The purpose of this handbook is to help the IUP community understand the procedures by which curricular changes are made, and to assist departments in preparing proposals for approval.
The University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UWUCC) is
responsible for degree requirements and all matters relating to undergraduate
programs and curricula except as relegated to the charge of another Senate
committee. Membership on the committee includes the Vice President for Academic
Affairs (ex-officio), twelve faculty elected by and from the Senate faculty, an
additional faculty member appointed as co-chair by the APSCUF president, and
three students appointed by and from the Student Congress. The role of the
APSCUF co-chair is to facilitate communication between the UWUCC and APSCUF
leadership about curricular matters, including attendance at Executive and
Representative Council meetings. Each college in the university is represented
on the UWUCC.
Curriculum proposals are developed by faculty. Proposals receive approvals at
various levels as identified in this handbook. Once the proposal is ready for
review by the UWUCC, the proposer is to send the original, complete copy
of the proposal, with all appropriate signatures, to the Liberal Studies office,
110 Gordon Hall, as well as an electronic copy sent by email
(Liberal-Studies@iup.edu) or on
disk.
All proposals are reviewed for clarity and completeness. Special emphasis is
placed on the academic integrity of the proposed changes and the availability of
adequate resources to support them. Use of the guidelines included in this
handbook facilitates the review and approval process.
Proposals are logged in at the time they are received and assigned to a
screening committee (subcommittees of the UWUCC). The screening committee is
responsible for completing an initial review of the proposal, primarily to
assess the proposal for completeness. Often, a member of the screening committee
will contact the proposer with some initial questions and requests. Once the
screening committee determines that the proposal is ready for full committee
review, the proposal is placed on the UWUCC agenda. The UWUCC typically meets
weekly throughout the academic year except on weeks that the full Senate is in
session.
As the UWUCC reviews a proposal, additional questions and requests may be raised
and directed to the proposer. In some cases, the proposer is invited to a UWUCC
meeting to present the proposal to the committee and respond to questions. Once
the proposal is approved by the UWUCC it is placed on the Senate agenda. The
proposer may be asked to assist with the preparation of the Senate agenda by
providing the UWUCC with a disk copy of the agenda item. Additionally, the
proposer, or a department representative familiar with the proposal, is
encouraged to attend the Senate meeting at which time the proposer/
representative can assist the Senate in its deliberations by responding to
questions and comments. If substantive changes to the proposal are made on the
Senate floor, as determined by an representative of the originating
department/college or by the UWUCC co-chair, the UWUCC will return the proposal
to the originator for possible resubmission.
The proposer is also responsible for providing the UWUCC with a final, corrected
and complete copy of the proposal for the university records.