Programs: Standard Processes for Review and Approval
The Standard Processes for Review
and Approval excludes certain types of proposals. The processes related
to them are defined within their respective section in the Curriculum
Procedures Handbook. They are:
Types of Proposals Excluded from the Standard Process for Review and Approval |
| Field Studies course |
Experimental course |
Addition of Common Competencies course |
| IND170 suffixed course (specific) |
AES/MIS Prefixed course |
Special Projects course |
| Associate in Transfer Partnership Degree |
Moratorium Status for Occupational Program |
General Education proposals |
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College Internal Processing of Curriculum Proposals (Back to Top)
The colleges are responsible for processing their proposals internally.
This process may involve staff, administration and faculty and ensures
that the college, prior to the submission of the proposal to the District
Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation, has reviewed the content of the proposal. The Curriculum
Processing Calendar serves as a guide for the colleges for submitting
the proposals on a timely basis.
The Curriculum Development Facilitator or the Curriculum Technician is responsible
for forwarding the curriculum proposal to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for
his/her review.
Once the Vice President of Academic Affairs has reviewed the proposal the staff
forwards the proposal to the appropriate Instructional Council(s) and
the College Curriculum Committee.
After the college administration and responsible groups have completed
their review, responses are communicated to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Once college internal approval is gained, the college staff forwards
the proposal(s) to the MCCCD Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation by submitting the proposals
on the Curriculum External server.
CURRICULUM
REMINDER |
Instructional
Council 10-day proposal review period: It should be
noted that the proposal must clear the 10-day period for Instructional
Council response on the proposal before submitting it to the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation. |
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All proposals submitted by the colleges must be accompanied by an
e-mail from the Vice President of Academic Affairs' office indicating that college
internal approval has been gained and the proposal is ready for processing
at District level.
CURRICULUM
REMINDER |
College
internal curriculum processes: The college internal
curriculum processes may differ slightly between and among
the MCCCD colleges in terms of activity sequence and responsible
agent for submitting the proposals. |
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Submitting the Proposals to the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation (Back to Top)
The MCCCD Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation utilizes the servers to help process the
curriculum information for different users. A series of appropriately labeled folders within the Curriculum External Server
enables the college and district staff to move the information between
colleges and the district and minimizes the amount of paper previously used
in this process.
The District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation determines access privileges for users
involved in the curriculum process and use of the Curriculum External Server. Additionally,
security is built into the process so that once the proposals are received
by the District Center's final due date, college curriculum staff
can access and view the proposals but they cannot alter the information
on the proposals. This allows for the remainder of the processes to continue
for review and approval purposes.
CURRICULUM
REMINDER |
Changes
to proposals after submission to the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation:
It should be noted that once the proposal is submitted to
the District Center, it is considered to be an
official and complete proposal. Minor edits may be allowed
between the time the proposal is submitted to the District
and prior to the release of the final District Curriculum
Committee online agenda. These edits are the result of the
District Center's personnel reacting to the information
on the proposals submitted by the colleges. This may also
include transfer articulation issues. No other changes to
the proposals can be made during this time. If the initiator
determines that significant changes have to be made to the
proposal, the initiating college will be asked to pull the
proposal, edit as needed and then resubmit for the following
month. |
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District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation Processing of Course and
Program Proposals (Back to Top)
The following general information describes the procedures used for processing
proposals at District level. Key steps in the process are contained within
the District Curriculum Processing Calendar along with the deadline dates.
The District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation:
Receives the proposals via the Curriculum External Server.
CURRICULUM
REMINDER |
College
access to the proposals on the Curriculum External Server: Once the
proposals are submitted via the Curriculum External Server, the college's curriculum personnel
may begin to access the information within the proposals.
Colleges should understand that changes might be in process
due to the colleges’ reaction to the District Center's analysis of the proposals. |
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Conducts analysis of the proposals and submits a Proposal Analysis
Report to the colleges listing discrepancies on the proposal and raising
questions requiring college follow-up.
Receives the college response to issues/questions on the Proposal
Analysis Report.
CURRICULUM
REMINDER |
College
to college communication during the analysis stage:
Due to potential changes submitted by the colleges to the
District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation during this stage, it is important
for the colleges to communicate with other MCCCD colleges
on these changes especially changes on shared programs. |
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Determines if the response adequately addresses the issue, and conducts
further analysis of the changes included in the college response. If
the response/changes are appropriate, then the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation moves the proposal to the next level of preparation. Otherwise the proposal
is set aside until the discrepancies/issues are dealt with and can be
safely moved forward. This may cause the proposal to be held until the
following month’s processing cycle.
Finalizes the information for the District Curriculum Committee Online
Curriculum Processing agenda and distributes the agenda to DCC members
and other responsible parties.
Monitors the voting and outcomes of the online agenda review process
until all votes and action taken has been communicated.
Archives the votes after the end of the voting period and communicates
final outcomes to the District Curriculum Committee, the college Curriculum Development Facilitators and the college curriculum technicians.
Adjusts the information on the curriculum proposal, if necessary,
based on the action by the District Curriculum Committee.
Transfers the proposal information unto the MCCCD Governing Board
agenda, finalizes the agenda and distributes a copy of the agenda to
the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Governing Board secretary
for Governing Board action.
Adjusts the proposal information and other related records per the
action of the Governing Board if necessary.
Finalizes the course and program information in various systems such
as the Course Inventory Audit (CIA), degree audit, District Curriculum
Office website and other databases for release of the information to
multiple sites and users.
CURRICULUM
REMINDER |
College review of approved curricular
information via the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation website and
online systems: The processed course and program
information is released to the colleges and the Center's website is updated. Once released, the college curriculum
personnel must review the information to ensure that it
appears as processed and approved.
Additionally, at the point of encoding courses and programs
in the different support systems, other issues or questions
may arise on the processed information. If issues do arise,
the District Center contacts the initiating college’s
Curriculum Development Facilitator and the Curriculum Technician
to discuss the issue and reach resolution. This action may
delay the release of the course bank and the degree audit
information to the colleges. College personnel should ensure
that all parties at their college affected by the delay
are informed of the change to the schedule for releasing
the course bank and degree audit updates.
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Authorized Agents for Approval of Curriculum Proposals (Back to Top)
The routing of the curriculum proposals for final approval includes the
following:
District Curriculum Committee (Back to Top)
The District Curriculum Committee gives final approval on the following
types of proposals:
Proposal
Types: Course Modifications
(Includes changes in one or more of the following elements) |
| Prefix |
Number |
Title |
| Pre/Corequisites |
Course
Notes |
Competencies |
| Outline |
Load
Formula |
Activity
Type |
| Course
Type |
Cross-references
(add/delete) |
Modularizations |
|
MCCCD Governing Board (Back to Top)
The MCCCD Governing Board gives final approval on the following types
of proposals:
Proposal
Types |
| New
Courses |
Course
Modifications (change in: credits, periods, description, last
year/term) |
Experimental
Courses |
| New
Occupational Programs |
Occupational
Program Modifications |
Occupational
Program Deletions |
| Academic
Certificates |
Associate
in Transfer Partnership Degrees |
Arizona
General Education Core Curriculum |
| Associate
in Arts |
Associate
in Science |
Associate
in Business (General and Specific Requirements) |
| Associate
in General Studies |
Associate
in Applied Science General Education Requirements |
General
Education/Graduation Policies |
|
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (Back to Top)
The Vice Chancellor reviews and approves the following types of proposals
for placement in the Course Inventory Audit:
Proposal
Types |
| Addition to Common
Competencies course proposals |
Addition of IND170
Specific Suffixed Course proposal |
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College Administration Signatures (Back to Top)
In lieu of signatures on course and program proposals processed through
the MCCCD servers, an “electronic signature” is required indicating
the approval of the Vice President of Academic Affairs to move the proposals from the
initiating college to the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation. The revised proposal
forms provide a place for the Vice President of Academic Affairs’s approval for
submitting the college proposals to District level for action.
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 Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation. Please give credit to the Maricopa County Community College District if the Handbook or sections of the Handbook are duplicated.
