Curriculum Development - General Overview
Curriculum
As a faculty member working with your colleagues, you will be responsible for the content of your classes, the method of presentation, and the cohesiveness and comprehensiveness of your academic program. Proposals for new curriculum and changes in existing curriculum are submitted for the scrutiny of the full academic community through their representatives on the Curriculum Committee. Click here for information about the: Curriculum Committee's Charge
Curriculum Development
Developing curricula is a primary responsibility of the faculty. Curriculum ideas can come from many sources including program review, advisory committees, colleagues at CRC and other colleges, students, alumni or professional friends. Department faculty are essential to the development of formal curriculum proposals for the college. In order for an idea to become reality, the college uses an official curriculum process managed by the Curriculum Committee. The Curriculum Committee reviews and approves new and revised curriculum.
Included in the process are reviews by the appropriate subcommittees: Prerequisite/Co-requisite/Advisory, Distance Education, General Education, Multicultural Graduation Requirement, and Honors. After college approval of curriculum proposals, they are forwarded to the District Curriculum Coordinating Committee, which, upon approval, then presents all district curriculum to the Board of Trustees for approval. When new programs are developed or existing programs are substantially revised, curriculum is also forwarded to the State Chancellor’s Office for state level review and approval. Career Technical Education (CTE) programs are forwarded for approval to the North Far-North Regional Consortium (NFNRC), prior to being sent to the State Chancellor's Office for state approval. Because of the many layers of review and approval that are sometimes required, the college has established a set of time lines so that curriculum is processed as efficiently and quickly as possible. Once curriculum is approved, faculty are obligated to adhere to the approved course outlines.
Creating Courses for New Programs: LRCCD Program Placement Council (PPC)
Under the leadership of the College and District Academic Senates, the processes to develop and approve new curriculum are already in place as a professional responsibility of faculty, while the allocation of new to college or new to district programs is the responsibility of administration, based upon consultation with faculty involved in curriculum design as well as recognition of the overall needs of the colleges and the district as a whole. The process to maximize district and college resource use through optimal placement of programs is guided by the Los Rios Program Placement Council (PPC). The PPC Guidelines and a Visual outlining those guidelines are available to help faculty members to take a program idea from inception through the development and approval process.
Curriculum Management Software
The complexity of the curriculum development and review process and the ties to program review and articulation with other two and four-year institutions of higher education has led to the development of a computerized curriculum management system. This computerized curriculum management system, called SOCRATES (System for Online Curriculum Review and Technical Education Support) allows the viewing of course and program outlines as well as the online development and updating of courses and academic programs. Access to the SOCRATES is available through your Intranet Service Account for online grading and rosters (http://www.scc.losrios.edu/facultypage.html). More information and assistance is available from the Curriculum Committee, the Curriculum Handbook, and the Office of Instruction. Click here for a link to: SOCRATES