Approved
by the Faculty Senate: January 26, 2010
Approved
by the Chancellor:
Proposed Revisions to the ECU Faculty Manual,
Part V. Academic Information, Section III. Curriculum Development
(Please refer to both Faculty Senate Resolution
#09-05 and #09-30
for additional revisions already incorporated into the text noted below.)
Revise Part V. Section III. Curriculum Development to read as follows:
(Deletions are noted in strikethrough and
additions are noted in bold print):
III. Academic Program and Curriculum Development
Curriculum
and program Program and curriculum development is a
faculty responsibility. Curriculum and program Program and curriculum changes may be initiated, prepared, and presented
for review to all relevant ECU campus bodies by voting faculty as defined in ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix L. Development of new academic degree programs and
certificates of advanced study is governed by the policies and
procedures of the General Administration (GA), specified in Administrative
Memorandum 406 and in Administrative Memorandum 407 for Distance Education.
Consultation with the ECU Office of Academic Programs is recommended before
preparing program development requests.
Instructions on specific procedures and documents for curriculum and
program and curriculum development
proposals are available on the office of Academic
Programs website.
The
Academic Program Development Collaborative Team, an advisory body to the
Academic Council, collaborates with units to strengthen program proposals and
informs the Educational Policies and Planning Committee of its recommendations
to the Academic Council and to the dean of the
A. Definitions
1. Degree Programs
A degree program is a
program of study in a discipline specialty that leads to a degree in that
distinct specialty area at a particular level of instruction. All degree
programs are categorized individually in the University's academic program
inventory at the twelve-digit CIP code level. As a general rule, a degree
program requires coursework in the discipline specialty of at least 27 semester
hours at the undergraduate level and 21 semester hours at the doctoral level. A
master’s-level program requires that at least one-half of the total hours be in
the program area. Programs with fewer hours are designated a concentration
within an existing degree program. Degree programs require the approval of the
GA and the Board of Governors (BOG). Minors and concentrations receive final
approval at the campus level.
2. Certificate of Advanced Study
Programs (CAS)
These
programs usually require one year of study beyond the master's degree and
provide a higher level of licensure for public school teachers and
administrators. The licensure requirements for public school teachers and
administrators are defined by the State Board of Education. It is the policy of
the BOG to use the designation certificate of advanced study with respect to
all sixth-year programs established for public school personnel and to
authorize no EdS (specialist in education) degree
programs beyond those now in existence.
All CAS programs are categorized individually in the University's
academic program inventory at the twelve-digit CIP code level.
32. Other Certificates
Certificates
other than the CAS combine specific degree-credit courses at the graduate or
undergraduate level to provide professional development. Certificates do not
require A certificate program provides an organized
program of study that leads to the awarding of a certificate rather than a
degree. Certificate programs are offered
at the pre-baccalaureate, post-baccalaureate, and post-master’s levels. UNC-GA has indicated that post-baccalaureate
and post-master’s certificates must require a specified number of hours (18 sh for post-baccalaureate, and 24 sh
for post-master’s) to be reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data System (IPEDS). Program planners
should be aware that not meeting these criteria may impact consideration of
financial aid eligibility. Once a
certificate is approved, ECU will submit it to the Department of Education to
determine if the program is eligible for participation in the Title IV
(financial aid) programs.
4.3. Teacher Licensure Areas (TLA)
These
are specific course clusters which meet licensure requirements of the State
Board of Education but do not lead to the conferral of a particular degree or a
certificate of advanced study. These may be at the entry level or
advanced level of teacher licensure. When an institution receives authorization
from the State Board of Education to offer a TLA,
the senior vice president for academic affairs of UNC-GA must be notified. A
current inventory of teacher licensure programs approved by the State Board of
Education is available from the North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction.
B. Curriculum
Approval Process
Curriculum development includes developing
courses and requirements for new academic
programs, and developing and revising courses and requirements for existing
programs.
The following is the order for seeking campus approval for undergraduate
curriculum changes (1000-4000-level):
§
Curriculum
committee of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Voting
faculty of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Academic
Standards (if requesting Liberal Arts Foundations Curriculum Credit);
§
Writing
Across the Curriculum Committee (if requesting Writing Intensive credit);
§
Communicate
with units and programs that may be directly or indirectly affected by the
curriculum;
§
Chairperson/director
of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Curriculum
committee of the college in which the program is/will be housed and TLA proposals to Council on Teacher
Education;
§
Dean
of the college in which the program is/will be housed;
§
University
Curriculum Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
The following is the order for seeking
campus approval for graduate curriculum changes
(5000-level and above):
§
Curriculum
committee of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Voting
faculty of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Communicate
with units and programs that may be directly or indirectly affected by the
curriculum;
§
Chairperson/director
of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Curriculum
committee of the college in which program is/will be housed and TLA proposals
to Council on Teacher Education;
§
Dean
of the college in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Graduate
Curriculum Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
C. Program Development Approval Process
Program
development includes developing new academic degree programs, minors,
certificates, and new concentrations within existing degree programs, as well
as requesting degree title changes, and moving or discontinuing programs.
1. New Degree Programs
Proposals
for new academic degrees must include a list of all UNC and private in-state
institutions that offer the same or a similar degree. Program
planners are expected to contact those institutions regarding their experience
with program productivity (applicants, majors, job market, placement,
etc.). To facilitate this portion of the planning process, the UNC-GA
Division of Academic Affairs provides a link to the UNC Academic Program
Inventory and a link to program inventories for other in-state institutions. In
addition, proposals must include the Classification of Instructional
Programs code under which the proposed program is to be
classified. Faculty should allow ample time for review of proposals at all
levels.
The approval process to plan or establish new
undergraduate or graduate degree programs involves three
distinct steps:
Step I:
Notification of Intent to Plan (NIP) for bachelor's or master's; Request
for Authorization to Plan (RAP) for doctoral
Step II: Program Requirements/Course
Approval
Step III: Request for Authorization to Establish (RAE)
In Step
I, the appropriate planning document (NIP for
bachelor's or master's; RAP for doctoral) is submitted in the following order for seeking campus approval:
§ Consultation with Academic Program Development Collaborative Team
In Step
II, the approval of new degree requirements and courses is completed as
specified above in “Curriculum Approval Process” for undergraduate and graduate
programs.
In Step
III, a request for authorization to establish a bachelor's, master's,
or doctoral program is submitted in the following order for seeking campus approval:
§
Consultation
with Academic Program Development Collaborative Team;
§
Curriculum
committee of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Voting
faculty of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Chairperson/director
of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Curriculum
committee of the college in which the program is/will be housed; TLA proposals
to Council on Teacher Education;
§
Dean
of the college in which the program is/will be housed;
§
University
Curriculum Committee and or Graduate
Curriculum Committee as appropriate for
degree level;
§
External
review (master's and doctoral programs only);
§
Graduate
School Administrative Board for master's or doctoral programs;
§
Appropriate Vice
Chancellor (for information only)
§
Educational
Policies and Planning Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
2. New Minors, Certificates, Concentrations;
Degree Title Changes; Teacher Licensure
Areas; and Discontinuing Degree
Programs
The following is the order for seeking campus
approval for undergraduate or graduate minors, certificates, concentrations,
degree title changes, teacher licensure areas, and discontinuing a degree
program. (Discontinuing minors,
certificates, concentrations, and teacher licensure areas are considered
curricular actions.)
▪ Curriculum committee of dept/school in
which the program is/will be housed;
▪ Voting faculty of dept/school in which the
program is/will be housed;
§
Chairperson/director
of dept/school in which the program is/will be housed;
§
Curriculum
committee of the college in which the program is/will be
housed; TLA proposals to Council on
Teacher Education;
§
Dean
of the college in which the program is/will be housed;
§
University
Curriculum Committee and or Graduate
Curriculum Committee as appropriate for
degree level;
§
Graduate
School Administrative Board for graduate programs;
§
Educational
Policies and Planning Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
(Once new teacher licensure areas are
approved by the
3. Moving Degree Programs
The following is the order for seeking campus
approval for moving a program.
▪ Curriculum committee of dept/school in
which the program is currently and will be housed;
▪ Voting faculty of dept/school in which the
program is currently and will be housed;
§
Chairperson/director
of dept/school in which program is currently and will be housed;
§
Curriculum
committee of the college in which program is currently and will be housed; TLA
proposals to Council on Teacher Education;
§
Dean
of the college in which the program is currently and will be housed;
§
University
Curriculum Committee and or Graduate
Curriculum Committee as appropriate for
degree level;
§
Graduate
School Administrative Board for graduate
programs (for graduate);
§
Educational
Policies and Planning Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
4.
Process Completion
The
proposing academic unit, in collaboration with the office of Academic Programs,
prepares the final version of undergraduate and graduate program requests for
the chancellor’s consideration. Once the chancellor has made an affirmative
decision, the office of Academic Programs submits the new program request and
chancellor’s communiqué to UNC-GA.