INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM ACTIONS

PREPARATION OF THE CURRICULUM ACTION
NUMBER OF COPIES
DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR CURRICULUM ACTION PROPOSALS
HEADINGS ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM ACTION FORM
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTACHMENTS (INCLUDING FORMAT A AND FORMAT B)

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I. PREPARATION OF THE CURRICULUM ACTION

The originating department should access the official Undergraduate Curriculum Action Form, the Semester-by-Semester Curriculum Display (Format A) and the List of Curriculum Requirements (Format B) and should complete these documents following the appropriate format and instructions as closely as possible (http://www.ncsu.edu/uap/academic-standards/curricula/crscurrforms.html). Separate Curriculum Actions should be used for each curriculum; concentrations may be included in actions with the parent degree. Only one curriculum action per semester should be submitted to avoid different versions of the curriculum being implemented in the same semester. All pages should be numbered consecutively for each Curriculum Action.

Minor Actions

In some instances the revision of a curriculum may be considered as a minor action and may not require the preparation of a Curriculum Action Form. In determining whether or not a curriculum revision may be considered a minor action, consult with the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Academic Programs Academic Standards Coordinator.

Examples of minor actions are: a limited change in the order in which requirements are shown on the semester-by-semester display; a substitution in the requirements of one course for another where the course previously required has been dropped and the new course is understood to be its replacement; and the adding or dropping of one or two courses in the major or departmental elective requirements when these courses are offered by the major department.

Instead of a Curriculum Action Form, a memorandum may be submitted for a minor action. This memorandum shall be addressed to the Dean of Undergraduate Academic Programs and indicate the proposed revision with appropriate justification accompanied by a current and proposed eight-semester display clearly showing the revision(s). See II below for submission instructions.

II. NUMBER OF COPIES OF CURRICULUM ACTION

Submission Instructions for all Undergraduate Course and Curricular Actions

All course and curricular actions for UCCC and CUE agendas, including minor action memos, should be:

Sent in Word format (or PDF) via an email attachment to your College Liaison to forward to Catherine_Freeman@ncsu.edu no later than 12:00 noon, 1 week prior to the agenda date for the meeting.
One hard copy of the signed original should immediately follow to Campus Box 7105 and must be received prior to the meeting.

For actions that are approved pending changes, the revised complete action or individual pages, if applicable, should be submitted in word format or PDF via email to Catherine_freeman@ncsu.edu and your college liaison in the Dean’s office. If necessary, you can send a hard copy of the revisions thru campus mail.

New Degrees, University Certificate, Change in Degree Title, or Discontinuation of an existing degree program requires an On-Campus Routing form to be completed and forwarded with the curriculum action upon submission to the ASO.

III. DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR TYPES OF CURRICULUM ACTION PROPOSALS

New Concentration

Submission of a new concentration within a currently approved degree program requires the completion of an Undergraduate Curriculum Action Form in full.

Include attachments 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 as listed on the curriculum action form.

Curriculum Revision

Use the Undergraduate Curriculum Action Form in full.
Include attachments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 as listed on the curriculum action form.

Discontinuation of Curriculum

Use the Undergraduate Curriculum Action Form in full.
Include attachments 1, 8, 10 as listed on the curriculum action form.

Periodic Review of Curriculum is no longer being used. See Undergraduate Academic Program Review.

IV. HEADINGS ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM ACTION FORM

Department

Indicate the name(s) of the department(s) requesting the curriculum action.

Curriculum/Degree Title

Indicate the currently approved title of the degree as shown on the UNC Program Inventory for NC State University. If proposing a change to the title of a degree, please see instructions at http://www.ncsu.edu/uap/academic-standards/Appendices/appendix_g.html

Concentration Title

Indicate the current or proposed title of the concentration within the degree program.

CIP Discipline Specialty Number

Indicate the UNC Academic Program Inventory CIP (Classification of Instruction) discipline specialty number as shown at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/tools/cip/index.htm. The CIP numbers are based on the U.S. Department of Education's national taxonomy

Curriculum Code Designation

Indicate the two-letter or three-letter curriculum code. If proposing a new curriculum code, please contact Registration and Records to determine if the code is available and attach verification that the code is available for use. New concentrations will be assigned distinct academic code to differentiate them from the parent degree.

Proposed Effective Date

Indicate the semester and year in which the action is proposed for implementation. For discontinuation, the proposed effective date should allow sufficient time for any students in the curriculum to have exited the degree or concentration.

Approved Effective Date

Do not complete. An approved effective date will be affixed at the conclusion of the approval process.

Type of Proposal
Indicate by an "x" the action(s) proposed.

Required Signatures

All required signatures must be present before the Curriculum Action Form can move forward for approval. If two colleges are required to endorse, actions should be approved in one college, submitted to the other college who should then submit the action to the Dean of Undergraduate Academic Programs.

V. INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTACHMENTS

1. Statement of Justification

For a new concentration, the justification should describe;

(a) the need for the concentration in terms of otherwise unmet needs and interests of NC State University students and potential students,
(b) the relationship of the concentration to other programs offered by NCSU,
(c) career opportunities for graduates of the concentration.
Additional justification may be presented as appropriate.
For the discontinuation of a degree or concentration, justification should include the reason for the discontinuation.

2. Statement of Program Objectives

For new concentrations, attach a statement of program objectives. Objectives may include or overlap the objectives of the parent degree, but must also contain objectives distinct to the concentration.

3. Proposed Revision(s) with Reasons

For a curriculum revision, list each of the proposed change(s) and write a statement of justification for each.

4. Proposed Semester-by-Semester Curriculum Display (Format A)

Using Format A, display the course requirements for the curriculum. This format should show that the curriculum can be completed in four years. Follow the below instructions for Format A very carefully:

1. Degree Title:

Enter the degree title as approved by UNC General Administration and shown on the UNC Program Inventory for NC State University. (e.g. B.S. Mechanical Engineering).

2. Concentration Title:

Enter proposed or currently approved concentration title if the display is for a concentration.

3. Curriculum Display:

The years (FRESHMEN YEAR, SOPHOMORE YEAR) should be shown in all caps and not underlined. The semester and credits headings should be in upper and lowercase letters and italicized or underlined.

4. Semester Listing:

Courses should be listed in the semester they are normally offered (refer to course catalog for semester normally offered). Courses should be arranged so that the course level is consistent with the academic level of students (freshman, sophomore, etc) and sequenced to provide the necessary prerequisites in time for later advanced courses.

5. Course Listings

Include as much of the course title as possible. Only one line per course should be used, and some titles may have to be abbreviated. These should be clear as possible. Check that the abbreviation is appropriate. For example: for the word “analysis”, abbreviate as “anly”, not “anal.”Each line on the display should either be a course or the title of an elective group. If elective group, a footnote must be affixed listing the courses that comprise the elective group. Appropriate terms should be selected to designate a group of elective courses so that the meaning and the extent of student choice are clear (e.g., geophysics electives, management electives, engineering science electives). “Advised elective” is understood to mean the student chooses a course in coordination with their adviser, so the footnote to an Advised Elective should state this and would not include a course list.

6. Footnotes

Use superscript numbers (not asterisks nor symbols) to indicate footnotes. The style selected must be used consistently throughout. Footnotes should be placed below the statement of “Minimum Credit Hours Required for Graduation.”A footnote that cannot be tied directly to a course or elective group should come after
“Minimum Credit Hours Required for Graduation” and before the footnotes.

5. Current Semester-by-Semester Curriculum Display (Format A)

Display the previously approved course requirements for the curriculum using Format A.
If developing a new concentration, attach the current semester-by-semester display of the parent degree.

6. List of Requirements (Format B)

List the course requirements for the curriculum using Format B.

Add categories to Format B as needed (example: College Requirements).

Show specific course requirements by prefix, number, and title. When a requirement consists of a group of elective courses (e.g., geophysics electives, management electives, engineering science electives), define the group of courses either by a short list on the form itself or reference the footnote number from the corresponding elective group on the Semester-by-Semester Display (Format A). Do not create separate sets of footnotes for Format A and Format B.

If the curriculum is subject to special college or departmental requirements (e.g. limited D grades in certain courses or categories, GPA requirement for the major), show these in the Format A footnotes.

Requiring a 500-level course in an undergraduate curriculum is discouraged. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis. If a curriculum action proposes to add the requirement of a 500-level course, the approved Course Action Form for that course, including the current syllabus, should be attached to the Curriculum Action Form.

Experimental special topics courses should not be included in the curriculum because of their temporary status. If a special topics course is later developed into a permanent course, it can be added to the curriculum.

7. Catalog Description for Proposed Curriculum

Describe the proposed curriculum in a short paragraph designed for use in the next edition of the undergraduate catalog.

8. Number of Majors and Graduates in the Curriculum in Each of the Past Five Years

Figures may be accessed from University Planning and Analysis at http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/upa/enrollmentdata/index.htm. For discontinuation, report the number of majors in the curriculum by level classification (e.g. Freshmen: 8. Sophomore: 10. Junior: 12, Senior:

Table Representing how to present years and # of students
Academic Year	Number of Majors	Number of Graduates
01-02	_______	_______
02-03	_______	_______
03-04	_______	_______
04-05	_______	_______
05-06	_______	_______

9. Projected Enrollment

Provide the projected enrollment for a five-year period following the proposed effective date of the concentration and a statement on the basis for the projections.

10. Statement on Other Departments Likely to be Affected and Summary of Consultations with those Departments

Curriculum actions in a given program may affect student loads (by adding and/or dropping required or elective courses) in other departments. Proposed curriculum actions that may have such an effect should reflect interdepartmental consultations to determine the impact of such actions and allow time for necessary adjustments to be made.

For this attachment, submit a listing of the departmental representatives (this should be the department head or program coordinator or their designee) and a summary of the conclusions reached and copies of any pertinent correspondence.

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Additional links:
Guidelines for Developing and Revising Undergraduate Curricula at http://www.ncsu.edu/uap/academic-standards/curricula/currindx.html

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE COURSES AND CURRICULA

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM ACTIONS