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Friday, April 22, 2016

Foreign Language Modification in COMM

As an antidote to a great deal of hyperbolic gossip and fear-mongering, the actual language of the Department of Communication Foreign Language modification proposal is reproduced below.  As can be seen, this proposal does not attack Foreign Languages in any way, it merely modifies the requirement, providing three options, so as to give students and advisors flexibility in achieving educational goals.

"This change is a department modification.  The foreign language and foreign language elective requirement is eliminated. In their stead students have three options, conditional upon approval by their department adviser.  Students may (1) opt to fulfill the originally required foreign language and multicultural class requirement as set down in Attachment A, or, (2) opt to fulfill this requirement by substituting university multicultural and diversity courses as listed in the University of Toledo Catalog available at https://www.utoledo.edu/catalog/pdf/University_Core_2009_2010.pdf, or (3) take appropriate upper level electives as approved by their adviser. There is no change in total hours needed for graduation. "

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Were these changes approved by current COCA curriculum committee, COCA Council and COCA Dean, and where are they in terms of approvals by Faculty Senate?

Anonymous said...

A modification proposal to change the FL requirement while the two colleges are being merged... "end run" is one of many thoughts that come to mind. And what happened to it? It didn't pass the straight face test or was it voted on?

Anonymous said...

Isn't the Foreign Language requirement a college requirement and doesn't the COCA college council need to approve this?

Anonymous said...


Anonymous 11:55 asks a pertinent question.

I would add what about the necessary approvals from Toledo City Council, Ohio General Assembly, Mid-American Conference, UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice.

Anonymous said...



PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HAIL
UT FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACCORD

TOLEDO - Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are applauding University of Toledo’s new foreign language requirement agreement as an important first step to educational excellence for the 134-year-old university.

“You have great deal makers in Toledo,” Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said. “You know I wrote a bestseller on the art of dealing making. It’s one of the greatest books ever written next to The Bible.

“I love foreign languages,” Trump added. “My wife, who will be the greatest First Lady ever when I elected, is from a foreign country and speaks a foreign language. She’s gorgeous and has a great figure. Can you believe it!

“I love Toledo, too, and when I beat Hillary in the election, I will make sure the foreign languages at UT are great again,” he said. “I will make sure that UT beats Northern Illinois in football again. The Glass Bowl will be beautiful. And oh yeah, so is Health Science Campus. Ya know there is so much land out there; I might build a new hotel there. It will be stunning and the people of Toledo will love it.”

Trump added that foreign language courses at UT will be free, and he will force Bowling Green State University to pay the salaries of UT foreign language instructors.

“BG is such a loser school,” the billionaire real estate developer and reality television star said emphatically. “When I’m president, UT will stop losing students to BG. I promise you.”

Saying that he loved foreign languages, Ted Cruz commended UT for its decision during a Town Hall meeting in Miami, adding that he brushes up on his Spanish every night so he can effectively court Hispanic voters in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Lucas County, Ohio, on the campaign trail.

“That’s how much I love foreign languages. My wife, Heidi, really helps me with my diction. “God bless UT.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has been on the campaign trail for the last seven months and rarely been in Columbus, was asked about the UT action and expressed surprise.

“Toledo?” asked Kasich. “Where’s Toledo. Is that in Ohio?”

“See I told you so,” protested John Robinson Block, publisher and executive editor of The Blade and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, when informed of Kasich’s response. “No one would listen to me back in the 1980s. Nobody cares about northwest Ohio. It’s all about the three Cs—Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.”

Bernie Sanders also applauded the deal.

“Studying foreign languages is a right, not a privilege,” he said. “And with my free tuition and no student-debt plans, enrollment will be h-u-u-g-g-e.”

A spokesman for Hillary Clinton could not immediately provide information about how many foreign languages the former Secretary of State speaks, but noted she has visited more than 90 countries.

Meanwhile, UT spokesman Piffle, who said his head has been spinning like Linda Blair’s in “The Exorcist,” with congratulatory calls from national leaders, refused to confirm a report said UT President Sharon Gaber, who is wrestling with a budget crisis, is intrigued by the Trump proposal and is considering a meeting with BG President Mary Ellen Mazey to discuss a deal where the loser of the annual UT-BG football game would fund the budget of the foreign languages department of the other university for the next year.

Phone calls to the NCAA about the legality of such an arrangement were not immediately returned.

Anonymous said...


Does anyone have any information about the visit earlier this month from the HLC? Did it go well?

Unless I missed it, I’m surprised—and somewhat disappointed—that President Gaber did not send out an all-campus email to share in very general terms the observations of the HLC team during the exit interview and also to thank publicly the faculty and staff who worked to put the document together.

The university community received emails from her on three consecutive days following the fight involving fraternity knuckleheads earlier this year.

The results an HLC interim visit are just as important.

Anonymous said...

President released a letter today thanking UT community for their efforts with HLC visit, and some highlights.

If you understand the issue of race and violence that is having major impacts including public attention across higher education in this country, you would understand and appreciate why the President responded so quickly and clearly to the fraternity fight - I call that excellent leadership.