Academic Policies

27: Guidelines for Moving, Sharing, Acquiring, Offering, and Proposing University or College Majors and Minors at Capital College

Purpose

This guideline establishes procedures for seeking approval to offer non-Capital College majors, minors, and/or options at all Capital College locations.

The applicable University policy is P-3 from the Academic Administrative Policies and Procedures, which can be found on the Office of Undergraduate Education’s web page.

The P-3 policy has been adapted to provide procedures for Capital College. Provisions of the University policy are indicated in italics; procedures specific to Capital College are in plain text. All actions and approvals related to the sharing of majors, minors, and options must be consistent with the University Faculty Senate curricular policies, which are available here.

University Policy

The University Provost is responsible for administratively authorizing the moving or discontinuing of academic sponsorship and offerings of existing degree programs for all colleges and campus locations.

Degree programs as approved academically by the University Faculty Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs are sponsored by one or more colleges. Administrative authorization by the Provost is required for the offering, moving, or discontinuing of degree programs at all locations.

Proposals to share or hand off academic sponsorship or to move degree programs are to be based on these considerations:

  1. Data concerning faculty who will take responsibility for the quality of the degree program must accompany any proposal. For degree programs offered at locations having less than two faculty with direct responsibility, a description of how faculty at other locations will provide for the quality of the degree program must be furnished.
  2. Market, resource, and costing feasibility.
  3. For programs that require special equipment, library and information technology, computational facilities, or clinical, cooperative, or internship arrangements, a description of how these needs are to be met and financed.
  4. Provision for startup or phase down periods, with special reference to the impact on affected students.
  5. Consultation with all appropriate colleges and departments.
  6. For programs that involve articulation with other institutions, the Vice Provost and Dean for Enrollment Management and Administration should be consulted.

University Procedures:

  1. Colleges/campus locations may propose to share or transfer academic sponsorship of degree programs or initiate or discontinue the delivery of degree programs at particular locations.

    The sponsoring college dean specifies any special quality requirements associated with the delivery of the program.

    Consultations with affected academic units and administrative support units are to be documented.
  2. The proposal and supporting documentation, including recommendations resulting from consultations with other units, are forwarded to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and International Programs. Proposals are processed in consultation with members of the Administrative Council on Undergraduate Education (ACUE).

    Proposals are administratively reviewed in terms of:
    1. adequacy of faculty resources
    2. relationships to University and unit missions
    3. market need and demand, including program offerings of nearby institutions
    4. impact on enrollment and flow of students
    5. feasibility in terms of equipment, library and information technology resources, clinical and cooperative arrangements, or other special facilities
    6. resource feasibility
    7. costing assurances from offering colleges
    8. provisions for startup or phase down as they relate to affected students
    9. consultation within the University; articulation agreements, if any, must involve the Vice Provost and Dean for Enrollment Management and Administration
  3. The Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and International Programs recommends actions to the University Provost in authorizing actions to share or transfer academic sponsorship of degree programs among colleges or to initiate or discontinue the offering of academic programs at all locations. The Vice Provost and Dean provides notification of approved actions.
  4. Authorized program offerings are identified on the degree program summary maintained by the University Registrar and accessible via the Registrar's web home page.

Capital College Procedures

  1. The faculty proposing the new major and/or minor should read the provisions of P-3 and understand all the relevant contents of paragraphs 1-7 in the Policy section above. Early consultation with the School Director and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is recommended.
  2. The School seeking the major, minor, and/or option should prepare a proposal responding to the queries and concerns identified in paragraphs a-e of the Procedures section above. Such proposals will normally be the responsibility of the program coordinator or a designated representative of the program faculty.
  3. Early consultation with the sponsoring department is critical and must be demonstrated. The communications required for the consultative process will normally be between the Program Coordinator and the Department Head/Chair of the sponsoring college. The School Director and/or the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs should facilitate such communications if necessary.
  4. An eight-semester plan should be submitted to the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs demonstrating that the requirements of the proposed major and/or minor can be met at one or both Capital College location.
  5. The Senior Associate Dean will supply the information required for paragraphs f-i above in consultation with the School Director, the Financial Officer, and the Director of Enrollment Services.
  6. The School must demonstrate that it has a plan to provide any General Education courses required for the specific major and/or minor. The School must show that the majority of the lower division courses required for the major will be taught by faculty on standing appointments preferably tenured or tenure-track faculty.
  7. The School or program must also demonstrate that the local library resources are adequate to support the academic program.
  8. The program must demonstrate that it can offer the sequence of upper-division courses to support the program.
  9. If a variety of courses with similar subject matter but different course designations, such as SOC, SOCIO, SCLSC or PSY, PSYC, PSYCH, are used for the major and/or minor, the proposal must show how the courses will support the major and/or minor so the student can change locations without losing credits. Academic transitions across the Penn State system should be seamless and strengthen the University Faculty Senate’s position on curricular drift.
  10. The proposal must be approved by the School Director, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the Dean of the College.
  11. When all the requirements mentioned above are met, the Senior Associate Dean will submit the proposal to members of the Administrative Council on Undergraduate Education (ACUE) and the appropriate academic administrative offices.

Approved by Academic Leadership Council ( 06-29-04)

Approved by the Dean ( 06-29-04)

Curricular drift is defined as the tendency for a course to stray from its original outline as different instructors at multiple locations teach the course.

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