Curriculum Services

GUIDELINES FOR THE CURRICULUM PROCESS

I. Background

Faculty, with the support from academic administrators, typically develop curriculum because of an academic or community need or a state mandate. The curriculum proposal developer(s) or originator(s) obtainsupport for the proposalfrom the appropriate dean and Executive Chair/Campus President.

Faculty, as subject-matter experts, have the primary responsibility for creating and modifying curriculum(namely, the curriculum course outlines and associated course learning outcomes assessment forms).Facultywill be the lead proposal presenters at the Curriculum Committee.The appropriate academic administrators will have the responsibility of ensuring that curriculum proposal forms are completed accurately before submission to Curriculum Services.

It is strongly recommended that the proposed curriculum is discussed with discipline/program faculty and consensus for the proposal is established. Support for curriculum proposals may be gathered at discipline council, school, and program advisory board meetings. Originators will receive along with the proposal forms a “Faculty Addendum” document that can be used to record faculty responses.A copy of the minutes and Assessment Plan will be required for any program-related proposal.

II. Initiating a Curriculum Proposal

To initiate a formal curriculum approval process, the proposal originator(s) should email the Curriculum Services staff .A set of curriculum proposal forms will be sent to the originator based on the actions requested (i.e., new program and/or course, modified program and/or course, inactivated program and/or course).

Once the originator receives the proposal forms,he or she can request to meet with a Curriculum Services Specialist for assistance with preparing the proposal.

III. Other Important Considerations:

Please refer to the Curriculum Committee Calendar for specific dates for curriculum proposal submission with School signatures, Advisory Committee minutes and any changes to the Assessment Plan.

Most new and substantially modified programs require approval by the SACSCOC and, if applicable, the Federal Student Aid Title IV Program prior to implementation. The approval process can be lengthy, so please plan accordingly.

Program proposal:

  • Check the State Program Length document with the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) for program title, hours and Classification of Instructional Program (CIP).
  • Contact the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation (OIEA)or any SACSCOC - related issues and determination of whether the proposal will need to have approval.
  • Contact the Financial Aid office to determine if state approvals will be required.

Course proposal:

  • Curriculum Services can provide Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) profiles in order to determine the best course ID match

Curriculum Services

IV. Gathering Feedback and Support for the Proposal

The originator will complete proposal questions. Assistance from the assigned Curriculum Services Specialist is available at any time during this process. Faculty and other originators are encouraged to seek the assistance of a specialist via

phone, email, and office/campus visits.

The appropriate Dean or Program Managerand thenthe appropriate Executive Chair/Campus Presidentreview the proposal and indicate whether they support, do not support,or support with conditions.

Proposals supported by the Executive Chair/Campus President are submitted to the Curriculum Services Office electronically;a hard copy of the signature page is forwarded via interoffice mail.

Next, the Curriculum Services Office will review the proposal for any technical errors and work with the originator to make any necessary updates and/or corrections.

Completed proposals are sent by Curriculum Services to the appropriate Associate Vice President (AVP) or Executive Dean who will review the proposal and indicate whether they support, do not support,or support with conditions.

Supported proposals will be added by the Curriculum Services Officefor addition to the next available Curriculum Committee agenda.

V. Presenting the Proposal to the Curriculum Committee

A minimum of five business days prior to the scheduled Curriculum Committee meeting, Curriculum Services will communicate finalized proposals electronically for college-wide review to all faculty, academic administrators, student services professionals, and other relevant staff members.

The originator must attend (or send an alternate who is familiar with the proposal content/history) the Curriculum Committee meeting to give a short presentation (approximately five minutes) about the proposal and answer any questions regarding the submission.

The committee will then take a vote to support, not support, or support with conditions the submitted proposal.The Curriculum Services Office will send supported proposals to the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairsfor final review/approval.

VI. Implementing Approved Proposals

Once proposals are approved by the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs, the program and course details are input to various curriculum systems such as the Orion mainframe (which will soon be transitioned to PeopleSoft for the 2017-18 academic year), Acalog (which builds the online catalog), and the outline system. Courses are also submitted to the Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) via their online system. Curriculum Services also works with the Registrar, who updates degree audits based on approved curriculum. Once all the necessary steps are completed and approvals received, new and modified courses and programs can be offered in the designated implementation term.

For assistance with any aspect of the curriculum process, please contact Curriculum Services at

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