appf

Appendix F

Curricular Review Process


(Senate: 1/30/96, 10/23/18; President: 5/7/96, 11/27/18; Editorial Amendment: 9/00, 9/03)

It is the intent of these curricular review procedures to accomplish the following:

  1. To ensure that the primary responsibility for development of curriculum remains with the faculty;
  2. To ensure that comprehensive consultation takes place in the course of curriculum development;
  3. To place greater responsibility for review and approval of curricular proposals at the college level, leaving EPC, its subcommittees and University academic administrators free to devote their time to policy items and to major curricular proposals rather than to the approval of every curriculum change;
  4. To strive to have new curricular proposals approved or disapproved within one semester after release from the initiating college.
  1. Each college shall establish procedures for dealing with curricular items. These procedures must provide for consultation with other departments within the college, when appropriate, and with all other colleges. The executive secretary of EPC, the appropriate University level curricular dean, the Library and the college Information Technology Services, must be included in this consultation process prior to consideration by the college curriculum committees. Deadlines for responses within the college and for action by college curriculum deans may be set by the colleges, except that the procedures must provide for a ten working day response time for requests for consultation sent outside the college. Attempts to reconcile differences shall be made prior to consideration by the college curriculum committee, but if informal consultation fails to reconcile the differences the objecting party shall have the opportunity to present his or her case at a time certain to the college committee. Modifications of college procedures must be submitted to EPC for review and approval.
  2. After approval by the appropriate college curriculum committee and college dean, curricular items shall be forwarded to the executive secretary of EPC together with all consultation sheets and all resolved and/or unresolved challenges. The executive secretary of EPC shall, within three meetings after the date of receipt of the proposal, either approve the proposal and add it to the curriculum or forward it to the appropriate EPC subcommittee. A proposal that is not approved by the executive secretary of EPC and not added to the curriculum or involves a new major program, option, minor, credential program or certificate, a change in general education, a change in upper division writing courses required by the University, or resolution of an unresolved challenge, shall be forwarded to the appropriate EPC subcommittee.
  3. The subcommittee executive secretary shall agendize the proposal no later than two meetings from the date of receipt of the proposal from the executive secretary of EPC. If there are no challenges to the proposal or all challenges have been resolved at the college level, the subcommittee may act on the proposal or set a time certain for discussion of the proposal with appropriate faculty. If the challenges were not resolved at the college level, the subcommittee shall invite the proposers of the curricular item and the objectors at a time certain to discuss the issues.
  4. Items referred to EPC shall be agendized with a time certain in order to expedite committee action. If approved by EPC these may be approved by the executive secretary of EPC and added to the curriculum without further action.
  5. New major programs, new minor programs, new certificate programs, and new credential programs shall, after approval by the appropriate subcommittee and university level dean, be forwarded to the executive secretary of EPC who shall add them to the EPC agenda no later than two meetings from the date of receipt of the proposal, together with information indicating whether or not there have been any challenges to the proposal at the college or university subcommittee level that remain unresolved. In case of unresolved challenges, both proposers and the objectors shall be invited to a designated time certain. If approved by EPC, the executive secretary of EPC may take the appropriate action of approving and adding to the curriculum, or forwarding to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for approval and forwarding to the Chancellor's Office and/or the Commission on Teacher Credentialing as may be required.
  6. Proposals affecting courses in the General Education Program shall, after approval by the appropriate college curriculum committee and college dean, be forwarded to the executive secretary of EPC together with all consultation sheets and all resolved and/or unresolved challenges. The executive secretary of EPC shall log in receipt of the proposal and, within three working days, shall forward it to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies who shall, within three working days, issue a notification to all faculty who shall then have ten working days to respond. At the expiration of the response deadline, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies shall add the proposal to the General Education Subcommittee agenda no later than two meetings after the deadline. In case of unresolved challenges, both proposers and the objectors shall be invited to a designated time certain. After approval by the General Education Subcommittee, the proposal shall be forwarded to the executive secretary of EPC with a recommendation for inclusion in the curriculum or a recommendation that the matter be reviewed by EPC. The executive secretary of EPC shall add the proposal to the EPC agenda no later than two meetings from the date of receipt of the proposal from the subcommittee(s). The executive secretary of EPC may also refer the item to EPC at his or her own volition.
  7. If the proposal is not referred to EPC it may be approved and added to the curriculum by the executive secretary of EPC without further committee action.
  8. Modifications of the General Education Program, i.e., "Definition, Philosophy and Criteria for General Education Breadth Requirements," structure of the program such as organization of blocks and number of units in blocks, and number of units in the program, are policy issues that must be referred to EPC and, if approved by EPC, must be forwarded to the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate for normal Senate and Presidential approval.