dismissal: policy revision was reviewed and discussed by PACUP a second time. The revised Academic Standing for Undergraduate Students and Academic Standing for Graduate and Professional Students academic regulations have been approved – effective Fall 2026. The current regulation will remain in effect until that time.
PACUP February 27, 2025
(meeting cancelled)
PACUP March 18, 2025
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: modify major in Respiratory Care leading to the Associate of Science degree
Policy/Academic Regulation Revision Review
Advanced Standing Credit: policy revision was reviewed and discussed by PACUP. The revised Advanced Standing Credits academic regulation has been approved – effective Fall 2025.
Course Repeat: policy revision was reviewed and discussed by PACUP a second time. The revised Course Repeat academic regulation has been approved – effective Fall 2025.
PACUP April 15, 2025
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: modify and rename the major Environmental Studies Leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree as Environmental Sustainability – BA
College of General Studies: modify and offer online the major in Dental Hygiene leading to the Bachelor of Science degree (Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program)
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford: modify the major in Exercise Science leading to the Bachelor of Science degree
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford: establish a major in Special Education PK-12 leading to the Bachelor of Science degree
Policy/Academic Regulation Revision Review
Definitions Related to Distance Education: the definitions were reviewed and discussed by PACUP. The Definitions Related to Distance Education have been approved – effective Fall 2025.
Credential Overlap Regulations: the draft regulation was reviewed and discussed by PACUP. The Credential Overlap academic regulation has been approved – effective Fall 2025.
PACUP May 13, 2025
Academic Planning Proposals Reviewed
Swanson School of Engineering: establish a major in Natural Gas, Renewables, and Oil Engineering (GRO) leading to the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: modify the major in Criminal Justice leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree
School of Business – Pitt Business: modify the major in Global Management leading to the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and terminate the undergraduate Certificate Program in International Business (CPIB)
School of Business – Pitt Business: establish an undergraduate Public Accounting Certificate
School of Business – Pitt Business: establish an undergraduate certificate in Foundations of Business Management (Dietrich, SCI and Public Health)
School of Business – Pitt Business: establish an undergraduate certificate in Foundations of AI for Business
Presentation
Report on English Language Institute (ELI) English Placement Test (EPT) pilot: Director of the ELI, Dr. Dawn McCormick
September 2, 2025, PACUP Minutes (PDF)