V403.01 Curriculum Management
Curriculum changes at Valley City State University are initiated and approved under the authority of the Constitution of the Faculty Association. Decisions regarding the addition or deletion of degrees and academic programs are made by the university administration, but the Curriculum Committee, a Faculty Association committee, is responsible for each program’s curricular content and for the continued evaluation of the academic requirements of the University.
The Curriculum Committee receives requests for graduate and undergraduate curriculum changes from the department chair or a faculty member with the department chair’s approval. The Committee is responsible for setting a regular hearing schedule for all proposals, which include a brief, written description of requested changes, including a rationale for the request and impact on the department. Either the department chair, or a faculty member with chair’s approval, will attend the scheduled curriculum meeting to present the request.
The Curriculum Committee reviews the proposal through a first and second reading process. If the proposal is approved, the requests are forwarded to Faculty Senate for final approval. However, if a proposal is not approved, the Curriculum Committee will submit their rationale for not approving to the affected chair/director. The affected chair/director may submit a formal letter of appeal along with supporting documents rebutting the Curriculum Committee’s decision to the Faculty Senate President. The documents must include a copy of the Curriculum Committee’s rejection rationale, and a copy of all the materials in the appeal will be shared with the Curriculum Committee chair. Upon receiving a request for the appeal, the Faculty Senate President will add this item to the agenda of the next regularly scheduled Faculty Senate meeting. If the Senate upholds the appeal, it will provide a letter outlining the rationale to the chair of the Curriculum Committee and allow that body to take the matter up at its next scheduled meeting. The Curriculum Committee may submit documents to the Senate in response to the appeal, and the Senate will set a timeline to deliberate and render a decision at a subsequent Senate meeting. The decision of the Faculty Senate shall be final.
VCSU standards for academic programs and degrees:
Major: 32-42 credits (all non-education, non-composite majors require a minor)
Composite Major: 52-75 credits (minor not required)
B.S.Ed. Major: 32-48 credits (minor not required; professional education sequence required)
Minor: 18-26 credits (VCSU norm is 21-24 credits)
Certificate: at least 9 credits
Certificate of Completion: less than 9 credits
Concentration: 18-30 credits
Cognate: 12-17 credits
Bachelor’s Degree: 120 credits including at least 30 upper level credits
The ten credit gap between a major and composite major is intentional to allow students to fit in their minor and allow students to explore other courses.
Exemptions to this policy must be approved by Curriculum, using the Curriculum Policy Exemption Form (AA-55).
Table to guide curricular changes:
Proposal
Notes
Curriculum
Senate
Academic Affairs
New academic program (major, minor, certificate) or degree new prefix, change in delivery method or title
Initiated by VPAA to move to NDUS approval process
N
N
A
Program Termination
Initiated by Administration
N
N
A
New Course
Initiated by Department Chair
A*
A
N
Course, program, or degree change implementation or change
A
A
N
* N = notify in advance of the action
A = approve
* A = If a change involves courses within the General Education program, need Gen Ed approval before Curriculum approval
Sponsored by: Curriculum Committee
Revised: Fall, 1990
Reviewed: Winter, 1996
Revised: March 2015
Revised: October 2016
Revised: April 2020
Revised: June 2022
Revised: Fall 2023