Curriculum Committee Policies and Procedures Manual:
I.RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LAMC CURRICULUM COMMITTEE:
The Curriculum Committee is a standing committee of the college Academic Senate and acts as an advisory body to it. The Curriculum Committee shall operate in the Curriculum process, coordinating, maintaining quality control, and motivating the process of Curriculum review and development as defined in Title V and other State administrative codes and as directed by the LACCD. The specific responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee are to:
A.Attend monthly Curriculum meetings (Fall and Spring).
B.Review each Curriculum proposal for conformity with the mission of the college, need for the course or program, quality of the course or program, and feasibility of offering the course or program.
C.Review, evaluate, and approve Curriculum proposals and educational programs in accordance with the criteria established in Title V and the current Curriculum Standards Handbook.
D.Review the requirements for the Associate of Arts Degree, the Associate of Science Degree, General Education Certification, and the Certificate of Achievement.
E.Review all Curriculum proposal and change and deletion forms for correct content and form.
F.Review all Curriculum proposals for compliance with prerequisite and corequisite standards.
G.Attend College and District sponsored Curriculum training workshops.
H.Address any other related curricula issues
I.Forward recommendations on Curriculum proposals to the Vice President for Academic Affairs (aka Vice President for Instruction).
II.COMPOSITION OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
The composition of the Curriculum Committee shall be as follows:
A.A faculty member shall serve as chairperson of the Curriculum Committee and shall receive reassigned time each semester.
B.Committee members shall be made up of four components: Faculty, Resource Experts, Members Ex-officio, and a Student representative.
1.Faculty:One voting member from each of the following Instructional Units:
a)Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering & Computer Science
b)Social Sciences, Professional Studies, Business & Law
c)English & Foreign Languages, ESL & Speech, and Arts, Health & P.E.
d)at large faculty member.
e)Library
f)Counseling
2.Resource experts:
a)Articulation
The Articulation Officer shall be a voting member of the Curriculum Committee.
b)Matriculation.
The Matriculation Coordinator shall be a voting member of the Curriculum Committee.
3.Students: one elected Associated Students Organization representative shall serve as a voting member
4.Members Ex-officio: (non-voting members)
a)Vice President of Academic Affairs
b)Curriculum Dean
c)Vocational Education Dean
Note: All college faculty, staff, administrators, and students may attend the meetings and may participate as non-voting members.
III.SELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Members shall be elected in the month of May for terms to begin the following Fall semester as follows:
A.The Faculty Chairperson of the Curriculum Committee shall be elected by the members of the Curriculum Committee. Eligibility to serve as Chairperson is limited to individuals who have served at least two years AND one of those years was during the academic year in which the election takes place on the Curriculum Committee. The elected Chairperson shall be confirmed by the Academic Senate Executive Board for a two (2)-year term. A replacement shall be selected to represent Chair’s corresponding discipline or department.
B.The faculty members and alternates shall be elected by the LAMC Academic Senate, except for Counseling and Library which shall have one voting member selected for each of their departments. The minimum term for faculty members and alternates shall be two (2) years with no term limit
C.The Associated Students Organization shall elect one student to serve as a voting member of the Curriculum Committee.
IV.PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Procedural guidelines shall be as follows:
A.The Curriculum Committee business shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.
B.A written notice of each meeting along with all relevant paperwork shall be provided at least one week in advance of the meeting.
C.A recording secretary shall tape record the meetings and provide, within the week in which the meeting was held, a written record of Curriculum Committee meetings.
V.PROCEDURE TO PROCESS CURRICULUM CHANGES:
A.Proposals for additions, changes or deletions to courses or programs shall be initiated by faculty and their chairs. The required standard District forms are available from the Department secretaries or LAMC Curriculum Website.
B.The Department Chair shall review forms for alignment of course title, course description, rationale for course, course objectives, assignments, and course outlines.
C.The course initiator, in collaboration with the College Librarian shall review the adequacy of library resources in relation to the course.
D.The completed forms must be received with appropriate signatures (Department Chair and Librarian and otherwise specified) in both disc and hardcopy by Academic Affairs by the posted LAMC Deadlines (also available on the Curriculum Website).
E.Technical Review shall evaluate proposals for correct technical form, signatures and completeness. Technical Review shall identify and communicate all recommended changes necessitated by law or by college or by District policy to the Department Chairs
F.If minor changes are required, they are outlined and returned to the respective Department Chair. For courses approved by the Technical Review Committee to go forth to the full Curriculum committee’s next meeting, a one week grace period is provided for resubmission of corrected forms. Forms not approved must be resubmitted at the following Technical Review meeting. (Specific deadlines available on website or from Department secretaries).
G.The Curriculum meeting Agenda and the materials thereof shall be distributed to the respective Department Chairs by Curriculum secretary at least one week prior to the meeting. Initiating faculty or a signed proxy representative thereof must present their proposal at the campus Curriculum meeting or course will be tabled until next regularly scheduled Curriculum Committee meeting.
H.The proposals shall be reviewed by the Curriculum Committee and, if approved, shall be sent by Curriculum secretary by posted deadlines to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the College President for signatures and onto LACCD and the state as required. Once all approvals are obtained: college, District, and state, the Curriculum secretary shall send forms to Catalog and Schedule personnel in Academic Affairs Office.
I.If proposal is not approved by the Curriculum Committee, the Department Chair will receive correspondence which reflects recommended changes and course can be resubmitted to next regularly scheduled Technical Review.
J.Department Chairs shall be given thirty days notice to amendments of any of the procedures in this section.
VI.VOTING PROCEDURES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Voting by Curriculum Committee members shall be conducted as follows:
A.Each voting member of the Curriculum Committee shall have one vote. If a voting member is absent, an alternate member with a signed proxy may vote.
B.The committee chairperson may exercise the right to vote only in the event of a tie.
C.Voice votes shall ordinarily be the method of recording decisions. However, special circumstances may demand that individual votes of members be counted either by show of hands or by secret ballot.
D.A quorum shall exist when one over half of the Curriculum Committee membership is in attendance. The committee chairperson must be in attendance.
VII.STANDING SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE:
TECHNICAL REVIEW:
Technical Review is a standing subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee and shall be charged with specific duties and responsibilities as defined by the Curriculum Committee. More specifically, Technical Review is required to examine each course proposal to ensure that it is written in correct catalog style, meets State requirements, and has the correct prerequisite(s), units, and class or lab hours. Technical Review reserves the right to reject a Curriculum proposal if there is insufficient material to determine the nature of the course. Results of review shall be communicated to the faculty in a timely manner. This subcommittee shall be comprised of:
A.The chairperson of the Curriculum Committee or his/her designee, who shall act as convener of the subcommittee;
B.Curriculum Dean of Academic Affairs;
C.The person(s) deemed appropriate by the chairperson of the Curriculum Committee.
VIII.RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CURRICULUM CHAIRPERSON:
The responsibilities of the Curriculum Chairperson shall be as follows:
A.Conduct monthly Curriculum meetings (Fall and Spring).
B.Conduct monthly Technical Review meetings (Fall and Spring).
C.Assist faculty with Curriculum proposals and procedures.
D.Develop Curriculum Committee meeting schedules based on catalog publishing dates, District and State deadlines.
E.Plan and implement training/review sessions (with Academic Affairs Curriculum Dean) for both the Curriculum committee members, Department Chairs, and faculty on curriculum procedures and issues.
F.Update the Curriculum Website.
G.Review and approve meeting agendas, minutes of the C C urriculum Committee meetings
H.Attend monthly District Curriculum Committee meetings.
I.Attend LAMC’s Academic Senate meetings and report on Curriculum proceedings.
IX.PROCEDURES FOR AMENDING POLICIES OF THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Amendments to these Policies and Procedures shall be governed by the following guidelines:
A.Proposed amendments shall accompany written announcements of meetings, or they shall be brought to the attention of the Curriculum Committee members at a regular meeting under new business.
B.Proposed amendments shall be written specifically and accurately. They must be signed by at least two Curriculum Committee members. Copies shall be made available to all Curriculum Committee members.
C.Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority vote of the Curriculum Committee members.
D.Amendments shall be subject to the review of the Academic Senate Board, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the President of the College, and the LACCD Board of Trustees.
Approved by LAMC Curriculum Committee on May 6, 2003.
Approved by LAMC Academic Senate on June 5, 2003.
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