The Senate unanimously approved, with one abstention, a new corporate communication major.

Provost Madeline Wake said the proposal will be sent to the Office of Finance, the Office of the Provost and University President the Rev.,”After more than an hour of executive session, the University Academic Senate opened its doors and approved new undergraduate and graduate academic programs.

The Senate unanimously approved, with one abstention, a new corporate communication major.

Provost Madeline Wake said the proposal will be sent to the Office of Finance, the Office of the Provost and University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild for approval. She said it would probably be brought to the board of trustees for final approval in December.

College of Communication Dean John Pauly said the major would help students pursue communications positions in the business field.

"It's for people interested in sites of corporations where communication is an issue," Pauly said.

He said students in the major would take courses in the College of Communication, as well as a business foundations course, which would be put together by the College of Business Administration.

Although the major was approved, Carla Hay, associate professor of history, raised questions about its potentially limited scope.

"It seems to be kind of a narrow focus for a major, but a wonderful concept for an interdisciplinary minor," she said.

Hay said her concerns stemmed from prior discussion at the meeting of the Yardley Report, an in-depth study of the university's Ph.D. programs that took place earlier this year. The report was discussed during the Senate's executive session, but was not released to the public.

Hay said the Yardley Report said the university should be more creative with combining different academic fields and that an interdisciplinary minor in corporate communication might be an opportunity to do so.

The Senate also discussed a music minor that will be launched in the College of Communication. The minor has already been approved by the Board of Undergraduate Studies and was presented to the Academic Senate. It did not need approval from the Senate.

Pauly said there are more than 400 students enrolled in zero-credit music programs right now and that a music minor would help attract prospective students who want to continue their musical endeavors.

"This is an admissions strategy for the university," he said.

Strategies for attracting prospective students were also part of two academic proposals presented by Ed Inderrieden, chair of the Board of Graduate Studies.

The first was a plan to transition the College of Nursing's master's level advanced practice programs from a Master of Science degree to a Doctorate of Nursing degree.

The Senate unanimously approved the change.

Inderrieden said 47 other universities have already made such a transition and 140 are in the development stage.

He said the degree would be focused on nursing practice instead of research.

Judith Miller, associate dean for graduate programs and research in the College of Nursing, said the college would like to start the doctoral program in fall 2008, pending approval from the Office of Finance, Wake, Wild and the board of trustees.

Inderrieden also presented the Academic Senate with a practical master's of engineering in biological engineering.

He said the degree would be geared toward people who already have an engineering degree and are actually working in the field.

The degree would not require additional funding, Inderrieden said.

The Senate approved the degree unanimously.

The Senate's next meeting, its final of the semester, will be held Nov. 19.

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