WCSU Faculty Handbook : Standing Committees of Schools

Macricostas Arts & Sciences Program Review Committee By-Laws

In these by-laws, the Macricostas Arts and Sciences Program Review Committee will be referred to as the PRC or as the committee.

  1. Objectives

    1. To review all course and program proposals from the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences for clarity, conformation to policy and/or other issues.
    2. To recommend approved proposals to the Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum and Academic Standards (CUCAS) or to the Graduate Council.

  2. Membership

    1. Two (2) representatives elected by and from Humanities
    2. Two (2) representatives elected by and from Natural and Mathematical Sciences
    3. Two (2) representatives elected by and from Social and Behavioral Sciences
    4. The Dean of Arts and Sciences
    5. Terms of Office
      1. Each elected representative will serve a 2-year term
      2. The two (2) elected representatives from each division (i.e., Humanities, Natural and Mathematical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences) will have overlapping terms.
    6. Election of Members
      1. Elections will be held each academic year by the MA&S Nominations and Elections committee.

  3. Conduct of Business

    1. Meetings
      1. The first meeting of each academic year will be convened by the previous year’s chairperson if that individual still serves on the committee. If the former chairperson no longer serves on the committee, the Dean of Arts and Sciences will designate a committee member to convene the committee.
      2. A quorum will consist of 4 members attending in-person.
      3. Meetings will be held not less than once a month during the academic year (unless no proposals have been received for that month). If the number of proposals is excessive, the committee chairperson may schedule a second meeting during any given month.
      4. No proposals received after the agenda has been sent to committee members will be considered at that meeting.
      5. Decisions of the committee require a majority vote of the members present.
      6. Concerned parties may attend meetings to discuss, or be invited to discuss, particular items on the agenda.
    2. Committee Officers
      1. The Chairperson will be elected by majority vote at the first meeting of the academic year. Only currently serving PRC members can vote for a committee chairperson. The Chairperson is responsible for the following:
        1. Prior to the first meeting each semester, and based on PRC members’ semester schedules, the Chairperson will establish a pre-determined schedule of monthly meetings for that semester. The Chairperson will make this schedule available through the PRC website.
        2. After the monthly meeting schedule has been established, at least once a semester, the Chairperson will send an email to the campus community detailing (1) that semester’s meeting schedule, (2) deadlines for submission of material for each meeting, and (3) the PRC website address.
        3. One week prior to the meeting, the Chairperson will make publicly available the upcoming meeting agenda and minutes from the prior meeting.
        4. One week prior to the meeting, the Chairperson will email a reminder of the meeting to all those with items for presentation on the agenda.
      2. The position of Secretary will be filled by each member (excluding the Chairperson) in turn on an alphabetical rotating basis, unless otherwise agreed to by the committee.
    3. Committee Minutes
      1. Minutes of all meetings should be typed and distributed via e-mail to the entire committee for review prior to the subsequent meeting. The Chairperson of the committee will be responsible for distributing the minutes (see III.B.1.c).
    4. Amendments
      1. These bylaws may be amended if:
        1. Said amendment is on the agenda, and
        2. Said amendment is approved by 5 out of 7 committee members

  4. Submission of Proposals (Note: Sample proposals in proper format are available through the PRC website)

    1. All proposals should be submitted through the electronic Curriculum Proposal Process in SharePoint.
      1. Proposals that do not conform to listed guidelines will be rejected.
      2. The Committee will review proposals to:
        1. Add or revise a major
        2. Add or revise a minor
        3. Add or revise an option
        4. Add a new course
        5. Change a course title
        6. Change a course description
        7. Change a prerequisite for a course that affects other departments
        8. Change a course label
        9. Change the level of a course
        10. Change a course outline, including changes to general education competencies
        11. Change of program name or degree
        12. Change of department 3-letter code name
        13. Change of course frequency for a course that affects other departments
        14. Change of program admission or retention standards
        15. Other changes relating to programs or courses
    2. Proposals for adding a new or revising an existing major, minor, or option should include the following (in the requisite SharePoint fields and/or an attached proposal with each item clearly labeled)
      1. A statement of what is being revised
      2. A rationale for the revision (s)
      3. A copy of the current program sheet or its equivalent
      4. A copy of the new program sheet with clearly noted proposed revisions or equivalent
      5. A sample four year plan
      6. A list of student learning outcomes
      7. A description of the assessment plan
      8. A statement addressing staffing issues, impact that change may have on students, facilities, and any other predictable resource needs (e.g. software, hardware, library resources).
        1. New courses and additional sections or increased frequencies are “new resources” and as such should be accompanied by a departmental course rotation showing coverage of all departmental courses currently offered in the catalogue.
    3. Proposals for adding a new course should include the following (in the requisite SharePoint fields and/or an attached proposal with each item clearly labeled):
      1. The course title
      2. The course level (e.g., 1XX, 2XX)
      3. The number of course credits
      4. The prerequisites for the course
      5. A rationale for the course
      6. A course description (as it will appear in the catalog)
      7. A list of student learning outcomes
      8. A description of the assessment plan for the course
      9. A statement addressing staffing needs, impact on students, facilities, and any other predictable resource needs.
        1. New courses/additional sections are “new resources” and as such should be accompanied by a departmental course rotation showing coverage of all departmental courses currently offered in the catalogue.
      10. A course outline with at least 2 levels (including a laboratory outline, if appropriate)
      11. The frequency the course will be offered and semester (Fall/Spring) where appropriate
      12. The grading method (e.g., Standard letter grade, P/F)
      13. Do NOT include the following:
        1. Name of the textbook to be used in the course
        2. Name of the instructor who will teach the course
        3. Library holdings that could be used as resources for the course.
        4. Syllabi or specific assignments required in the course
    4. Changes in course prerequisites, labels, levels, frequencies, and outlines should include the following (in the requisite SharePoint fields and/or an attached proposal with each item clearly labeled):
      1. A statement of what is being revised
      2. A rationale for the revision
      3. A copy of the old title/description/prerequisite/label/level/frequency/outline
      4. A copy of the proposed title/description/prerequisite/label/level/frequency/outline
      5. A list of student learning outcomes
      6. An assessment plan (only for changes to description, prerequisite, level, and outline)
      7. A statement addressing staffing needs, impact on students, facilities, and any other predictable resource needs (software, hardware, etc.)
        1. All new courses and any additional sections or increased frequencies are “new resources” and as such should be accompanied by a departmental course rotation showing coverage of all departmental courses currently offered in the catalogue.
      8. The frequency the course will be offered
      9. The grading method (e.g., Standard letter grade, P/F)
    5. Proposals for course alignments (including changes) to General Education Competencies should include the following (in the requisite SharePoint fields and/or an attached proposal with each item clearly labeled):
      1. A statement of the competency (or the one being revised, if changing)
      2. Description of all course outcomes and how aspects of each competency will be met.
      3. Assessment plan for demonstrating students’ successful completion of each competency learning outcome (e.g., example assignments or larger course plans should be clearly labeled as “examples” so as not to infringe on academic freedom in the course outline.)
    6. Other proposals
      1. Submitted proposals for other changes should contain all necessary information for which the above-listed requirements should serve as a guide.
      2. Minor changes of course titles and course descriptions do not come to PRC. They may be approved by the department and submitted through the Curriculum Proposal Process directly to the Provost (with minutes attached).

  5. Transfer of Proposals

    1. Proposals will be managed by the Chair using Sharepoint’s Curriculum Approval Process, which indicates proposal status and auto-sends proposal documents to the next appropriate committee.
      1. PRC-Approved proposals (i.e., those with no edits requested by the PRC) will be indicated as such by the Chair in Sharepoint.
      2. PRC-Approved-with-Edits proposals (i.e., those conditionally approved by the PRC, pending edits requested at the meeting) will be approved in Sharepoint upon receipt of the requested changes from the proposer. The proposer will email an edited version of the proposal to the Chair, who will then upload the new document to Sharepoint (replacing the old/original, so as to avoid confusion) before saving/submitting the Approved-with-Edits proposal for the next committee in the process.
      3. To maintain clarity in proposal iterations and streamline the process at all times, proposals that require significant editing will be formally, nominally rejected by the PRC to provide the proposer an opportunity to make the requested revisions for re-submission as a “new” proposal (i.e., receiving a new CD number in Sharepoint).

 

Unanimously Approved by Committee April 12, 2019