Course and Curriculum Information

The Faculty of the University of Delaware, by adopting the Constitution, have assented to grant the collective powers and privileges of the Faculty (as granted by the Bylaws of the Trustees of the University) to the University Faculty Senate. These collective powers and privileges return to the Faculty during the conduct of a special meeting of the full Faculty, as described in the Constitution.

As relates to Academic Programs, the primary powers of the Faculty are to provide for the establishment of the curricula & courses and determine the requirements for degrees. Since these items are within the power of the Faculty, they are typically presented as informational items at the appropriate Board of Trustees meeting. Within the Faculty Senate, they are presented as Announcements for Challenge.

It is the privilege of the Faculty to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees concerning the establishment of any degree program or the disestablishment of any degree. These items must be approved by the Board of Trustees, and they appear as formal resolutions in a Faculty Senate Agenda.

Curricula and course matters are handled in two separate, but related processes.
Index

• Courses
• Curricula
  • Flow Chart for curriculum revisions
  • Flow Chart for provisional and final approval of programs/majors
  • Flow Chart for disestablishment of programs/majors

Courses

1. New courses or modifications to existing courses go through the Course Challenge Cycle. Although the initiation of a course item is typically by the instructor, items come to the Senate only after being approved at the College level. This is evidenced by the signatures that are required on the signature page of the Course Approval Form. It is the responsibility of the initiator to understand any additional requirement for approval demanded by a particular College; Colleges have quite different requirements.
2. The Senate's Course Approval Form consists of a signature page and an information page. A second information page on the multicultural aspects is needed only for courses that are meant to satisfy the University's multicultural requirement.
3. After being signed by the appropriate College-level person, the Course Approval Form is sent to the Registrar's Office. Copies of the Course Approval Form may be included in curricular items as necessary to fully explain or better understand a particular request.  However, the original, with signatures, goes to the Registrar's Office.  The deadline is typically in the December prior to the Academic Year Catalog in which the new/revised course information should appear.
4. The Registrar makes the Course Challenge Book (containing all the requests) available for public perusal during winter session.  A copy of undergraduate requests is sent to the Faculty Senate's Committe on Undergraduate Studies, and a copy of the graduate requests is sent to the Faculty Senate's Committee on Graduate Studies.
5. Individuals, units, etc. may direct a challenge to any request to the appropriate Faculty Senate Committee.
6. Request are typically resolved by discussion between the challenger and the person(s) responsible for the item being challenged. This may involve wording changes that would be communicated to the Registrar's Office with copies sent to the appropriate Faculty Senate Committee.
7. Challenges that cannot be resolved in that manner must be formally discussed and a decision reached by the appropriate Faculty Senate Committee. This decision must be reached by the middle of February as that is when the agenda is generated for distribution prior to the March Faculty Senate Meeting. All items impacting the Catalog must be decided no later than the March Faculty Senate Meeting. Committee decisions become part of the Faculty Senate Agenda.
8. All items that are not formally challenged are, by default, automatically approved by the Senate without formal action at the March Faculty Senate Meeting.

Course timeline:

• Course Approval Forms from College to Registrar's Office with signatures - mid December.
• Course Challenge Books from Registrar to Faculty Senate Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Committees - Winter Session.
• Course Challenge Books open for general review - Winter Session.
• Challenges to appropriate Senate Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee - before end of Winter Session.
• Challenged items requiring formal Senate action - agenda item on March Faculty Senate Agenda.
• Unchallenged course items automatically approved - March Faculty Senate Meeting.

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Curricula

1. Although the initiation of a curricular item is often by a particular unit, all curricular items reach the University Faculty Senate only after being approved at the College level. This is evidenced by the signatures that are required upon the signature page of the Faculty Senate Academic Program Approval Checklist Form. It is the responsibility of the initiator to understand the particular requirements for approval demanded by a particular College; Colleges may have quite different internal approval processes.
2. The Faculty Senate's handling of a curricular matter depends on the nature of the request. Items that fall under the powers granted to the Faculty are presented as Announcements for Challenge in an agenda and include:
   • Revisions to existing programs
   • New concentrations and specializations
   • Modifications to existing concentrations and specializations (including disestablishment)
3. Items that fall under the privileges granted to the Faculty are presented as Resolutions in an agenda and include:
   • New degree programs - provisional status & permanent status
   • New majors - provisional status & permanent status
   • New minors (identical to new majors though scope is obviously reduced; in general, minors do not require a provisional status period)
   • Disestablishing existing degrees
4. All curricular items should be sent to the Faculty Senate Office from the College after obtaining all signatures on the Faculty Senate Academic Program Approval Checklist Form up through & including the College level. Each request should be accompanied with supporting documentation and a draft resolution (if the item will ultimately require a Senate resolution; i.e., falls under Number 3 above).
5. Curricular items are sent to the Faculty Senate's Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee, as appropriate.
6. Each item is then sent by the Undergraduate or Graduate Committee, with that committee's recommendation, to the Faculty Senate's Coordinating Committee on Education. Whereas the Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Committees are interested in the academic justification for a request and to make sure potential impacts of the request on other units have been discussed and agreed upon, the Coordinating Committee is interested in the University-level impact of a request; for example, budget, space, library and other resource implications. At this stage, each item should include:
   • A cover page (from the original initiator of the item) summarizing the key aspects of the request with supporting rationale - this should be clear and concise; the full supporting documentation will be available in the Faculty Senate Office if someone desires more detailed information.
   • Letters of support from all those directly affected by implementation of the proposed request.
   • The proposed catalog description (for modifications it can be very helpful to indicate the differences between current and proposed catalog description).
   • The proposed resolution for the Senate agenda - if the item requires a resolution; i.e., falls under Number 3 above.
7. The Coordinating Committee on Education then brings the items forward for discussion in the Executive Committee and for placement on a Senate agenda.
8. A more detailed document describing the working procedures of the Faculty Senate concerning curricular items is available.

Curricula timeline:

• To be included in an Academic Year Catalog, items must be approved by the Faculty Senate no later than the March Senate Meeting prior to the fall semester of that Academic Year.
• Revisions, concentrations/specializations should have completed any necessary College process and be at the Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee no later than the end of the preceeding Fall Semester.
• New majors will vary depending on their relationship to existing majors; in general one should have completed any necessary College process and be at the Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee no later than the start of the preceeding Fall Semester.
• New programs should have completed any necessary College process and be at the Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee no later than the end of the Spring Semester, or roughly one full year prior to the March Senate Meeting where action is taken on the item.
• Permanent status considerations will vary depending on the request; in general one should have completed any necessary College process and be at the Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee no later than the start of the preceeding Fall Semester.
• Disestablishments should have completed any necessary College process and be at the Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Committee no later than the end of the preceeding Fall Semester.

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