I. Overview

Curriculum Cycle
Curriculum Flowchart (PDF)

II. Roles and Responsibilities

Faculty
Academic Departments
Colleges
Deans
Academic Programs Office
Academic Senate Curriculum Comm.
Academic Senate

III. Communication and Consultation

Consultative Process
Impasse and Resolution
Consultation Memo forms

IV. Observing Deadlines

Collegial governance assigns primary responsibility to the faculty for the education functions of the institution in accordance with basic policy as determined by the Board of Trustees. This includes admission and degree requirements, the curriculum and methods of teaching, academic and professional standards, and the conduct of creative and scholarly activities. Collegiality rests on a network of interlinked procedures jointly devised, whose aim is to assure the opportunity for timely advice pertinent to decisions about curricular and academic personnel matters.

The following steps generally outline the curriculum development process. See the attached flowchart for a visual representation of the process.

A. New courses, new programs or modifications to existing courses and programs generally begin with the faculty of a department or program, either individually or collectively as a department or program. The first step in the process is to have the developed proposals discussed and approved by the department offering the course and/or program.

Note: New curricula or modifications to existing curricula should be tied to program, college and university learning objectives and developed with consideration of the action plan created during the most recent program review.

Note: General Education (GE) and United States Cultural Pluralism (USCP) courses must undergo separate and parallel review by the GE and USCP committees.

B. After department approval, curricular proposals are reviewed and approved by the curriculum committee of the college within which the department proposing the new or modified curriculum resides. After this review, the dean of the college must review and approve or disapprove of all curricular proposals.

C. Once college and dean approval has been obtained, the proposals are submitted to the Academic Programs Office for review. For catalog revision proposals, this review occurs before proposals are submitted to the Academic Senate Office for Academic Senate Curriculum Committee (ASCC) review. For proposals that fit into the continuous review category (see below), simultaneous submission to Academic Programs and the Academic Senate may occur.

D. After Academic Programs Office review, proposals are submitted to the Academic Senate Office for ASCC review. The ASCC makes recommendations regarding all curricular proposals to the Academic Senate. The Senate then recommends approval or disapproval of the ASCC recommendations. These results are forwarded to the Provost’s office and the President.

To Curriculum Cycle for 2009-11 Catalog

Continuous Review: The following curricular proposals may be reviewed outside of the above mentioned dates for the 2009-11 catalog:

1. Experimental courses
2. New courses
3. New degree programs
4. Course modifications that do not affect another department/program

II. Responsibilities and Roles of Academic Units

The Role of the Faculty in Regard to Curriculum *
In March 1985, the Academic Senate CSU (ASCSU) approved "Collegiality in the California State University System," a statement that includes the following regarding the curriculum:

The university's curriculum is central to the operation of the institution and is the principal concern of the faculty.

The faculty have a professional responsibility to define and offer a curriculum of the highest academic quality. In some fields, this professional responsibility is exercised within accrediting guidelines developed and enforced by professional associations. This professional responsibility cannot, be its very nature, be delegated. The faculty, therefore, have primary responsibility for making curricular recommendations to the president. Normally, the president will accept the advice and recommendations of the faculty on curriculum matters. Faculty appropriately have this responsibility because they possess the expertise to judge best whether courses, majors, and programs adhere to scholarly standards.

Among curricular decisions for which faculty should have primary responsibility are:

1. The initiation of new academic courses and programs, and the discontinuance of academic courses and programs;
2. Course content, including choice of texts, syllabus design, assignments, course organization, and methods of evaluating students;
3. The designation of courses as degree or nondegree applicable, lower or upper division, or graduate level;
4. The content of the general education program within systemwide guidelines. Faculty should designate appropriate courses and establish the requirements for completion of the program. Faculty should be responsible for review and revision of the program;
5. The adoption, deletion, or modification of requirements for degree major programs, minor programs, formal concentrations within programs, credential programs, and certificate programs;
6. The establishment of minimum conditions for the award of certificates and degrees to students, and the approval of degree candidates; and
7. Recruitment decisions affecting curriculum.

_____
* From the May 17, 2005 memo from the Chair of the ASCSU to Campus Senate Chairs.

A. ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS
Department chairs and faculty begin the sequence of curricular events. During the fall quarter, faculty consider their curricula and discuss whether they need to propose any additions, deletions, and corrections to the university catalog. Departments are encouraged to propose only changes necessary to improve their curricular program. Departments must finish their committee deliberations by early December. All curricular changes must be presented to, and approved by, the department or program faculty. It is at this time that all consultations with other departments and colleges occur and must be in writing (see Section III. Communication and Consultation).

As a reminder, students have the right to choose the catalog they will use as described in Section 40401 of Title 5. As faculty deliberate curriculum changes, they should remember to make accommodations for students following prior catalogs.

Department Curriculum Chairs and Committees
During fall quarter, each department should establish a curriculum committee using accepted selection procedures. Ideally, the chair should have previously served on a department curriculum committee and should have extensive knowledge of the department and college/program curricular processes. In addition, it is recommended that the chair possess extensive knowledge of upper and lower division graduation requirements, general education requirements, and graduate program requirements as applicable; and be able to consider the effect curricular modifications might have on other department, college, or program requirements. Close attention to detail, accuracy in proofreading and cross checking skills are recommended.

In some departments, the department chair/head may act as the curriculum chair, and the entire faculty may act as the department curriculum committee.

The chair will work with the department chair/program director to oversee all curricular matters, including the preparation of course proposals or modifications, course deletions and additions, and the department's academic master plan.

The chair will also be responsible for all interdepartmental consultation regarding curricular changes that affect other departments and for keeping his/her own department informed about all curriculum matters.

Department Chair/Heads
Department chairs/heads should inform their college dean of all curriculum committee chair appointments.

Department chairs/heads should assess curricular proposals for impact on department resources, including faculty workload, equipment, supplies, facilities and information technology.

Department chairs/heads should review, edit and update their catalog descriptive pages.

Once the department curriculum proposal is approved, the department chair/head (or designee) prepares a cover memo to the college dean and college curriculum chair. The memo should summarize significant changes and confirm approval by the department faculty. All interdepartmental consultation memos should be attached (see the Section III. Communication and Consultation). The format of the curriculum proposals should follow published guidelines.

Each college sets its own due date and the number of copies needed for review at the college level. The entire curriculum package must be in the hands of the college dean/curriculum chair by the published deadline.

Any new or existing courses being proposed for General Education (GE) certification, and any changes affecting GE courses, must be reviewed by the GE Committees. See the GE web site for more information.

Any new or existing courses being proposed for U. S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP) certification, and any changes affecting USCP courses, must be reviewed by the USCP Committee. See the USCP web site for more information.

It is the responsibility of the department office to make and keep copies of all curriculum proposals, including New Course Proposal forms.

B. COLLEGES
Colleges should appoint a curriculum committee in the fall quarter, with representation from all departments, to review the proposals being forwarded by each department.

College Curriculum Chairs
Each college, in accordance with accepted policy, should select a person experienced in the curricular process to serve as chair of the college curriculum committee. The chair should have previously served on a department or college curriculum committee and should have knowledge of the department and college/program curricular processes.

The chair will work closely with departmental curriculum chairs, the college's member of the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee and the Academic Programs Office. Chairs will be responsible for submitting all curricular changes, revisions, additions, and deletions to their dean for action.

College curriculum chairs are responsible for facilitating final discussions between the curriculum committee and departments to resolve outstanding curricular issues.

College curriculum chairs should ensure that course proposals have been submitted to the Library Knowledge Manager assigned to their college.

College Curriculum Committees
The college curriculum committee is responsible for reviewing all proposals from departments within the college for their academic merit and relationship to the undergraduate and graduate programs (where applicable) of other departments and the college as a whole. The committee shall also be responsible for reviewing proposals to avoid duplication across departments in other colleges/programs for maximum utilization of resources. It is recommended that a representative of the college's Advising Center be a member of the college curriculum committee. A member of the college curriculum committee, preferably the chair, is expected to serve on the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee (per Senate resolution
AS-636-05 pdf file.)

Any new or existing courses being proposed for General Education (GE) certification, and any changes affecting GE courses, must be reviewed by the GE Committees. See the GE web site for more information.

Any new or existing courses being proposed for U. S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP) certification, and any changes affecting USCP courses, must be reviewed by the USCP Committee. See the USCP web site for more information.

C. DEANS

Deans should send the Academic Programs Office a list of all newly appointed curriculum chairs.

Every curricular proposal shall be submitted to the dean of the college for approval or disapproval. The dean's approval shall be based on the determination that the proposal is consistent with plans for the long-range development of the college, that all resource implications of the proposal (teaching positions, space, equipment, supplies, staff) have been considered carefully, and that resources are available and committed for new courses and/or programs.

The dean shall be ultimately responsible for following up on all consultation activities regarding curriculum matters. The dean should ensure that all necessary consultation documents are in order, requesting action by the department curriculum committees as needed.

The dean should review, edit and update their catalog descriptive pages.

The dean should write a cover memo to the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and the Chair of the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee summarizing each department’s significant curricular changes, college curriculum committee concerns, and support for new resources (if applicable). The dean will ensure that all relevant curricular material is sent to the Academic Programs Office and the Academic Senate Office for review by the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee and to the GE Office for review by the GE Committees, according to published deadlines. The format of the proposals should follow published guidelines.