Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNINGAGENDAEDUCATIONAL POLICIES & PROGRAMSNovember 14, 2007Page 3 of 1357Projected Budget. Mississippi State will not allocate funding from the College of Artsand Sciences for the academic year operating budget but will instead expect the programto generate revenue to pay the necessary administrative expenses.Other Observations. This degree program will allow teachers to earn graduate credit andcontinuing education credit without leaving their jobs to return to a university campus.Staff Analysis. Board staff believes this program will meet an existing need within thestate for knowledgeable science and mathematics teachers.STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Board staff recommends approval of agenda item 1c.d. Mississippi State University requests permission to establish the Master of Science inGeneral Biology degree program (CIP 26.0101) within the College of Arts and Sciences.General Description. This degree program will focus on providing advanced biologicaltraining to K-12 teachers in an online format.Educational Objective. The primary objective for this degree program is to provide K-12teachers with a course of study that enhances their knowledge in the area of biology in anonline format.Degree Requirements. The degree program will require thirty three (33) credit hours.State Need. A need exists within the state for K-12 biology teachers with advancededucation.Projected Enrollment. It is anticipated that annual enrollment will grow from 50 to 100within the first five years of the program.Projected Budget. Mississippi State will not allocate funding from the College of Artsand Sciences for the academic year operating budget but will instead expect the programto generate revenue to pay the necessary administrative expenses.Other Observations. This degree program will allow teachers to earn graduate credit andcontinuing education credit without leaving their jobs to return to a university campus.Staff Analysis. Board staff believes this program will meet an existing need within thestate for knowledgeable biology teachers.STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Board staff recommends approval of agenda item 1d.e. Mississippi University for Women requests permission to establish the Bachelor ofArts/Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree program (CIP 30.9999)within the College of Arts and Sciences.General Description. This degree program will focus on providing an interdisciplinarycourse of study in order to meet a need of the transient population moving into theColumbus area to work at the Columbus Air Force Base and within local industry.11/13/2007