The Curriculum/Course Proposal Process

What Is The Role of the Curriculum Committee and the Chair?

Revised Fall 2014

The Proposal Process

A faculty member gets an idea for a new program:– New A.A./A.S.

Is it transferable? Can you get at least two articulation agreements with transfer

institutions?**– New A.A.S.

Will you be able to prove that the student can get a job with this degree?

– Curriculum Revision Why?

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

A faculty member gets an idea for a course:– Is it transferable?– Should it be considered as a SUNY Gen Ed

course?– Should it be considered a Transfer Path course?– Can it be directly linked to a requirement within an

associate-degree program?– If there is a prereq, co-req, or concurrent

requirement, is it stated in the curriculum?

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Proposer works with departments and campuses involved to gauge support—also discusses proposal with Jennifer Browne.

Proposer submits Letter of Intent to Jennifer Browne After determining which campuses are affected by

proposal, Jennifer Browne submits a Response to the proposer with appropriate guidance with copies to appropriate Executive Deans and curriculum chairs.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Proposer begins work on proposal using the appropriate proposal form. (All forms can be found at http://www.sunysuffolk.edu/Governance)

Proposer gets necessary departmental approvals through voting process following voting guidelines posted on the Governance website.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Proposer sends completed proposal and Executive Dean’s Acknowledgement Form to appropriate Executive Deans for approval.

Executive Deans return Executive Dean’s Acknowledgement Form to proposer.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Proposer submits entire packet to appropriate Curriculum Chair—Letter of Intent, Response, Completed Proposal Form(s), Necessary Course Outlines and Addenda, and Executive Dean’s Acknowledgement Forms at least Four Weeks Prior to Curriculum Committee Meeting

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Chair checks to make sure proposal is complete

– Is there a completed Letter of Intent?– Is there a Letter of Response included?– Have issues raised in the Response been addressed ?– Is the Proposal complete, including necessary departmental

votes? (Please note: Curriculum proposals may also require New Course, Course Revision, and/or Course Adoption Proposal Forms and additional addenda.)

The Proposal Process

Are all questions fully completed on proposal form, including appropriate rationales?

Are all SUNY/SED/Suffolk/MSCHE requirements met? (For example, are there sufficient SUNY gen ed courses? Transfer path courses? Mapping to learning outcomes? Suffolk graduation requirements?)

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Chairs need to check for completion of proposal before accepting proposal, submitting to webmaster, and putting on agenda.

In the spirit of collegiality, curriculum chair should discuss with the proposer any potential problems with the proposal that may arise at the committee meeting.

Revised Fall 2013

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Chair submits entire packet to Scott Mandia (with cc to Jennifer Browne) to be uploaded on Curriculum website.

Scott Mandia posts to website and notifies college community via e-mail of posting.

Curriculum Chair should notify the committee of the pending proposal and ask them to submit questions or concerns prior to meeting so proposer can be prepared.

Curriculum Committee Chair invites proposer to attend curriculum meeting to present proposal.

Curriculum Committee Chair advises proposer of any questions/concerns received from committee members prior to curriculum committee meeting.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Chair submits Agenda to Scott Mandia prior to meeting, preferably at least one week in advance, with a copy to Jennifer Browne.

Curriculum Chair notifies all affected Executive Deans and Academic Chairs about pending proposals, seeking questions/concerns/agreement with proposal. Questions/concerns should be submitted to proposer and committee for consideration.

The Proposal Process

If New Curriculum Proposal or Major Revision Proposal, proposer should be encouraged to review proposal with Jennifer Browne before submitting.

Curriculum Chair should notify Jennifer Browne of proposal and seek feedback.

If proposal concerns Freshman Seminar, remediation courses, or the Honors Program, appropriate committee chairs should have opportunity to review proposal and provide feedback.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Committee Chair Courtesies– Check to make sure language is consistent

throughout proposal, i.e., learning outcomes are the same throughout.

– Put headers and page numbers on entire proposal

– “Clean-up” proposal formatting, spelling, etc., before submitting to website.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Voting by Academic Departments– Curriculum Chair should check/confirm vote

counts as reasonable.– If vote is close or split, Curriculum Chair should

find out why and advise accordingly.– If unusual amount of abstentions, Curriculum

Chair should find out why and advise accordingly.– If Curriculum Chair is concerned about voting

process, proposer should be notified.

Revised Fall 2013

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Committee deliberates and votes on proposal.

Curriculum Committee may vote by show of hands or by ballot. However, Curriculum Chair must be able to report to Governance Bodies possible reasons for dissenting votes. Curriculum Chair must also be able to provide reasons for why a proposal is not approved to the proposer.

If approved, Curriculum Chair should advise proposer of next steps.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

If proposal is approved, Curriculum Chair forwards proposal to appropriate Governance Chair(s) for governance approval.

If proposal is not approved and the proposer is unable to attend committee meeting, Curriculum Chair notifies proposer.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Curriculum Chair sends voting results of proposal to Scott Mandia to be posted online with a cc to Jennifer Browne and Tina Good.

Curriculum Chair or Secretary sends Minutes of Curriculum Meeting to Scott Mandia to be posted online.

Revised Fall 2013

The Curriculum Process

Governance votes on proposal. Governance Chairs may invite proposers or committee chairs to present proposal at Governance meeting.

Governance Chair informs Curriculum Chair of voting outcome and ensures that all votes are recorded appropriately on the curriculum website with copies to Jennifer Browne and Sean Tvelia.

Revised Fall 2013

The Proposal Process

Jennifer Browne works to achieve all necessary approvals at state and local levels and facilitates implementation.

ALL New Curriculum Proposals and Major Curriculum Revisions must be submitted to SUNY and NY State Education Department for approval before program may be implemented or advertised.

All SUNY Gen Ed and Transfer Path courses must be approved by SUNY before implementation.

The Proposal Process

The Role of the Curriculum Committee– To deliberate on academic integrity of program while

protecting academic freedom– To reach out to faculty in discipline and appropriate

administrators for counsel– To assure program/course is approvable by other oversight

bodies– Minimize antagonism while promoting collegiality and

collaboration– Advocate for proposal once approved

Revised Fall 2013