Approved by the
Approved by the Chancellor:
Revisions to the ECU
Faculty Manual, Part V. Academic Information, Section III. Curriculum Development
to read as follows:
Current
curriculum development procedures are available online at:
https://author.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/customcf/facultymanual/part5/53.htm
Curriculum and program development
is a faculty responsibility. Curriculum and program 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 development proposals are available on the Office of Academic Programs
website, http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/acadprograms/PoliciesForms.cfm.
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.
3. 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
4. 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;
§ Faculty Senate;
§ 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 Graduate Curriculum Committee;
§
External
review (master's and doctoral programs only);
§
Graduate
School Administrative Board for master's or doctoral programs;
§
Educational
Policies and Planning Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
2.
New Minors, Certificates, Concentrations; Degree Title Changes;
Discontinuing Programs
The following is the order for seeking campus approval for undergraduate
or graduate minors, certificates, concentrations, degree title changes, and
discontinuing a program.
▪ 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 Graduate Curriculum Committee;
§
Graduate
School Administrative Board for graduate
§
Educational
Policies and Planning Committee;
§
§
Chancellor
3.
Moving 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 Graduate Curriculum Committee;
§
Graduate
School Administrative Board (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
(Editorially revised Section III.B. October 2003)