ADMINISTRATIVE RULE NO: 4010-01 (part A)

RELATED TO POLICY SERIES NO: 4010

TITLE: GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND SCHEDULING OF COURSES AND PROGRAMS

PURPOSE
Provides guidelines for the development and scheduling of courses and programs. 

STATEMENT

COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Course development and revisions are performed by faculty members, working through their divisions. Accordingly, the following procedures have been outlined for the development and maintenance of college courses.

  1. Course Proposals
    1. Proposals for courses to be offered by the college may originate with faculty, administration, students, LBCC Board of Education, and community groups. Anyone wishing to originate a course will complete a course proposal form and submit it to the appropriate department/program chair or administrator for review and recommendation.
    2. Proposals for new courses will be reviewed by the appropriate instructional division staff members, the dean, regional director, or designee, the Director of Curriculum or designee, the faculty review committee, and the state, before final approval. Proposals for career and technical education courses may also be reviewed by an advisory committee from the career and technical area concerned. For new credit courses, primary responsibility for initial review rests with the curricular department.
    3. The Director of Curriculum will assign course numbers according to the guidelines set forth by the state.
    4. The president has charged division deans, associate deans and regional directors with primary responsibility for the following courses:
      1. Lower Division Collegiate,
      2. Occupational Preparatory (Career and Technical) leading to a degree or certificate,
      3. Occupational Preparatory (Stand Alone)
      4. Occupational Supplementary,
      5. Post-Secondary Remedial,
      6. Adult and Continuing Education.
        Regional directors and the director of Community Education have primary responsibility for Adult and Continuing Education courses.
    5. Single courses approved by the Director of Curriculum and (where applicable) the state may be included in the scheduled offerings of the college. (It should be noted that approval of a course does not authorize its being scheduled as an offering of LBCC. That authorization must come from the appropriate division dean.)
  2. Course Outlines
    1. Course Outlines for all courses must be on file in Academic Affairs. The dean or designee has the responsibility to see that each course outline is reviewed by members of the division concerned and on file.   Any revised course requires submission of an updated course outline to the Academic Affairs Office. Proposals for course revisions will be reviewed by the appropriate instructional division staff members, the dean, regional director, or designee, the Director of Curriculum or designee, the faculty review committee, and the state before final approval.
    2. Course outlines will include course descriptions and student learning outcomes, and other data which are needed to implement articulation with four-year colleges, to assist new faculty, to answer inquiries about the instructional program, and to secure approval of the authorizing agencies.
    3. All faculty members have the responsibility of conducting courses according to the course outlines on file with the Academic Affairs office. The attention of new faculty members is particularly directed to this responsibility.
    4. For all courses listed in A-4 a-e above, the same course outlines, course descriptions, and learning outcomes will be used on campus and at all off-site locations.
  3. Course Scheduling
    1. The course schedule is developed by each department and each center. The department/program chair or regional director, in consultation with faculty and dean/director, has the responsibility of planning the schedule for his/her department. They shall consider courses to be offered, number of sections of each course, time schedules, and class sizes. Suggestions received from counselors, students, and other interested groups are referred to the departments for their consideration.
    2. Regional directors will coordinate transfer and career and technical offerings with on-campus departments and programs.
    3. The dean or designee will review the proposed course schedule for possible conflicts or other concerns. Resolutions of problems should occur at the instructional manager level.
    4. Schedule recommendations are submitted to the office of curriculum and scheduling.  The Academic Affairs office is responsible for coordination of the college-wide schedule including time managing conflicts, room scheduling, and scheduling discrepancies. Regional directors are responsible for scheduling the center rooms and contracted community facilities.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT/REVISION

  1. New Curriculum Development

    Any faculty member may bring ideas for new programs or program options to the attention of their dean or designee or the Director of Curriculum. The issues to be considered include:

    1. reason for new program;
    2. impact on other programs;
    3. estimated cost of program, including equipment and staffing needs; and
    4. employment data and/or transfer opportunities for those individuals completing the program.

    Proposals for new programs will be reviewed by the appropriate instructional division staff members, the dean, regional director, or designee, the Director of Curriculum or designee, the VP of Academic Affairs, the faculty review committee, the LBCC Board of Education, the state, and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), before final approval. Career/Technical program proposals must also be reviewed by an advisory committee from the career and technical area concerned. For Career/Technical programs, LBCC Board of Education and NWCCU approval are required before submitting official notice to the U.S. Department of Education that a new program is under development. There are specific state guidelines to be followed and applications to be submitted in order to receive state approval for adding new programs or program options. Working with the Director of Curriculum, the respective program/department is responsible for completing the application.

  2. Curriculum Revision

    Curriculum revisions that are non-substantive in nature are submitted on an annual basis at the time catalog material for the upcoming year is submitted. Curriculum revisions that constitute a substantive change to the program should be submitted to the Academic Affairs office in the fall to allow time for review and approval by NWCCU.

    Questions regarding the substantive/non-substantive nature of the revision should be directed to the Academic Affairs office. Curriculum revisions and possible budgetary impact should be discussed with the dean or designee, and any changes that impact another division should be discussed with the appropriate representatives from that division.

DATE OF ADOPTION: 8/13/84

DATE(S) OF REVISION(S): 8/19/97; 7/1/08; 5/2/11; 6/1/17; 4/2/2020

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 6/1/17