University-Wide
Undergraduate Curriculum Handbook
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The University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UWUCC), as a standing committee of the University Senate, is the body that coordinates the approval process for curricular changes (additions, deletions, or revisions of courses or programs). All such changes normally originate within the academic department and are reviewed and approved by the Department Curriculum Committee. After the proposal has been discussed and approved by the full department, the Department Chairperson will approve the change before submitting it to the appropriate college committee. (In some colleges this committee will be the College Curriculum Committee and, in other colleges, the Dean's Advisory Committee or the college chairpersons will review curriculum proposals).
Upon approval by the college committee, the proposal is submitted to the Dean of
the appropriate college. It is possible that some curricular changes may require
the approval of more than one Dean. For example, a change in the B. S. in
Education in Biology program may need the approval of the Dean of Education as
well as the Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Approval by the College Dean indicates that the proposed change is consistent with long range planning documents, that all requests for staff, facilities, and resources, made as part of the proposal, can be met, and that the proposal has the support of the administration. If staff, facilities and resources are affected, the College Dean consults with the Provost before granting approval to any curricular changes.
Letters of Support or Acknowledgement
Anytime a proposed curriculum change impacts on other programs and/or
departments, it is expected that the proposer seek appropriate letters of
support/acknowledgement. This may be necessary with course revisions, deletions,
new course proposals, new programs and program revisions.
The request for letters of support or acknowledgement should be in writing (hard
copy or email). Generally, requests should be directed to department chairs.
Chairs may respond as the spokesperson for the department or may direct the
request to a department committee. It is recommended that the request for
letters of support be copied to the appropriate dean(s). Likewise, it is
recommended that when letters of support are written the appropriate dean(s)
receive copies of this correspondence.
It is expected that the proposer allow departments a reasonable period of time
to consider the curriculum change and write a letter of support. If, however, a
department does not respond to the request for a letter of support, the proposer
is encouraged to include in the proposal a copy of the dated request for such a
letter and an indication that no response was received. If significant changes
in the original proposal are made during the approval process, it is necessary
to share the revised proposal with interested departments.
If the proposer receives a response that does not support the proposed
change, the UWUCC strongly recommends discussion among involved parties in hopes
that the proposer and involved departments are able to come to some agreement.
If, however, that does not seem possible, the proposer is to include a copy of
the letter of non-support with the proposal. The UWUCC will deliberate on this
matter and decide to approve or not approve the proposal on a case-by-case
basis. Proposers are reminded that discussion on various points of controversy
may be raised again on the floor of the Senate.
Where to Submit/How Many Copies?
Once approved at College/Provost level, the original copy of the proposal
including the signed cover sheet is sent to the Liberal Studies Office, 110
Gordon Hall; telephone 357-5715. This office provides secretarial support for
the UWUCC as well as for Liberal Studies. The office will route the proposal to
the Liberal Studies Committee, if applicable, or directly to the UWUCC.
In addition to the signed original copy, email the proposal as a Word or Rich
Text Format file attachment to
Liberal-Studies@iup.edu, or send a disk with the hard copy of the proposal.
The committees will make their own copies from your original; they do reserve
the right to return excessively long proposals for editing before they are
duplicated. (If you happen to have extra copies of the proposal, you are invited
to send multiple copies to save unnecessary copying.) Both committees give
proposals a preliminary screening for completeness and clarity, and you may be
asked to amend your proposal before it is duplicated for the entire committee.
Once a proposal is approved by the UWUCC, you may be asked to submit a final
diskette/electronic copy with catalog descriptions, new programs, program
revisions, etc., which will be used to prepare the Senate agenda.
Exception: SSHE approval for new programs
The addition of a new degree program, or a new minor program where no major
exists, requires prior support by the Office of the State System of Higher
Education before it receives further review by the University. Once approved by
SSHE, these proposals can be submitted to the UWUCC. (All overtures to SSHE must
go through the Provost's office).
Dual-Level Courses
Dual-level courses are approved by the UWUCC before being submitted to the
Graduate Committee of the University Senate. Since the UWUCC and the Graduate
Committee do not collaborate on the approval of dual-level courses, departments
can expect that these proposals will be reviewed according to each committee's
schedule and might be reported to the Senate on separate occasions. Approval of
a dual-level course by one Senate committee does not mean that the course is, or
will be, approved at both levels.
UWUCC Action
Action by the UWUCC may vary depending on the nature of the proposed curriculum
change. For example, minor changes to catalog descriptions or course number
changes will often receive quick review and approval by the committee, while
major program revisions will take more time for review. The committee’s workload
at the time your proposal is submitted will be an additional factor. The action
taken by the UWUCC for each type of proposal will be explained later in this
handbook.
Once approved by the UWUCC, a co-chairperson of the committee will submit the
proposal for University Senate action. If approved by the Senate, the proposal
must then receive final approval of the Provost on behalf of the President and
of the Council of Trustees, if required. It is only upon these approvals that
the proposed changes can be implemented. It is important to note that, once
approv¬ed, a syllabus of record or program outline becomes a contract that the
University will offer the course or program as approved by the Senate. Any
substantive changes in the course or program are a violation of that contract.
Such changes must be submitted to the UWUCC as a course or program revision and
must be approved by the UWUCC, the Senate, the Provost on behalf of the
President, and the Council of Trustees, if appropriate, before they can be
published or implemented.
Summary
Curricular changes will usually be approved in this order: department curriculum
committee, department chairperson, college curriculum committee, college dean,
honors college committee (if appropriate), liberal studies committee (if
appropriate), UWUCC, Senate, Provost on behalf of the President, and Council of
Trustees (if appropriate). In some instances, as outlined later in this
handbook, the Provost, and SSHE may also be directly involved in the approval
process. Typically, it takes eight to twelve months for a proposal to be
approved by all levels from college curriculum committee to Council of Trustees
(if appropriate) if it is a major revision.