Procedure:     Curriculum Committee
Department:    Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning
Contact:          Craig Taylor, (541) 463-5364             taylorc@lanecc.edu

Purpose

Lane Community College is committed to transforming lives through learning.  The curriculum is central to this vision and should be organized to facilitate student learning.  The curriculum, as a whole, should reflect a commitment to excellent education and is essential to the achievement of high standards in the academic program.

In supporting the mission of Lane, the Curriculum Committee is chartered with overseeing the academic quality and content of the curriculum.  To fulfill this assignment, the committee will initiate specific strategies to promote academic breadth, depth and integrity, and to facilitate innovation in the programs offered to students.

Duties

To fulfill its purpose the Curriculum Committee shall:

1.  Review and evaluate proposals to initiate or change courses and programs;

2.  Assure that a curriculum is well developed, clear and complete, and that its supporting documents adequately supplement the proposal;

3.  Make recommendations to assist individuals to strengthen their course or program proposals;

4.  Evaluate the impact of a curriculum proposal on the resources and other curricula of the college;

5.  Initiate activities that promote enhancement of the learning process;

6.  Provide guidelines and criteria for the development of new courses and programs;

7.  Review and revise procedures associated with curriculum development;

8.  Encourage and facilitate innovation in the curriculum;

9.  Assure that assessment is built into the curriculum proposal; and

10. Assure that the curriculum offered is complementary and integrated.

Membership

The Curriculum Committee will consist of 14 members, with the majority being faculty appointed through Faculty Council. There will be a minimum of nine faculty to include representation of the transfer and professional/technical areas.  The vice president Academic and Student Affairs, the director of Enrollment Services or designee, and two managers will also serve on the committee.  One representative each from Counseling and the Library will also serve on the committee filling either a faculty or management role.  The committee will be chaired by a faculty member to be appointed by the vice president Academic and Student Affairs.

Curriculum Responsibilities

The initiator of a curriculum proposal, together with the division chair, will be responsible for shepherding the proposal through the approval process. Curriculum and Scheduling will act as a resource for the initiator and facilitator of the process. Proposals should be discussed with the division chair and discipline colleagues prior to submission to the Curriculum Committee. Issues raised should be resolved prior to submission. In the event agreement cannot be reached in the department, a narrative with the interests and positions of all parties must be submitted with the proposal. Inter-disciplinary proposals should include representatives from all affected disciplines in the discussion stage.

The vice president has responsibility to approve the recommendation and submit it to the Department of Education for approval. In the event that the vice president does not concur with the recommendation of the Curriculum Committee, the vice president will so inform the committee chair and share the reasons for this. If possible, the vice president will share these concerns at the next scheduled meeting of the Curriculum Committee and participate in a full discussion before taking final action.

Relationship With Other Committees/Personnel

The Curriculum Committee may form sub-committees to focus on specific tasks or issues.  The vice president and the chair of the committee may assign proposals to individual members of the committee whose expertise will allow more careful analysis of such proposals to prepare a recommendation to the committee as a whole.