Curriculum Development Process

The curriculum of a college is the manifestation of its philosophy. Therefore, additions and changes to the curriculum must be carefully developed and considered by all involved in the curriculum process.

The Curriculum Committee is a joint committee of the Academic Senate with responsibility for the process of "mutual agreement" regarding curriculum matters as defined in Board of Trustees Policy. Policy and implementation recommendations prepared by the Curriculum Committee are forwarded to the Academic Senate for ratification. If ratified, the approved items are submitted to the SMC Board of Trustees for acceptance.

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Step 1: Develop a Tentative Outline or Proposal

Create a working draft of the proposal that incorporates ideas for the course or program.

Discuss with the department chair to see if the proposal fits into the department's overall program and determine if the department has the personnel and resources to support it.

If the proposal would affect other departments/areas, meet with the chairs/leaders of those impacted departments/areas.

Contact the Librarian to determine if the college has the resources to support the course.

To ensure resources (computers, media, books, etc.) are available, meet with representatives of other areas whose support is necessary to the success of the proposal.

New Courses: Who should teach the class? The state has minimum qualifications for faculty teaching in a discipline. Some disciplines require a Master's Degree, others do not. What disciplines should meet the minimum requirements to teach your course?

New Courses: If the course is proposed for transfer or general education (IGETC/CSUGE/ SMCGE), consult with the Articulation Officer during the development of the course.

Step 2: Enter the proposal in META

When entering the proposal in META, add the Curriculum Representative as a co-contributor – they are a partner in this process from the very beginning.

Refer to the META handbook and complete all required fields and attach documents if necessary:

Submitting a new course with prerequisite(s), corequisite(s), and/or advisories? Or changing the requisites/advisories for an existing course?
- Check the Requisites and Advisories page for all applicable information and form(s).
Submitting a new or existing course for Distance Education?
- Check the Distance Education (DE) page for details on modalities, DE types, and instructions for submitting a DE application.
Submitting a new or existing course for Global Citizenship credit?
- Check the Global Citizenship page for an overview of the five categories.
Submitting a new program or changes to an existing one?
- Check the Degrees and Certificates page for information on all program types, and what needs to be submitted/completed for each.

Step 3: The META Workflow

Once the proposal is launched, it enters the META workflow.

Minor revisions, such as typos or addition errors, are corrected. Major revisions will be returned to the proposer(s) to complete.

Before appearing before the Curriculum Committee, the proposal will be reviewed by:

Curriculum Representative
The Department Chair reviews the proposal, sends it to the department faculty for review, and holds a vote. The vote (yes/no/abstain) is entered into META.
Librarian and Articulation Officer (new course or substantial course change)
Tech Review: the Curriculum Chair, Vice Chair, Articulation Officer, and Curriculum Specialist complete a final review of the proposal before creating the meeting agenda. If approved, the proposal will appear on the Curriculum Committee agenda, and be sent to committee members for pre-meeting review and comment.

Step 4: Curriculum Committee Presentation and Approval

Curriculum Committee members will review the proposal in META and, if needed, input questions and/or comments for consideration.

The proposer(s) and department chair or designee should attend the meeting at which the proposal is presented. Faculty should be prepared to give a brief overview and answer any questions about the proposal in detail.

Following the presentation, the Curriculum Committee discusses and votes to:

Recommend approval of the proposal to the Academic Senate
Return the proposal to the department with recommendations for revisions
Return it to the department with notification that the proposal has not been approved

Step 5: Post-Curriculum Committee Approvals

The Curriculum Committee Chair recommends acceptance of any proposal the committee approved to the Academic Senate. If the Academic Senate ratifies the proposal, it then goes to the Board of Trustees.

The proposal appears on the following Board of Trustees agenda a consent agenda item.

If the proposal is a new course with UC transfer, IGETC, and/or CSUGE, it will be submitted for transfer/GE credit before being uploaded to the Chancellor’s Office

Once a proposal passes all local approvals, it is then uploaded to the Chancellor’s Office for final review and approval, and issuance of a control code.