Curriculum Committee Duties

College Senate Committee on Curriculum

College Senates review and act on ALL undergraduate and graduate proposals by departments within the college. They have the authority to reject, return for clarification or approve proposals. College Senates also have primary responsibility for catalog changes that are editorial in nature. College senate chairs can be contacted for more information on the specific process, duties and timeline established for curriculum review within respective colleges.

University Curriculum Committee Duties

UCC Members

All UCC members are expected to:

Access documents in Leepfrog (Courseleaf) system
- Degree restatements can be found at https://nextcatalog.uni.edu/programadmin/  
- Course changes can be found at https://nextcatalog.uni.edu/courseadmin/
Review documents in depth prior to the pre-meeting and UCC meeting

Assigned Reviewers--Each college curriculum proposal will have two assigned reviewers, typically the College Representative and one additional UCC Member, as Co-Reviewer.

Both Reviewers are expected to:

Access documents in Leepfrog (Courseleaf) system
- Degree restatements can be found at https://nextcatalog.uni.edu/programadmin/  
  - Course changes can be found at https://nextcatalog.uni.edu/courseadmin/
Review documents in depth prior to pre-meeting and UCC meeting
Check for compliance with university guidelines
Check for appropriate consultations - when absent, check with the department head of proposing program
College Representative presents curriculum packet to UCC at the appropriate time and makes a motion to approve departmental proposals
The Co-Reviewer seconds the motion to accept the packet

The undergraduate curriculum packet should be reviewed for the following:

Compliance with university guidelines (standard program, extended program, etc.)
New courses - considerations:
- where they fit into the curriculum (major, minor, certificate)
- does the program justify the new course?
- are there resources available for the new course?
- has the course been taught under an experimental number?
Dropped courses - considerations:
- are these listed in any other existing major/minor/certificate?
- are are there impacts on existing students; a need for a teach-out plan?
Length of major - considerations:
- this is a serious consideration as it has implications for time-to-graduation and student debt
- generally programs should not increase length; careful scrutiny
- no new extended programs
Consultation has occurred with appropriate bodies (Educator Preparation, Liberal Arts Core Committee, all appropriate departments, etc.) and signatures obtained (GCCC and Library consultations are automatic through the Leepfrog curriculum system)
- consultation with affected departments and any departments with similar programs
- for new programs, this includes consultation with other Regent campuses
Possible "Impact Analysis" regarding how changes in a program may affect others
Unnecessary duplication, including review of situations where collaboration would be more efficient/effective than overlap.
Review for Hidden Prerequisites; all required courses must be listed, including all stacked prerequisites.
Get answers to questions, unresolved matters prior to UCC meeting if possible - contact chair for major issues.

Graduate College Curriculum Committee Duties

First Reader - College Representative:

Access documents in GCCC Google Drive prepared by the Chair
Review Course Reports and Program Reports in depth prior to meeting
Check for compliance with university/graduate guidelines
Check for appropriate consultations - when absent, check with department head of proposing program
Get answers to questions, unresolved matters prior to official meeting if possible—contact the chair for major issues
Attend a pre-meeting with the 2nd reader, Chair, representatives from the Registrar Office, and guests to identify major recommendations, unresolved issues and suggest modifications to the agenda
Clean up the preliminary agenda and submit it to the Chair for final upload at least 24 hrs prior to official meeting
Present curriculum packet to GCCC at appropriate meeting and make motion to approve departmental proposals

Second Reader:

Access documents in GCCC Google Drive
Review Course Reports and Program Reports in depth prior to meeting
Review documents
Check for compliance with university/graduate guidelines
Attend a pre-meeting with the 2nd reader, chair, representatives from the Registrar Office, and guests to identify major recommendations, unresolved issues and suggest modifications to the agenda
Assist with the cleanup of the preliminary agenda prior to submission to the committee chair
Second the motion to accept packet at the meeting

All Other GCCC Members:

Access documents in GCCC Google Drive
Review Course Reports and Program Reports in depth prior to meeting
Review documents

Bring all questions to pre-meeting in order to prepare for final meeting. Questions may be submitted to the committee chair via email at gabriela.olivares@uni.edu

The graduate curriculum packet should be reviewed for the following:

Compliance with university guidelinesCompliance with university guidelines (see online Curriculum Handbook at http://www.uni.edu/provost/curriculum-review and Graduate Information section of the UNI Catalog pp. 87-119)
New courses - where they fit into the curriculum (e.g., core, elective)?
Dropped courses - are these listed in any other existing programs?
Accuracy of credit hours
Consultation has occurred with appropriate bodies (all appropriate departments, Educator Preparation as needed), no objections or unresolved issues, and signatures obtained
(GCCC and Library consultations are automatic through the Leepfrog curriculum system)
Get answers to questions, unresolved matters prior to GCCC meeting if possible--contact the chair for major issues

The Chair or Vice-chair will:

Do a preliminary review of all proposals, prepare preliminary agendas and conduct meetings
Attempt to resolve major issues with proposals prior to meeting
Invite others from college as guests to GCCC Pre-meeting only to explain the proposals and also authorize approval/rejection of resolutions considered at these meetings
If unresolved issues arise during GCCC meeting, chair will take questions back to department(s) for clarifications and answers, to bring forward during last GCCC meeting (catch up session) or an earlier GCCC meeting if so designated

Resources: UNI Curriculum Review Website (on Provost Office Website) http://www.uni.edu/provost/curriculum-review