CLA Academic Affairs Committee
This advisory committee to the Dean currently recommends and oversees policies on curricular matters, including course proposals.
Department Heads and/or faculty members are welcome to contact Pam Spencer for assistance when considering the following:
- Course proposals
- Changes to current courses
- Program proposals (majors or minors)
- Changes to current programs
- Review current and pending programs: HERE
Committe Members (fall 2012)
SOC-ANTH – Sheryl Grana, Chair
AIS – Joseph Bauerkemper
COMM – David Gore
ENGL – Paul Cannan
FLL – Maureen Tobin Stanley
GEOG – Laure Charleux
HIST – Alexis Pogorelskin
PHIL – Robert Schroer
POL – Joseph Staats
WS – Njoki Kamau
WRIT – Craig Stroupe
CLA – Olaf Kuhlke (ex officio)
CLA Advising – Pam Spencer (ex officio)
Student[s]: TBA
Meetings for the Academic Year 2012-2013
CLA Academic Affairs will be meeting: (Mondays at 3 p.m. in KPlz 302)
1. The committee will only be meeting on these dates and will only be reviewing proposals which have been submitted by noon the Wednesday prior to a meeting; no last minute proposals will be reviewed.
2. Proposals must follow appropriate routing -- CLA number and dept review and approval -- before they are submitted to Pam Spencer. Proposals must be signed by the Department Head. Only the original paper copy is submitted (the committee will be reviewing proposals on Google Docs/Drive).
3. Faculty submitting a proposal are encouraged to come to the meeting when their proposal is being reviewed. If they do not attend, their department representative is responsible for presenting the proposal.
4. If a department representative is absent the day their department proposal(s) are on the table, the proposal(s) will not be considered until the next meeting (when the representative is present).
5. Proposals should be completed thoroughly including up-to-date bibliographies, consultation with other affected departments, consideration of delivery mode and so on.
6. Additional information about proposals, deadlines and such can be found at: Curriculum
Fall 2012
Spring 2013
DUE DATES
These deadlines are set by EVCAA.
Fall semester - changes due by February 1st
Spring semester - changes due by October 1st
Summer term - changes/new courses due by October 5th
** NOTICE **
Program changes effective next fall term must be submitted to the CLA Academic Affairs committee by December 10th.
These dates were chosen so the online class schedule has accurate course information (pre-reqs, description, credits, waitlists, etc) for students before the next term. This results in minimizing additions and changes in the course schedule after students begin registration.
Departments are encouraged to consider the impact of changing a program (major or minor). When a program is changed, the new requirements are effective the next fall term. Students who elect to follow the new requirements make the formal request by contacting the CLA Advising office.
For more information, review the Catalog Use (identifying degree requirement year) policy.
PROGRAM PROPOSAL
The date to submit program proposals for fall to CLA is December 10. Departments are encouraged to have program proposals submitted to Pam Spencer at least four weeks before the deadline.
PROCESS:
- Complete all relevant items on the New Undergraduate Program Proposal Form. (Delete the 'bulleted' items at the beginning of the form.)
- Circulate proposal for departmental approval.
- If approved, the Department Head signs the New Undergraduate Program Proposal Form. (signature required)
- This paper form (original) is delivered to Pam Spencer by noon Wednesday before the December meeting.
- Preliminary review of the form will be done by Pam Spencer. If no changes are needed, the form is scanned and routed through Google Docs/Drive to the committee members.
- Committee members will review and comment online. All members will enter a comment. Additional comments will be referenced at the committee meeting.
- At the committee meeting, the faculty member (or departmental representative) will present the proposed program and answer potential questions from the committee.
- If approved and no changes are needed, the Dean will review and sign the New Undergraduate Program Proposal Form.
- The form is sent to EVCAA for processing in PCAS.
Approved program proposals become effective the next fall semester.
Tips & Information
- Review current programs through the Program and Curriculum Approval System (PCAS)
- Bachelor of Science requirements
PROGRAM CHANGES
The date to submit program changes to CLA is December 10. Departments are encouraged to have their program changes to Pam Spencer at least four weeks before the deadline.
PROCESS:
- Copy the entire program description found on the B.A. Requirements page into MS-Word.
- Within MS-Word indicate the changes to the program (major and/or minor) by using the ‘track-changes’ feature.
- Send the altered document as an MS-WORD attachment (not PDF) to Pam Spencer.
- This document is emailed to Pam Spencer by noon Wednesday before the December meeting.
- Preliminary review of the changes will be done by Pam Spencer. If no changes are needed, the form is scanned and routed through Google Docs/Drive to the committee members.
- Committee members will review and comment online. All members will enter a comment. These comments will be referenced at the committee meeting.
- At the committee meeting, the committee will review the proposed changes. The departmental representative (or alternative) will present and answer potential questions from the committee.
- If approved and no changes are needed, Pam will email the MS-WORD document to the CLA Associate Dean or Dean. (If changes are needed, the department will be consulted and the proposal will be updated.)
- Once the proposal is approved by CLA Academic Affairs, the CLA Associate Dean or Dean will forward the MS-WORD document to EVCAA.
- Once EVCAA receives the document, the changes will be reviewed. The Board of Regents will make the final decision on the proposed changes.
Changes to programs become effective the next fall semester.
Add a course to a major or minor [two options]
Open Listing - When ‘open listing’ is used within the format of a program, a program change is not required. For example, within the electives area of the communication major the option is COMM 1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx. Any new course added to the COMM program will automatically be applicable to this area of the major (and minor).
Course Listing - When course listing is used within the format of a program, a program change is required. For example, in the upper division elective areas of the English-Liberal Arts major there are menu lists. Any new course added to the English major requires a program change.
NOTE: New courses that are applicable to a major or minor course listing must be active for fall term.
If a course is applicable to other UMD majors or minors, the Department Heads of both departments must discuss this option and submit program changes to add this course.
COURSE PROPOSAL
Proposals for new courses will only be reviewed by the committee with the department head’s signature.
PROCESS:
- Complete all relevant items on the Course Proposal Form. (Delete the ‘direction’ section of the form.)
- Circulate proposal for departmental approval.
- If approved, the Department Head signs the Course Proposal Form. (signature required)
- This paper form (original) is delivered to Pam Spencer by noon Wednesday before the next meeting.
- Preliminary review of the form will be done by Pam Spencer. If no changes are needed, the form is scanned and routed through Google Docs/Drive to the committee members.
- Committee members will review and comment online. All members will enter a comment. Additional comments will be referenced at the committee meeting.
- At the committee meeting, the faculty member (or departmental representative) will present the proposed course and answer potential questions from the committee.
- If approved and no changes are needed, the Dean will review and sign the Course Proposal Form.
- The form is sent to EVCAA for processing in ECAS.
New courses are typically available in the system within two weeks of receipt in EVCAA. Once changes are processed in ECAS, the change is immediate in PeopleSoft and the current on-line course description page.
Tips & Information
- Course Components (lecture, lab, independent study, etc)
- Course Equivalencies
- Course Field Terminology and Definitions (fields within Course Proposal form)
- Course Numbering
- Credit Standards for Instruction and Student Work
- Delivery Modes (for UMD courses only)
- Electronic Course Approval System (ECAS)
- Liberal Education Program
CLA links
COURSE CHANGES
If a current course is significantly revised such that there is a change in its overall architecture, the course must come before CLA Academic Affairs. A significant revision in course architecture means the course no longer reasonably conforms to the current course description.
Course elements such as the description, delivery mode, credits, pre-reqs, number, terms most frequently offered, and title must come before CLA Academic Affairs.
Departments are advised to review the course mapping spreadsheet to review how any change to the course may impact programs at UMD.
PROCESS:
- Copy the entire course description from the online course description page into MS-Word.
- Within MS-Word indicate the changes to the course by using the ‘track-changes’ feature.
- Complete the CLA-COURSE CHANGE form and paste the proposed changes created within MS-Word onto the form. (See an example of the form here.)
- This paper form (original) is delivered to Pam Spencer by noon Wednesday before the next meeting.
- Preliminary review of the changes will be done by Pam Spencer. If no changes are needed, the form is scanned and routed through Google Docs/Drive to the committee members.
- Committee members will review and comment online. All members will enter a comment. These comments will be referenced at the committee meeting.
- At the committee meeting, the committee will review the proposed changes.
- If approved and no changes are needed, the AAC chair signs the original form and Pam forwards the document to the CLA Associate Dean or Dean.
- If approved and no changes are needed, the CLA Associate Dean or Dean will forward the document to EVCAA.
Normal processing time on a course change is 4-5 work days.
University of Minnesota Campuses