Course and Curriculum Changes
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Document Number: ACAD--178
Revision #: 2.0
Document Owner: University Provost
Date Last Updated: 12/7/17
Primary Author: VP for Academic Affairs
Status: Approved
Date Originally Created: 05/02/2012
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General Description
Description: Information about course and curriculum changes relative to Academic Affairs policy.
Purpose: Delineation of policy and procedure.
Scope: Academic Affairs, Deans
Responsibility: Academic Affairs
VP for Academic Affairs
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Requirements
Relevant Knowledge: In order to comply with this policy you should know:
Current University policy
Terms and Definitions: Additional training
Corrective Action
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Policy Provisions
1. General Information
Any course/curriculum change that occurs at Cumberland University is initiated and implemented solely for the purpose of providing a superior learning experience for our students. Coursework and curriculum of the University are driven by the Faculty and approved by both the Faculty and the Administration.
Course or Curricular changes are normally initiated by full-time Faculty. These proposals are presented to the responsible School Dean that will submit the proposal to the respective School’s Faculty body for review. The proposal for a curricular/course change must be appropriately documented on the University’s Curriculum Change Form, which can be found on the P drive in the “Curriculum and Course Changes” folder. With a two-third majority vote by the School’s Faculty, the course/curriculum change will be submitted to the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) for undergraduate and graduate proposals (only for review not a vote) and Graduate Council (GC) for graduate program proposals.
The UCC and GC are parallel academic bodies that review course and curriculum proposals. The UCC is the larger over-branching academic policy body of the University that concentrates on undergraduate course and curricular changes, as well as the academic policies and procedures of the University. Although this body does not explicitly vote on the acceptance of graduate course/curriculum proposals, it may express concerns and provide advice on proposed changes in graduate programs as they affect the greater University as a whole. Any view that the UCC may have of undergraduate or graduate course/curricular proposals will be communicated directly to the School Dean and Dean’s Council via the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Communication between the UCC and GC is facilitated by the commonality of a member that serves as a Liaison between these two academic bodies.
Graduate Council is an academic body that has the express purpose of reviewing graduate course and curricular proposals and graduate specific academic policies. Any judgment that GC makes of a graduate course and/or curricular change will be communicated directly to the School Dean and Dean’s Council via the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
2. Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Changes
Changes in undergraduate courses and/or curriculum should normally be initiated by full-time faculty within the School that is intimately associated with the program to be affected by the proposed change. All proposed curriculum changes must be presented on the “Curriculum Change Form” housed in the P drive in the “Curriculum and Course Change” folder
(Appendix A). All documentation requested on the form should accompany the proposal when submitted to the School Faculty. With the School Dean’s support, the course/curriculum change will be presented to the full-time Faculty of the School for review. Decisions of approval and rejection are made based upon a two-third majority vote.
Any proposal that is approved by the Faculty will be forwarded to the UCC for review. School minutes documenting the Faculty’s approval, as well as documentation required on the form (i.e. peer comparisons, learning outcomes, and etc.) should accompany the submission to the UCC. After careful consideration of the impact on the University and the benefits to the students, the UCC will approve or reject the proposal with a simple majority vote. The UCC’s review and final decision will be communicated directly to the School Dean, proposal initiator, and Vice President for Academic Affairs (chair of Dean’s Council).
Dean’s Council represents the third level of review for Undergraduate course and curriculum change proposals. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will present the proposal to the council for review. Proposal approval or rejection is determined with a simple majority vote of the Dean’s Council. If approved, the proposal will be submitted to the University President for review. The final decision for implementation of a course and/or curriculum change lies with the President. If the President signs and approves a curriculum change, it will be submitted to the Registrar to implement the change. Note that at each level of review all other review bodies are notified of the decisions made to facilitate effective University communication
(Appendix B).
Under certain instances an expedited curriculum change process may be more appropriate to utilize than the four-level review process. This process is to be utilized only in situations where the proposed curriculum change does not change the nature, scope, mission, or relationship of the entity to the University Mission. Examples for which the use of this process are appropriate include, minor wording revisions of a School’s and/or Program’s Mission, Goals, Learning Outcomes, and/or Objectives, as well as minor wording revisions of course descriptions. This process should not be used for changes in Missions, Goals, Learning Outcomes, Objectives, or Course descriptions that change the content/scope of the entity. Neither should it be used to introduce or delete courses or curriculum and/or to change credit hours for a course or program of study
(Appendix C).
By submitting the Expedited Curriculum form to the chair of the UCC committee and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, it is verified that the proposed curriculum/course change does not change the scope of the entity and has received majority approval within the governing School. If a proposal is deemed a significant change in scope or a conflict to the University Mission, it will be returned to the submitting School for Submission through the “regular” curriculum change proposal route of approval (School, UCC, Deans’ Council, and President).
3. Graduate Course and Curriculum Changes
Changes in graduate courses and/or curriculum should normally be initiated by graduate Faculty that hold full-time Faculty status. All proposed changes must be presented on the “Curriculum Change Form” housed in the P drive in the “Curriculum and Course Change” folder
(Appendix A). All documentation as requested on the form should accompany the proposal when submitted to the School Faculty. With the School Dean’s support the course/curriculum change will be presented to the full-time Faculty of the School for review. All School Faculty are consulted on Graduate course and curriculum changes in light of their potential impact on the School as a whole. Decisions of approval and rejection are made based upon a two-third majority vote.
Any proposal that is approved by the Faculty will be forwarded to GC and the UCC for review. School minutes documenting the Faculty’s approval, as well as documentation required on the form (i.e. peer comparisons, learning outcomes, and etc.) should accompany the submission. After careful consideration of the impact on the University and the benefits to the students, GC will approve or reject the proposal with a simple majority vote. Although the UCC does not explicitly vote on the acceptance of graduate course/curriculum proposals, it may express concerns and provide advice on proposed changes in graduate programs as it affects the greater University as a whole. The UCC’s review regarding graduate courses and curriculum will be submitted to the School Dean and Dean’s Council. GC’s review and final decision will be communicated directly to the School Dean, proposal initiator, and Vice President for Academic Affairs (chair of Dean’s Council).
Dean’s Council represents the third level of review for graduate course and curriculum change proposals. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will present the proposal to the council for review. Proposal approval or rejection is determined with a simple majority vote of the Dean’s Council. If approved, the proposal will be submitted to the University President for review. The final decision for implementation of a course and/or curriculum change lies with the President. If the President signs and approves a curriculum change, it will be submitted to the Registrar to implement the change. Note that at each level of review all other review bodies are notified of the decisions made to facilitate effective University communication
(Appendix B).
Under certain instances an expedited curriculum change process may be more appropriate to utilize than the four-level review process. This process is to be utilized only in situations where the proposed curriculum change does not change the nature, scope, mission, or relationship of the entity to the University Mission. Examples for which the use of this process are appropriate includes, minor wording revisions of a School’s and/or Program’s Mission, Goals, Learning Outcomes, and/or Objectives, as well as minor wording revisions of course descriptions. This process should not be used for changes in Missions, Goals, Learning Outcomes, Objectives, Course descriptions that change the content/scope of the entity. Neither should it be used to introduce or delete courses or curriculum and/or to change credit hours for a course or program of study
(Appendix C).
By submitting the Expedited Curriculum form to the chair of the UCC committee and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, it is verified that the proposed curriculum/course change does not change the scope of the entity and has received majority approval within the governing School. If a proposal is deemed a significant change in scope or a conflict to the University Mission, it will be returned to the submitting School for Submission through the “regular” curriculum change proposal route of approval (School, the UCC, Deans’ Council, and President).
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Performance Evaluation
Performance Metrics: Compliance with standard policy and procedure
Consequences: Further training
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Subject Experts
The following may be consulted for additional information.
VP for Academic Affairs