Curriculum Roles, Responsibilities, and Processes
The purpose of this document is to address roles, responsibilities, and processes in order to increase institutional responsiveness in the development, review, and management of curriculum changes and proposals while maintaining quality. The goal is to place greater responsibility for curriculum processes with faculty, departments, colleges, and schools; shorten the timeline for curriculum approvals; and simplify and streamline the types of information required for curriculum changes.
Roles and Responsibilities
Faculty and Departments
“Faculty, through well-defined structures and processes with clearly defined authority and responsibilities, exercise a major role in the design, approval, implementation, and revision of the curriculum” (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities,
Standard 2.C.5).
Curriculum changes and proposals begin with faculty at the department level. Faculty members are the content experts in their fields, responsible for engaging students in the content, and are therefore best situated to assess curricular need. Curriculum changes and proposals are thoroughly vetted at the department level prior to moving forward for further review.
Deans and Associate Deans
Deans and associate deans are responsible for reviewing curriculum proposals that have been vetted by faculty and departments to identify possible conflicts within and outside the college/school and to ensure that proposals are consistent with university practice. To expedite the processing and timeliness of changes, nonsubstantive changes (see below) are approved at the college/school level rather than undergoing full UCC review. Associate Deans serve as a liaison with faculty and departments, the college/school curriculum committee, UCC, and ASC.
They review the potential impact of proposed changes (e.g., effects on degree programs within or outside the department, student completion, the need for additional resources, etc.), are knowledgeable about processes for submitting changes , and ensure the quality and clarity of written documents.
University Curriculum Committee
The role of the faculty is extended on a university-wide basis by means of the University
Curriculum Committee (UCC), which consists of faculty representatives from each college and school. The chair and its members are appointed by the Faculty Senate. The role of the committee is as follows:

To act as stewards of the curriculum by reviewing broad issues related to new courses and programs and addressing questions such as the following to assure quality, appropriateness, and feasibility: o Why is the course or program needed? What is the demand or justification? o What are the resource implications? o How prevalent is the needed expertise among the faculty? o How might the course or program affect existing courses or degrees within or outside the department?

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
To assist faculty and departments in their respective schools/colleges with the preparation and submission of documents and data entry for curricular changes and proposals.
The chair of the committee coordinates the review and processing of curriculum proposals with the Associate Vice President for Academic Programs and the Office of Scheduling and
Curriculum (ASC).
Academic Affairs Council
AAC reviews curriculum proposals and supporting data for new programs submitted by faculty/departments to determine mission appropriateness, internal/external demand, resource implications, institutional readiness, impact on existing programs, and other relevant factors. The
Academic Affairs Council (AAC) is responsible for strategic planning related to curriculum.
Office of Academic Scheduling and Curriculum
Responsibilities of ASC include the following:

Oversee the processing of curriculum changes.
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Ensure consistency in curriculum prefixes, numbering, titles, credits, descriptions, prerequisites, cross-listings, etc.

Serve as a resource to faculty, departments, colleges, and schools.
Nonsubstantive Changes
The following nonsubstantive changes are approved at the department/college/school level: course prefixes, numbers, titles, credit ratios, descriptions, objectives, prerequisites, crosslistings, and major requirements.
Deans are responsible for vetting these changes within departments in their colleges/schools and with other colleges/schools that may be affected. Deans or their designees will work with ASC to ensure that these changes are consistent with university practice. Changes will be forwarded to
ASC for processing, and be implemented in the next semester for which registration has not yet occurred. These changes can occur year-round. Changes submitted prior to April 1 will be reflected in the official version of the catalog for the upcoming academic year. Those approved after April 1 will be added to the online catalog immediately.
Regent-Approved Items
The deadline for regent-approved curriculum items is October 15. These include certificates
(except CP1), degrees, minors, emphases, administrative unit creation or change, and program changes in delivery, restructuring, name, discontinuation, and reinstatement. Approved changes will be implemented the following fall semester. Adding new programs or significant changes in courses or programs or delivery methods must also be approved by NWCCU.
All revisions and data entry must occur prior to October 15. For this to occur, proposal drafts must be presented in AAC in January/February. Once approval is received, departments must work with their UCC representative and associate dean to prepare documentation. Departments should be advised that multiple revisions may be needed, thus it is advisable to begin early.

Curriculum Management Tool
The curriculum management tool will capture only the following information:

Courses - subject codes, number, title, credit ratio, description, prerequisites, crosslistings, objectives

Programs – type, title, description, requirements
All assessment-related information including but not limited to student learning outcomes, criteria for success, means of assessment, curriculum maps, and ELO alignment is under the direction of the Office of Academic Assessment. Graduation plans are under the direction of the
Graduation Office. AAC would like to pilot the Kuali curriculum tool or an equivalent.
Implementation
These changes will be effective beginning in Fall, 2014.
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