New Program Proposal Bachelor Of Arts In Spanish (Page 2 of 4) in pdf

The curriculum consists of 120 credit hours. Of these 38-48 are in general

education; 36 credits are in the major for Track I (Spanish for Heritage Speakers) and 30

for Track II (General Major). Eighteen credits are in the minor and 12-28 credits are in

electives. While there are multiple numbers of undergraduate degree programs in South

Carolina’s institutions of higher education, the proposal at USC-Beaufort is unique in its

development of a track for native speakers of Spanish. The program has been designed to

meet the needs of two student clienteles, Hispanic and traditional, so that the knowledge

they bring to the major and the knowledge and skills they attain from the major can upon

their graduation best be utilized in the workforce, particularly in the Beaufort region.

The proposed curriculum is similar in content to that offered by USC-Columbia, for the

general track.

On the other hand, the General Track is quite similar to the kind of

Spanish majors found at most other institutions.

Thus, the proposed program’s General Track at USC-Beaufort represents a

duplication of the existing Spanish majors in public and private colleges and universities

in South Carolina.

However, the centrality of a Spanish major as an offering of any

liberal arts and sciences institution; the rapid expansion of the Hispanic population in the

Beaufort service area; and the uniqueness of track for heritage speakers within the major

mitigate the duplicative nature of the program and make this proposal a reasonable

request for the expenditure of academic resources.

While the proposal itself states that USC-Beaufort will have two tenure-track

faculty members, the administration at USC-Beaufort has confirmed that there will be

three full-time faculty members in the major. Two of these will possess a Ph.D. in

Spanish and a third will have a Ph.D. in Romance Languages. While this is a relatively

small number of faculty members for a typical major in Spanish, it is sufficient to begin

the major. The MRR provides a student: faculty ratio for Foreign Language majors of

18:1. Given this program’s expectations of student FTEs, a fourth full-time faculty

member should be contemplated by the end of the first five year period of the program’s

implementation.

It should be noted, too, that the proposal is strengthened by the

program’s requirement of a minor, which is directed toward integration of Spanish

language capacity with a deeper civic understanding of American culture.

Enrollment in the proposed program is estimated to begin at 35 headcount (61.5

FTE) in FY 2005-06 and increase to 43 headcount (75.5 FTE) in FY 2009-10. This

relatively high relationship between head count and FTE is occasioned by the numbers of

credit hours generated by the program’s required minor. If enrollment projections are

met, the program will meet the current CHE program productivity standards for

enrollment.

New Program Proposal Bachelor Of Arts In Spanish Page 2