Category: Academic Year

Time: 11:00am
Location: Microsoft Teams. If anyone in addition to the COSCC would like to attend, please email Jen for details.

Items to be considered on this agenda are due by 11/24/2025.

When available, the meeting minutes will be indicated within bold brackets [ ] and are in draft form until they are approved by the committee.

I. Call to Order

II. Approval of the November 24, 2025 Meeting Minutes

III. Announcements/Discussion

• Spring 2026 Meeting Schedule

IV. Old Business

• Marine Geoscience Minor
• Bylaws Revision (view in Teams)

V. New Business – Undergraduate

VI. New Business – Graduate

Modified Courses

• GEOL 658: Chemical Oceanography

VII. Adjournment

*Item added after the agenda was announced.

• *The programs and services offered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.

Time: 11:00am
Location: Microsoft Teams. If anyone in addition to the COSCC would like to attend, please email Jen for details.

Items to be considered on this agenda are due by 11/10/2025.

When available, the meeting minutes will be indicated within bold brackets [ ] and are in draft form until they are approved by the committee.

I. Call to Order [11:03 AM]

II. Approval of the October 27, 2025 Meeting Minutes [Approved]

III. Announcements/Discussion

• Bylaws [Requested edit includes: 1. Adding “may” to the last sentence of VI.B. (“…and may provide their recommended votes”.] The bylaws will be voted on in December.

IV. Old Business

• Graduate Admissions Requirements Project [Project postponed until 2026.]

V. New Business – Undergraduate

Modified Courses

• EVPP 425: RS: Ecological Sustainability  [Approved with one abstention and 10 in favor]
• GGS 485: Capstone in Geography and Geoinformation [Approved]

Course Deletions

• GEOL 458: Chemical Oceanography [Approved]

New Programs

• Geology and Earth Science Minor [Approved pending an expanded “Why” section.]
• Marine Science Minor [Tabled by the department]

Modified Programs

• Climate Resilience and Adaptation Minor [Approved]
• Environmental and Sustainability Studies, BA* [Approved]
• Environmental Science, BS [Approved]
• Geography, BA [Approved]
• Geography, BS [Approved]
• Geographic Information Systems Minor [Approved]
• Paleontology Minor [Approved]
• Sustainable Studies Minor [Approved]

Program Deletions

• Earth Science Minor [Approved]
• Ocean and Estuarine Science Minor [Approved]
• Geology Minor [Approved]

VI. New Business – Graduate

Modified Courses

• GEOL 720: Bayesian Methods in Geology and Earth Sciences [Approved]

Course Deletions

• CSI 590: Quantitative Foundations for Computational Sciences [Approved]

Modified Programs

• Geographic Information Science, Graduate Certificate [Approved]

VII. Adjournment [12:12pm]

*Item added after the agenda was announced

• *The programs and services offered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.

Time: 11:00am
Location: Microsoft Teams. If anyone in addition to the COSCC would like to attend, please email Jen for details.

Items to be considered on this agenda are due by 10/13/2025.

When available, the meeting minutes will be indicated within bold brackets [ ] and are in draft form until they are approved by the committee.

I. Call to Order [11:02AM]

II. Approval of the September 29, 2025 Meeting Minutes [Approved]

III. Announcements/Discussion

• Bylaws [Updates were reviewed, discussion and voting will resume in November. The document will be emailed to the COSCC Members.]
• Zombie Courses [The list will be emailed to the COSCC Members, please take these courses back to your departments and initiate inactivation in CIM as appropriate.]

IV. Old Business

• Graduate Admissions Requirements Project [Discussions will continue next month.]
• BAM Template Project [COSCC Members were advised to keep an eye out for this required formatting shift. The template will also be emailed to the COSCC Members.]

V. New Business – Undergraduate

New Courses

• CLIM 425: Unlocking Past Climate: Models & Proxies [Approved pending updates to CLIM 625 syllabi.]
• NEUR 430: Introduction to Computational Neuroscience [Approved pending catalog description,  repeat status, prerequisite, and syllabus updates.]
• NEUR 431 Neuroinformatics Methods [Approved pending allowable credit, prerequisite, and syllabus updates.]

Modified Courses

• COS 301: Great Ideas in Science [Approved]

Modified Programs

• Science and Technology Minor [Approved]

VI. New Business – Graduate

New Courses

• CLIM 625: Unlocking Past Climate: Models & Proxies [Approved, pending updates to the repeatable status and the syllabus.]

Modified Programs

• Climate Dynamics, PhD [Approved]
• Computational Social Science, PhD* [Approved]

VII. Adjournment [12:14pm]

*Item was added after the agenda was announced.

• *The programs and services offered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.

Time: 11:00am
Location: Microsoft Teams. If anyone in addition to the COSCC would like to attend, please email Jen for details.

Items to be considered on this agenda are due by 9/15/2025.

When available, the meeting minutes will be indicated within bold brackets [ ] and are in draft form until they are approved by the committee.

I. Call to Order [11:01AM]

II. Approval of the August 25, 2025 Meeting Minutes [Approved]

III. Announcements/Discussion

• College Policies Catalog Update [Approved pending updates to Permission to Study Elsewhere: 1. Re-insert AP1.4.2 wording. 2. Clarifying lecture and lab pairings and require them to be taken in same term.]
• COSCC Bylaws (see Teams>Files>Bylaws>”Draft COSCC Bylaws_2025″) [Tabled]
• Graduate Admissions Requirements Project Introduction [To be discussed further in October.]
• BAM Template Project Update [These formatting updates are forthcoming in CIM.]

IV. Old Business

Modified Programs

• Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Graduate Certificate [Approved]

V. New Business – Undergraduate

New Courses

• COS 411: Introduction to Science Policy [Approved]

Modified Courses

• GEOL 302: Mineralogy [Approved pending clarity on prerequisites.]
• GEOL 313: Hydrology [Approved pending lab hours update and clarity on required vs. recommended.]
• GGS 300: Quantitative Methods for Geographical Analysis [Approved]
• GGS 302: Global Environmental Hazards [Approved]
• GGS 303: Geography of Resource Conservation [Approved]
• GGS 304: Population Geography [Approved]
• GGS 306: Urban Geography [Approved]
• GGS 307: Geographic Approaches for Sustainable Development [Approved]
• GGS 310: Cartographic Design [Approved]
• GGS 311: Geographic Information Systems [Approved]
• GGS 315: Geography of the United States [Approved]
• GGS 316: Geography of Latin America [Approved]
• GGS 317: Geography of China [Approved]
• GGS 320: Geography of Europe [Approved]
• GGS 325: Geography of North Africa and the Middle East [Approved]
• GGS 326: Geography of Eastern Europe and Russia [Approved]
• GGS 340: Health Geography [Approved]
• GGS 344: Military Geography [Approved]
• GGS 346: Geography of Religions and Belief Systems [Approved]
• GGS 354_Data Analysis and Global Change Detection Techniques [Approved]
• GGS 366: Spatial Computing [Approved]
• GGS 379: Remote Sensing [Approved]

Course Deactivations

•  COS 310: Introduction to Science Policy [Approved]
  • Affected programs: Science and Technology Policy Minor
  • Affected courses: COS 315: Science Policy Internship Program, COS 320: Science Policy in Practice

VI. New Business – Graduate

New Courses

• GEOL 507: Geological Field Experience* [Approved, pending change to grading scale, learning outcome wording, and academic policies.]

Modified Courses

• GEOL 513: Hydrology [Approved]
• GEOL 535: Advanced Stratigraphy [Approved pending course description update.]
• GEOL 536: Paleontology Seminar [Approved]
• GGS 517: Geography of China [Approved]

VII. Adjournment [12:19pm]

*Item added after the agenda was announced

• *The programs and services offered by George Mason University are open to all who seek them. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. After an initial review of its policies and practices, the university affirms its commitment to meet all federal mandates as articulated in federal law, as well as recent executive orders and federal agency directives.