SMC Core Curriculum
Designation Renewal Proposal
November, 2015
Rationale: The Core Curriculum Committee (CCC) has designated courses for the Core since
2011-12. We have always maintained that, as in the Program Review process, these
designations would need to be revisited periodically. The CCC assumes that courses and
pedagogies are always evolving and that a given learning outcome may not always retain its
level of importance and integration in a given course. While the initial designation process
focuses on how instructors propose to teach future iterations of their course, designation
renewal asks faculty and departments to consider how their courses contribute to the Core
Curriculum (reflectively, as opposed to simply prospectively) and how they envision this
alignment continuing in the future. Renewal also gives instructors an opportunity to
respond to ways in which the goals and organization of the Core Curriculum itself may
evolve over time.
The designation renewal process outlined below is designed to enable ongoing engagement
of faculty with the Core while minimizing the effort and time required of our colleagues. It
is intended to focus on what instructors have done in previous versions of their course,
allowing the reports to consist largely of materials that instructors have already created.
We propose to begin this process in the 2017-2018 academic year.
Proposed Process:
1) Renewals are expected every 4 years, with reasonable adjustments for workload.
Departments must also submit renewals if the Catalog language for the course changes.
2) The CCC will maintain a schedule showing which courses are to be renewed in any given
year, attempting not to overly impact any particular Working Group, department, or
program. The CCC will communicate with individual departments and programs to
understand how best to accommodate their particular needs.
3) The Renewal Report will consist of
● Cover sheet, including course name, proposer, goal, etc. (much like the proposal
now)
● Affirmations that department feels the Learning Outcomes (LO's) are still
appropriate for class, that it will oversee that LO's are taught in all sections of the
course in a reasonably uniform way, and that it will participate in assessment when
asked.
● Syllabi from all sections of the two most recent semesters the course was taught.
● Description of significant changes in the course since it was last considered by the
CCC. This may include explaining how the results of recent Learning Goal
assessments have been incorporated into the course (if available).
● Appropriate faculty assignments and prompts that illustrate how students are being
asked to show their mastery of/development toward the LO's. (N.B. This is not the
student work, only the prompt given by the instructor..)
CCC
www.stmarys-ca.edu/core-curriculum-committee
●
Explanation of the department's process for maintaining reasonably consistent
learning outcomes across multiple sections of this class, which includes all
instructors and likely multiple years; and how it is used to support consistent
achievement of Core LO’s.
4) The review process would be modeled on the current one. Renewal Reports would be
due to the CCC on October 1st. They would go first to the Working Groups, who will
recommend to the CCC for final decision. Participation in this process will be required
for continued designation.
CCC
www.stmarys-ca.edu/core-curriculum-committee