ECE Curriculum Committee Meeting Minutes for January 25, 2008

1. The Minutes of the November 30, 2007 meeting were approved with minor corrections
2. The Chair reviewed the pending Committee business, including further discussion of the PURE proposal, completing the review of the Technical Electives list, and X98 course proposals for the Fall 2008 semester. Erhan Kudeki agreed to lead the February 1 meeting in the absence of the Chair to continue progress on these topics.
3. The Committee reviewed the "essential topics" list in the systems and circuits area as part of the initial evaluation of our core course structure and content. A few topics were suggested to add to the list; decision as to whether or not to include them was deferred to a future meeting. It was found that almost all of these topics are covered in the core or advanced core courses, with the exception of feedback control, which is largely covered but not related to the terminology of control systems. Soldering appears not to be learned anywhere in the core. It was also suggested that the advanced core courses lack sufficient connection to a broad range of applications. The Committee now feels ready to review the syllabi of the systems-area core courses to consider specifically what might be added and removed, and how the emphases might be shifted, or whether these courses should remain in the core.
4. The Committee adjourned at 11:54 AM.