6,030: Curricula-Procedures for Changes, New Curricula, or Eliminations

Revised: November 2021

A curricular change is defined as any modification requiring a revision in the catalog description of a degree requirement, program, major, minor, emphasis, specialization, certificate or other curricular description

These sections cover:

change in requirements for a degree, major, or program
introduction of a minor or alteration of requirements for a minor
elimination of a specialization, minor, certificate, or degree program
creation of a new emphasis under an existing major or degree title
establishment of a new minor, major, or academic degree program
other alterations of or development of the curriculum
requests for bachelor's degrees exceeding the standard 120 credits

Technical Assistance

Technical assistance and review is available from UCCC staff at any point in the curriculum approval process. When such assistance is requested by the proposal submitter, staff will review the proposal, provide guidance on required components, and begin tracking the proposal through the approval process.

Procedures for Changes in Curricula

Procedures for additions of degrees, majors, or programs
1. Review by the New Program Pre-Proposal Committee (NPPP) - see section 6,040
2. Review by department, college, and UCC Committees
3. Review by the Board of Regents - see section 6,041
4. Review by the University's accreditation association
Procedures for deletions of degrees, majors, or programs - see section 6,045
Procedures for review by Courses and Curricula Committees
1. All proposals for changes in curricula originate in the department or college via submission using the appropriate Curriculog approval process, which routes the proposal for approval by the department faculty, department and college curricula committee, and the dean, the UCCC and the Provost’s Office.
  
  Except for proposals involving only editorial changes in curricula, which the Provost’s Office may immediately approve for implementation (see d. below), proposals for changes in either undergraduate or graduate curricula are routed to the UCCC.
  1. Proposals for requests for curricular changes should be submitted using the appropriate Curriculog approval process.
  2. Proposals for curricular changes should utilize the import and tracking functions in Curriculog for clarity of proposed changes to catalog copy. Full justification for the requested change should be provided in the rationale section. Curricular proposals are reviewed particularly for their effect on other university programs, the availability of staff or other resources to implement the change, and the appropriateness of the change in relation to the goals and authorized purposes of the department and the university.
  3. If the proposed change affects offerings in other departments, a letter or email of support from the affected department(s) should be uploaded to the proposal as an attachment.
2. Curriculog approval processes include the Graduate Council and/or the Core Curriculum Committees and Board, as appropriate, prior to review by the UCCC.
3. Following recommendation for approval by the UCCC, all proposals for new majors or degrees should follow the procedures and format described in the sections for University and Board of Regents’ New Program Approval appearing below.
4. Editorial changes in curricula - The Provost's Office may approve, for immediate implementation, proposals involving only editorial changes. Editorial changes are limited to changes of such a nature that they do not require action by the UCCC. Editorial changes could include corrections of spelling, grammar, typographical errors, and resolving of inconsistencies such as changes in course numbers of prerequisite and corequisite courses when those courses have been renumbered through a UCCC and/or Common Course Numbering approved course number change. Editorial changes do NOT include changes in the requirements for a degree, major, or program, creation or elimination of an emphasis, specialization, minor, or degree program, or any other change that is subject to review by the UCCC.
  1. A department representative may initiate the request for an editorial change in curricula by submitting a memo or email, and revised catalog copy if applicable, through the department chair and dean, to the Provost's Office. The Provost's Office will forward the request to the chair of the UCCC.
  2. If the proposed change affects offerings in other departments, the memo must be accompanied by a letter of support from the affected department(s).
  3. If the chair of the UCCC and the Provost's Office approve the change, a copy of the memo and revised catalog copy will be sent to the Office of Admissions and Records. Upon receipt of the memo in Admissions and Records, the change will be made in the degree audit encoding and in the catalog copy as soon as possible.
University procedures for requesting a bachelor's degree program in excess of 120 credits

The number of credits for a bachelor's degree has been established by the NSHE Board of Regents as 120 credits. Institutions with a compelling reason for exceeding the 120-credit standard in a particular academic major may request an exception from the Chancellor (BOR Handbook Title 4, Chapter 16, Section 39).

A new or changed undergraduate program proposal for which the proposed curriculum exceeds 120-credits must be accompanied by a proposal for exceeding the standard 120 credits for a bachelor’s degree. The proposal should be in the form of a memo to the Executive Vice President & Provost and should be uploaded to the Curriculog proposal as an attachment.

The Executive Vice President & Provost will make the final decision for the University, reporting any approved exceptions or the rationale for continuing an exception to the Chancellor's office upon request.

Proposal Guidelines:

The proposal memo should include the following information:
1. Brief description of the existing program and any significant curricular changes that have taken place in the last decade.
2. Summary of consultations with other similar academic programs in NSHE regarding requirements for the bachelor's degree.
3. Data relevant to the request. This might include, but not be limited to, average time to degree, average number of credits at graduation, alumni/employer survey data, comparisons with comparable programs at other universities, national trends, etc.
4. Rationale for exceeding the standard 120 credits, emphasizing items related to the BOR criteria.