University Curriculum Committee Guide

Issue/Question

Background information about the University Curriculum Committee and support documents for curricular changes at BHSU.

Environment

  • Black Hills State University

Resolution

What is the University Curriculum Committee?
One of the most important dimensions of a quality university is faculty control of the curriculum. At Black Hills State, this control is accomplished through the university-wide curriculum committee, the membership of which is appointed by the appointments committee of the Faculty Senate. The purpose of the University Curriculum Committee is to develop and articulate the curricular approval process on campus and, as an agent of the Faculty Senate, to implement this process by recommending approval or denial of all undergraduate University curricular changes. The Committee will assist and advise individual faculty members regarding University and Board of Regents procedures to help them craft successful curricular proposals.

Who serves on the University Curriculum Committee?

According to the University Curriculum Committee Bylaws (revised 2023), the committee will consist of nine full-time faculty members. The committee membership is to be chosen by the Appointments Committee, subject to the approval of the Faculty Senate. Three members should be appointed from each college, with at least one from each school. Membership terms on the Committee will be for three years, with three members (one from each college) appointed each year.

Where can I find information to help me make curricular changes?

You can visit the South Dakota Board of Regents Academic Affairs website by visiting the link below to read the specifics about how the curriculum is developed and changed at all SDBOR universities. At the site, you can also find the forms required to submit any changes to individual courses or programs along with instructions for each of the forms.

https://public.powerdms.com/SDRegents/tree (section 2.3.2 is most relevant to curricular changes)

For your convenience, relevant forms and policy documents are linked in this knowledgebase article.

Within each form, you can find links to relevant policies and procedures to help guide you through the process.

What are the usual forms and policies that Faculty will use?

While there are several forms and policies to consider when making curricular changes, most of the curricular changes that the University Curriculum Committee encounters are the following:

  1. Minor or Substantive Course Modifications (Unique Courses or Common Courses)
  2. Minor or Substantive Program Modifications
  3. New Certificate Programs
  4. Authority to Offer an Existing Common Course(s)
  5. Placement of Programs on Inactive Status
  6. New Specialization within an Existing Major
  7. Addition of a New Minor program

What is the difference between a "Common" course and a "Unique" course?

Within SDBOR institutions, universities might share courses that are common between them. These courses are typically those at introductory levels and/or non-specialized in their content. SDBOR institutions also offer a selection of classes that are unique to each program and each university. These courses are typically at advanced levels and/or are much more specialized in terms of their content.

When navigating curricular changes, Common courses must be handled differently than Unique courses since changes to Common courses impact all institutions that offer the course in question. As such, alterations to Common courses will require all stakeholders in that course (those institutions that offer said course) to approve any changes. Proof of approval of these changes can typically be submitted along with proposal documents in the form of an email chain with all course stakeholders.

Since Unique courses are specialized by the institution, any adjustments to their curriculum can usually be handled within the institution without any outside feedback required by other SDBOR schools or the SDBOR itself. See relevant policies and procedures for more specific details.

Where do I find the forms I need to complete to make a curricular change?

You can find the forms needed to change your courses or programs by clicking the linked “Related Form(s)” in the Academic Affairs Guideline document most relevant to your proposed change.

When completing a curriculum request, adhere to the following guidelines and principles of presentation:

  1. All rules of grammar are to be followed. Curriculum requests leave the University and must therefore reflect its standards of excellence. It is the responsibility of the originator and the school chair to ensure the document is in presentable form. Footers should be completed in accordance with the following examples:
    • for a Course Proposal:
      • course as ED 101; the date as month, day and year; and pages as “x of y” pages
    • for a Program Proposal:
      • program as BSED-ELED; the date as month, day and year; and pages as “x of y” pages.
         
  2. All questions on the form must be answered in detail. See specific guidelines listed in the respective policy/guideline form linked in this knowledgebase article or at the following URL:

https://public.powerdms.com/SDRegents/tree (section 2.3.2 is most relevant to curricular changes)

  1. Use complete sentences in all responses unless otherwise indicated. In addition, the wording should be concise, detailed, factual, and documented.
     
  2. Each request must be submitted with a correct BHSU Cover Sheet. There are two types of Cover Sheet forms for regular undergraduate curriculum changes: one for Courses and one for Programs. There are also two types of cover sheets for General Education changes: one for Courses and one for Programs. The General Education cover sheets include a signature box for the General Education Committee.

    College Cover Sheets are color-coded, and the correct cover sheet may be obtained from the appropriate Dean’s office. Information on the Cover Sheets may be handwritten or typed.

    It is the responsibility of the originator to ensure that all relevant signatures are collected (Chair of School, College Dean, etc.) before submission to the University Curriculum Committee.
     
  3. It is the responsibility of the originator to email the proposal and cover sheet to the Chair of the University Curriculum Committee for consideration. The printed proposal and cover sheet should also be sent via inter campus mail to the Chair of the University Curriculum Committee for consideration.
     
  4. All proposals must include a detailed justification for the change. If the justification is not provided the proposal will be returned to the originator for inclusion of this information. The Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost needs this information to explain the proposal at the state level to the AAC and BOR.

Course and Curriculum Approval Process

Step 1: Preliminary Notification. Prior to the initiation of the formal curriculum process, the person making the request will have a preliminary discussion with the College Dean, School Chair and, when appropriate or necessary, and Registrar’s office to make them aware of the pending action or proposal. The College Dean will notify the Provost and any Dean whose areas may potentially be impacted by the pending action or proposal. If either the Deans or the Provost have concerns, the College Dean will work with the Deans, Provost, and the initiator of the pending action or proposal to address these concerns. As part of the process, pending proposals will be reviewed for compliance with Board of Regents policies. Once all concerns have been addressed, the College Dean will notify the initiator that the proposal may proceed into the formal curriculum process. Failure to come to resolution on any of these concerns will result in the proposal being “tabled” until resolution can be reached. (Note: in cases where a proposal is being submitted jointly by more than one school or college, the proposal will be routed through the following procedures for each school or college involved.

Step 2: School Level Approval. Once the Dean has given preliminary approval, the request initiator will submit the completed curriculum documents to the appropriate School Chair. The School Chair will present the curriculum proposals to the full-time faculty within the School who will act as a committee of the whole. The School Chair should work with the faculty to make sure the proposal is sound; that the changes are appropriate to the current standards of the field; and that it is well written with a broad academic audience in mind, free of the jargon of any particular discipline. It is expected that proposals will be available for electronic review by the faculty and that they will have five working days to submit comments to the School Chair. If a proposal is rejected by a simple majority of the full-time faculty, it will not be moved forward to the next level. Otherwise, the School Chair signs the routing/cover sheet and moves the proposal forward to the Dean.

Step 3: College Level Approval. Upon receipt of a proposal approved at the School level and prior to approving a proposal, the Dean will, at his or her discretion, send a note to the College faculty informing them that the proposal has been approved by the School and will be forwarded on to the University Curriculum Committee for formal action. This discretion will provide a mechanism for inviting faculty comments on substantive curriculum issues while avoiding unnecessary delays with proposals with minor issues (e.g., a change in a prerequisite). The note from the Dean will invite the faculty to request a copy of the proposal and/or raise any questions or concerns they might have about the proposal. Faculty will have five working days to submit comments to the Dean of the College. This will ensure transparency and provide an opportunity for the faculty to raise questions or concerns. If, in the judgment of the Dean, the concerns are significant and substantive, the proposal will be sent back to the initiator for review and possible revision.

Step 4: Graduate Proposals. Graduate level proposals (e.g., new course proposals, intents to plan, course modifications, etc.) will go through the steps listed above, and once approved at the College level will be sent to the Graduate Council for consideration. Proposals approved by the graduate council will be sent to the Faculty Senate for approval as part of the Consent Review process.

Step 5: University Level Approval. Upon receipt of an approved undergraduate proposal from the College Dean, the University Curriculum Committee will process the proposal and take official action. Assuming that the proposal is approved by the University Curriculum Committee, proposals will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate for consideration. In the event that a proposal is not approved, it will be referred back to the College Dean for reconsideration.

Step 6: Faculty Senate. Upon receipt of approved proposals from the University Curriculum Committee, the Graduate Council, or the General Education Committee, the Faculty Senate will take official action on a Consent Agenda basis. Should any member of the Faculty Senate wish to conduct a detailed review of any curriculum proposal, that item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and will be reviewed by the entire Faculty Senate. Proposals approved by the Faculty Senate will be forwarded to the Provost and V.P. for Academic Affairs for consideration. In the event that a proposal is not approved by the Faculty Senate, it will be referred back to the Dean for reconsideration.

Step 7: General Education Proposals. Proposals being submitted for General Education consideration will be forwarded to the General Education Committee by the University Curriculum Committee for discussion and action. Committee discussions will generally focus on the appropriateness of courses for general education, either as a System Graduation Requirement or an Institutional Graduation Requirement. Approved proposals will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate. Disapproved proposals will revert to the initiator.

Step 8: Provost & V.P. for Academic Affairs. Upon receipt of approved proposals from the Faculty Senate, the Provost will take action. This represents the final stage of the campus process prior to submission to the SDBOR’s Academic Affairs Council. In the event that a proposal is not approved by the Provost, it will be referred back to the appropriate level for reconsideration.

Please contact Academic Affairs if you need further assistance

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