Core Curriculum Committee

Core Curriculum Committee Charge and Organization

Charge

The Core Curriculum Committee is responsible for establishing program-level Core Curriculum learning objectives and planning their assessment.

Specifically, the Core Curriculum Committee undertakes the following activities:

• Conducts a comprehensive review of core curriculum and multicultural course syllabi on a 5-year rotation.
• Develops and conducts annual assessment of program-level learning outcomes for the seven core areas as well as the multicultural and foreign language requirements.
• Reviews proposals for addition or deletion of core curriculum and multicultural courses and forwards its recommendations to the Academic Council.
• Recommends changes in the core curriculum based on the results of the annual and fifth-year core curriculum assessments.
• Advises academic programs on how to improve the effectiveness of core curriculum courses based on the results of its assessment activities.

Membership

The Core Curriculum Committee chair is appointed annually by the Provost. The Committee is comprised of a Steering Committee and Core Area Committees, one for each core area and foreign languages. The Steering Committee membership is composed from the chairpersons or designees of the Core Area Committees a representative from the Faculty Senate, and the Core Curriculum Committee chairperson. The Director of Official Publications or designate, the Senior Administrator University Advising or designate, a representative from the Office of Institutional Research and Information Management, a representative from the College of Outreach and Distance Education and a representative from the Office of Planning and Assessment serve as ex officio members of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is responsible for coordinating core curriculum assessment, reviewing, approving or suggesting revisions, and forwarding on to the Academic Council recommendations from the Core Area Committees. The Steering Committee also has responsibility for coordinating the operation of the Core Area Committees.

Organization

Core Curriculum Committees report to the Steering Committee. Each Core Area Committee is responsible for a single Core Curriculum component or graduation requirement as indicated below. The Core Area Committees conduct assessment of their core curriculum or graduation requirement area, develop recommendations to the Steering Committee regarding assessment, learning objectives and program-level competencies, and evaluate courses in their area. The Core Area Committees will have a minimum of 5 members, each of whom has teaching experience or other professional expertise in the core subject area of the committee to which he or she is assigned. Core Area Committee members are appointed by the Provost to a 3-year renewable term.

Initial appointments to the Core Curriculum Committee will be assigned a term of 1, 2 or 3 years, allocated so as to maintain an appropriate level of expertise within each Core Area Committee. When an opening occurs on the committee the appropriate dean(s) for the core area with a vacancy will be contacted to recommend a replacement to the Provost.

The Core Curriculum Committee will maintain close liaison with colleges and departments which offer courses in the various core areas and with the Office of Planning and Assessment to provide help assessing Core Curriculum learning outcomes and also to insure that any changes to the Core do not unnecessarily impact program and degree requirements.

Core Curriculum:

A. Communication (written and oral)
B. Mathematic and Logic
C. Natural Sciences
D. Technology and Applied Sciences
E. Humanities
F. Visual and Performing Arts
G. Social and Behavioral Sciences (including the state-mandated U.S. history and government courses)

Texas Tech University Graduation Requirements:

1. Multicultural
2. Foreign Language