DEFINITION OF CHARGE

By-laws enacted by the Committee are for the purpose of giving effect to the purpose and functions described in the Committee Charge.
 

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

The Committee shall be composed of one representative from each department within the College of Arts and Sciences.

The method of selection of Committee members shall be left to the discretion of the individual departments. The term of each member shall be three years. The committee will develop a procedure to insure continuity of the membership if necessary.

Each department shall have a designated alternate to serve on the Committee in the event that its regular member cannot attend.

All regular terms of service shall begin with the first Committee meeting of a new academic year.

The dean or his/her appointed representative shall be an ex officio member of the Committee.
 

OFFICERS

The officers of the Committee shall be a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary.
 

MEETINGS

There shall be a scheduled meeting once a month, unless otherwise canceled by the Committee Chair as a result of no business before the Committee.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee shall be responsible for preparing the agenda for the meeting.

Advance notices, agenda, and necessary paperwork for each meeting shall be circulated to the Committee members at least five days in advance of each meeting.

No meeting of the Committee shall be official if less than a simple majority of its members is present.

Since the Committee members represent the College of Arts and Sciences and not individual departments, the representative from the appropriate department who prepared a proposal, other than the Committee member, must be present to answer questions about the proposal before the Committee.

If this is not possible, another knowledgeable representative from the department concerned must be present to answer questions about a proposal before the committee.

The departmental representative shall present the nature and merit of his/her department's course or program proposal to the Committee. Following Committee deliberation, the vote for acceptance or rejection of the proposal will occur while the departmental representative is present.

All matters before the Committee shall be decided by a simple majority vote of those members present.

Suspension of the Committee rules shall require a two-thirds majority of those Committee members present.
 

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PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE

Course and program proposals submitted to the Committee for consideration must be received in the office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at least ten days prior to a scheduled Committee meeting.

A proposal shall be placed on a meeting agenda only if it meets the following criteria:

• the proper forms are completed accurately and fully

• the correct number of copies of each form has been submitted

If a department submitting a proposal to the Committee makes a change in the proposal between the time the proposal was initially submitted and the time of the meeting, consideration of the proposal may be postponed until the next meeting.

Specific instructions for completing curricula proposals will be listed on the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee web site.

All curricula revisions, including new degree programs, revisions to existing degree programs, new course proposals, and revisions to existing courses, originating from within the College of Arts and Sciences must be approved by the College Curriculum Committee before they can be submitted to the University Curriculum Committee.

Proposals approved, with modifications, by the Committee must be resubmitted to the officers of the Committee for verification of changes before submission to the University Curriculum Committee.
 

ELECTIONS

Election of officers for the following year shall take place at the first fall meeting of the Committee. Officers shall be elected by secret ballot in the following manner:

• The order of election of officers shall be Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.

• Election shall be by a majority vote of those members present and voting.

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

The Chair shall perform the duties usually associated with this office including, but not limited to, presiding at Committee meetings, preparing (with the aid of the Vice-Chair) meeting agenda, appointing members of special committees, and serving as chief liaison officer between the Committee and the Dean of the College and the University Curriculum Committee.

The Vice-Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair in the event of the Chair's absence or disability. In the event that the office of the Chair falls vacant, the Vice-Chair shall assume that office, and a new Vice-Chair shall be elected at the next regular meeting.

The Secretary shall be responsible for the preparation of the minutes of all meetings and be custodian of the records of the Committee. He/she shall be responsible for giving notice of meetings to the appropriate persons, and for distributing copies of the minutes to the Committee members.
 

RATIFICATION OF THE BY-LAWS

This set of by-laws shall become the working document of the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee upon approval by two-thirds of the Committee Members present during a scheduled Committee meeting.

AMENDMENT OF THE BY-LAWS

Any member of the Committee can propose an amendment to the By-Laws. An amendment proposal can be submitted to the Committee at any Committee meeting. The amendment shall be voted on during the next meeting. Passage of the amendment shall require the approval of two-thirds of the Committee members present.
 

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