DIS Curriculum Committee
The University of Minnesota is the DIS school of record. University of Minnesota works closely with DIS regarding curriculum and program quality through representation on the DIS Curriculum Committee and through program reviews every fourth year (last review was in 2011 and may be downloaded here).
The DIS Curriculum Committee is a sub-committee under the DIS Faculty Executive Committee, with the participation of representatives from the University of Minnesota.
The goals of the Curriculum Committee are three-fold:
- To provide valuable input for DIS curricular developments and the continued alignment with the goals and needs of US undergraduate institutions
- To ensure that University of Minnesota, as the School of Record, is kept abreast with the curriculum development and quality of DIS
- For the DIS Faculty to gain a better understanding of the requirements and quality measures of US sending institutions
The DIS Curriculum Committee convenes once a year. In even years, the meeting is held in connection with the DIS Danish Educators Workshop at the University of Minnesota, normally in April. In odd years, the meeting is held in Copenhagen, normally in connection with the International Educators Workshop in March/April or October/November. The first meeting took place in Minneapolis in November 2010.
The March 2011 meeting discussed DIS curriculum 2012-13 with an emphasis on the possible launch of a program in environmental science, focused on climate change; how to construct the curriculum in communication & media and economics; and discussion of how best to present the broad DIS course offerings within humanities to highlight the options for English, history and other majors. The committee also discussed the question of prerequisites. In attendance were (UofM) Martha Johnson, Director, Learning Abroad Center; Nanette Hanks, Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts; and (DIS) Anders Uhrskov, Director; Malene Torp, Associate Director; Andrea Homann, Faculty Vice-Chairperson; Jacob Buksti, Faculty Representative.
Representation
The University of Minnesota is represented on the DIS Curriculum Committee by Martha Johnson, Director, Learning Abroad Center and one additional University of Minnesota faculty/staff appointed by Martha Johnson in cooperation with DIS.
DIS is represented by the Faculty Executive Committee, which consists of 4 members: the DIS Director, Associate Director, and two members elected by the DIS Faculty: the Faculty Chairman and Faculty Vice Chairman. The DIS Director is the Committee Chairman. The current members are Anders Uhrskov, Director; Malene Torp, Associate Director; Faculty Chairman Niels Hald and Faculty Vice Chairman Andrea Homann. All DIS members participate in the meetings in Copenhagen. For meetings held in Minneapolis, DIS might have other relevant faculty substitute for the elected faculty representatives, if the representatives are unable to travel to Minnesota. University of Minnesota and DIS can agree to invite additional guests to join the meetings on an ad hoc basis. Guests may be from the two institutions or from external institutions.
The Learning Abroad Center hosts meetings in Minneapolis, and in Copenhagen DIS hosts. The meeting is normally a half day. In preparation, DIS will send an update on curricular initiatives 2 weeks in advance including suggestions for new courses. When the meeting takes place in Copenhagen, DIS covers economy airfare and hotel accommodations for 2 University of Minnesota representatives. When the meeting takes place in Minneapolis, DIS will cover all DIS’ own travel and accommodation costs.
The agenda of the Curricular Committee meetings are decided by Martha Johnson (University of Minnesota) and Malene Torp (DIS).
