Senate Bill 02/03-4
Bill to Establish University Curriculum Review Procedures
Preamble
The CSU-AAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) mandates that procedures of review for new courses, curriculum, and programs be established by the University Senate and approved by the University President.
The objective of the university curriculum review procedures is to assist in the development of the university’s curriculum. The review procedures are initiated at the departmental level and address curricular issues involving individual courses, curricular changes of programs, and changes involving core curricula.
In adopting the procedures of review herein, the university affirms the
• rights of faculty to academic freedom in instruction;
• rights of departments to establish, develop, and set standards for curricula, and;
• shared responsibility of the faculty and management to support development of curricula and academic programs.
Throughout these procedures no individual or group shall substitute judgment for that of any other individual or group having primacy in any aspect of these procedures. These procedures do not apply in cases of Programmatic Adjustment and Redeployment of Resources or in cases of Retrenchment, in which procedures specified in the CSU-BOT Collective Bargaining Agreement supersede those herein.
UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM REVIEW PROCEDURES
TYPES OF CURRICULAR CHANGES
The review procedures are organized as follows:
I. Curricular changes that do not require the approval of the University Senate, University President, CSU Board of Trustees (BOT), or Board of Governors for Higher Education (BOGHE). These changes include introduction of a new course, change in an existing course, and deletion of an existing course. These changes also include establishing, changing, or deleting options in larger existing programs. These changes are ultimately approved by the Curriculum Committee (CC) upon their being reported to the University Senate.
II. Curricular changes in programs requiring approval of the University Senate and University President, but not approval of the BOT or BOGHE. These changes include credits required, structural changes in focus, distribution of courses, etc. These changes are ultimately approved by the University President in the form of a senate bill.
III. Curricular changes requiring the approval of the University Senate, University President, BOT, and BOGHE. These substantive changes include the establishment of new programs and major changes in or deletion of existing programs. These changes are ultimately approved by the BOGHE.
Any actions governed by the procedures herein may be entered into the University Catalog only after all necessary approvals have been obtained.
FORMS
Seven forms are associated with the review procedures.
FORM A. Master Course Proposal Form. Required when requesting the introduction of a new course. Accompanies Form C: Administrative Course Review Form.
FORM B. Master Course Modification Form. Required when requesting modifications of an existing course. Accompanies Form C: Administrative Course Review Form.
FORM C. Administrative Course Review Form. Required when introducing a new course or when changing or deleting an existing course.
FORM D. Department Support For Overlapping Course. Must be obtained from each academic department whose program requirements and/or resources are affected by the proposed changes.
FORM E. Program Modification Not Requiring A Bill. Used for program changes that can be ultimately approved by the CC alone upon report to the University Senate.
FORM F. Program Modification Not Requiring Bot And Boghe Approval. Used for program changes that require University Senate and University President approval.
FORM G. Program Modification Requiring Bot And Boghe Approval Or Notification. Used for program changes that require University Senate and University President approval, as well as BOT and BOGHE approval.
I. Curricular Changes Not Requiring
Approval Of Senate, President, BOT, Or BOGHE
A. New Courses
1. Only academic departments develop new courses for academic credit.
2. An academic department may offer a proposed course once and have it scheduled as a pilot course. The syllabus of a pilot course must be submitted to the CC for record keeping purposes prior to the course being offered. A course must have been approved by the procedures herein before being offered a second time.
3. To submit a new course for approval, the proposing department:
a. Completes Forms A and C, and when necessary Form D.
b. After the department approves the course, the department chair submits two copies of the pertinent documents to the dean of the school, whose office stamps them with date of receipt. The department chair keeps one copy of the stamped documents.
c. Within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of the documents, the dean reviews the documents and responds to the department:
• If the dean rejects the proposal, the documents are returned to the department chair without approval and with reasons for its rejection in writing.
• If the dean approves the proposal, the department chair forwards the pertinent documents to the next step in the review process.
• If fifteen working days have elapsed without response from the dean, the department chair may forward the pertinent documents directly to the next step in the review process after notifying the office of the dean. The fifteen-day time limit is extended for working days when the dean is absent from campus.
4. In the review of the proposal, the next step depends upon the course proposed; it could be forwarded to the University Writing Board (UWB), the General Education Program Committee (GEPC), or the CC. All courses ultimately pass through the CC.
a. The UWB, GEPC, or CC may request that the faculty member(s) proposing the course or representative(s) appear at a meeting to discuss the course.
b. The UWB, GEPC, or CC approves, disapproves, or suggests revisions and then notifies the department chair of its action.
c. If the course is disapproved or if revisions are suggested, the proposal is returned to the chair of the originating department without approval.
5. After CC approval, the chair of the CC reports the action to the University Senate at its next regular meeting. The CC chair forwards Form C to the academic deans, Registrar, Library Director, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
B. Changes in an Existing Course or Deletion of an Existing Course
- To propose changes in or the deletion of an existing course, the department completes Form B and the “Changes in Existing Course” section of Form C, and when necessary Form D.
- The remaining steps are listed under New Courses above (Steps 3-5).
C. Changes in an Existing Program not Requiring a Bill
1. To propose changes in an existing program, the department completes Form E, and submits two copies of the pertinent documents to the dean of the school. The dean’s office stamps the submitted documents with date of receipt. The department chair keeps one copy of the stamped documents.
2. Within twenty (20) working days of receipt of the documents, the dean reviews the documents and responds to the department:
• If the dean rejects the proposal, the documents are returned to the department chair without approval and with reasons for its rejection in writing.
• If the dean approves the proposal, the department chair forwards the pertinent documents to the CC.
• If twenty working days have elapsed without response from the dean, the department chair may forward the pertinent documents directly to the CC after notifying the office of the dean. The twenty-day time limit is extended for working days when the dean is absent from campus.
- The CC approves, disapproves, or recommends revision of the proposed changes, and then notifies the department chair of its decision.
- After CC approval, the chair of the CC reports the action to the University Senate at its next regular meeting. The CC chair forwards the pertinent documents to the academic deans, registrar, library director, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
II. Program Modifications Requiring Approval Of
Senate And President But Not Approval Of BOT Or BOGHE
A. To propose changes in existing programs that, in turn, involve changes in the number of credits required, structural changes in focus, distribution of courses, etc., the department must complete Form F. The department chair submits two copies of the pertinent documents to the dean of the school. The dean’s office stamps the documents with date of receipt. The chair keeps one copy.
B. Within twenty (20) working days of receipt of the documents, the dean reviews the documents and responds to the department:
• If the dean rejects the proposal, the documents are returned to the department chair without approval and with reasons for its rejection in writing.
• If the dean approves proposal, the department chair forwards the pertinent documents to the CC.
• If twenty working days have elapsed without response from the dean, the department chair may forward the pertinent documents directly to the CC after notifying the office of the dean. The twenty-day time limit is extended for working days when the dean is absent from campus.
C. The CC approves, disapproves, or recommends revision in the changes, and then notifies the department chair of its decision. If the committee approves the change, the committee reports its recommendation in the form of a bill to the University Senate.
D. The University Senate and University President, in turn, consider the bill.
E. After approval by the president, the chair of the CC forwards the pertinent documents to the academic deans, registrar, library director, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
III. Program Modifications Requiring
Approval Of Senate, And President
And Approval Or Notification Of BOT And BOGHE
A. To propose substantial changes in existing programs or to propose new programs the department completes Form G. The department chair submits two copies of the pertinent documents to the dean of the school. Because the approval process requires several levels of deliberation, departments should submit proposals as early as possible in the academic year. The dean’s office stamps the submitted documents with date of receipt. The department chair keeps one copy of the stamped documents.
B. Within twenty (20) working days of receipt of the documents, the dean reviews the documents and responds to the department:
• If the dean rejects the proposal, the documents are returned to the department chair without approval and with reasons for its rejection in writing.
• If the dean approves the proposal, the department chair forwards the pertinent documents to the CC.
• If twenty working days have elapsed without response from the dean, the department chair may forward the pertinent documents directly to the CC after notifying the office of the dean. The twenty-day time limit is extended for working days when the dean is absent from campus.
C. The CC approves, disapproves, or recommends revision in the changes, and then notifies the department chair of its decision. If the committee approves the change, the committee reports its recommendation in the form of a bill to the University Senate.
D. The University Senate and University President, in turn, consider the bill.
E. After approval by the president, the chair of the CC forwards the pertinent documents to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
F. The vice president forwards the pertinent documents for approval of the BOT and BOGHE in turn.
G. When a large program modification is approved by the BOGHE, the vice president forwards the pertinent documents to the department, deans, registrar, and library director.
Appendix: Forms A-G
References: University Senate Constitution
Senate Bylaws for Curriculum Committee
Senate Bylaws for University Writing Board
Senate Bylaws for General Education Program Committee
This document with completed links to all forms and references shall be placed on the University Senate webpages.
Bill approved by:
University Senate on April 22, 2003
University President on April 25, 2003