These are some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive at the Curriculum and Assessment Office. If you do not find the answer to your question, you can contact us.
- Where do I submit course and program submissions?
Any curriculum-related submission for courses and programs is submitted in Courseleaf CIM via the Course Inventory or Program Inventory. This includes proposals, inactivations and changes to the course/program or the associated assessment plan. Any assessment-related submission for courses and programs is submitted in SPOL. Please contact us at curriculum.assessment@wccnet.edu with any questions.
- Where can I find copies of an official course syllabus?
Copies of all master syllabi are posted on the Curriculum & Assessment website. Go to wccnet.edu, click on "WCC Gateway" and click on "Faculty/Staff Gateway." Under "Quick Links for Employees," click on "More Resources." Scroll down to the Faculty section and click to expand. Click on "Curriculum and Assessment." Select "Course & Program Data" from the left menu, then click on "master syllabi" to access the master syllabi by discipline. These are great pages to bookmark on your browser for easy access.
- How do I get a course approved for transfer to another college or university?
The Transfer & Articulation Coordinator sends a list of new WCC courses along with links to the master syllabi to 4-year institutions every year to review for transfer course equivalency. Visit the Michigan Transfer Network website to view equivalencies between WCC and other colleges and universities in Michigan. For more information or questions, contact Kelley Holcomb at kgwu@wccnet.edu.
- How do I get a course approved to fulfill a General Education Requirement?
All General Education course are listed on the General Education page on the Catalog. To request that a course be added to the list, contact the Curriculum and Assessment office: curriculum.assessment@wccnet.edu
- I want to change the number of a course. What do I do?
Contact the C&A office at curriculum.assessment@wccnet.edu with a rationale for changing course number. We will review the request, send you our recommendation and if proceeding with changing the course number, we will verify that the course number is available.
- What date should I use as the effective term when submitting a course or program
submission?
Look to see what the Curriculum and Catalog due dates are for the type of approval you are requesting and select the date. Put the Effective Term-when the change should take place-on the top right corner of the first page. If a course will not be offered until winter semester, but it needs to be included in the catalog, make the effective term the upcoming fall semester.
- I need a new course number. How do I do this?
Contact the C&A office at curriculum.assessment@wccnet.edu, and they will provide a list of available course numbers. A course number cannot be reused, even when a course number is inactivated.
- What does it mean when a course has conditional approval, as opposed to a full approval?
All new courses and courses with major changes must go to the Curriculum & Assessment Committees for review before they are forwarded to the Vice President of Instruction (VPI). In certain urgent situations, and only by request from a Dean, courses can be sent directly to the VPI for review and may be granted conditional approval for a maximum of three consecutive semesters. (After this, the course must be submitted for full approval. In order for a course to be fully approved, an assessment report and master syllabus update must be submitted for full approval by the end of the third semester. Otherwise, the course will be discontinued.)
- What is the Curriculum Committee and why do they review courses and programs?
The Curriculum Committee is provided for in the Master Contractual Agreement, and is charged with reviewing new courses, courses with major changes, new programs, changes to programs, and issues related to curriculum in general. They act in an advisory capacity and provide recommendations to the Vice President for Instruction (VPI). Five faculty members and up to four administrators appointed by the VPI comprise the Committee.
- I saw an error in the catalog or on the WCC website pertaining to a course or program.
What can I do?
Contact the C&A office. Depending on the type of change, some can be resolved immediately; others will be changed for the next catalog.
- My department wants to print brochures, handouts, etc. for our programs. Do I need
to notify anyone?
Yes, the C&A Office needs to be aware of these plans so that correct information can be provided. You should also contact Marketing Services regarding any college-related publications.
- My department wants to develop a new program. What's next?
START EARLY! Be sure to communicate with the entire department and your dean. New program proposals (and any associated course proposals or changes) must be submitted in CIM, reviewed by the department chair and approved by the dean by November 1st. We highly recommend scheduling a meeting with the C&A Office to review the program proposal. The program proposal will require a justification for creating a new program, projected enrollment figures, any anticipated budget numbers, curriculum layout (full-time and part-time layouts for associate's degrees), and a program assessment plan.
- What if I submit a curriculum proposal to my Department Chair or Dean and it is not
approved?
Before submitting the proposal to the Chair, make sure that the entire Department has had an opportunity to review it, and that they will support it. If the proposal is denied by the Chair or Dean, discuss the reasons they had for not approving the proposal. The Chair and Dean will offer suggestions so that the proposal can be revised and resubmitted.
- What if the Vice President of Instruction does not approve my curriculum proposal?
The Vice President will discuss the reasons with you, your Department Chair, and Dean, as well as suggestions for resubmitting the proposal.
- What if I submit a curriculum proposal to the Curriculum and Assessment Committees
and it is not approved?
The Committees will explain why the proposal was not approved, and they will make recommendations concerning items that require clarification. The proposal can then be resubmitted.
- How can articulation agreements with other institutions be set up so that programs
can transfer?
Faculty from both institutions review both programs and determine equivalencies between courses. This process applies to both four-year institutions and to high schools. The Curriculum and Assessment Office can facilitate this process.