HAW 5.254 Curriculum Review Process | Hawaii Community College

Issued: July 16, 2019
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Purpose:
The purposes of this Policy are to:

identify the process by which new courses, course modifications, course deletions, new programs, and program changes are reviewed and evaluated;
outline the curriculum review responsibilities of department and division faculty, the Curriculum Review Committee, and the Academic Senate.

Background:
Until 2002, the UH Community College (UHCC) System had a series of policies entitled Chancellor for Community Colleges Memoranda (CCMM). CCM 6100, Policies and Procedures for Approval of New and Modified Courses, provided the UH Community Colleges with the foundation for determining the curriculum review process at each college. The Office of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges Polices (UHCCP) was developed to support this function.

In Fall 2013, Hawai’i Community College’s (HawCC) Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA), as the College’s chief academic officer, requested the development of a policy to replace CCM 6100 and identify the College’s curriculum review process based on the current practice. The Educational Policy Committee reviewed the draft policy and made recommendations, and on December 7, 2018, HawCC’s Academic Senate approved the policy.

Relevant Policies:

HAW 5.251, Course Outline of Record
HAW 5.252, Numbering Criteria for New and Modified Courses
HAW 5.253, Curriculum Review: Fast-Track Modification to a Course

Policy:
Faculty members also are responsible for maintaining the quality, integrity and cohesion of HawCC’s curricula. Faculty members are responsible for curriculum content and methods of instruction per the COR to meet HawCC’s Mission. The Academic Senate is the faculty organization to which HawCC’s governance responsibility of overseeing the curriculum process is delegated. By Senate Charter, the responsibility for making specific recommendations to the Academic Senate after a review of curriculum proposals has been assigned to the Curriculum Review Committee (CRC), a standing committee of the Academic Senate.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Curriculum Review Committee:
The Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) will make recommendations to the Academic Senate regarding the review and modification of degree requirements, program proposals and course proposals, as appropriate, for all instructional programs and credit courses. In doing so, CRC shall, to the greatest extent possible, represent the faculty’s, divisions’, departments’, and programs’ interests in maintaining the quality, integrity and cohesion of the curricula at HawCC by ensuring the following steps are taken:
1. Reviews submitted curriculum proposals and all supporting documentation for completeness and accuracy;
2. Reviews curriculum proposals for impact on students, other disciplines, and programs;
3. Votes to recommend action on curriculum proposals to the Academic Senate.
4. Makes recommendations for process and procedural revisions to the Educational Policy Committee (EPC).
Curriculum Review Committee Chair:
1. Annually informs potential proposers of the curriculum proposal requirements, online proposal process via the College’s digital curriculum management system, and timeline and deadline for proposal submissions.
2. Annually offers workshops for potential curriculum proposers or departments, and by request, on the curriculum proposal requirements, online proposal process, and deadline for proposal submissions.
3. Works with faculty, as requested, to support their submissions.
4. Publishes timelines and deadlines for the curriculum process and review.
5. Requests clarification from proposers and/or the Division/Department Chairpersons as necessary.
6. Receives all proposals and maintains a log of proposals and date received.
7. Forwards curriculum proposals with recommended action to the Academic Senate.
8. Posts summaries of forthcoming curriculum proposals on the HawCC Curriculum Affairs Portal website in a timely manner to leave sufficient time for review by the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate and the entire Academic Senate.

To carry out these duties, the CRC chair should be given six (6) credits of reassigned time in the Fall Semester and three (3) credits in the Spring.

Procedures for Curriculum Proposal Review:

The following delineates the process, procedures and responsibilities of the respective bodies and individuals involved in the curriculum proposal review process:
1. Faculty member(s)
  1. The proposer discusses the proposal with peers within the division/department and the Department/Division Chair (DC).
  2. The department/division representative to the CRC may provide assistance to the proposers and DC with the online proposal process, as requested.
  3. The proposer submits the completed proposal online via the College’s digital curriculum management system for approval by the Department/Division Chair (DC) and forwarding to the CRC Chair.
2. Department or Division Chairperson (DC)
  1. Reviews the proposal for impact on students, program requirements, financial aid, student services, other disciplines and programs, and UH articulation.
  2. Ensures that any course that will articulate meets UH system criteria.
  3. Consults with other divisions/programs as needed to review matters of common concern such as prerequisites, cross-listing, course learning outcomes and alignments to program learning outcomes, and general education requirements.
  4. Ensures that the proposal is discussed thoroughly within the division/department.
    1. If the division/department approves the proposal, the DC ensures that the online proposal and required supporting documentation are complete and meet the criteria outlined in the curriculum proposal process, in consultation with the CRC Chair as needed.
    2. The DC approves the proposal in the online curriculum management system, which forwards the proposal to the CRC.
    3. If the division/department does not support the proposal, the DC returns the proposal to the proposer for further discussion and/or revision for resubmission, or rejects the proposal and provides the proposer with a written explanation of the reasons for the rejection.
3. Curriculum Review Committee (CRC)
  1. Members review proposals and supporting documentation for
    1. Completeness and accuracy
    2. Impact on students, other disciplines and programs
  2. Chair requests clarification and/or changes from proposer and division/department chair in person or in writing, as necessary.
  3. Recommends type of action: approve, send back, or reject.
  4. If CRC supports the proposal, the Chair forwards recommended proposal to the Academic Senate only after it has been fully reviewed and all dependent proposals if any are completed.
  5. If CRC does not support the proposal, the Chair returns the proposal to the proposer for discussion and/or revision for resubmission or rejects the proposal with a written explanation.
4. Academic Senate (Including Executive Committee and Senate Chair)
  1. The Senate Executive Committee receives CRC recommendations for placement of the proposal on the Senate agenda.
  2. The Senate reviews the proposal and its impact on students, division/program, and college.
  3. If the proposal is accepted, the Senate Chair forwards it to the Dean.
  4. If the proposal is not accepted, the Senate Chair returns it to the proposer and/or division/department chair for discussion and/or revision for resubmission or rejects the proposal with a written explanation.
5. Dean
  1. Reviews the proposal and its impact on students, division/program, and college.
  2. Initiates any paperwork needed by UH system
  3. If the proposal is accepted, the Dean forwards it to the VCAA.
  4. If the proposal is not accepted, the Dean returns it to the proposer and/or division/department chair for discussion and/or revision for resubmission, or rejects the proposal with a written explanation.
6. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
  1. Reviews the proposal for impact on the college.
  2. May meet with proposer(s)/reviewer(s), if needed, for clarification and minor technical revisions to meet catalog or other administrative requirements.
  3. If the proposal is approved, the VCAA forwards it to the Chancellor.
  4. If the proposal is disapproved, the VCAA returns it to the proposer and/or division/department chair for discussion and/or revision for resubmission, or rejects the proposal with a written explanation.
  5. Reports all actions on proposals to the Academic Senate Chair and the CRC chair.
7. Chancellor
  1. Reviews the proposal.
  2. Consults with the VCAA as necessary.
  3. Approves, sends back to the VCAA, or rejects the proposal with a written explanation.
  4. If approved, an FYI memo is generated to the proposer and individuals involved with the updating of KSCM, Banner, Catalog, Advising Sheets, STAR and Campus Labs.
8. Online Proposal Management Policy
  The Curriculum Review Process is the responsibility of the CRC. The committee will annually review the online proposal format and revise as appropriate.
9. Revisions to the Curriculum Review Process Policy
  The CRC is responsible for annually reviewing the policy and submitting recommendations for revision as necessary to the EPC. The HawCC Academic Senate is responsible for approving revisions to the policy and sending revisions to the Chancellor for final approval and distribution.