This procedure describes the responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee, characteristics of its membership, and the general review processes followed by the committee.
Lane Community College is committed to transforming lives through learning. The curriculum is central to this vision and should be organized to facilitate student learning. The curriculum, as a whole, should reflect a commitment to excellent education and is essential to the achievement of high standards in the academic program.
In supporting the mission of Lane, the Curriculum Committee is chartered with overseeing the academic quality and content of the curriculum. The Curriculum Committee (CC) reviews and critically evaluates curriculum proposals with consideration given to issues such as, but not limited to:
Student Needs
- Transfer and/or career goals
- Support to bridge from non-credit coursework to college-level courses and programs
Transfer Considerations
- How courses transfer to partner institutions and/or meet degree requirements
Regional and State Industry Needs and Trends
- Regional industry growth and labor market trends
- Expected earnings in a given career
- Training desired and supported by regional employers
College Constraints
- Personnel and financial resources available
- Expected number of students enrolling in a given course or program
Responsibilities
To fulfill its purpose the Curriculum Committee shall:
- Review and evaluate course (new, revised, discipline attributes) and program (CTE and transfer) proposals from a student-centered perspective
- Engage in conversations with individuals to investigate course and program ideas and/or help to strengthen course or program proposals
- Facilitate the curation of relevant, integrated curriculum to ensure coordinated offerings that meet student transfer and career goals
- Evaluate the impact of curriculum proposals on students and programs
- Evaluate the impact of new programs, including whether the program leads to employment in a recognized occupation, with program length and cost-benefit appropriate for the wages students would make upon program completion
- Evaluate the impact of a curriculum proposal on the resources of the college
- Evaluate new courses and programs within the suite of current curriculum offerings considering student needs, industry needs, and college resources
- Collaborate on development and maintenance of guidelines and criteria for the development of new and revised courses, certificates, and degrees
- Review and offer suggestions for updating and improving procedures and processes associated with curriculum development
- Assure that student learning outcomes and assessment are built into curriculum proposals
Membership
The Curriculum Committee will consist of no fewer than 14 voting members, with the majority of these voting members being faculty members appointed through the Faculty Council. There will be a minimum of nine faculty to include representation of the transfer, career-technical and other academic areas. The Vice President of Academic Affairs or designee, who serves as an ex-officio non-voting member, the Registrar or designee, and two managers will serve on the Committee. One representative from Academic Advising or similar role and the Library will also serve on the committee filing either a faculty or manager role. Members should be selected and/or appointed based on areas of expertise, and they should represent a broad range of stakeholders.
Staff and faculty in the Office of Curriculum and Assessment (OCA) serve by position as non-voting members to support the Committee and help with planning Committee agendas, meeting dates and other tasks as needed. The Committee Chair will be a faculty member appointed by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Curriculum Proposal Process
The initiator of a curriculum proposal, together with the division dean and department faculty, will be responsible for initiating the proposal and following the approval process. The OCA will facilitate agendas, voting, minutes, and tracking of curriculum proposals through the approval process. The OCA will provide support and guidance for academic departments that are considering or working on curriculum proposals.
Department considerations
- Proposals should be discussed with the division dean and discipline colleagues prior to submission to the CC
- Any disagreements within a department or among departments should be resolved prior to submission
- The OCA will act as a resource for the initiator and facilitator of the process
- Interdisciplinary proposals should be developed collaboratively with faculty from relevant departments in the discussion stage
- Faculty developing new curriculum proposals should make every effort to determine whether there is overlap with another discipline and to address such overlap with colleagues prior to submitting a proposal
Committee review
- Completed proposals will be submitted to the OCA by the published due dates and then scheduled to be reviewed at the next CC meeting after each due date
- Prior to the meeting, committee members have the opportunity to make comments, which are shared with the proposal developers before the scheduled meeting
- At the scheduled meeting, the proposal developers give a brief summary of the proposal, respond to comments, and answer additional questions committee members might have
- After the meeting, Committee members will register votes to recommend or not recommend moving the proposal forward and will log any final comments, questions, or requests for additional revisions to be passed on to proposal developers and final proposals approvers
- The OCA will ensure proposals are moved to the next step in the approval process after all votes are tallied
Other Committee Responsibilities
The Committee may initiate, support, or participate in other curriculum activities, projects, or initiatives on campus. To aid in moving curriculum work forward, the Committee may form subcommittees or short- or long-term work groups to engage in these activities.