Curricular Resources – Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes

Purpose (Back to Top)

The updates to the Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes procedures serve the following purposes in the curriculum area:

• To reflect the changes to the Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes communicated to the District Curriculum Office by the colleges.
   
• Use the updated information as a resource for maintenance of the Database Dictionary (DBD) for Legacy SIS and the Academic Organizations and Group Table (new student information system term for Department/ Divisions) for the new student information system. These two tables support the development of the course bank in legacy SIS and the Course Catalog in the new student systems.
   
• Communicate changes to the Department/Divisions and Chairs by way of the District Curriculum Office Website.

Academic Organizations and Groups (Departments/Division) (Back to Top)

The Academic Organizations and Groups in the new student information system are used to identify the names of the departments and divisions at college level. They represent to some extent the organization of the college and show the relationship of specific subject to the organization or group. The name of the organization or group is abbreviated for use in the new student information system table containing the Short Title field.

Chairs (Back to Top)

The Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes includes the name of the current chairs for the departments/divisions. These individuals are the contacts at the
respective colleges with regard to any questions or issues related to the subjects under the organizations or groups.

In the new student information system the MCCCD Academic Organizations and Groups also support the schedule building processes and allow for development of distinct reports at college and district level. Institutional Researchers are dependent on this information for different report needs at their level.

The following information is divided into section I and Section II. Section I provides general information on the development of items found on the Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes . Section II addresses the procedures for updates.

Section I: General Information on Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes (Back to Top)

Codes for Department/Divisions:

The Department/Division Code is a three-digit numeric code used for identifying the departments and divisions within the Legacy Student Information System (SIS). MCCCD will continue to use the three-digit codes in the new student information system to support the transitioning from the three-digit numeric code to eight alpha characters used in the new code.

The numeric codes are developed by the colleges and the colleges decide on the numbers chosen for the code as well as the alpha-character code for the new student information system for any new department/dvisions.

Please note the following example of the Department/Divisions Chairs and List of Codes. This List is located on the District Curriculum Office web site, News and Resources page and also in the Faculty and Advisor Resources page.

Special Note: The format for the Department/Divisions Chairs and List of Codes has been revised. The new resource document will be communicated to the colleges. Rio Salado College will have Academic Organizations/Groups in the new student information system. This information will be included in the Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes on the District Curriculum Office web site.


Criteria for Development of Codes Used in Legacy SIS and the New Student Information System (Back to Top)

The Database Dictionary is the source for updates to the Department/Divsion. table for Legacy SIS. Thus, the numeric codes will continue to be used in the Legacy SIS until further notice.

The numeric codes will be used to transition to the new alpha character code. Thus the colleges will begin to define an eight-alpha character code as part of the information they provide when creating a new Academic Organization and/or Group. Effective spring 2004 the items below must be addressed when developing or modifying the Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes:

1. Numeric Codes will not contain a range of numbers. For example, 001-199 Aerospace Studies.
    
2. Codes (numeric or alpha) cannot be reused and assigned to other departments/divisions. In effect, each department and division will carry a distinct code.
    
3. Codes (numeric and alpha) cannot be changed multiple times within the same semester, they can be changed once a semester.
    
4. In the new student information system, Codes are not maintained at course level.
   This may be done by the colleges at the level of class schedule.
    
5. Codes are added due to the development of a new department and/or division. Codes are changed due to the modification of the name of the organization and group.
    
6. In the new student information system, a catch-all division will be created per institution for all available subjects not listed on the current institution’s Department/Division Chairs and List of Codes unless the institution decides to assign all available current subjects to a department or division.

The criteria for development of codes should support and facilitate the entry of the codes in their respective tables, and the use of the codes in other system functionality such as the course catalog in the new student information system.


Section II: General Procedures for Updates to Codes, Names of Academic Organizations, Groups, and Chairs. (Back to Top)

There are two distinct needs for updating the information related to Department/Division:

1. General Procedures for New Subject Added During the Curriculum Processing
   Cycle.
    
   When a campus initiates a new subject as part of the monthly processed curricula, this generates the need for identification of the department/division assigned the new subject.
    
   The curriculum procedures require that the college initiating the new subject submit the subject, subject definition, department/division code, first year/term of the new subject, and the name of the instructional council responsible for evaluating the
   curriculum using the new subject. The information must be forwarded to the District Curriculum Office as soon as the college is ready to process the new subject for review and approval by the District Curriculum Committee.
    
    The processing of the new subject to the District Curriculum Committee runs parallel to the District Curriculum Offices’ planning and preparation for introducing the new subject into the Legacy SIS and the tables in the new student information system. These parallel processes support the timing and sequence for development of other tables that are prepared to minimize any delays to the use of the information in the course catalog and other functionality such as class schedule development.
    
2. General Procedures for Updates to Existing Department/Divisions (Note: these procedures will continue until further notice.)
    
   Updates to the existing Department/Divisions are made throughout the year. For purposes of supporting the maintenance of the course bank, the colleges communicate these changes to the District Curriculum Office. This communication is generally sent around the time the colleges begin their schedule building process. These procedures will continue as is for support of updates to the new student system.
    
   The updates are sent by the college curriculum staff to the District Curriculum Office two to three weeks before the college’s scheduled rollover of courses for class schedule development. This communication is in the form of an email, and @legacy system distribution list is copied on the email. This allows for the ITS staff to receive the information at the same time as the staff of the District Curriculum Office. The ITS staff accepts the email as a “heads up” alert and awaits the District Curriculum Office’s official notice of approval to proceed with the changes.
    
   The development of the new student information system modifies the existing procedures to some extent. The District Curriculum Office becomes the owner of the academic organization and group (department/division) table and is responsible for monitoring and the maintenance of the table. The communication used for department/division updates to Legacy SIS will also be used by the District Curriculum Office until the new student information system is deployed. At that point, a revised procedure for communicating updates will be set in place.

The following format will be used by the colleges for communicating changes to the District Curriculum Office until further notice:

2A. Changes to Existing Codes:
The following provides general information related to current processes for Department /Divisions updates in the Legacy SIS.

For Legacy SIS purposes,

• The District Curriculum Office will review the updates submitted by the colleges. Any issues identified will be communicated back to the college curriculum personnel and resolved before moving the updates forward.
   
• The District Curriculum Office submits new and modified codes to Information Technologies Services (ITS).

Note: College staff submitting the updates should inform the college administration, faculty and staff that their updates requires sufficient time to run the change processes and release the revisions and/or new additions. As with other new or modified curriculum in process, the Curriculum Processing Calendar is used for determining the schedule for these tasks to be completed.

• The Database Dictionary (Legacy SIS) is updated by the ITS personnel and the District Curriculum Office receives a printed record of the updates to the codes.

What continues is a series of different activities and communication between and among the district and college personnel for release of the course bank and department/division codes. The schedule building processes utilize the department/division codes within the updated course bank.

The Curriculum Procedures Handbook is a product of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District. Any and all changes to the Handbook are monitored and coordinated through the District Curriculum Office. Please give credit to the Maricopa County Community College District if the Handbook or sections of the Handbook are duplicated.