LCSC | Curricular Policies & Procedures, No. 2.103, Rev. 4-05

Lewis-Clark State College No. 2.103 Date 8/1/79 Rev. 7/00
Policy and Procedures Manual Page 1 of 6 Rev. 4/05

SUBJECT: CURRICULAR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Strikeout - Wilcox

All curricular modifications, additions or deletions must be reviewed by the College
Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Senate and be approved by the respective Division
Chair, Provost, the President of the college and the State Board of Education. New or
expanded program proposals must also be reviewed by the state level Academic Affairs
and Program Committee.

Policy:

1.0 General Policy

1.1 The Curriculum Committee will meet twice monthly throughout the academic
year. Meetings may be held more frequently at the discretion of the committee.

1.2 A proposal must be submitted and accepted for reading at a meeting prior to the
meeting in which the committee votes on the proposal. Faculty sponsor(s) will
be invited to introduce the proposal at the first meeting and to discuss the proposal
with the committee at subsequent meetings. Every attempt will be made to make a
decision at the second meeting in which a proposal is considered.

1.3 All proposals must be complete and follow the procedures as outlined in this
policy.

1.4 Particular attention should be focused on providing the committee an adequate
justification for proposed changes. In the case of new and revised courses, a
complete syllabus must be included.

1.5 Each academic year the Curriculum Committee will establish deadlines for
curriculum proposal submission and distribute these dates to the faculty and
division chairs. The committee will in no case establish deadlines later than the
first meeting in February for submission of program proposals and the first
meeting in April for submission of curriculum modifications for inclusion in
the college catalog for the next academic year.

2.0 Policy Regarding New or Expanded Instructional Programs

2.1 New or expanded programs are defined as any curricular offering leading to a
certificate, minor, option or emphasis area within a major, major or degree not
previously offered by the institution. The State Board of Education requires the
preparation and submission of a detailed proposal for each new or expanded
program.

2.2 The following areas of analysis must be included:

2.2.1 Program description abstract with attention directed to need and justification.

2.2.2 Relationship to the role and mission of the institution as established by the
State Board of Education.

2.2.3 Effect of the proposed program upon the institution's administrative structure
and potential involvement of other divisions.

2.2.4 A description of similar programs offered in Idaho, the Pacific Northwest and
states bordering Idaho.

2.2.5 Names of accrediting agencies or societies which would deal with particular
issues.

2.2.6 Outline of proposed curriculum courses and credit hours by semester.

2.2.7 New courses needed to be added to the curriculum.

2.2.8 Existing courses which will apply to the proposed program.

2.2.9 Implementation schedule.

2.2.10 Enrollment sources, expected enrollment and future trends.

2.2.11 Budget detail information and anticipated revenues.

2.2.12 Faculty and staff requirements.

2.2.13 Facilities and equipment required to support the program at the time of initiation
and in the future.

2.2.14 Infrastructure needed to support the program at startup and on a continuing
basis.

3.0 Procedures for Program Addition, Expansion or Deletion

3.1 The Office of the State Board of Education has developed a set of forms for use in the
preparation of proposals. Proposal forms differ for academic and technical programs.
Forms are available from the Office of the Provost.

3.2 A “Notice of Intent” form and program abstract must be sent to the state level Academic
Affairs Council for review and recommendation. Forms are available from the Office of
the Provost. All Notices of Intent and program proposals will be forwarded by the Office
of the Provost.

3.3 The program proposal and 16 copies are submitted to the College Curriculum Committee
for review.

3.4 Upon approval, the proposal is then submitted to the Faculty Senate for review.

3.5 Upon approval of the Faculty Senate, the Office of the Provost will then submit the proposal
to the President and circulate copies to the Academic Affairs and Program Committee.

It has been the custom of the State Board of Education to review proposals for new or
expanded programs at their June meeting. For the Board to act, proposals must be presented
at the April meeting. Final action by the faculty must be completed in early February in order
to consider implementation the following semester. This may vary however, depending upon
budget impact of new or expanded program proposals.

4.0 Policy Regarding Curricular Modifications, Minor Additions or Deletions

4.1 All curricular changes not described in section 2.1 are included in this section.

4.2 The following must be included in each proposal:

4.2.1 A description of the present program or course/s.

4.2.2 A description of the proposed modification, addition or deletion.

4.2.3 A rationale for the proposed change (need and justification) and the potential
benefits to students.

4.2.4 A list of additional infrastructure and its cost necessary to support the proposed
change.

4.2.5 A list of additional equipment and/or space along with estimated costs needed to
support the proposed change.

4.2.6 A completed summary cover form available from the Office of the Provost
and submit to the Chairperson of the College Curriculum Committee.

4.2.7 A list of personnel necessary to support the changes.

5.0 Procedure for Curricular Modification, Minor Addition or Deletion

5.1 The proposal and 16 copies are submitted to the College curriculum Committee for review

5.2 The Committee will, after sufficient review, recommend action of acceptance or rejection.

5.2.1 All proposals affecting the General Education Core will be reviewed by the
General Education ~~subc~~Committee of the Curriculum Committee prior to action
by the whole committee. Any proposal affecting the General Education Core
Curriculum will be reviewed by the General Education Committee prior to final
action by the Curriculum Committee. A proposal must be submitted and accepted
for reading at a meeting prior to the meeting in which the committee votes on the
proposal. The General Education Committee will notify all divisions of the content
of a proposal through the division chairs two weeks prior to the first reading of a
proposal. Faculty sponsor(s) will be invited to introduce the proposal at the first
meeting and to discuss the proposal with the committee at subsequent meetings.

5.2.2 All proposals for Writing Intensive courses will be reviewed by the Writing Across
the Curriculum subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee prior to action by the
whole committee.

5.4 Upon acceptance, the proposal will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate.

5.5 The Chair of the Curriculum Committee or designee will present the curriculum proposal
and recommend action to the Senate.

5.6 Upon acceptance by the Faculty Senate, the proposal will be submitted to the Provost and
will be forwarded to the State Board of Education for final action.

5.7 Notification of Board action will be made to the Curriculum Committee and to the
appropriate divisions by the Office of the Provost.

6.0 Subcommittees of the Curriculum Committee

6.0.1 The General Education Committee will be a subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee
and will be responsible for reviewing courses which affect the general education core. The
General Education Committee will develop a process for reviewing such courses and will
work with the assessment officer to monitor the effectiveness of the general education core.

6.0.12 The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee will be a subcommittee of the Curriculum
Committee and will be responsible for reviewing courses which propose a Writing Intensive
course designation. The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee will develop a process for
reviewing such courses and will work with the assessment officer to monitor the effectiveness
of the Writing Across the Curriculum initiative.

6.1 The Curriculum Committee Chair will appoint Curriculum Committee members to chair
each subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee. Each instructional division may elect a
representative to each subcommittee; subcommittees require a minimum of six elected
members to operate.

6.2 Subcommittees of the Curriculum Committee will set their own rules of operation and
meeting schedules. These rules will include mechanisms for providing the Curriculum
Committee with regular reports and timely review of items referred to them by the
Curriculum Committee.

6.3 Subcommittees of the Curriculum Committee act as autonomous bodies except in
matters that are in the purview of the Curriculum Committee.

7.0 Course Comparability

Two courses are deemed comparable when they are cross-listed in the Lewis-Clark State College
catalog.

7.0.1 Two courses may be

7.0.1 Two courses may be cross-listed in the catalog when the faculty who teach in both
disciplines agree that the two courses may be cross-listed and a proposal to that
effect from both divisions has been approved through the curriculum approval
process as dictated in policy 2.103.

7.0.2 A division may offer a course whose prefix and number resides in another division only
if the division that administers the prefix approves the course and course instructor.

7.0.3 Two cross-listed courses satisfy the same requirements stated in the Lewis-Clark State
College catalog.

SYLLABUS PREPARATION

In order to facilitate the course approval process, faculty preparing syllabuses for core courses should
attend to the following guidelines:

1. Insure that the syllabus reflects the guidelines and purpose of the relevant core component.

2. Insure that the course competencies reflect appropriate concentrations of generic competencies:

I. Introductory Component: concentration balanced between solving problems and relevant
content area;

II. Skills Component: concentration on communication or mathematics;

III. Distributive Component: concentration in content area;

IV. Integrative Component: concentration balanced between clarifying values and relevant
content area.

3. Adhere generally to the syllabus format and content suggestions attached to these procedures.

SUGGESTED SYLLABUS FORMAT & CONTENT
GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES

All syllabuses for General Education courses should specify course numbers and title, credits, pre-requisites
(if applicable), instructor name(s) and office hours, and textbook information. In addition, syllabuses should
generally adhere to the suggestions for format and content listed below:

COURSE DESCRIPTION & PURPOSE (100-200 words)

1. State the general purpose of the course.

2. Describe the course content and scope.

3. Differentiate the course from other courses, if it is part of a sequence (e.g., EN 103-104) or has a title
similar to that of some other course.

4. Relate the course to the appropriate core component.

COURSE COMPETENCIES (Approximately 10)

1. Specify concisely the expected learning outcomes (as "competencies") of the course.

2. Convey assessable standards of performance, both within the course and within the core model.

3. Reflect levels of cognitive difficulty and complexity that are comparable to those in other courses at
the same level (100-200-300) in the core model.

4. Address appropriate areas of the core's generic competencies.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

1. List and briefly describe major instructional strategies/methods.

2. Indicate expected student roles in relation to listed methods.

3. Address any instructional guidelines for that particular core component.

METHODS OF EVALUATION

1. Specify all requirements for the course grade (attendance, class participation, assignments,
papers, tests). If possible, indicate percentages of the course grade allocated to each requirement.

2. State any other policies affecting the course grade (deadlines, make-up tests, alternative assignments,
“bonus” credit).

COURSE SEQUENCE & SCHEDULE

1. Outline the sequence of course topics.

2. Specify methods of evaluation and course requirements at appropriate stages of the topic sequence.