Curriculum Handbook

Contents
Membership
Current Members & Terms
Membership Specifications
Appointment
Representation
Committee Functions
Responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee Chairperson

Curriculum Policies and Procedures
Policies
Procedures

Procedures for Local Approval
New Programs
Program Changes
New Courses
Reinstated Courses
Added Courses
Updated Courses
Change to Existing Course
Modular Courses
Distance Education
99 Courses
Imminent Need
Certificates of less than 18 units
Instructional Television Courses
Glossary

CURRENT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP AND TERMS
(updated as needed by the Committee Chair)

VOTING MEMBERS

NON-VOTING MEMBERS

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Committee Membership Specifications
IDEAL COMMITTEE MEMBER

The Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges identifies the qualities of the ideal member of the curriculum committee as the following:

Minimum Standards

• Attends all meetings
• Is prepared, reads materials before meetings, brings needed materials to meetings
• Is knowledgeable of committee guidelines, Title 5, general education, CSU, IGETC, the college's mission

Good Practice

• Is a liaison or resource to campus and department.
  
• Is willing - not eager - to say no.
• Has global view of the college's curriculum
• Is objective and impartial
• Determines course quality; assesses standards of discipline and curriculum design
• Is student oriented
• Co-chairs committee
• Is a team player
• Is familiar with and sensitive to community needs
• Is a good negotiator
• Is knowledgeable about committee history; reviews minutes
• Has a good sense of humor
• Attends regional curriculum meetings
• Suggests changes in curriculum
• Is involved in areas outside of curriculum

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Appointment

As stated in the By-Laws of the Pierce College Academic Senate, membership on the Curriculum Committee is as follows:

The voting membership of the Curriculum Committee shall be composed of members of the faculty appointed to the committee by the Academic Senate from nominees submitted to the Academic Senate, and serve a two-year term.

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Representation

Seats on the Curriculum Committee shall be apportioned in the following manner, except that no Department of the College shall have more than two (2) members on the Curriculum Committee.

Voting members

• Three (3) members selected from the following disciplines (Area One): Administration of Justice, American Sign Language, Architecture, Art, Dance Activities, Economics, Education, English, ESL, French, Health, History, Humanities, Italian, Japanese, Law, Learning Skills, Library Science, Multimedia, Music, Philosophy, Physical Education, Political Science, Sociology, Spanish, Speech Communication;
• Three (3) members selected from the following disciplines (Area Two): Anatomy, Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Child Development, Environmental Science, Geographic Information Systems, Geography, Geology, Linguistics, Mathematics, Meteorology, Microbiology, Oceanography - Marine Biology, Oceanography - Physical, Physical Science, Physics, Physiology , Psychology, Statistics;
• Three (3) members selected from the following disciplines (Area Three): Accounting, Addiction Studies, Animal Science, Automotive Service Technology, Broadcasting, Business, Cinema, Computer Applications and Office Technologies, Computer Science, Dance, Electronics, Engineering - Mechanical, Equine Science, Finance, Industrial Technology (Drafting, Machine Shop, Welding), International Business, Journalism, Learning Foundations, Management, Marketing, Nursing, Personal Development, Photography, Plant Science, Real Estate, Service Learning, Special Education, Supervision, Technical Theater, Theater;
• Three (3) members selected at large.

Non-voting members

• The Associated Student Organization President, or his/her designee;
• A member (generally the Curriculum Dean) appointed by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, whose duties shall include recording and distributing the minutes of all meetings of the Curriculum Committee as well as seeing to it that the decisions of the committee reach the appropriate parties at the College and the district;
• One (1) representative of the Counseling Department, appointed by the Academic Senate upon recommendation of the Department Chairperson;
• One (1) member selected by the American Federation of Teachers;
• The College Faculty Articulation Officer;
• Dean of Admissions and Records;
• Matriculation Officer;
• Committee Chair

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Curriculum Committee Functions

• Review proposed new courses;
• Review proposed new academic programs;
• Periodically update and review course outlines;
• Periodically update and review the General Education plan for Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees;
• Periodically update and review the Certified General Education program for students transferring to the California State Universities and Colleges, the principal duty of the General Education task Force, made up of members of the curriculum Committee.
• Periodically update and review the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC).

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Responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee Chairperson

• Chair and attend all meetings of the Curriculum Committee;
• Conduct the committeeís meetings following parliamentary procedure;
• Keep attendance records of the committeeís meetings and inform departments of members' absences;
• Prepare, in consultation with the Curriculum Dean, the agenda for each meeting;
• Prepare, in consultation with the Curriculum Dean, the minutes of each meeting.
• Attend and participate, as needed, in District-wide meetings that address curriculum issues;
• As needed, inform the Senate of issues raised at committee meetings;
• Provide assistance to faculty in the completion of forms and the understanding of procedures;
• Generally provide to departments any and all information needed related to curriculum issues;
• Implement policies approved by the curriculum committee;
• Conduct a technical review of curriculum proposals submitted by departments, with the assistance of the Articulation Officer and Curriculum Dean;
• Monitor curriculum proposals through the approval process and inform departments, as needed, of proposals submitted by any of the other colleges and of questions raised by any of the other colleges concerning their proposals;
• Update the schedule of classes and catalogue for graduation requirements;
• Update the curriculum handbook as needed;
• Regularly attend the meetings of the District Curriculum Committee.

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Committee Policies

In its role in the Curriculum Development and Approval Process, the Pierce College Curriculum Committee follows as its policy on curriculum standards the information stipulated in the following documents.

• Title 5 of the Education Code
• LACCD Board of Trustees General Education Policy
• LACCD Policy on Prerequisites, Corequisites, & Advisories
• Pierce College Mission Statement (under revision 1999-2000)
• Guidelines and Samples of Good Practice Provided by ASCCC
• Requirements and Guidelines Provided by the UC & CSU Systems for Articulation (Certification, IGETC, transfer)

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Procedures

Pierce College Requirements:

• Any and all forms must be submitted two weeks in advance to the committee chair. Any late requests will be will be reviewed the following meeting.
• All members, voting and non-voting, should be in attendance at each scheduled meeting. All committee members should make every effort to be at the meeting site at the scheduled time. Those not in attendance should notify the committee chair in advance of the meeting.
• Those members who miss three of the eight regularly scheduled meetings during the college year will be considered for replacement. (Senate by-laws do not allow for proxy vote or membership.)
• Official meeting time is two hours beginning at 10:00 a.m. the second Friday of the month. (Meeting dates and starting time are determined by the Committee for each semester as needed.)
• The number of agenda items per meeting shall fit the 2-hour meeting time. Time limits may be listed for each agenda item to avoid meandering discussion and to be fair to those presenters waiting their turn.
• Parliamentary procedure shall be adhered to at every meeting.

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PROCEDURES FOR LOCAL APPROVAL

New Programs/Certificates
Transfer programs and certificates:

• The approval of new programs or substantial changes in programs is regulated by Administrative Regulation E-64.
• New transfer A.A. or A.S. degree programs and/or certificates (18 units or more) are initiated by a department.
• Initial proposal is submitted to the Pierce College Curriculum Committee with the support documentation as required by the State for the approval of new academic programs. (See Program and Course Approval Handbook - California Community Colleges.)
• If approved, the proposal is submitted to Instructional & Student Support Services (in the District office), which conducts a technical review and electronically posts the program for district review.
• If approved, the new program is then placed on Board's agenda by Instructional and Student Support Services (John Clerx is the Senior Director of this office and regularly attends the District Curriculum Committee meetings. He and his office are responsible for Title 5 compliance.)
• Following Board approval the program is sent to the State Chancellor's Office for their approval.

Occupational (vocational) programs and certificates:

• The same procedure is followed as described above with the additional step of submission to the Regional Consortium after local approval.

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Program Changes

Changes to Existing Programs: Academic & Vocational

• The proposal is initiated by a department.
• The presenter provides a cover letter describing the changes and is justification.
• Depending on the changes, additional documentation may be necessay.
• If approved, the changes are submitted to Instructional & Student Support Services.
• If the changes do not require district-wide approval, they are then entered on the Districtís database, and may appear as information items on the Education Program and Course Action for the District Curriculum Committee.
• If the changes do require district-wide approval, they are placed on the District's database only after a vote on the Education Program and Course Action.

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New Courses -- Defined as a course not offered at any college in the LACCD

• The approval of new courese or changes to courses is regulated by Administrative Regulation E-65.
• The request for a new course is initiated by a department.
• The department chair, or a member of the department, prepares the Course Outline of Record (COR). If the course has a prerequisite, corequisite, or advisory a Prerequisite form and matrix must be filled out and attached to the COR.
• The documents, with signatures of the department chair, college librarian, and Articulation Officer are submitted to the Curriculum Committee Chair for technical review two weeks prior to the scheduled meeting of the committee.
• The Committee Chair may consult with the Curriculum Dean and the Articulation Officer during the technical review process.
• If the course is for transfer credit, the department should consult with the Articulation Officer as early as possible, in any case before submitting the documents for technical review.
• After technical review, the proposed new course is sent to the district for a 20-day electronic review and placed on the curriculum committee agenda. If the course has a prerequisite, corequisite, or advisory, that aspect of the course will appear as a separate agenda item.
• A presenter from the department attends the meeting and is called upon to justify the new course and answer any questions committee members may have.
• After this presentation, the chair entertains a motion to approve the new course, and a vote is taken of all present voting members.
• If the course has a prerequisite, corequisite, or advisory, the committee will vote separately for that item, and the vote is recorded on the official minutes of the meeting.
• If the course is approved, the committee chair signs the signature pages and the Curriculum Dean secures the other required signatures and prepares the document packet for delivery to Instructional & Student Support Services in the District office.
• When the ISSS receives the signed Course Outline, the course is placed on the next Board agenda, and when approved into the District database.

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Reinstated Course

This is defined as a course that used to be offered by the college but is no longer on the District database.

The approval process is the same as for a new course.

Added Course -- Defined as a course currently being taught at any one of the other colleges in the District.

The approval process is almost the same as for a new course but for two features.

• The COR must reflect the outline of the existing course , except for any prerequisite, co-requisite, or advisory which are determined by the local college only. The department submitting an added course should follow the outline of the course as it is offered at another college.
• A copy of the outline from any of the colleges offering the course should be included with the COR.

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Updated Courses

Updated courses are approved on a consent agenda. Substantive changes to a course may need Curriculum Committee approval through a course change request.

Departments should consult the Committee Chair concerning substantive changes.

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Change to an Existing Course

All course changes are requested on the Course Change Request (District form), however changes in some attributes require local and district approval, while other changes require only local approval.

Changes requiring local and district approval:

• Subject Title
• Course Number
• Course title
• Units
• CSU Transferability
• Cross Reference
• TOP Code
• Course Classification
• Special Course Status (for disabled students)
• Basic Skills indicator (non-degree applicable or non-credit courses in English, ESL, and mathematics)

Changes requiring local approval:

• Hours
• UC Transferability
• Repeatability
• SAM Code
• Department
• Other

The request is listed on the Committee's agenda, and the vote is recorded in the official minutes.

If the change affects a course that is taught at other colleges within the district, the change request will be posted by the district for review. If no objections are placed with the chair of the District Curriculum Committee, the changes will be made in the district database. If objections are raised, the approval process stops until the objections are resolved.

If the change affects a course that is taught only at Pierce College, then only local approval by the Pierce College Curriculum Committee is required.

Changes in a prerequisite, co-requisite, or advisory (recommended) require the Prerequisite Request form and matrix. For removal of a prerequisite, co-requisite, or advisory (recommended) only a change is required for local approval.

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Modular Courses

For modules, the Parent Course (the course taught in a traditional mode) must be part of the college's curriculum. The Request for Module form is submitted to the committee with a precise breakdown of the content for each individual module. The letters used to identify each model may not conflict with those used by another college that also offers the course in a module mode. This request requires local committee approval.

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Distance Education

(This was currently revised; check current form: Distance Education Approval Form).

Course Number 99

This is a special designation for an experimental course.

It follows the same approval process as for a new course.

Only local approval is required, but it is listed by ISSS as an information item on the Educational Program and Course Action.

The 99 designation is used for one academic year only. After that, the course is removed from the District database and from the collegeís curriculum.

If the department decides to offer the course as part of its regular curriculum, the course must be re-submitted for approval to Curriculum Committee as a new course, following the process listed above for a new course.

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Imminent Need

This designation identifies courses that a college must have as part of its curriculum to meet contract education needs, e.g. Sheriffís Department Academy at East, LA Fire Departmentís contract with Valley.

The District Curriculum Committee is currently formulating policy for imminent need.

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Certificates of Achievement - less than 18 Units

These require local approval only.

Only one form is required:

The request appears on the Committee's agenda and the vote recorded in the official minutes.

The Curriculum Dean sees to it that the approved certificates are listed in the next catalogue and in any addendum to the current catalogue.

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Instructional Television Courses

Course Selection and Approval for LACCD Instructional Television Program

This is a newly approved process. Please check E-90.

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GLOSSARY

Accreditation

Advisory [see Prerequisite]

Articulation

Articulation Officer ñ the college officer responsible for the coordination of the articulation functions between Pierce College the high schools, the CSU and UC systems, private colleges and universities, and other community colleges. The articulation Officer maintains the necessary documentation to assure compliance with all federal, state and local regulations that govern inter-segmental articulation of curriculum for transfer purposes, and additionally assists the Curriculum Committee Chair and campus departments with the cyclical updating and revision of course outlines and with the submission for acceptance of new courses being developed. The Articulation Office is a certificated employee of the college and reports directly to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Articulation Process

California State University

After approval of a course or course change by the Curriculum Committee, it is forwarded to the District Curriculum Committee for its approval.

Upon the District Curriculum Committeeís approval, it approved as transferable, the course is accepted as transferable by the entire CSU system.

The course may then be articulated with the individual CSU campuses. Some campuses prefer to do articulation only during specific times of the year. The articulation is done for purposes of course prerequisites for the major or as a general education course for that particular CSU campus.

Once a year at a time designated by the CSU system, courses are submitted/articulated by the CSU system office for CSU certification.

University of California

After approval of a course or course change by the Pierce Curriculum Committee, it is forwarded to the District Curriculum Committee for its approval.

Transfer approval for the District Curriculum Committee does not necessarily mean University of California transferability.

At a time designated by the University of California, Office of the President, the course is submitted to the University of California, for transferability acceptance (TSA). The University of California is hoping that this process can occur once a year; presently it is occurring every 30 months or so.

IGETC

Approximately a year from the date that the course has received approval for the transfer course agreement (TSA), it can then be submitted for IGETC approval (the actual filing date is determined by the University of California). The period of time for a course to get on IGETCóafter approval by the Pierce College Curriculum Committeeóis approximately two years.

CAN (California Articulation Number)

Certification Plan, California State University (CSU) ñ An agreement between the California Community Colleges and the California State Universities which enables a student to complete all lower division general education requirements prior to transfer to any CSU campus.

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last modified 8/2/04


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