Curriculum Review Process

When faculty members, with input from program managers, administrators, or business partnership councils, create or update a course or a program, the first step of a continuous flow of information and quality control is initiated. Any curriculum action can potentially affect more than just the discipline proposing the change, so a carefully constructed process ensures that any revisions will benefit the institution and avoid unintended negative consequences.

Any curriculum action to courses or programs must be voted upon first by the faculty cluster. Additionally, if the program works with a Business Partnership Council (BPC), the BPC must also approve. Proposed actions must also be sent to the cluster liaison (associate dean) and academic dean. With all approvals, the action moves forward to the Curriculum Committee for review. If approved at this committee level, the action must then be evaluated by the Academic Deans’ Council and in some cases, the District Board of Trustees (DBOT). This level of review evaluates the impact the curriculum action will have on the College as a whole, such as budget, facilities, need for additional faculty, or accreditation as well as any impact it may have on other programs.

Program additions, deletions, and extensive revisions must be approved by the DBOT, and new programs not currently offered in the State of Florida must be reviewed and approved by the Division of Workforce Education and adhere to the substantive change process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC).

For new career programs and when needed for existing programs, an additional process called “Developing a Curriculum” (DACUM) may be required. This process utilizes a focus group of experts in a storyboarding workshop to produce a comprehensive job analysis. The analysis identifies the duties, tasks, knowledge, skills, and traits related to a specific job or occupation in a chart format which provides input for needed curriculum revision or development.