Faculty & Staff

Curriculum Committee Procedures

1. Quorum

   Fifty percent of the active membership constitutes a quorum.  An inactive member is, by definition, one who is on leave of absence, one who has failed to attend three consecutive meetings without notifying the chairperson in writing, or who has resigned from the Committee, or who has declined, in writing, to participate in the work of the Committee.  Alternates will not be counted for purposes of a quorum.
   

2. Meeting Period

   The customary meeting period is 90 minutes from the call-to-order.  Where special reasons exist, a meeting may be extended either by the Chair or by a motion from the floor and approval by a simple majority of the members in attendance.
   

3. Length of Debate

   Debate may be limited by the Chair or by a motion from the floor and approval by a simple majority.  A ruling by the Chair to limit debate may be overturned by a motion from the floor and approval by a simple majority.
   

4. Distribution of Agenda

   The Chair will distribute agenda in accordance with contract requirements. The agenda will be posted on the governance website.  Notice of postings will be distributed electronically to each of the following:  the President, Vice President and all Deans in the Academic Area; Vice President, Student Life; the Assistant Director and Director of the Registrar's Office; the Chair of each academic department; the Chair of each contract committee; the office of the Student Government Association,, the MSCA Office, members of the All-College Committee and the Curriculum Committee.
   

5. Distribution of Minutes

   The Secretary will send an electronic copy of the provisional minutes of each meeting to each member of the Committee. After approval by the Curriculum Committee the minutes will be posted on the governance website and each person on the distribution list given in item 4 above will be notified.
   

6. Guests

   Committee meetings are open to all members of the College Community.  It is strongly recommended that the author(s) of a proposal and the appropriate department chair(s) attend the Committee meeting on the date when the proposal appears on the agenda under Old Business, and participate in the discussion.  If any involved party is unable to be present, the Committee may vote (or agree by general consent) to postpone consideration of a proposal.
   

7. Submission of Proposals

   All proposals originating outside the Curriculum Committee must be submitted through the All-College Committee unless they are corrective changes.  The proposal must be sent electronically to the Chair of the All-College Committee with a request for forwarding to the Curriculum Committee.  All proposals must carry an effective implementation date.  Proposals for new courses, changes in existing, courses, and deletion of courses must be submitted on the appropriate forms, which are available on the governance website under Curriculum Committee Procedures.  All proposals forwarded from the All-College Committee will have received a tracking number.

Submission of Proposals to Governance

Submission Guidelines

Submission Forms

Lookup Table

A. Definition and Submission of a "corrective change"

Typographical error in catalog

• Rephrasing in catalog where wording is misleading in consultation with the Curriculum Committee chairperson
• A flow sheet change that only involves a change in an already approved course number or title. 
• A course description or prerequisite change to correct previously approved course number changes

Submission procedures for "corrective changes"

There are no further submission procedures. The Department chairperson sends changes directly to registrar with a copy to the Curriculum Chairperson.

B. Definition of an "insignificant change"

• Course Number Change.
• Course Title Change
• Pre-requisite or Co-requisite change
• Change in semester in which course is offered
• Catalog description that does not reflect a change in the basic content of the ourse
• Deletion of Course
• Change in laboratory or studio contact hours that do not impact credit hours.

Note: All changes that impact another department require the sponsoring department to submit a written statement from the impacted department in support of the change.  Otherwise the change will be considered a significant change.

Submission procedures for "insignificant changes"
The Curriculum Committee Chairperson verifies the characteristic of the change (significant or insignificant).

1. If the change is determined to be insignificant, the proposal is then sent to the Subcommittee. This subcommittee consists of two curriculum committee members and the curriculum committee chair.
2. If the Subcommittee determines that the change is significant, the proposal is sent back to the Curriculum Committee Chair to be assigned to a Course Review Subcommittee .  This proposal will now go through the "significant" change procedures (see below).
3. If the Insignificant Change Review Subcommittee agrees that the change is insignificant, the proposal is approved and sent to Registrar.
4. The proposal is also sent to Academic Affairs Administrative Assistant to be placed in Curriculum Committee agenda under "Old Business". A full report of any changes forwarded by the Insignificant Change Review Subcommittee will be provided in writing to the full committee for inclusion in the minutes of the next meeting.

C. Definition of a "significant change"

All curriculum proposals that do not fall into one of the above categories will automatically be considered to be significant and will be considered by the full committee.

Submission Procedures for Significant Changes

1. The Sponsoring Department submits a Curriculum Proposal dated and electronically signed by the Chairperson. Each page of the curriculum proposal should be numbered, dated and sent to All College Committee.
2. The All College Committee reviews the curriculum proposal, assigns a tracking number and sends it to Curriculum Committee.
3. The Curriculum Committee Chairperson receives curriculum proposal, places it under New Business and assigns it to a Course Review Subcommittee.
4. A member of the Course Review Subcommittee, who acts as a liaison,  reviews submission with the Sponsoring Department.
5. The assigned Course Review Subcommittee, liaison representative, and Department Representative review the submission.
6. Upon final acceptance by the Course Review Subcommittee, the Sponsoring Department submits a revised curriculum proposal electronically to the Administrative Assistant in Academic Affairs where it will be prepared for distribution to the Curriculum Committee.  The proposal should show the tracking number, an electronic check in the Revised Box and a revision date. The course form should be signed a new electronically and dated anew by the Chairperson of the sponsoring department. The revision date and page numbers should be on each page of the revised curriculum proposal.
7. The Course Review Subcommittee notifies the Academic Affairs Administrative Assistant that a revised curriculum proposal will be forthcoming.
8. Deadline for revised proposals:  In order to be considered under OLD BUSINESS, revised proposals must be received electronically by the Academic Affairs Administrative Assistant by NOON ONE FULL WEEK before the scheduled Curriculum Committee meeting. 
9. All those revised proposals received by noon one week before the Curriculum Committee Meeting will be placed under Old Business on the agenda and deemed ready for consideration at the next Curriculum Committee Meeting. All materials will be available online.
10. Proposals approved at a College Curriculum Committee Meeting are given final approval when the minutes of the meeting at which they were approved are fully approved by the Curriculum Committee, normally via electronic voting or at the following Curriculum Committee Meeting.
11. The approved Curriculum Committee minutes are then sent to All College Committee and are posted on the Curriculum Committee website.
12. Upon approval of the Curriculum Committee minutes by the All College Committee they are then sent to Vice President of Academic Affairs.
13. The Vice President makes a recommendation to the President.
14. The President approves or disapproves the curriculum proposals.
15. The Board of Trustees Approval is needed for New Programs and then they are sent on to the Board of Higher Education.
16. The Board of Higher Education approves or disapproves. 

8. Subcommittees of the Curriculum Committee

Except where special reasons exist, each proposal received by the Committee will be assigned to a Course Review Subcommittee which, after appropriate study, will report back to the whole Committee for debate and action.

• Subcommittee Policies and Procedures
  
  a. Subcommittees are appointed by the Chair.  Persons who are not members of the Curriculum Committee may occasionally be asked to serve on a subcommittee.

i. Standing subcommittees on Procedures, Course Review, Core Curriculum, Insignificant Change Review, and the Diversity, Quantitative, and Writing Requirements deal with matters in their respective areas on an on-going basis.  In addition, ad hoc subcommittees for specific purposes may be appointed by the Chair at any time. All members of the Curriculum Committee would be placed into one of 3 or more Course Review Subcommittees each of whose members will be from diverse disciplines.

ii. Packets will be assigned to each subcommittee in a rotation with discretion of the chair as to the number of packets that are assigned to any one subcommittee at a time.

 

iii. A representative from the Course Review Subcommittee would act as a liaison, and be the correspondent with the particular department.

b. The Course Review Subcommittee Representative or full subcommittee  studying a proposalwill communicate with the author(s) of the proposal and with all other parties affected in any way by the proposal.  Members of the College administration are also available to assist the subcommittee.

c. Where appropriate, the representative or subcommittee should assess the academic soundness of a proposal as it relates to the goals of the department in which it is to be implemented and to the goals and academic standards of the College.

d. Due regard must be given to the prerogatives of the academic departments.  Proposals should be checked against current catalog listings for possible duplications.  The content of a course should fall within the purview of the department in which it is to be implemented.  Where doubt exists, the Chairs of all affected departments should be consulted and their approval or objections noted.  Proposal authors and all other interested parties should be notified when the date is set for action on the proposal on the floor of the committee.

e. The representative or subcommittee assigned to a proposal should pay particular attention to the items below as they relate to the proposal under consideration.

1. The difference between a minor and concentration.  With rare exceptions, courses in a minor are taken outside the major department.  Courses comprising a concentration, however, are generally taken within the major department, but may include courses from other departments as well.  Each student in a B.A. program is required to complete a minor, and some B.S. programs may also require a minor.  Concentrations (where available) may be elected in any degree program.  The number of courses in a concentration is determined by the major department; the total cannot exceed the maximum required for the major.  Majors, minors, and concentrations must be clearly differentiated in the proposal.  Finally, although courses in a minor may occasionally be applied to a concentration, the reverse is generally not possible.
2. The use(s) of new or existing courses should be clearly defined in the proposal, with justification where appropriate.  Support courses are high-priority required courses taken outside the major department.  Recommended courses may be drawn from any department, including the major, but are not required.  Courses used as distribution electives must fit the rubric of general education, and inclusion of a course in one or another of the distribution areas is never automatic, regardless of the department offering the course.  Courses designed for specific skill development do not qualify for distribution credit.  A Quantitative Reasoning ("Q"), a Diversity ("V") and an Upper Level Writing ("W") course are required for graduation in the core curriculum effective for students entering the College Fall 2006 and later.  See the Q, V, W guidelines available on the governance website. If necessary, the Standing Subcommittee on Course Review may be asked to make a recommendation on the proposed use. Where appropriate, distribution electives may be applied to a minor.
3. A department may not specify (i.e., require) the distribution electives taken by its majors.

f.   If a proposal is scheduled for debate and no member of the appropriate subcommittee is present, debate will be postponed.  However, if the recommendations of the subcommittee are available in written form, these may be presented to the Committee by the Chair or by any Committee member present.

9. Treatment of Rejected Items

1. An item rejected by the Committee will be returned to the person or department originating the proposal. The originator may either submit a revised proposal or request reconsideration of the original proposal. Revised proposals-If the revisions are limited in extent changes specifically requested by the Committee, the revised proposal might, at the Chair's discretion, be placed directly under "old Business" on the Agenda. The subcommittee, which considered the original proposal, may be asked for a recommendation on the revision. Extensively revised proposals will be treated as new business. Reconsideration-An item submitted unchanged for consideration will be listed under "New Business" on the agenda. It will not be assigned to a subcommittee at this time. Discussion of the item will be limited to the question of reconsideration, not to the contents or merits of the proposal. If two-thirds of the Committee members present vote for reconsideration, the item will be assigned to a subcommittee and listed under "Old Business" for the following meeting. Items, which do not receive Committee approval for reconsideration, will be returned to the originator.
2. Items passed by the Curriculum Committee but rejected and returned by the All-College Committee will be handled in one of several ways. If the stated reasons for the rejection involve only technical corrections or other limited revision, the item may, at the Chair's discretion, be placed directly under "Old Business" on the agenda of the next Committee meeting. Items requiring more extensive review may be assigned to a subcommittee or returned to the original sponsors for revision. Items returned by the All-College Committee without explicitly stated reasons would be treated as in A. above: "Reconsideration". In any case, the Committee will attempt to respond to the returned item at the earliest feasible time