UCC Guidelines

Process and Policy

Dates

Adding a Course

Descriptive Data

Comparative Data

Statement of Need

Statement of Resources

Descriptive Data
Comparative Data

Checklist for Curriculum Submissions

Process and Policy

Any faculty member, through the chair or coordinator of their respective department or division, may initiate curriculum proposals.

All curriculum proposals must bear the support of the department to which they belong and of any department or discipline affected by the change.  Confirmation of the approval must be provided with the proposal.  This can be accomplished using the Departmental Approval Form provided.

All curriculum proposals must be submitted first to the Chair of the Academic Regulations and Curriculum Committee (see membership and terms of reference attached).  Once reviewed, proposals will then be placed on the Faculty Council Agenda as soon as possible for approval and subsequent conveyance or submission to the Undergraduate Studies Committee as appropriate.  Complete proposals must be received (electronically) a full week before a scheduled ARCC meeting.  (Please see page 2 for scheduled meeting dates).

All curriculum proposals must receive approval prior to implementation.  (Please see the summary of approval procedures)  In the case of a new degree program or new major or new minor (in disciplines where no major exists) APC approval must also be received prior to implementation.

For curriculum information, please refer to the current academic calendar (on line: www.nipissingu.ca/calendar) or the Senate Academic Regulations and Policies document.  Where curriculum changes in one academic year did not make the printing deadline for the academic calendar, please refer to the Senate document or the relevant curriculum minutes.

All curriculum proposals must be accompanied by an overview of the proposal including a rationale and the specifics of the proposal as outlined below.  For each specific change (add or delete a course, change in wording, etc.) you must include a MOTION which indicates precisely what the change is intended to accomplish.  Please be sure to include a motion confirming prerequisite courses where appropriate.

USC MEETING DATES:

After curriculum changes have been approved by ARCC they must go to Undergraduate Studies Committee, either for

information or for approval, depending on the change. All curriculum proposals must be completed and submitted to ARCC by November 24th at the latest in order that all approvals make it through USC, Senate, and are therefore

included in the calendar. Any proposals submitted to ARCC after November 24th will not be considered until the

following academic year. 

The 2009-10 meeting dates for the Undergraduate Studies Committee and ARCC are as follows: 

ADDING A COURSE

A)   Descriptive Data

Description of the course, which must include the following: discipline, group (if the major requirements are grouped), credit weight, prerequisites, co-requisites, anti-requisites, and total hours subdivided into lecture/lab/seminar.  Class hours must total a minimum of 36 hours per three-credit course and 72 hours per six-credit course.  (It is strongly recommended that new courses be introduced as three credit courses.)  If the course cannot be audited, please indicate so.  University regulations state that “courses with more practical and developmental components (e.g. language courses, laboratory course, activity courses) cannot be audited.  The Dean has the responsibility to designate courses which may or may not be audited.” 

Please provide a complete title and course description, as it should be published in the university calendar.  If the course title is longer than 30 characters, please provide an abbreviated version, which will be used in the new student information system and for transcript purposes. (Courses longer than 29 characters must have an abbreviated version for the Ontario electronic data transfer system.)  Unless otherwise specified, 4000 level courses will be restricted to students in an honours program.

If the course is to be cross-listed with any other discipline, please ensure that the other discipline is consulted and approves and indicate how the course will be added to the other’s major requirements, if applicable.

For course numbering, please consult the registrar’s office.  Provide Jane Hughes with desired course numbers and she will ensure that the numbers are free to be used and that they meet the course coding rubric which can be found at page 61 of the 2009-10 Calendar. 

Where applicable, please provide a list of courses from other Ontario universities, which are similar to this course.  Please indicate if the courses are exactly the same (i.e. content, delivery, credits, prerequisites) and whether they are mandatory in a degree program.  If there are courses at other Ontario universities that are not exactly the same but are similar enough that students should not be able to retain credit for both our course and theirs, please indicate those courses as well.  This information must be provided on the requisite form provided below. The information will be used by the registrar’s office in assessing university transcripts to determine advanced standing into Nipissing’s programs.

PLEASE NOTE:  Comparative Data is required when a course is split into two three-credit courses or when three-credit courses are consolidated into one six-credit course.  This is necessary as the Registrar must be capable of assessing the advanced standing of students transferring to Nipissing University.

Please indicate whether this is a required course for a specific degree(s), who is expected to enrol and a rationale as to why this course is appropriate to Nipissing’s offerings.  This information is required by the Deans and is critical for consideration of new courses by the USC.

Please indicate how you intend this course to be offered.  For example, annually, on a cycled basis or as resources allow. If the course is to be cycled, please indicate how (e.g. every second year, periodically offered). If the course is replacing an existing course, please indicate which course will be deleted (or banked) as a result of this new addition.

Please describe any additional resources required to offer this course (e.g. faculty hiring, library, laboratory materials, etc.).

Modifying a Course

Modifications to a course include changes to: course description, course prerequisites, lecture/lab/tutorial composition, or renumbering of a course.  If a six credit course is to be changed to a three credit course(s) or vice-versa, the new course(s) must be presented first as an addition and the current course(s) must then be deleted (or banked).

Please provide a description of the new course (as defined above) and highlight the modification.  (Current course descriptions are available in the academic calendar.)  Please provide the rationale for the change and address the impact that this change will have on program requirements and on other courses.

Deleting or Banking of a Course

Please indicate the course code and title of the course to be deleted or banked.  Please provide the rationale for deleting or banking a course.  Please indicate: whether the course is a prerequisite for another course; is required for a degree program; is cross-listed with another discipline.

If the course is required for a degree program(s), please indicate the changes to the program requirements, once this course has been deleted or banked.

If a course is not offered in a period of five calendar years, it will be banked (removed from the academic calendar). A list of all courses not offered in the past five years will be provided to the department chairs and the chair of ARCC by the registrar in January of each year.  If the department does not wish to bank a course(s), ARCC must be provided with a request not to bank the course no later than March 31st.  Banked courses will be returned to the calendar upon the request of the appropriate department to ARCC.

Note:  Banking a course simply means removing the course from the academic calendar.  A banked course can be returned to the calendar and offered at any time as long as the course is offered as described. 

Changing Degree Requirements  (i.e. BA, BSc, BBA)

Degree Requirements are listed in the academic calendar under their respective sections—for example Bachelor of Arts (3-Year General), Bachelor of Science (Honours), etc.  There is also a section on degree requirements for Second Degree Programs.

When Nipissing University changes degree requirements, adds new requirements, or deletes previous requirements, the impact may be significant across disciplines.  Therefore changes should be discussed with all disciplines affected and students must have sufficient time to comply with any new regulations. 

If Senate approves the deletion of degree requirements, the new rules can be effective immediately.  The implications of immediate application must be thoroughly addressed.  If Senate approves the modification or addition of degree requirements, the new requirements will apply to students admitted or re-admitted the following year (Senate Regulation 3.90 Senate Changes to Degree Requirements).  Therefore provisions must be made to either continue to provide the means whereby students may graduate under the previous rules (perhaps for many years), or if this is not feasible, Senate should permit students currently in programs to graduate without either the “old” or “new” requirements.

Any proposal must first make reference to the current Senate approved requirement. The rationale for the proposed change must include a discussion of how this matter is dealt with at other universities, how it will affect currently enroled students as well as teaching resources, and how it will improve Nipissing University’s programs. 

Changing Major Requirements

Proposals for New Majors and Minors

(Subsequent to APC Stage 1 approval )

Please refer to the currently approved degree requirements (i.e. BA, BSc, BBA) to ensure the compliance of the proposed major.  Prior to the presentation of a proposal for new major, any new courses to be included in the major must first be approved.

Please provide the proposed name of the new major and indicate whether it will be offered as an honours and/or general degree and whether it will be offered as a single major only or along with a combined major.  Also indicate whether a minor is to be offered as well.  Please provide (in consultation with the registrar’s office) the admission requirements.

Please list the complete requirements for each of the honours and/or general degree, single and/or combined major.  Also if a minor is to be offered, list the minor requirements and ensure compliance with the established requirements for a minor.

Please provide a detailed rationale for the proposed major including a statement of need, potential enrolment, and required resources including faculty, library, materials and a detailed description of the implementation of the major.  Please discuss whether the major is offered at other universities and how it will benefit Nipissing University and its offerings.

Proposals for a New Diploma or Certificate

Please provide a coherent set of learning objectives for the diploma or certificate along with the following:  courses which collectively meet those objectives; academic credit courses equivalent to at least 24 credits of undergraduate study for a diploma and 15 credits of undergraduate study for a certificate (8 credits for the diploma and 6 credits for the certificate must be unique to that diploma or certificate); a statement of admission requirements; a statement of advanced standing rules for students who enter the diploma (a maximum of 16 credits of AS for the diploma and 9 credits for the certificate); and a statement of the credit towards degree studies provided by courses in the diploma.  A complete proposal for a certificate or diploma program includes:  a statement of academic merit; a statement of financial viability; and a statement of administrative responsibility.

The complete policy on certificates and diplomas is available in the Senate Regulations and Policies document.

Non-Substantive Changes

If a proposed change in curriculum is deemed non-substantive, then this information will go to Faculty Council, or a designated sub-Committee, for approval and then to the Undergraduate Studies Committee and Senate for information only.  A non-substantive change may be described, for example, as a minor wording change in a course title or a course description. 

ARCC reserves the right to determine whether a change is to be considered non-substantive.  These changes must be considered and approved by the department before being submitted to ARCC.