CHARGE

JOINT COMMITTEE ON CURRICULAR INTEGRITY

 (Committee charged on October 22, 2004)

Joint Committee on Curricular Integrity Final Report, September 13, 2005

Committee Membership

Background:

The major goal of the 1997 reorganization continues to be the effective implementation of Penn State’s principle of one university geographically dispersed in which:

• Students maintain maximum reasonable freedom to make efficient progress toward a chosen undergraduate degree in a program of study that may involve one or multiple locations;
  
• Course and disciplinary integrity are maximized through available channels, including adherence to scholarly disciplinary standards and practices within and among colleges, and appropriate implementation policies and procedures developed by the faculty, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and International Programs, and the Provost;
  
• The Faculty Senate establishes and administers appropriate curricular procedures;
  
• The Office of the Provost implements the highest standards of curricular integrity through means enumerated in ACUE’s Academic Administrative Policies and Procedures and elsewhere.

 

The ACUE principles assert that:

1. Curricular programs should reflect disciplinary integrity across all locations of the University.

 

2. Curricular integrity requires planning and implementation that reflects quality among units with common curricular interests across all Penn State locations and delivery modes.

 

3. Decisions regarding undergraduate programs, majors, options, and minors require both academic and administrative review and approval.

Guideline – Academic review and approval is conducted by the faculty through the University Faculty Senate Council. Academic review ensures adherence to the University’s standards of academic quality and curricular integrity.

Guideline – Administrative review and approval is conducted by the Office of the Provost. Administrative review ensures consideration and fulfillment of the broader University mission, enrollment management, local needs, and resource availability and use, as well as overall academic quality and curricular integrity.

4. New programs must be justified by considerations of quality, cost, enrollment, impact upon availability of senior faculty to engage in lower division instruction, and implications for other programs and courses.

Guideline – Unique majors, minors, and options should be proposed only when the variation from existing curricula is substantial, and when the program fulfills a demonstrable demand by students that is likely to continue.

Charge to Committee:

In light of the recent Senate committee report and the ACUE principles and implementation guidelines, the Committee on Curricular Integrity is asked to provide a timely report that:

• Identifies key elements in the processes and practices of curricular development, integration, and delivery appropriate to Penn State’s multi-location, multi-college structure; and catalogs and distinguishes elements of responsibility among process participants;
  
  
• Identifies university-wide and college-specific portability policies and practices involving students wishing to change assignment, college, or major; assesses the rationale for the portability policies and practices; and, if necessary, recommends appropriate remediation measures;
  
  
• Considers existing evaluation and consultation policies and procedures being used by the Faculty Senate, Colleges, and Provost to ensure that disciplinary integrity, university-wide quality standards, and appropriate delivery methods are part of the evaluation process;
  
  
• Identifies and assesses the role of the Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs in maintaining curricular integrity, and recommends measures to improve effectiveness, if appropriate. Are the committee’s criteria, procedures, structure, and workload adequate to the Senate oversight function of review, evaluation, and approval/rejection of course and curriculum proposals?
  
  
• Considers the role that the originating disciplinary units play in providing oversight to courses and curriculum. Recognizing the importance of discipline knowledge and the necessity of collegial collaboration, what is the most effective and appropriate balance between the college, the disciplinary unit, and the Faculty Senate for such oversight?