Faculty of Arts and Science

UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES COMMITTEE

Academic Regulations and Curriculum Committee (ARCC)

Required Information

Revised June 2012

Process and Policy

1.  Any faculty member, through the chair or coordinator of their respective department, may initiate curriculum proposals.

2.  All curriculum proposals must bear the support of the department to which they belong and of any department or discipline affected by the change. Confirmation of the approval must be provided with the proposal. A Departmental Approval form is provided for this purpose.

3.  All curriculum proposals must be submitted first to the Chair of the Academic Regulations and Curriculum Committee. Once passed by ARCC, proposals will then be placed on the Arts & Science Executive Agenda as soon as possible for approval and subsequent conveyance or submission to the Undergraduate Studies Committee. Complete proposals must be received (electronically) a full week before a scheduled ARCC meeting.

4.  All curriculum proposals must receive approval prior to implementation. (Please see the summary of approval procedures at page 5 of this document.)

5.  In the case of a new degree program or new major or new minor (in disciplines where no major exists) PPC approval must first be received.

6.  For curriculum information, please refer to the current academic calendar (on line: www.nipissingu.ca/calendar) or the Senate Academic Regulations and Policies document. Where curriculum changes in one academic year do not make the printing deadline for the academic calendar, please refer to the Senate document or the relevant curriculum minutes.

7.  All curriculum proposals must be accompanied by an overview of the proposal including a rationale and the specifics of the proposal as outlined below. For each specific change (add or delete a course, change in wording, etc.) you must include a MOTION which indicates precisely what the change is intended to accomplish. Please be sure to include a motion confirming prerequisite courses where appropriate. If possible, indicate whether the proposed change is SUBSTANTIVE or NON-SUBSTANTIVE. A non-substantive change includes minor changes/corrections to the course description.

After curriculum changes have been approved by ARCC they must go to A&S Executive and then Undergraduate Studies Committee (USC), either for information or for approval, depending on the change. All curriculum proposals must be completed and submitted to ARCC by December 1 at the latest in order that all approvals make it through USC, Senate, and are therefore included in the calendar. Any proposals submitted to ARCC after November 24th may not be considered until the following academic year.

ADDING A COURSE

A)  Descriptive Data:

The course description must include the following:

a)  discipline,

b)  group (if the major requirements are grouped),

c)  credit weight,

d)  prerequisites, co-requisites, anti-requisites,

e)  total hours subdivided into lecture/lab/seminar. Class hours must total a minimum of 36 hours per three-credit course and 72 hours per six-credit course.

f)  complete title and course description, as it should be published in the university calendar. If the course title is longer than 30 characters, please provide an abbreviated version which will be used in the student information system and for transcript purposes. (Course titles longer than 29 characters must have an abbreviated version for the Ontario electronic data transfer system.)

g)  restrictions, for instance, an indication of whether 4000-level courses would be restricted to students in an honours program; or other restrictions relevant to the program. As well, if a course cannot be audited, please indicate this. University regulations state that “courses with more practical and developmental components (e.g. language courses, laboratory course, activity courses) cannot be audited. The Dean has the responsibility to designate courses which may or may not be audited.”

h)  If the course is to be cross-listed with any other discipline, please ensure that the other discipline is consulted and approves in writing the cross-listing. Indicate how the course will be added to the other’s major requirements, if applicable.

i)  course number. For course numbering, please consult the registrar’s office BEFORE you submit your motions for consideration to ARCC. You can provide the registrar’s office with desired course numbers (numbers that are helpful to students and faculty in locating the course in a program of study) and they will see if the numbers are free to be used and that they meet the course coding rubric which can be found in the Calendar.

j)  6-8 course expectations/outputs which should align with program expectations.

B)  Comparative Data:

Where applicable, please provide a list of similar courses from other Ontario universities. Please indicate if the courses are exactly the same (i.e. content, delivery, credits, prerequisites) and whether they are mandatory in a degree program. If there are courses at other Ontario universities that are not exactly the same but are similar enough that students should not be able to retain credit for both our course and theirs, please indicate those courses as well. This information must be provided on the requisite form provided below. The information will be used by the Registrar’s Office in assessing university transcripts to determine advanced standing into Nipissing’s programs.

PLEASE NOTE: Comparative Data is required when a course is split into two three-credit courses or when three-credit courses are consolidated into one six-credit course. This is necessary for the Registrar who uses it to assess the advanced standing of students transferring to Nipissing University.

C)  Statement of Resources:

Please indicate whether this is a required course for a specific degree(s), who is expected to enroll and a rationale about why this course is appropriate to Nipissing’s offerings. This information is required by the Deans and is critical for consideration of new courses by the USC.

D)  Statement of Resources:

Please indicate how you intend this course to be offered. For example, annually, on a cycled basis, or as resources allow. If the course is to be cycled, please indicate how (e.g. every second year, periodically offered). If the course is replacing an existing course, please indicate which course will be deleted (or banked) as a result of this new addition. The cycling information will be used by Academic Advising when counseling students about their future options.

Please describe any additional resources required to offer this course (e.g. faculty hiring, library, laboratory materials, etc.).

MODIFYING A COURSE

Modifications to a course include changes to course description, course prerequisites, lecture/lab/ tutorial composition, or renumbering of a course. If a six-credit course is to be changed to a three credit course(s) or vice-versa, the new course(s) must be presented first as an addition and the current course(s) must then be deleted (or banked).

Please provide a description of the new course (as defined above) and highlight the modification. (Current course descriptions are available in the academic calendar.) Please provide the rationale for the change and address the impact that this change will have on program requirements and on other courses.

DELETING OR BANKING OF A COURSE

Please indicate the course code and title of the course to be deleted or banked. Please provide the rationale for deleting or banking a course. Please indicate: whether the course is a prerequisite for another course; is required for a degree program; is cross-listed with another discipline.

If the course is required for a degree program(s), please indicate the changes to the program requirements, once this course has been deleted or banked.

If a course is not offered in a period of five calendar years, it will be banked (removed from the academic calendar). A list of all courses not offered in the past five years will be provided to the department chairs and the chair of ARCC by the registrar in January of each year. If the department does not wish to bank a course(s), ARCC must be provided with a request not to bank the course no later than March 31st. Banked courses will be returned to the calendar upon the request of the appropriate department to ARCC.

Note: Banking a course simply means removing the course from the academic calendar. A banked course can be returned to the calendar and offered at any time as long as the course is offered as described.


CHANGING DEGREE REQUIREMENTS (i.e., BA, BSc, BBA)

Degree Requirements are listed in the academic calendar under their respective sections—for example, Bachelor of Arts (4-Year General), Bachelor of Science (Honours), etc. There is also a section on degree requirements for Second Degree Programs.

When Nipissing University changes degree requirements, adds new requirements, or deletes previous requirements, the impact may be significant across disciplines. Therefore, changes should be discussed with all disciplines affected and students must have sufficient time to comply with any new regulations.

If Senate approves the deletion of degree requirements, the new rules can be effective immediately. The implications of immediate application must be thoroughly addressed. If Senate approves the modification or addition of degree requirements, the new requirements will apply to students admitted or re-admitted the following year (Senate Regulation 3.90 Senate Changes to Degree Requirements). Therefore provisions must be made to either continue to provide the means whereby students may graduate under the previous rules (perhaps for many years), or if this is not feasible, Senate should permit students currently in programs to graduate without either the “old” or “new” requirements.

Any proposal must first make reference to the current Senate approved requirement. The rationale for the proposed change must include a discussion of how this matter is dealt with at other universities, how it will affect currently enroled students as well as teaching resources, and how it will improve Nipissing University’s programs.

CHANGING MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

Please refer to the procedures listed above for changing degree requirements. The information provided should include all necessary approvals, sufficient time for implementation, current requirements, new requirements, a rationale for the change and a discussion of how this matter is dealt with at other universities and how it will improve Nipissing University’s programs.

PROPOSALS FOR NEW MAJORS AND MINORS (Subsequent to PPC approval)

Please refer to the currently approved degree requirements (i.e. BA, BSc, BBA) to ensure the compliance of the proposed major. Prior to the presentation of a proposal for new major, any new courses to be included in the major must first be approved.

Please provide the proposed name of the new major and indicate whether it will be offered as an honours and/or general degree and whether it will be offered as a single major only or along with a combined major. Also indicate whether a minor is to be offered as well. Please provide (in consultation with the registrar’s office) the admission requirements.

Please list the complete requirements for each of the honours and/or general degree, single and/or combined major. Also if a minor is to be offered, list the minor requirements and ensure compliance with the established requirements for a minor.

Please provide a detailed rationale for the proposed major including a statement of need, potential enrolment, and required resources including faculty, library, materials and a detailed description of the implementation of the major. Please discuss whether the major is offered at other universities and how it will benefit Nipissing University and its offerings.
PROPOSALS FOR A NEW DIPLOMA OR CERTIFICATE

Please provide a coherent set of learning objectives for the diploma or certificate along with the following: courses which collectively meet those objectives; academic credit courses equivalent to at least 24 credits of undergraduate study for a diploma and 15 credits of undergraduate study for a certificate (8 credits for the diploma and 6 credits for the certificate must be unique to that diploma or certificate); a statement of admission requirements; a statement of advanced standing rules for students who enter the diploma (a maximum of 16 credits of AS for the diploma and 9 credits for the certificate); and a statement of the credit towards degree studies provided by courses in the diploma. A complete proposal for a certificate or diploma program includes a statement of academic merit; a statement of financial viability; and a statement of administrative responsibility.

The complete policy on certificates and diplomas is available in the Senate Regulations and Policies document.

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES

If a proposed change in curriculum is deemed non-substantive, then this information will go to Faculty Council, or a designated sub-Committee, for approval and then to the Undergraduate Studies Committee and Senate for information only. A non-substantive change may be described, for example, as a minor wording change in a course title or a course description.

ARCC reserves the right to determine whether a change is to be considered non-substantive. These changes must be considered and approved by the department before being submitted to ARCC.

SUMMARY OF CURRICULUM APPROVAL PROCEDURES

I. FACULTY COUNCIL APPROVAL, CONVEYANCE TO USC AND SENATE:
Undergraduate curriculum proposals which involve non-substantive changes to existing courses, and which do not directly affect another Faculty (e.g. minor changes to course titles or course descriptions, deleting or banking courses).

II.  FACULTY COUNCIL AND USC APPROVAL, CONVEYANCE TO SENATE:
(i) proposals requiring minor changes to existing undergraduate degree or program requirements; and
(ii) undergraduate curriculum proposals which involve one or more new courses or substantive changes to existing courses, and which do not directly affect another Faculty.

III. FACULTY COUNCIL, USC AND SENATE:

(i) proposals for Stage 2 (Curriculum) approval of new undergraduate programs prepared in accordance with the Nipissing University New Program Approval Process, as required in the provincial Undergraduate Program Review Audit Committee (UPRAC) Guidelines;

(ii) proposals requiring significant changes to existing undergraduate degree or program requirements; and

(iii) undergraduate curriculum proposals which involve one or more new courses or substantive changes to existing courses, and which directly affect another Faculty (e.g. Concurrent Education or other interdisciplinary programs involving more than one Faculty).

(This is summarized from the Nipissing University Representative Senate By-Laws, pp. 34-35)