7-5 Steps to follow in proposing new technical
In order to assure that new program decisions are based on analysis of district-wide employment data and trends and that staff and resources are available to conduct needs assessments, the following new program development process is to be followed.
Departments generate the ideas[4] for new programs and communicate ideas to the campus president. Each year, using information presented by the campus presidents, the vice chancellor of instructional programs and services summarizes and prepares a prioritization of new program development.[5] The programs will be ones that appear to meet major workforce demands of the service area.
The recommended prioritization of new program development is presented to the chancellor’s cabinet for approval or modification depending upon college interest, level of potential support for the program, fit with other campus programs, etc. The prioritization of new program development is submitted to the webmaster for inclusion on the curriculum Intranet, and the prioritization of new program development is assigned to the individual campuses for development. In a letter of intent, the chancellor notifies THECB of the programs under development.
Before a new program begins, there must be a full-time faculty member in the program area. However, the lack of a faculty member should not preclude a campus from exploring a new program. Therefore, the president may assign the proposed program to the associate dean of the division, and either the dean of technical education (Central), dean of program development and institutional effectiveness (North), or dean of instruction (South).[6] The associate dean identifies either existing faculty or consultants to serve on curriculum proposal team. An explanation of curriculum proposal team membership and the responsibilities of the curriculum facilitator responsibilities can be found in "Roles and Responsibilities".
The curriculum proposal team convenes and selects its curriculum facilitator. The curriculum proposal team addresses the "Considerations for Curriculum Proposals" (Appendix B) and keeps minutes of the meetings. If data support implementation at more than one campus, the selected campuses will share responsibility for curriculum development. "Resources for Curriculum Proposals" (Appendix B) provides a list of materials to be used in preparing a proposal and a format of the curriculum proposal. New Technical Program Forms are located in Section C in Appendix A of this manual. In accordance with the approved schedule, associate deans and curriculum proposal team will conduct needs assessments. This will involve researching regional labor force data, job/occupation task analysis, conducting surveys of employers, convening representative advisory committees, and costs of additional faculty or professional for existing faculty. The curriculum proposal team must have advisory committee input and include minutes from at least two advisory committee meetings in the proposal.
The curriculum proposal team can decide to abort, postpone, modify or proceed. Upon review and favorable support by the curriculum proposal team, the curriculum facilitator will summarize the proposal.[7] The curriculum facilitator submits the curriculum proposal form (only) to the webmaster for placement on the curriculum Intranet. The curriculum facilitator will disseminate information via the Intranet and will be responsible for responses to expressed recommendations. An e-mail notification of Intranet postings will be sent to all district faculty and administrators via DL-Curriculum. A copy of the e-mail notification should be included in the proposal. The curriculum Intranet is updated to reflect modifications.
When the curriculum proposal teams completes the proposal packet, it should be reviewed by the associate dean, the campus registrar and one of the following: dean of technical education (Central), dean of program development and institutional effectiveness (North), or dean of instruction (South). They will indicate that the proposal has been reviewed by signing the routing slip that accompanies the proposal. [8] The curriculum facilitator will forward the proposal to the campus administrative council. The campus administrative council reviews the needs assessment and feasibility study. The administrative council can decide to abort, postpone, modify or proceed. Following the agreement of the administrative council to continue exploration of the program, the curriculum facilitator submits the entire curriculum proposal with signed forms, (i.e., THECB and internal forms, including course inventory maintenance forms) to the vice president of instruction and to the chair of the campus curriculum committee(s). The vice president of instruction places the proposal on the agenda. The chair of the campus curriculum committee schedules proposal presentations. The curriculum facilitator also submits proposal, forms, and the signed routing slip to all members of the campus curriculum committee. Proposals should be submitted to the campus curriculum committee members two weeks, but no less than one week, before the scheduled proposal presentation.
Curriculum recommendations expressed by the campus curriculum committee are directed to the curriculum facilitator for response and possible proposal modification. Campus curriculum committee recommendations are reflected in the minutes. The campus curriculum committee minutes should include the name of the curriculum facilitator, the proposal, the motion and action. The campus curriculum committee secretary posts the minutes on the Intranet. The campus curriculum committee can decide to abort, postpone, modify or proceed.
If the campus curriculum committee approves the proposal following their review and appropriate revisions, the curriculum facilitator submits the proposal and forms for a final presidential review prior to the district curriculum committee review. Following this review, the chair(s) of the campus curriculum committee submits the entire proposal with all forms to the vice chancellor of instructional programs and services for placement on the district curriculum committee agenda and to all members of the district curriculum committee for their review. Proposals should be submitted to the district curriculum committee no less than one week before the scheduled presentation.
Curriculum recommendations expressed by the district curriculum committee will be directed to the associate dean and/or curriculum facilitator for response and possible proposal modification. If necessary, the curriculum facilitator may refer recommendations to the curriculum proposal team. District curriculum committee recommendations are reflected in the minutes and posted on the Intranet. The district curriculum committee can decide to abort, postpone, modify or proceed. The minutes will be posted on the Intranet.
Any decisions can be appealed to the chancellor's cabinet.
If the district curriculum committee approves the proposal, subject to the chancellor's approval, the chancellor submits the program to the board of regents. Simultaneously, the technical dean for the campus on which the program will be located submits the proposal to the THECB. The technical dean is responsible for addressing questions and recommendations from THECB.
Following approval by the district curriculum committee, the office of vice chancellor of instructional programs and services distributes the approved proposal to the vice president(s) of instruction, the registrar(s), the technical dean(s), the academic dean, the associate dean(s), and the department chair(s).
Following approval by THECB, the proposal is returned to the technical dean. The technical dean notifies the webmaster. Before the first day of classes, the course syllabus must be on file with the associate dean, the vice president of instruction, and the vice chancellor of instructional programs and services.
Associate deans compile the course descriptions and submit them to the person(s) responsible for catalog revisions.
