1. Membership:
1.1. One member and alternate elected for a two-year term by and from the membership of each academic department, the library, and the academic counselors. Because the committee values the expertise and experience that can be obtained from extended service on the committee, the curriculum committee chooses to exempt itself from the Senate rule of members serving for the term limit of six consecutive years (Senate Bylaw 2.12.3). All members will serve on at least one subcommittee. Most members are assigned to two subcommittees. Members are always assigned to the subcommittee for their school, and most members are also assigned to a second committee to serve as "at large" members of each school subcommittee or as a member of the General Education Subcommittee (bylaw 5.3.1). If an academic department fails to submit the names of the departmental representative and alternate by the end of the Spring semester, the department chair will be the interim representative.
1.2. The Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee and the Chair of the International Education Committee, ex-officio.
1.3. The Deans of the Undergraduate Schools and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, ex-officio. These members shall be non-voting members.
1.4. The Student Government Association may appoint at most five students (one for each undergraduate School, and one for the General Education subcommittee), and the Graduate Student Association may appoint at most one student (for the Graduate School Curriculum Committee), for renewable terms of one year.
2. Organization:
2.1. The Curriculum Committee shall organize itself at the final meeting of the academic year, electing its Chair (two year term) and Secretary (one year term) from among those members representing academic departments, and fix its time and place of meeting.
2.2. The Chair shall appoint a Vice-Chair for a one-year term. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair shall preside with the full authority of the Chair.
2.3 These By-laws may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting of the Curriculum Committee, provided that written proposed amendments are presented to Curriculum Committee members via the Chair at least two weeks prior to the meeting. All changes to the by-laws are subject to approval by the Faculty Senate.
3. Functions and Responsibilities:
3.1. To review and recommend to the Faculty Senate policies concerning University curricula including the structure of all majors, minors and concentrations of all graduate and undergraduate programs, both departmental and interdepartmental; and on all modifications, additions, utilizations, and deletions of all courses, programs or requirements within the curricula.
3.2. To make a continuous study of the University curricula as they relate to programs authorized by the Board of Trustees for the Connecticut State University.
3.3. To annually review courses that have not been taught in three consecutive years. This shall be interpreted to mean that curriculum representatives must state a reason that the course should not be archived in order to avoid archival. Reasons may include, but are not limited to
(a) Student demand is present, but need additional faculty to offer it
(b) the relevant faculty is on temporary administrative duty, sabbatical, or is about to be hired
(c) the course is part of a new program that is still growing and it is anticipated that the course will be offered soon
Courses that remain in the catalog but have not been offered in three years shall have their cycling changed to “infrequent”.
4. Curriculum Committee Procedures:
4.1. The Committee shall use Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
4.2. Submission of requests:
4.2.1. Requests for curriculum changes shall be made on the latest Curriculum Committee forms for course or program change.
4.2.2. Requests for changes shall be electronically submitted to the Chair by noon on the day specified in the Curriculum Committee Calendar for the curriculum cycle in which they are to be considered. All required reviews and approvals must be received by this date as well.
4.2.3. Proposals for majors, programs, and courses which are presented and/or justified as either required and/or recommended by an appropriate accrediting organization and any changes in majors, programs, or courses so presented and/or justified, must be accompanied by a copy of the accrediting organization’s requirements and/or recommendations.
4.2.4. The President of CCSU, the Faculty Senate, or any other properly constituted agency of the University may submit a request to the Curriculum Committee. All such submissions must abide by the procedures listed in 4.2.1-4.2.3 above.
4.3. An agenda of items to be considered at any meeting shall be sent by the Curriculum Committee Chair to members of the Committee, Department Chairs, and appropriate administrative personnel not less than ten (10) days prior to the meeting.
4.4. Review of requests:
4.4.1. Requests affecting only one Department shall carry (1) the approval of the Department, (2) evidence of review by the Department Chair, and (3) evidence of review by the Dean(s) of the School(s) affected.
4.4.2. Requests from a School shall carry (1) the approval of the School’s Dean, (2) evidence of review by all the Departments affected, and (3) evidence of review by the Dean of any other School affected.
4.4.3. Requests affecting more than one Department, but which are not University-wide requests, shall carry (1) the approval of the properly constituted agency making the request, (2) evidence of review by all Departments and Programs affected, and (3) evidence of review by the Dean of any School affected.
4.4.4. University-wide requests shall (1) carry the approval of the properly constituted agency making the request, (2) carry evidence of review by the Deans of every School, and (3) be distributed to all Departments at least two months prior to the full committee meeting at which they are to be considered.
4.4.5. Requests from a properly constituted University agency not covered in 4.4.1-4 shall carry (1) the approval of the properly constituted agency making the request (as determined by the properly constituted agency), (2) evidence of review by all Departments and Programs affected, and (3) evidence of review by the Dean of any School affected. Because such proposals can affect all or none of the academic Departments or Schools/College, the proposals will be placed on all subcommittee agendas for discussion only, a representative of the properly constituted agency is not required to attend all subcommittee meetings, and the vote on the proposals will be held at the full committee meeting at the end of the cycle. If said proposal is Interdisciplinary in nature, it will follow the rules stated in By Law 5.4.
4.5. The Curriculum Committee may, by majority vote, make amendments to requests for curriculum changes which do not essentially affect the substance of the request (e.g., changes in wording, cycling pattern). However, any substantial changes may be made only with the concurrence of the representative(s) and/or spokesman of the Department(s) concerned, and lacking this consent, the request will be returned to the submitting agency.
4.6. The curriculum committee ordinarily meets twice in the fall semester and three times in the spring semester. Meetings of the entire committee are held Wednesday from 12:15 – 1:40pm. Each meeting concludes a “round”. The exact dates of each meeting will be set by the chair at the beginning of the academic year so as to be evenly spaced as possible, and the third meeting shall be held as late as possible while still allowing for inclusion of proposals passed during that round to be included in the yearly update of the academic catalog.
4.7. The Curriculum Committee shall be privileged to establish such ad hoc subcommittees and/or permanent subcommittees as shall be deemed advisable.
4.8. The Curriculum Committee shall retain the unique prerogative of making recommendations to the faculty concerning additions and deletions of courses and programs.
4.8.1 Reinstatement of archived courses may be initiated by placing the course on the upcoming schedule per normal procedures and alerting the registrar using the form provided. Changes to course cycling may be made using this form. All other course changes must follow the regular curriculum change process. Deans retain their right to approve course scheduling proposals based upon the same standards that are applied to any other course. Archived courses shall be added to the catalog during the next catalog revision after the course is successfully offered.
4.9. Procedures for effecting minor changes:
4.9.1. Requests for a change in the designator, or number, or title, or cycling pattern or description may be submitted to the appropriate Dean(s) for approval provided that the essential nature of the course is not changed. Any departments affected by said changes shall be notified as well.
4.9.2. Minor program changes may be submitted to the appropriate Dean(s) in cases of a change in designator, number, and/or title of courses listed within that program as a consequence of course revisions, but only if those changes do not change the essential nature of the program. The Dean(s) shall consult with the Chair of the Curriculum Committee before approving any such request.
4.9.3. A report of such actions shall be made to the Chair of the Curriculum Committee, who shall make reports of such changes to the Curriculum Committee at the next scheduled meeting. At such a meeting, objections can be brought forth.
4.9.4. The Graduate Studies Committee shall review all proposals, including non-substantial changes, concerning graduate programs and courses for graduate credit.
4.10. Authorization of courses not yet approved by the Curriculum Committee and/or the Faculty Senate:
4.10.1. The Vice-President for Academic Affairs may authorize the offering of a not-yet-approved course for a single session, provided that time does not permit its approval before the schedule is fixed, and provided that an appropriate request (standard form) has been made to the Curriculum Committee.
4.10.2. Request for pilot courses and/or programs can be submitted to the Curriculum Committee using the Pilot Program form on the Curriculum Committee website. All such requests must include appropriate review by department, department chair, and Dean, as well as an expiration date for the pilot program and an attached syllabus as necessary.
4.11. Departments wishing to require a higher grade than passing as a prerequisite must request approval from the Curriculum Committee with a statement of justification for the request.
4.12. The Curriculum Committee shall make a written report to the Faculty Senate within ten (10) school days of the Curriculum Committee’s action. Actions taken by the Curriculum Committee are not official until approved by the Faculty Senate and signed by the President.
5. Curriculum Committee Structure:
5.1. The work of the Curriculum Committee having increased to the level that efficient and judicious operation of the Committee is no longer possible in the Committee of the whole, the following subcommittee structure is established:
5.1.1. Standing subcommittees are established to review all undergraduate curriculum proposals from the Departments within each School. These subcommittees are: College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, School of Business, School of Education and Professional Studies, and the School of Engineering, Science and Technology.
5.1.2. Each subcommittee shall be composed of all members of the Curriculum Committee representing constituencies within that School, one representative at large from each of the other Schools appointed by the Curriculum Committee Chair, the Dean of the School, at most one student appointed by the Curriculum Committee Chair, and the Chair of the Curriculum Committee, ex-officio. Each subcommittee shall organize itself.
5.1.3. Each subcommittee shall review all proposals emanating from any of its constituencies and make recommendations, favorable or unfavorable, to the Curriculum Committee. Each subcommittee shall possess the power to recommend amendments, subject to the limitations on the Curriculum Committee itself. A proposal that is postponed in one subcommittee is postponed in all subcommittees, and is automatically re-considered in the next round of meetings.
5.1.4. Each subcommittee shall meet prior to all Curriculum Committee meetings where pertinent items appear on the agenda.
- SEPS: Three Tuesdays (15 days) before the main meeting from 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
- CLASS: Two weeks (14 days) before the main meeting from 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
- SEST: Two Thursdays (13 days) before the main meeting from 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
- BUS: Two Tuesdays (8 days) before the main meeting from 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
5.1.5. The minutes of each subcommittee shall be distributed by the Curriculum Committee Chair to members of the Curriculum Committee in advance of Curriculum Committee meetings.
5.2. The Graduate Studies Committee shall review all proposals concerning graduate programs and courses for graduate credit.
5.3. In order to assist in the refinement, development and implementation of the General Education Program, a permanent subcommittee called the General Education subcommittee shall be established.
5.3.1. The General Education subcommittee shall be appointed by the Curriculum Committee Chair and be composed of two representatives each from Study Area I and Study Area II; one representative from each of the four Skill Areas, Study Area III, and Study Area IV; one representative each from the School of Business and the School of Education and Professional Studies, the chair (or representative) of the International Education Committee, ex officio; one student; the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences (or representative), ex officio; the Dean of the School of Engineering, Science, and Technology (or representative), ex officio; and the Chair of the Curriculum Committee, ex-officio. As per 1.4 above, SGA may appoint at most one student to serve on the General Education subcommittee. It shall organize itself.
5.3.2. The subcommittee shall review all proposals placed before it and make recommendations, favorable or unfavorable, to the Curriculum Committee. It shall possess the power to recommend amendments, subject to the limitations on the Curriculum Committee.
5.3.3. The subcommittee shall receive and/or initiate recommendations to the Curriculum Committee concerning the implementations of the General Education Program including, but not limited to, the assignment of General Education Study/Skill Area credit for FYS courses, and the designation of “International” and “Literature” courses.
5.3.4. The subcommittee may establish such entities as committees or review boards that focus on specific aspects of the General Education Program. It may petition the Faculty Senate to establish a subcommittee of the Senate with preeminent or exclusive authority to submit requests for credit in some specific portion of the General Education Program.
5.3.5. The subcommittee shall meet from 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday one week prior to all main Curriculum Committee meetings where pertinent items are on the agenda and at such other times as its Chair may request. Minutes of the General Education subcommittee shall be distributed by the Curriculum Committee Chair to members of the Curriculum Committee in advance of Curriculum Committee meetings.
5.4. In order to assist in the regular review, refinement, development and implementation of Interdisciplinary Programs, a permanent subcommittee called the Interdisciplinary Studies subcommittee shall be established.
5.4.1. Interdisciplinary programs are major, minor, certificate, and graduate programs that combine courses from two or more departments and are not defined within a specific department’s programs. Programs that have related requirements or prerequisites in other departments are not considered interdisciplinary programs. Programs that fall only within the School of Business are exempt from this subcommittee. The Honors Program is also exempt from submitting to this subcommittee.
5.4.2. The Interdisciplinary Studies subcommittee shall be appointed by the Curriculum Committee Chair and be composed of at minimum, one faculty representative from each of the undergraduate schools with at least two faculty representatives from CLASS, one representative from the Graduate School, the Chair of the Curriculum Committee (ex officio), and representatives of each of the deans offices (non-voting ex officio). As per 1.4 above, SGA may appoint at most one student to serve on the Interdisciplinary Studies. It shall organize itself.
5.4.3. The subcommittee shall review all proposals relating to Interdisciplinary programs as stated in the above definition. The committee shall make recommendations, favorable or unfavorable, to the Curriculum Committee. It shall possess the power to recommend amendments, subject to the limitations on the Curriculum Committee.
5.4.4. The subcommittee shall meet from 12:15 p.m. -1:30 p.m. two Mondays (9 days) prior to all main Curriculum Committee meetings where pertinent items are on the agenda and at such other times as its Chair may request. Minutes of the Interdisciplinary subcommittee shall be distributed by the Curriculum Committee Chair to members of the Curriculum Committee in advance of Curriculum Committee meetings.
5.4.5. Proposals should be submitted through the usual curriculum process. Submitters should notify relevant departments and deans and then send proposal directly to Curriculum chair. Curriculum chair will forward proposal to relevant Deans and subcommittees as well as the Interdisciplinary subcommittee.
6. Representative(s) from the initiating department, school, or other appropriate agency shall be required to attend all subcommittee meetings concerned with their proposals as well as executive sessions of the Curriculum Committee.
Revised Fall 2023