Curriculum Committees (School and Division-Based)

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

Defining the Curriculum Committees

• Three division-based curriculum committees will be created in the College of Arts and Sciences, one each for Arts and Humanities, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.
• School-based curriculum committees will be created for each of the schools (the Love School of Business, the School of Communications, the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, and the School of Health Sciences).

Membership of Curriculum Committees

Membership of each committee will be determined by the school or division in question. In doing so, these guiding principles will be followed:

• The committee will include the Academic Dean or their designee.
• The committee will consist of at least five elected teaching faculty members.
• The committee will be chaired by one of the elected representatives.

Duties

• To evaluate proposed additions to or deletions from the curriculum in departments or majors located in their school or division and to report to the University Curriculum Committee recommendations for curricular changes
• To study and make decisions regarding minor changes (those designated as reportable items) to the curriculum in departments or majors located in their school or division
• Upon the request of any member of the University Curriculum Committee, any decision made by a school- or division-based curriculum committee will be subject to discussion and vote at the next scheduled University Curriculum Committee meeting. In that event, the decision made by the University Curriculum Committee will take precedence.
• To ensure that proper consultation with the appropriate Deans, Department Chairs, and Curriculum Committee Chairs has occurred on any and all grant proposals that have implications for other divisions, schools, or colleges
• To ensure that proper consultation with the appropriate Deans, Department Chairs, and Curriculum Committee Chairs has occurred on any and all curriculum proposals that have implications for other divisions, schools, or colleges

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Areas of Committee Concern

• Areas of the instructional program of the University relevant to the school or division in question
• Additions to or deletions from the curriculum in areas relevant to the school or division in question
• Reviewing and recommending major curriculum changes to the University Curriculum Committee
• Reviewing major grant proposals with curriculum implications in areas relevant to the school or division in question

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 is elected by majority vote of the committee each May. The chair presides over the meetings and reviews the agenda with the Academic Dean prior to distribution.
• All decisions on committee business are made through normal parliamentary procedure and a majority vote of members present.
• A quorum consists of a majority of the committee’s voting membership.
• The chair of any department or program coordinator making a proposal is expected to attend even if that chair or coordinator is not a member of the committee.
• The Chair of the committee may solicit the attendance of other faculty who are not committee members. Any other faculty members with significant relationships to the proposal(s) under consideration may request the permission of the chair to attend.
• The Chair appoints another committee member to be responsible for recording the minutes of each meeting.

Methods of Reporting To the Campus Community

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

• Approve the item and forward it to the University Curriculum Committee
• Approve items involving minor changes (those designated as reportable items), and report that approval to the University Curriculum Committee
• Not approve the item and send it back to the department(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.