Curriculum Committee (University)

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Membership List Y33S

(Information in italics below is repeated from the Faculty Bylaws Article VIII, Section 10.)

Membership

• Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, or designee
• Dean and University Librarian, without vote
• Registrar, without vote
• Director of the Elon Core Curriculum
• Three elected teaching faculty members serving three-year terms, representing the College of Arts and Sciences, one each from Fine Arts and Humanities, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences
• Four elected teaching faculty members serving three-year terms, representing the following schools: one each from the Love School of Business, the School of Communications, the School of Education, and the School of Health Sciences
• Two at-large teaching faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences and one University wide at-large faculty member serving three-year terms, elected by the teaching faculty members
• At least seven of the ten elected teaching faculty members must have achieved the rank of Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, or Professor
• Faculty from the School of Law are excluded from service on this committee.

Elections

Elections of faculty members to the Curriculum Committee (University) will occur on a three-year cycle.

Year One

• One member from Fine Arts and Humanities
• One member from Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• One member from Social Sciences

Year Two

• One member from the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
• One member from the School of Communications
• One member from the School of Education
• One member from the School of Health Sciences

Year Three

• Two at-large members from Arts and Sciences
• One at-large University-wide member

One of these elected representatives will be elected by the committee each May as Chair and one as Vice-Chair. Faculty members serving in these offices must have achieved the rank of Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, or Professor.

Duties

• To study and make decisions, Subject to Article V, Section 2 of the Faculty Bylaws, in regard to all areas of the instructional program of Elon University, including the content, methods, and objectives of all courses and major fields of study. Proposals for new graduate programs are subject to the provisions of Procedures for Proposal of New Graduate Programs.
• To evaluate proposed additions to or deletions from the curriculum and to approve curricular changes
• To be responsible for periodic studies of the curriculum in order to provide an instructional program which is consistent with the aims and objectives of Elon University and which will meet the needs of the students who are currently enrolled
• To review and make recommendations on major changes in curriculum in early planning stages
• To review and make recommendations on all major grant proposals with curriculum implications
• To review and approve independent major proposals submitted to the Director of the Elon Core Curriculum
• To serve as the coordinating committee of the elected standing committees that deal directly with the curriculum (the Global Education Curriculum Committee, the Elon Core Curriculum Council, and the Graduate Council)
• Upon receipt by the Chair of Academic Council of a written request, decisions made by the University Curriculum Committee will be subject to discussion and vote at the next scheduled faculty meeting. The request for a faculty vote must be signed by at least 15% of the fulltime teaching faculty and must be received by the Chair of Academic Council at least one week prior to the next scheduled meeting of the full faculty. In that event, the decision made at the faculty meeting will take precedence.
• None of the above duties of the committee will apply to the curriculum of the Law School, nor will the Law School faculty participate in the decisions of this committee.

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Areas of Committee Concern

• All areas of the instructional program of the University
• Additions to or deletions from the curriculum
• Periodic studies of the curriculum
• Reviewing and recommending major curriculum changes
• Reviewing and evaluating independent major proposals
• Reviewing major grant proposals with curriculum implications

Policies and Procedures

• Committee meetings are usually scheduled by the chair at least once a month at a time convenient to committee members, unless committee business necessitates more frequent meetings.
• The chair informs members of meetings at least one week in advance with a written agenda, materials to be discussed, and a copy of the minutes of the previous meeting.
• The Chair presides over the meetings and reviews the agenda with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs prior to distribution. In the event of the Chair’s absence, the Chair Pro Tempore will assume the duties of Chair of the University Curriculum Committee.
• All decisions on committee business are made through normal parliamentary procedure.
• A quorum consists of a majority of the committee’s voting membership.
• The Chair of the committee may solicit the attendance of other faculty who are not committee members. The Chair will invite proposers and department chairs to attend and discuss significant proposals; the chair generally does not invite proposers and chairs to discuss "reportable item" proposals, but may do so if committee members have questions about such proposals. (A reportable item is a curriculum proposal that would not impact any student's graduation requirements). Any other faculty members with significant relationships to or who may be impacted by the proposal(s) under consideration may request the permission of the Chair to attend.
• The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs or designee will arrange for a staff assistant to produce written minutes of each meeting.
• The committee oversees curriculum and curriculum changes (Procedures for Undergraduate Curriculum Development and Curriculum Proposals and Procedures for Graduate Curriculum Development and Program Proposals).
• On curriculum proposals involving more than one department, the committee may conduct inter-departmental or faculty-wide forums.
• For interdisciplinary proposals (majors or minors not housed in academic departments) the principal advocate for the proposal fulfills the role of Department Chair in the curricular review process. That advocate’s academic dean represents the administration in the conference committee and at Curriculum Committee meetings in which the proposal is discussed. Upon approval of a new interdisciplinary program (a new minor or major), the proposer’s academic dean will appoint a faculty coordinator for the academic program. The proposer/coordinator’s affiliated School or Division Curriculum Committee will assume responsibility for reviewing an interdisciplinary proposal unless otherwise directed by the dean representing the proposal.
• For independent major proposals, the Chair, in consultation with the Director of Elon Core Curriculum, will appoint an ad-hoc subcommittee of three members. This subcommittee must include at least one member from the University Curriculum Committee and may not include any members from the student’s interdisciplinary committee of three professors. Approval by this subcommittee will constitute approval of the proposal.

Methods of Reporting To the Campus Community

1. The committee can decide by majority vote to take one of the following actions on any proposal being considered:

• Approve the item and forward it to the President
• Approve the item, but because of its significance or potential impact on other schools, departments, or programs, decide to forward it to the faculty as a whole. Proposals for new graduate programs will follow this procedure (see Procedures for Proposal of New Graduate Programs)
• Not approve the item and send it back to the proposer(s)
• Delay the item for further consideration

2. The minutes of each committee meeting will be disseminated to the faculty and staff in a timely fashion, either on the Web, through e-mail, and/or in printed copy.