Change to the Curriculum
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Course Catalog
Curriculum Change Proposal Form
Cover & Routing Sheet
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Does every change to the curriculum require a proposal?
Every change that should appear in the college catalog must be reviewed by the curriculum council. Changes to the syllabi, texts, classrooms, costs and such need not meet with council review.
I am only adding a single course, what documentation do I need?
The forms required depend on what changes will occur to the catalog. For example, ff you are simply adding an elective course. Then you do not need a plan of study or schedule of courses. If that elective course is adding to a list of approved electives, you need to include the old and new plans of study. If a class is to be a required class for all majors, then you need to include the plans of study, and schedule of courses. If you are deleting any program, you should include the plans of study (since deleting a program may affect other programs).
When should I include a four year or a five year schedule of courses?
If a program would require students to test out of more than one general education requirement, or take an overload (or summer courses), you should include a five year schedule of courses. If a student could graduate in four years without taking an overload, or testing out of any classes, you can use just a four year schedule of courses. Ultimately, these documents are intended to help in the advisement process, so the more realistic, the better.
By when do I need to submit my proposal in order to have it in the Fall Catalog?
Proposals should be in the hands of the Curriculum Council before Spring Break for consideration in the Fall Catalog.
Why do I need formal minutes of meetings if I have all my signatures?
One purpose of this process is to ensure for SACs accreditation purposes that all proposal changes are because of demonstrated need or utility, and that due consideration has been given.
Where can I find out the status of my proposal?
The Chair of the Curriculum Council should have an up to date tracking sheet indicating the status of your proposal, as we develop the web-site, this too should be updated.
How detailed do the course Syllabi need to be?
A course syllabus should provide evidence that your department is (or can be) prepared to teach the class, and that subject is not adequately taught elsewhere in the college. There should be adequate materials (textbooks, etc.) and content for the students to be properly evaluated. You are not bound by the proposal to use that syllabus, but the syllabus should give the council an idea of what you would expect to be taught. Specific dates, contact numbers and office hours are not needed, but some account of the amount of subject to be covered should be indicated (to ensure it is neither too much, nor too little for the credit hours).
This change is contingent on some other proposal. How should we present that?
If a change in curriculum is necessary because of some other pending change. You have two options (a) delay proposing the second change until the first change has been approved; (b) present both changes together as a program change.
What is the ID Code?
The ID code for a proposal is a unique identifier for each proposal to enhance tracking of all proposals. It includes abbreviations of the division, data, originator's initials, content area, and typs of proposal.
What grounds does the Curriculum Council use to determine its recommendations?
There is no simple set of standards, since each propsal is unique, however here is a list of considerations the council has used.
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Is the proposal complete, accurate and in order? Incomplete, inaccurate or improper proposals (for example proposals made from outside the controlling division.) will be returned or rejected.
Does the proposed change meet the standards of an undergraduate education? (Is it too demanding, or not demanding enough?)
Does the proposed change impose too great a burden on other divisions? For example does it add a number of required classes from outside the division?
Does the proposed change take into consideration the pre-requisites of all the courses? (Especially across divisions).
Is the change consistent with changes in departments at similar colleges and universities around the country or region?
Is the proposal solely in response to a change in faculty or quality of student? Different faculty have different competences, however, program requirements should not hinge on the capabilities of existing faculty. Student ability should be accounted for, but it is a disservice to present and future students to teach to the lowest common denominator. The addition of advanced or remedial courses, or electives in the specialty of new faculty can be considered, but program changes for these reasons are suspect.
Is the proposed change clear? Ambiguous language may cause confusion among advisors and students and should be clarified in the proposal.
Is the rationale sufficiently explained? The originator may know very well why such changes are important, but down the road, if the originator forgets or leaves the institution, future faculty need to know the justification for changes to the programs in order to plan their own changes.
Does the proposal affect the general education requirements? If so, the proposal will be forwarded to the Academic Policies committee for review.
Does the proposal pose methodlogical/technological problems? Some changes to the curriculum (for example having students take a course more than once for credit, even if the content has changed) are not possible. Some prefixes and suffixes are not permitted for technological reasons.
Does the program meet stylistic standards (grammar, punctuation, spelling) as well as course numbering conventions? For example, the numbers of courses in a major should be taken sequentially, 100s, 200s, 300s then 400s. No course should have as a pre-requisite a course whose number is higher than its own. All courses must have unique names and numbers. (Across all divisions).
Course names and catalog descriptions should be informative and descriptive to an independent observer (someone reading a transcript for example), and should match professional conventions across institutions.
Have similar courses or programs been offered (or are they still offered)? If so, and they've failed to attract majors what is different about this one. If similar classes or programs are offered, why not use them?
Contact
Chair:
Location: Hermitage 213 |
Co-chair:
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Members:
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