Core Curriculum Course Review Procedures

Criteria for Including Courses in the Core Curriculum

The CCC uses the following criteria to determine whether a course should be included in the core:

1. The course should be a 1000- or 2000-level course. (In some situations, the CCC will consider 3000- or 4000-level courses, but such courses must fulfill all other criteria clearly.)
2. The course must be designed for any student to take as part of his or her general university education (as opposed to courses designed primarily for a major or specialization).
3. The course must not have any pre-requisites within the same core category the course is meant to fulfill (unless there is a clear sequence of courses in the category, such as MATH 1300 and MATH 2300).
4. In the case of sequenced courses, both courses must be submitted together and approved as a single category offering.
5. The course syllabus must contain the exact wording from the University Catalog for the objective of the Core Curriculum the course is intended to satisfy.
6. Cross-listed courses should be submitted together and clearly designated as core course options.
7. The course syllabus must begin with a course purpose statement, followed by the competency statement for the category ( " Students graduating from TTU should be able to …" which immediately follows the category objective in the catalog) then a list of learning outcomes statements.  At least one of the outcomes specified by the CCC for that Core Curriculum category must be included in the list of learning outcomes.
8. The purpose statement must specify to students that the course fulfills the requirements for a particular core category.
9. The learning outcome statements must follow best practices for measurability and include methods of assessment for each outcome. Each outcome must be directly paired with one or more assessment methods. The TLTC has published a concise introduction to assessment.
10. The learning outcome statements must align with and contribute to the appropriate core category outcome statement.

Course Submission Procedures

All requests for courses to be included in the core curriculum should be accompanied by the following documentation:

1. An application form indicating approval of the request at the departmental and college levels (i.e., departmental and college curriculum committee, appropriate associate dean, etc.).
2. The application form should also indicate the prefix, number and title of the course as well as the core curriculum area for which approval is requested (see the application form at the end of this instruction)
3. A complete syllabus (or syllabi in cases where a course is taught by different instructors in different sections with individual syllabi). The syllabus must comply with Core Curriculum Committee requirements to include the course purpose statement, the category competency statement, at least one of the learning outcomes for the category and other learning outcomes,  and assessments as appropriate for the core curriculum area in question.
4. A statement from the course instructor(s), department chair, dean, or other person responsible for curriculum in the requesting unit explaining in detail how the course meets the core curriculum requirement for which approval is requested.
5. An estimate of how many students will take the course each semester in order to complete a core curriculum requirement, as well as an estimate of the number of sections of the course the unit expects to offer each semester or year.

Review Procedure

1. All core curriculum course proposals will be submitted to the appropriate core area committee for review. Recommendations from the core area committee are forwarded to the Core Curriculum Committee Steering Committee for approval and from there to the Academic Council for a recommendation to the PVPAA.
2. Proposed courses are evaluated according to the following criteria:
   1. Compliance with core curriculum syllabus requirements as indicated above
   2. Compatibility of the course with the core curriculum learning outcomes and core competency statements
   3. Compliance with THECB guidelines regarding prerequisites, appropriateness of course level and suitability of course for general student enrollment
   4. Justification of need for the course to be included within the core curriculum
   5. Cross-listed courses will be considered together by the committee
3. Incomplete proposals or proposals about which the Committee has questions will be referred back to the originating unit along with an indication of the problem or question.
4. A negative decision by the Core Curriculum Committee will be accompanied by an explanation from the committee chair indicating why the request was denied.
5. Decisions of the Core Curriculum Committee are advisory and subject to approval by the PVPAA.

Deletion of Courses from the Core

The Core Curriculum Committee has established a five-year cycle for review of the core curriculum. Courses which no longer fit the core requirements or which are no longer active should be identified through this process and removed from the core. However, from time to time a unit may decide to remove a core curriculum course because of changes in departmental curriculum or priorities. In such cases, the department should submit the request for deletion to the chair of the Core Curriculum Committee along with a brief explanation for why the request is being made and noting any possible ways the deletion may affect university programs. The committee chair will convey the request to the appropriate core area committee for consideration. All recommendations for course deletion will also be approved by the Core Curriculum Steering Committee and the Academic Council, as with course additions. Deleted courses will not be removed from the core until the next printing of the university catalog after the PVPAA has approved their deletion.

Course Approval Forms

• Please attach a general course syllabus or, in the case of multiple sections with different syllabi, a separate syllabus for each section as appropriate.
• Please submit all core curriculum course approvals to the chair of the Core Curriculum Committee, Office of the Provost, MS 2017