Proposed Revisions to 303.1 - Curriculum Proposals; Montana University System
Board policy:
1. All new postsecondary educational programs:
certificate programs, degrees, and addition of majors to existing degrees,
options within majors, or minors where a major does not exist shall be
submitted to the Commissioner of Higher Education who will formulate
recommendations for the Board of Regents through the Curriculum Committee.
2. Changes in the names of degrees shall be
approved by the Board of Regents.
Procedures:
1. These programs shall be presented in the
following manner:
a. specify the objectives to be reached by the
addition of this program;
b. specify in detail present faculty,
facilities and equipment, and library holdings in support of this program, and
compare them to known or anticipated minimum standards for accreditation;
c. additional faculty requirements should be
detailed as to qualifications, salary, and recruitment;
d. increased costs will be submitted in detail
for the first year, for the biennium, and an estimate of the continuing costs
of the program over a five-year period.
These costs should reflect new faculty, increased library costs, space
requirements, equipment, and other facilities' needs;
e. a new program will be carefully scrutinized
as to the effect on enrollment, numbers of students (both graduate and
undergraduate) with lower and upper division course breakdowns, and the number
expected to graduate over a ten-year period;
f. list the new courses this program will add
to the curriculum and specify the course requirements for the degree;
g. indicate the inter-departmental
implications of additions to this program or supporting courses in departments
which contribute to the new program of studies;
h. explain how the recommendation to submit
this proposal to the Board of Regents was made. Were faculty involved institution-wide in the decision?
2. In all cases the Board of Regents may
require an appropriate report from outside, objective consultants to assist the
Board in analyzing the proposal and arriving at a just decision.
3. A copy of every curriculum proposal shall be
forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs and to the chief
academic officers of the units campuses of the
Montana University System as soon as it has been approved by the unit campus concerned. Copies of all proposals for associate degree
programs and vocational-technical programs shall also be forwarded to the
chief academic officers of the community colleges. In addition, proposals for vocational-technical programs
shall be forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner of Vocational-Technical
Education for
Academic and Student Affairs and to the chief academic officers of
the
vocational-technical centers colleges of technology.
Definitions:
1. Degree - a specific designation
of letters representing the words on the diploma indicating completion or
attainment, e.g., B.A., B.S., B.Arch., B.B.A., M.A., M.F.A., Ed.D., D.A.,
Ph.D.;
2. Certificate - awarded upon
successful completion of entry-level programs, a specialty within an
occupational area, and/or upgrading skills and knowledge within an
occupation. Usually, certificate
programs are 45-60 semester hours in length;
3. Major - the specific field of
concentration for the degree;
4. Minor - the supporting or complementary
field undertaken along with a major for a degree;
5. Option - one of at least two
tracks, emphases, or areas of study within a major that has a sequence of
courses and/or requirements that are different from other available
options. Usually, options share a
common core of courses;
5. New postsecondary educational programs
- all proposals for a new series of courses arranged in a scope or
sequence leading to a certificate, option, major, or minor where a major does
not already exist.
Cross reference:
See
Section 218, Institutional Organization.
History:
Item 2-001-R0973, (Revised), October 19, 1973, as revised April 11, 1978; Item 24-001-R0579, Changes in Institutional Organization, May 30, 1979; Item 2-001-R0973, June 14, 1990.
