Curriculum

The process begins with faculty wishing to modify the current curriculum in some manner and presenting such changes to the department for review and Departmental approval.

The first step is for the faculty author to submit the proposal via Cousedog using the link below. Upon submission, the proposal will route to the Dept chair for approval and then to the NWCNHS Curriculum Committee chair (CCC).

Once received by the Committee chair,  the proposal will be:

• Reviewed with Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (ADAA) and Curriculum Committee (CC) chair.
• The NWCNHS CC reviews proposals and recommends changes.
• Proposals are returned to the author if changes are needed. If no changes are required, proposal is approved by CC and routed to Dean or designee before submission to Faculty Senate.
• The Faculty Senate prepares the submissions for publication in the University Curriculum Committee Bulletin.
• The Graduate and Undergraduate Councils review program submissions.
• The University Curriculum Committee reviews new course proposals, course change/deletions, and program proposals. Some program requests require a hearing.
• Approved submissions are forwarded to the Faculty Senate.
• The chairs of the University Curriculum Committee and the two councils sign the forms.
• On the floor of the Faculty Senate, the chair of the University Curriculum Committee presents a motion to approve all items on a specific bulletin. Although usually the Senate approves the bulletin as a whole, senators may question any item being presented.
• After the senators approve the motion, the chair of the Faculty Senate approves on behalf of the Senate.

The proposals are reviewed by the Provost’s Office. Those approved are sent to the Registrar’s Office for processing:

• The new course proposals are sent to Tallahassee where they are forwarded to the faculty discipline representative who will assign the course a number. Once we receive a new number, a copy of the course proposal with the new number written in is sent to the department.
• Course change/deletions are processed internally.
• Program changes are recorded.
• When the new programs are assigned a code, the Registrar’s Office notifies the dean’s office and the department chair.
• All changes are made to catalog

All proposals will go through one or more hearings during the Curriculum and Faculty Senate process prior to final approval.  Please refer to the grids below to find out which hearings will be required for your proposal. Note exempt cases listed below the grids.

The following proposals DO NOT require a Curriculum, Undergrad, Grad, GLCOC, or UCCOC hearing:  Accelerated Degrees (Bachelors, Masters, 4+1); Changes to Programs; Combined Degrees; New Certificates/Changes to Certificates; Course Changes; New Courses; and, New Degree Designations. Please note that the Faculty Senate may request a hearing for your proposal if more information is required.

Additional Information

• 2021-2022 NWCNHS Curriculum Committee Meeting Calendar
• *Bulletin #3 is the deadline for materials to be submitted and approved for inclusion in the 2022-23 catalogs and the 2022-23 undergraduate Major Maps.
• **Wednesday, November 3, 2021 (Bulletin #3), will be the deadline to submit all curriculum proposals to the NWCNHS Curriculum Committee. The deadline was brought forward by thirty (30) days, with the consent of the Curriculum Committee, to give departments ample time to make any corrections to proposals that are sent back for revision by the Dean's Office.  Please note that no proposals will be accepted after the aforementioned deadline.
• Course Proposals
• Changes to a course prefix, number, credit hours, title description, or prerequisite, MUST have a current syllabus attached to justify the change. New course proposals MUST be submitted with a proposed syllabus which includes learning outcomes, major topics and textbooks.
• Experimental courses must be submitted to the Dean's Office for experimental course numbering, Dean's signature and approval.  The Registrar’s Office will not repeat an experimental course unless there are extenuating circumstances, e.g., a permanent number for the previously submitted and approved non-experimental course has not been received.
• All Other Proposals
• Proposals MUST include a completed proposal checklist available from the curriculum forms page on the Faculty Senate webpage. Please note the faculty contact submitting the proposal MUST be present at the hearing for the respective bulletin, if applicable. The listing of applicable hearings and respective additional parties required are as follows: Joint Hearings is defined as Undergraduate Council & University Curriculum Committee and/or Graduate Council & University Curriculum Committee. The proposals that require joint hearings are: NEW Undergraduate Degree Programs, NEW Majors, NEW Tracks, NEW Graduate Degree Programs. NEW Undergraduate Minors only require the presence of Undergraduate Council. NEW Certificate programs, CHANGES to any program/major/track, etc., and Course Proposals do not require a hearing.
• Reminder
• The Curriculum Committee, Undergraduate and Graduate Councils do not meet during the summer.All new tracks, certificates, new degree proposals and graduate unit specific admission standards must be received in time for Bulletin #5 (see above) or they will be postponed until the first bulletin, Fall 2023. Curriculum information, checklists and signature sheets may be found online.
• If you have any questions concerning Grad/Undergrad Councils or the Faculty Senate, please email Mary Cossio.

The NWCNHS Curriculum Committee  meets six times a year. Prior to meeting the agenda and proposals will be posted on the NWCNHS website. The committee members will elect a chair and a vice chair at the first meeting. The chair will also serve as the College representative to the University Curriculum Committee. The vice chair will serve as chair whenever the chair is absent. The chair’s and vice chair’s terms are for that academic year.

Members should familiarize themselves with the proposals, particularly those of their own departments. If a member has questions about the submission from another department s/he should be ready to present the questions/concerns when the submission is brought up for discussion. At the meeting, someone from the submitting department will describe the proposal and explain why it is needed. The committee members will have the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and/or raise objections. After a short discussion period, a vote will be taken. If the submission passes by a simple majority it will be considered approved.

The most effective departmental representative is the one who works closely with the appropriate members of the department in the process of creating the submission. That way, the representative, armed with information about the process learned from the meetings, can make sure that submission is as correct as possible and addresses issues of concern to the committee.

Sometimes the members of the committee will approve a submission pending requested changes or additional information. The departmental representative is responsible to convey that information to the appropriate colleagues so that the changes required by the committee are made. Any changes or additional information required must be submitted to the Dean's Office following the NWCNHS curriculum committee meeting. The Dean’s Office will not review any submissions that do not meet the conditions set by the committee.

Here are some of the recurring questions with submissions:

1. Overlap – the material overlaps with that studied in another discipline. At the meeting, the representative of the other notices that overlap and the lack of consultation (there is no letter from the chair) and requests such a letter
2. Incomplete submissions – important information is missing. Submissions should be checked to ensure that all the required information is included.

The committee member is responsible for reviewing the submission and evaluating its value to the curriculum. The Dean’s Office will review the submissions for errors and inconsistencies.

At the end of the academic year, if the member is not continuing as departmental representative, s/he should make the effort to contact the new representative and share information about the committee and the curricular process that will help the new departmental representative be a more effective member.