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Policies on Gen Ed Foreign Language |
Policy decisions and questions/answers are listed in order
by date of decision, with the most recent listed first.
Please note that in many cases, more recent policy decisions
supersede previous policy decisions.
Announcement from the Provost's Office, 12/1/08
In 2002 the Faculty Senate passed a resolution that required graduates of Binghamton University to fulfill the General Education foreign language requirement by taking either the third college level of one foreign language or the second college level of two different foreign languages. Students who enroll as freshmen have been fulfilling that requirement since Fall 2004. Implementation of that requirement for transfer students was delayed under the assumption that, with more advanced notice, students at community colleges would complete their language study before enrolling at Binghamton. Transfer students were to have been held to this requirement beginning in Fall 2009; transfer students entering prior to Fall 2009 have been held to the SUNY-wide foreign language requirement of one college-level course in foreign language.
Current reality does not match the assumption that most students would come with this language requirement fulfilled. An analysis of a quarter of the transcripts from students who entered Binghamton as transfers last year indicates that we will need about 1,500 additional seats each year to enable transfer students to complete this degree requirement. Even if we weren’t facing a substantial budget reduction, this is a major investment in instructional resources. In addition, many community colleges simply do not offer a third semester of a language. Adding a third semester of language to the program at Binghamton may lengthen time to degree for transfer students.
Thus, the Provost has suspended implementation of the increased foreign language requirement for transfer students. The change in the requirement has been postponed and will not go into effect in Fall 2009. Transfer students entering in Fall 2009 will be held to the SUNY-wide foreign language requirement of one college-level course in foreign language.
For students from New York state high schools, "4 units of a foreign language" is defined as one year past the Regents.
Beginning with the 2004 catalog year, students may fulfill the Foreign Language requirement by satisfactorily completing some other significant activity that requires second-level foreign language proficiency as a prerequisite, such as study abroad in a non-English environment or an internship serving people who can communicate only in a language other than English.
The following revision of the new Gen Ed Foreign Language requirement was approved by the Faculty Senate on 5/3/05 and is an amendment to the requirement approved by the Faculty Senate on 3/5/02.
Transfer students entering Binghamton University in the academic years beginning in the Fall of 2005 to the Fall of 2008 will fulfill the foreign language General Education requirement with a first-level college course in foreign language. Transfer students entering Binghamton University in the academic year beginning Fall 2009 and thereafter will have to meet the same General Education foreign language requirement as students who enter as freshmen.
In the interim, Binghamton University will work with community colleges to develop transfer articulation arrangements that ensure that community college students are well prepared to meet our foreign language requirement. This four-year timetable will also allow the University through its publications and through its admissions and advising staff to alert current high school students to the foreign language standard that will be in place for all students in the fall of 2009. In this way, students will have time to plan their course of study and the incentive to take more foreign language before seeking admission to Binghamton. We expect the Provost will be the administrator responsible for ensuring that these preparations occur in a timely manner.
This means that the foreign language requirement from the 2004 catalog year will stay in effect until the 2009 catalog year, when freshmen and transfer students will both be required to meet the third-level requirement. Details are provided below.
Foreign language requirement for catalog years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2008:
Foreign Language skills are ensured by requiring that students pass either
a third-semester college-level course in one foreign language or a second-semester
course in two foreign languages, or satisfactorily complete some other significant
activity that requires second-level foreign language proficiency as a prerequisite,
such as study abroad in a non-English environment or an internship serving people
who can communicate only in a language other than English. Students may fulfill
the foreign language requirement prior to enrolling in college either by completing
four or more units of one high school foreign language with a course grade in
the fourth year of 85 or better, or three units each of two high school languages
with course grades in each third unit of 85 or better, by passing the AP examination
(or its equivalent) with a score of 3 or better, or by demonstrating equivalent
proficiency in some other fashion.
Exceptions:
Foreign language requirement for catalog years 2009 and beyond:
Foreign Language skills are ensured by requiring that students pass either
a third-semester college-level course in one foreign language or a second-semester
course in two foreign languages, or satisfactorily complete some other significant
activity that requires second-level foreign language proficiency as a prerequisite,
such as study abroad in a non-English environment or an internship serving people
who can communicate only in a language other than English. Students may fulfill
the foreign language requirement prior to enrolling in college either by completing
four or more units of one high school foreign language with a course grade in
the fourth year of 85 or better, or three units each of two high school languages
with course grades in each third unit of 85 or better, by passing the AP examination
(or its equivalent) with a score of 3 or better, or by demonstrating equivalent
proficiency in some other fashion.
Exceptions:
This version of the Gen Ed Foreign Language requirement is effective for freshmen entering in the 2004 catalog year.
Students are required to pass either a third-semester college-level course in one foreign language or a second-semester course in two foreign languages or to satisfactorily complete some other significant activity that requires second-level foreign language proficiency as a prerequisite, such as study abroad in a non-English environment or an internship serving people who can communicate only in a language other than English. Students can fulfill the foreign language requirement prior to enrolling in college either by completing four or more units of one high school foreign language with a course grade in the fourth year of 85 or better, or 3 units each of two high school languages with course grades in each 3rd unit of 85 or better, or by passing the AP exam (or its equivalent) with a score of 3 or better, or by demonstrating equivalent proficiency in some other fashion. Watson engineering students will continue to be exempt from the foreign language requirement. Decker students and Watson computer science students will continue to be subject only to the SUNY-wide requirement, which can be fulfilled by attaining a score of 85 or better on the NY State Regents foreign language exam (or its equivalent) or by passing one college course in a foreign language at any level.
On July 6, 2004, Provost Mary Ann Swain approved a postponement of the implementation of the new foreign language requirement for transfer students, which means that they will be held to the requirement for transfer students in the 2003-04 Bulletin. That requirement is as follows: "The foreign language requirement for transfer students is fulfilled by one college course in foreign language at any level. This requirement may also be fulfilled in high school by demonstrating a level of proficiency equivalent to passing the corresponding Regents foreign language examination with a score of 85 or higher." Please note that the print copy of the 2004-05 Catalog states that transfer students are held to the same requirement as freshmen; this has been updated in the online version of the 2004-05 Bulletin as of 7/23/04 to reflect the change in the foreign language requirement.
Discussed at Gen Ed Implementation meeting 12/2/02; revised after comments from language departments 1/21/03
Downloadable form in Microsoft Word format.
For catalog years 2004 and after; decision by UUCC 6/10/04.
Fourth-level high school language with a passing grade or third-level high school language with a Regents score of 85 equals the second semester of that language; the requirement is completed with a third semester of the same language or two semesters of another language.
For catalog years 2000-2003; discussed at Gen Ed Implementation meeting 4/5/02; had been decided previously (date unknown)
Third-year high school language with a grade of 65-84 or a Regents score of 65-84 equals the second semester of that language; the requirement is completed with a third semester of the same language or the second semester of another language.
Passed by the Binghamton University Faculty Senate 3/5/02
Students are required to pass either a third-semester college-level course in one foreign language or a second-semester course in two foreign languages or to satisfactorily complete some other significant activity that requires second-level foreign language proficiency as a prerequisite, such as study abroad in a non-English environment or an internship serving people who can communicate only in a language other than English. Students can fulfill the foreign language requirement prior to enrolling in college either by completing four or more units of one high school foreign language with a course grade in the fourth year of 85 or better, or 3 units each of two high school languages with course grades in each 3rd unit of 85 or better, or by passing the AP exam (or its equivalent) with a score of 3 or better, or by demonstrating equivalent proficiency in some other fashion.
Watson engineering students will continue to be exempt from the foreign language requirement. Decker students and Watson computer science students will continue to be subject only to the SUNY-wide requirement, which can be fulfilled by attaining a score of 85 or better on the NY State Regents foreign language exam (or its equivalent) or by passing one college course in a foreign language at any level.
The new requirement will become effective for freshmen who enter in Fall 2004 and for transfer students who enter in Fall 2004. Transfer students entering prior to Fall 2004 will be subject only to the SUNY-wide requirement listed above.
Decision by UUCC Foreign Language Subcommittee 8/20/01
It was asked whether students who need to take foreign language level 1, 2, and 3 to fulfill their Gen Ed foreign language requirement could take FL 1 and 2 pass/fail, since FL 3 was the only course tracked by DARS to fulfill the Gen Ed foreign language requirement. The UUCC's Foreign Language Subcommittee decided that students may take FL 1 and 2 pass/fail but that they should be strongly encouraged to take them for a letter grade.
There are two issues the subcommittee foresees with students taking FL 1 and 2 pass/fail. Advisors are asked to make students aware of the following issues:
Decision by Faculty Senate Executive Committee 9/4/01
It was brought to the UUCC's attention that some of the 2001 entering freshmen in the Watson School's Computer Science program had been advised that the foreign language requirement was completely waived for them, as it is for Engineering students. Because these students had been told they did not have any foreign language requirement, it raised serious concerns about implementing a "partial waiver" policy that would have held these students to the SUNY-GER minimum requirement.
The following policy was presented to, and approved by, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee:
From the UUCC's original foreign language proposal submitted to the Faculty Senate 4/17/01. (The proposal is not reproduced in its entirety, as it is superseded by the revised version passed by the Faculty Senate 3/5/02; see above.)
Decker School of Nursing
Effective starting with the 2000-2001 academic year, the Binghamton Faculty Senate granted a waiver of Binghamton’s foreign language requirement to students receiving degrees in nursing, which means that they need only meet the SUNY-GER minimum: three units of high school study and a Regents Exam score of 85% or above or another nationally recognized test score equivalent, or one semester of college study, regardless of level.
Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science – Engineering Majors
Effective starting with the 2000-2001 academic year, the Binghamton Faculty Senate approved a waiver of the foreign language requirement for all Watson School students except those in the Computer Science Department. In addition, the SUNY Provost granted a waiver from the Foreign Language requirement to students receiving degrees in engineering.
Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science – Computer Science Majors
In May 2001, Faculty Senate approved a request from the Computer Science Department for a waiver similar to that received by the Decker School of Nursing. Under this waiver, Computer Science students would be subject to the SUNY-GER minimum requirement: three units of high school study and a Regents Exam score of 85% or above or another nationally recognized test score equivalent, or one semester of college study, regardless of level.
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