Protocol for all Academic Matters submitted to the Committee on Curriculum

Academic matters are to be submitted to the Academic Senate Committee on Curriculum by an email to the Chair of the Committee. All curriculum changes must be submitted on the correct forms.  The forms must be filled out completely and correctly.  Curriculum changes will be considered by the committee on a first-come, first-served basis.  Items submitted less than one week before the next Curriculum Committee meeting will not be considered until the following meeting.

The agenda for the Committee on Curriculum meetings will be created one week in advance and be emailed to all the academic department chairs. If any chair believes that an academic matter being proposed may affect their own department, they should immediately contact the department chair who made the proposal to determine if there is an issue and then resolve it (more below).

Before being submitted to the Committee on Curriculum, Academic Matters must be discussed with the Administration to get their comments and suggestions. This is especially important for major changes to the curriculum, such as new degree programs or concentrations. Associate Dean Michael Pullin is the current representative to the Committee from Academic Affairs. Please direct all inquiries to him.

Academic matters must be voted on and approved by the Departments involved before being submitted to the Committee on Curriculum.

If an academic matter might conceivably be of concern to another department, the Chair of the Department proposing the item must consult with the Chairs of all departments that might be affected prior to submitting the matter to the Curriculum Committee. If Chairs are unsure about potential cross departmental concerns, they should contact the OAA and the Committee on Curriculum Chair to discuss which departments must be consulted.

The Chairs involved should make every effort to resolve any cross departmental concerns before the academic matter is submitted to the Curriculum Committee. Concerns must be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible to ensure smooth and efficient decisions by the Committee on Curriculum. Once all issues and conflicts have been resolved, the Chairs must communicate their support of the proposed change to the Committee Chair by email.

In the case that the Office of Academic Affairs or the Committee believes that a proposed change may affect another department, they may require the proposing Chair to contact the Chair(s) of the potentially affected department(s) to resolve any conflicts.

In the event that a resolution cannot be reached, the Committee on Curriculum may take any one of several possible actions including but not limited to: (1) A special subcommittee might be formed to handle the matter, (2) A mediator might be assigned to bring about a resolution, or (3) the Committee on Curriculum Chair might schedule all department chairs in question (and other relevant faculty) to present their cases at (a regular meeting/a special meeting/other). In all cases, the matter will eventually be decided upon by a vote of the Committee.

After Committee on Curriculum has approved an academic matter, it will be sent to the Academic Senate Steering Committee to be placed on an upcoming Academic Senate Agenda.