Curriculum Committee - Procedure 1.0900.5

Purpose

The purpose of the Curriculum Committee is to recommend changes both to existing curricula and courses, and the addition of new courses and curricula for Seminole Community College postsecondary offerings. When necessary, the Committee also inactivates courses and programs that are no longer needed in the service area of the College. The committee provides for broad faculty participation in the review and development of curricula.

Procedure

1. The Committee shall consist of the following:
   
   1. Voting Members: Must reflect SCC Goals of diversity and the "One College" philosophy. At least one voting member must be a member of the Faculty Senate.
      
      1. One faculty member from each academic department with college credit and/or vocational courses. (In order to be eligible for the committee, faculty members must be on a full-time contract, teaching at least one college credit or vocational certificate course and recommended by the Vice President for Educational Programs). No more than one faculty member per department should be appointed.
      2. Two department heads, one each from Arts and Sciences and from Career and Technical Education, recommended by the Vice President for Educational Programs;
      3. One counselor recommended by the Vice President for Student Success;
      4. One student nominated by faculty or by the Student Government Association and recommended by the Vice President for Educational Programs. In order to be eligible for the Committee, a student must have earned twelve college credits at SCC and have a 2.5 or higher G.P.A. or have successfully completed one term of Career Vocational Program.
   2. Non-Voting, Ex-Officio Members:
      
      1. Director of Educational Services
      2. Director of Enrollment Services and Registrar
      3. Director of Student Success Initiatives
      4. One librarian
      5. Equity Coordinator
      6. Student Systems Integration Coordinator
2. The chair of the committee shall be elected by the committee membership.
3. The chair will have the responsibility to forward the committee's annual assessment to the liaison Vice President and to the Dean for Planning, Assessment and Quality Improvement.
4. Vacancy of a Voting Member: When a permanent vacancy among the voting members occurs, the Vice President of Educational Programs, in consultation with the appropriate department chair/director and dean, will appoint a replacement to complete the term of the former voting member.
5. Curriculum change is defined to include the following categories of activity:
   
   1. changes to graduation requirements of a curriculum, including changes in the General Education components of programs, degrees, certificates and diplomas
   2. addition, inactivation, and/or deletion of courses in a curriculum,
   3. changes in course title, prefix and number, catalog description, course objectives, credit hours/contact hours, co/prerequisites, elective status, inclusion in or deletion from the General Education core,
   4. introduction of new programs to the College,
   5. suspension or deletion of programs offered by the College.
6. Curriculum Change Process
   
   1. Any person recommending changes to the curriculum offerings of a department shall submit a proposal to the department chair.
      
      1. For new courses or changes to a course the proposer will attach a completed or updated course description to the proposal form. If the chair approves, he/she will sign the proposal form and forward to the dean for approval.
      2. For new programs or changes that affect the program description or course list, the proposer will update program description and course list (hard copy) and attach to the proposal. (Copy to a MS Word file the official version of the program from the SCC Homepage, Online Catalog, Programs and make the desired changes to the program.) Provision for course substitutions, if needed, will be attached to proposals involving program change. If the chair approves of the proposal, he/she will sign and forward to his/her dean.
      3. If the chair disapproves of a new course or program or disapproves of proposed changes in a course or program he/she will provide a written explanation of the decision to the initiator of the proposal.
   2. The dean will review the proposed change(s).
      
      1. If the dean approves, he/she will forward proposals for new or changed courses and programs the Director of Educational Services. The Dean will instruct the Department Chair to email electronic copies directly to the Office of Educational Services.
      2. If the dean disapproves, he/she will return the proposals to the department chair or appropriate director and give the reason in writing.
   3. Dean approved proposals must arrive at the Office of Educational Services the first working day of the month of the meeting at which the change is to be discussed. Submission deadlines and meeting dates will be posted on the college's electronic bulletin board or by other means of mass distribution used by the college. All program managers, department chairs/directors and deans will also receive a copy via email.
   4. The Director of Educational Services will:
      
      1. review all proposals to ensure that they are complete and technically correct and that all facets of the course and program proposed meet the high standards of quality expected of the curriculum at Seminole Community College.
      2. send proposals for additional technical review to Institutional Research, Registrar's Office, Counseling, Financial Aid, the appropriate managers of the college's operating system, and other appropriate offices.
      3. integrate results of technical reviews, communicate with appropriate Dean and Department Chair regarding essential changes, and prepare proposals for dissemination to the Curriculum Committee.
   5. At least one week prior to scheduled meetings, the Director of Educational Services will send an agenda and copies of all proposals to the members of the committee, the Vice President for Educational Programs and the deans. The agenda will also be posted on the college's electronic bulletin board or by other means of mass distribution used by the college.
   6. The Curriculum Committee will meet monthly to consider proposed changes and to recommend a course of action to the Vice President for Educational Programs. Prior to the meeting, committee members will review each proposal.
      
      1. If a member is not able to attend the meeting, he/she will provide written authorization for another member of the committee or of his/her department to attend and vote as proxy.
      2. The elected chairperson conducts the meetings following standard rules of order.
      3. If a quorum is present, discussion and debate on proposals will take place. A quorum is defined as one more than half of the voting members currently appointed to the committee.
      4. Proposals may be approved, not approved, approved with changes, tabled or taken off the table from previous meetings.
      5. Department Chairs are responsible for having someone at the meeting to answer questions and to approve suggested alterations to each proposal. If no one is available at the meeting to represent the proposal and questions are raised, the committee may take one of the following actions: table the proposal until the next meeting, approve the proposal, approve the proposal contingent on changes the committee recommends, or reject the proposal.
      6. If a quorum is not present, discussion will still take place and the chairperson will declare that a mail vote will follow. The Office of Educational Services will coordinate the mail vote.
      7. Following each Curriculum Committee meeting, the Director of Educational Services will forward approved proposals to the Vice President for Educational Programs. Minutes of each meeting shall be recorded and posted to the webpage according to Procedure 1.0900.
   7. Proposals that have not been approved will be returned by the Director of Educational Services to their initiator and/or department chair for revision and may be resubmitted with changes noted.
   8. The Vice President for Educational Programs may take one of the following actions:
      
      1. Approve the proposal and submit to the President
      2. Return the proposal to the curriculum committee for clarification
      3. Reject the proposal and notify the department chair in writing of the reason, with copies to the initiator, the appropriate dean, the chairperson of the Curriculum Committee, and the Director of Educational Services. The Vice President sends approved proposals forward to the President.
   9. If approved by the President, the proposal will be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the Board of Trustees for final approval. If rejected by the President or the Board of Trustees, the Vice President for Educational Programs will notify the department chair in writing of the President's or Board's objections. Copies of the notification will go to the appropriate dean, the chairperson of the curriculum committee, and the Director of Educational Services.
   10. Once the Board of Trustees approves of a change, the Office of Educational Services will notify the counseling office and other stakeholders in curriculum change of the approved changes and will update the appropriate sections of the operating system's databases, the Master Course Syllabi File and the college's web site with the official course and program changes. Originals of all approved proposals will be retained in the Curriculum Archives in the Office of Educational Services.
   11. When a proposal has been rejected and the department chair believes that the disapproved change is in the best interest of the program, he/she may revise the proposal and resubmit it in accordance with this procedure.
7. The Director of Educational Services will provide an addendum to each annual catalog by mid-year. The addendum will contain course and program changes which become effective before publication of the next catalog. The office in charge of publications will make the addendum available to students.
8. The Director of Educational Services will provide faculty and administration with a calendar of due dates for submission of proposals and the dates of curriculum committee meetings.
9. Except where membership is defined by position title, members shall serve two year, staggered terms.
10. The committee reports to the Vice President, Educational Programs. Recommendations of the Committee for improvement and change will be made through the Vice President for Educational Programs.

Did you know?

Seminole Junior College was founded on July 1, 1965. The name was changed to Seminole Community College on July 1, 1975.