Academic Council

FORMS - Course (new and alteration) Proposals, Award Proposals

What is the Academic Council (AC)?

The AC is established by the contract between MSCF and MnSCU, which recognizes that “[f]aculty have fundamental and unique responsibility in matters affecting the academic well-being of the state colleges” and that the “purpose of the Council is to provide direction for the College president in all matters included in academic affairs, including course outlines, award requirements, academic standards, course and program components, and the inventory of course and program offerings.” The contact requires that the “Council shall consist of two-thirds faculty members and one-third administrators and/or other staff.”

AC and Faculty

Any faculty member wishing to propose a change to the curriculum must come before the AC not only to ensure the integrity of all academic offerings at the college, but to guarantee that all changes meet MnSCU and college requirements.

Faculty members may make any number of proposals before the AC:

New Courses
Alterations to Existing Courses
New Programs or Awards
Alterations to Existing Programs or Awards

AC Processes

The process of getting changes approved may seem a bit cumbersome; however, committee members, especially the Chair, are available to assist anyone coming before the committee.

Begin the process early (at least one month before you are scheduled to come before the committee), and take it seriously. Allow yourself time to complete all steps, and respect that committee members are volunteering their time.

The full AC generally meets on the third or fourth Thursday of the month, from 3-6 (room to be announced before each meeting), and the Faculty Caucus generally meets two weeks before the full AC.

Here are the steps you must follow:

Contact the AC Chair to get onto an agenda. (NOTE: Anyone seeking to have changes implemented in the next academic year must get on an agenda in Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. or Jan.)
Download the appropriate form for the type of proposal you will be making: Course or Program. (Forms are also available on the Share drive: S:\Faculty\Academic Council\Blank Forms.)
Before doing anything else to the form, SAVE IT TO A PERSONAL SPACE ON YOUR COMPUTER (H or C drive) and close it. For formatting purposes, be sure to save it in MS Word 2003 (.doc) NOT MS Word 2007 (.docx).
Open the form again from your H or C drive, and complete it, including all applicable sections for the type of proposal you are making. As you complete the form, save it (as .doc) to the following folder on MCTC’s Share drive: S:\Faculty\Academic Council\Pending + the appropriate semester and month. Be sure to title it appropriately, following these guidelines:
1. Course Forms:
  - The first two characters should be a capital C and an underscore: C_ .
  - The next characters should be the NEW course designator of the course you are working one (all caps, with no space) followed by an underscore, for example, WELD1190_.
  - The next characters should be your full last name followed by an underscore, for example, Smith_.
  - The final characters should be the first three letters of the month in which you come before the AC and the last two digits of the year (with no space), for example, Sep08.
  Thus, if Jennifer Smith is coming before the AC in January of 2009 to propose a new 1190 course for welding, she would save the proposal as C_WELD1190_Smith_Jan09.pdf .
2. Program Forms
  - The first two characters should be a capital P and an underscore: P_ .
  - The next characters should be the Program designator of the program you are working one (all caps) followed by an underscore, for example, EDUC_.
  - The next characters should be your full last name followed by an underscore, for example, Sanchez_.
  - The final characters should be the first three letters of the month in which you come before the AC and the last two digits of the year (with no space), for example, Sep08.
  Thus, if Javier Sanchez is coming before the AC in January of 2009 to propose changes to the education program, he would save the proposal as P_EDUC_Sanchez_Jan09.pdf .
Meet with your department/division and present the proposal. Make sure to discuss how the proposal will affect the department/division and overall college curriculum. Have the coordinator initial the form electronically and save it with his/her signature to the same folder, replacing your first copy with the new copy with any changes and the signature.
Set up a meeting with the Academic Council Chair, who, with the Assessment Coordinator(s), will review your proposal and suggest changes BEFORE you meet with the Faculty Caucus. Have the AC Chair sign the form electronically and save it with his/her signature to the same folder, replacing the last copy with the new copy with any changes and the signature.
Bring your proposal to the Faculty Caucus of the Academic Council for review. The Caucus will discuss the reasons for your specific proposal(s), as well as how the proposal(s) might impact the overall college curriculum. The Caucus will raise any possible issues that might need to be addressed and suggest changes. Have the AC chair sign the form electronically and save it with his/her signature to the same folder, replacing the last copy with the new copy with any changes and the signature.
Meet with your dean. Have him/her make any changes and sign the form electronically and save it with his/her signature to the same folder listed above (S:\Faculty\Academic Council\Pending), replacing the last copy with the new copy with any changes and the signature.
Come before the full Academic Council at the next meeting and present your proposal, where it may be approved as is, changed moderately in the meeting, or required to come back again the next month (if significant alterations are required).