Courses and Curricula Committee

Role of committee

The CAHNR C&C Committee is responsible for reviewing all courses and curricula changes submitted by the departments of the college, including experimental courses (xx95), both undergraduate and graduate. Graduate courses require academic unit and school/college approvals per request of the graduate school. Department Heads or their designees (ex. Departmental representative to CAHNR C&C) are responsible for all catalog copy of their department in the University Catalog's Directory of Courses. The Dean is responsible for all copy under the heading of the CAHNR and for course information in the Schedule of Classes. 

Duties of the CAHNR C&C departmental representative:

  1. The representative will bring forward departmental business to the CAHNR C&C regarding courses and curriculum after the department has voted to approve any changes. This would include:
    • Additions/revisions of undergraduate/graduate courses
    • Archiving of courses that have not been offered for 5 years
    • Deletion of courses from the college catalog
    • Share Special Topics and note if they are first or second time offering
    • Additions/revisions to catalog copy (including majors, minors, concentrations)
  1. Guide members of their department’s C&C committee so that they are familiar with the deadlines and processes including use of the CAR, TRUCK (Bulk Minor Curricula Action Request Form) and STAR form.

CAR form:  https://senate.uconn.edu/course-action-request/

STAR form: https://changecatalog.uconn.edu/special-topics-approval-form/

TRUCK form: https://senate.uconn.edu/truck-bulk-minor-curricular-action-request-form/

  1. Share with their department:
    • Updates from Academic Programs, as needed
    • Any pertinent deadlines
  1. Prepare rules and guidelines within the jurisdiction of CAHNR on curricula and course submissions from various departments within the college at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
  2. Review all curricula and course submissions for appropriateness of meeting the overall educational mission of CAHNR and that they have all required components and are complete.
  3. Serve a 3 year term on the committee and have a back up attend meetings when they are unable to attend.
  4. Review the minutes, suggest any necessary changes, and vote yea or nay to approve the minutes.
  5. Ensure that the appropriate person in their department receives the minutes once approved by making sure that the person is included in the chair’s distribution list.

2023-2024 Course and Curricula Committee Members

Emma Bojinova

Emma Bojinova

Agriculture & Resource Economics

Chadwick Rittenhouse

Chadwick Rittenhouse

Natural Resources & The Environment

Richard Mancini

Richard Mancini

Animal Science

Rhonda Brownbill

Rhonda Brownbill

Nutritional Sciences

Jenifer Nadeau

Jenifer Nadeau

Chair

Jessica Malek

Jessica Malek

Allied Health Science

Steven Szczepanek

Steven Szczepanek

Pathobiology & Veterinary Sciences

Kristen Govoni

Kristen Govoni

Ex-officio Member

Stephanie Singe

Stephanie Singe

Kinesiology

Jason Henderson

Jason Henderson

Plant Science & Landscape Architecture

Bylaws

Responsibilities of the committee

  • This committee shall prepare rules and guidelines within the jurisdiction of the CAHNR on curricula and course submissions from the various departments within the college, at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
  • The committee shall review all curricula and course submissions for appropriateness of meeting the overall educational mission of the CAHNR.
  • The committee shall review all experimental course offerings (xx95) and note if they are first- or second-time offerings.
  • The committee shall review all course submissions for completeness of information provided, especially for courses that will undergo further review by GEOC or the Senate C&C Committee.
  • The committee shall be comprised of a chair, appointed by the Dean of the CAHNR, to serve a five (5) year term, and one representative from each academic department of the CAHNR. Each department shall appoint a member to serve a minimum of a three-year term on the committee. Each department shall also appoint a backup member to attend meetings when the primary member is unable to attend.

The authority for final approval for C&C items will rest with the CAHNR C&C Committee. Items will not be brought to the CAHNR faculty meeting(s) for approval, except in cases where the nature of the issue is considered controversial. 

CAHNR C&C will meet monthly or twice monthly to consider department items.

 

CAHNR C&C business items will be made available to the committee members a minimum of one day prior to the monthly C&C meeting. 

Operating Principles

General Procedures for Faculty and Departments

  • Determine whether course changes require action through the CAHNR Curricula and Courses Committee. (See specific criteria documents)
  • Prepare a proposal using the appropriate form for your needs found on the University Senate Courses & Curriculum Committee web site (e.g., Curricula Action Request, Special Topics Approval Request) or the Graduate School web site (Graduate Program Change/Approval Request). Secure approval of the Department, generally this requires review by the departmental C&C committee and then approval by Department faculty. If the course will be cross listed or used as a requirement for either a major or minor offered by a department other than the department offering the course then approval of all departments involved is required.
  • The Department then submits one electronic copy of the proposal to the Chair of the CAHNR C&C Committee. Based on our meeting dates, the deadlines for submission will be available in August

General guidelines for CAHNR C&C Committee 

General information 

The CAHNR C&C Committee is responsible for reviewing all courses and curricula changes submitted by the departments of the college, including experimental courses (xx95), both undergraduate and graduate. Graduate courses require academic unit and school/college approvals per request of the graduate school. Department Heads or their designees (ex. Departmental representative to CAHNR C&C) are responsible for all catalog copy of their department in the University Catalog's Directory of Courses. The Dean is responsible for all copy under the heading of the CAHNR and for course information in the Schedule of Classes. 

Proposal deadlines 
Curricula Action Request, Special Topics Approval Request, and Graduate Program Change/Approval Request proposals may be submitted any time for review. To ensure that course changes are included in the next official edition of the course catalog, submission must occur by the deadlines posted by the Office of the Registrar posted online (currently under the title Catalog Changes). If courses need to be reviewed by GEOC or Senate C&C, they should be submitted at least 2 months prior to the course catalog deadline. Graduate courses that are graded S/U and courses for which the Graduate School serves as the School/College (such as IMS or IGS) must be submitted at least 2 months prior to the course catalog deadline in order to allow adequate time to receive approval by the Executive Committee of the Graduate School. 

 School or college degree requirements: 
Refer to the Undergraduate Catalog for current University minimum requirements. 

  • Schools and colleges are permitted to require more credits for a degree than the University minimum. Changes in the number of credits required for a degree are approved by the school or college curriculum and courses committee and the faculty and then submitted to the Senate Scholastic Standards Committee for reporting to the University Senate.
  • Schools and colleges are permitted to impose General Education requirements that are additional to the University General Education requirements. Changes in school or college requirements are approved only by that school’s or college’s curriculum and courses committee and faculty.
  • Schools and colleges are permitted to impose higher scholastic standards than the University minimum grade point average requirement. Changes in supplementary minimum scholastic requirements of a school or college are approved only by that school’s or college’s curriculum and courses committee and faculty.

Catalog copy preparation:

Undergraduate courses: 

The elements of catalog copy should be standard for all departments, following the format as given in the Undergraduate Course Catalog as follows: 

  1. course number (may be assigned by the Registrar) and skill code designation (ex. W, Q, E);
  2. course title;
  3. reference to prior course(s) and/or cross listing with other courses;
  4. semester and years (if alternate-year course) in which the course is offered;
  5. credits earned upon satisfactory completion;
  6. instructional pattern (i.e., method of delivery, such as lecture, discussion, lab);
  7. restrictions for registration in the course:
  8. prerequisites, suggested preparation, recommended preparation or consent;
  9. credit restrictions;
  10. enrollment restrictions (i.e., state specifically who may or may not enroll);
  11. course description
  12. content area

Example containing most of the elements above: 
 

3314W Scientific Writing in Growth Biology and Metabolism of Domestic Livestock Second Semester. One credit. Prerequisite: ENGL 1007, ENGL 1010, or 1011 or 2011. Open to Juniors or Higher. Co-requisite: ANSC 3313.  
A writing intensive class integrated with course content in ANSC 3313. 
2. Graduate Courses: 
a. The elements of catalog copy should be standard for all departments, following the 
format as given in the Graduate Course Catalog as follows: 
(1) subject area designation 
(2) course number may be assigned by the Registrar) 
(3) number of credits 
(4) course title(5) instructional pattern (lecture, lab, etc.) 
(6) prerequisites, recommend preparation or consent 
(7) reference to prior course(s) and/or cross listing with other courses; 
(8) course description 
Example containing all of the elements above: 
ARE 6466. Environmental Economics 
3 credits. Lecture. Prerequisite: ARE 5201 or ECON 5201. Also offered as ECON 6466. 
Economic analysis of environmental problems and corrective policy instruments. Theory of externalities and public goods, role of uncertainty and imperfect information in policy design, benefit-cost analysis, and non-market valuation. Applications to environmental problems (such as air and water pollution, hazardous waste, and occupational health and safety). 

Changes to bylaws PASSED CAHNR CC 22-23-6

Catalog Effective and Publication Dates

Catalog Revisions Deadline Change:Catalog Copy Publication Date First Effective Term
Undergraduate February 5 February 5 Day after commencement Summer of academic year
Graduate February 5 March 1 August 1 Fall of academic year

The tables below indicate when different course and curriculum proposals take effect once approved. Proposals approved after the catalog deadlines above take effect in the catalog of the following calendar year.

Courses

Type of Proposal Effective Date/Term
New course Immediate upon approval
Course revision Summer/fall term of following academic year
Drop course Summer term of following academic year
Archive course Immediate upon request
Reactivate archived course Immediate upon request

Academic Programs

Type of Proposal Effective Date/Term
New undergraduate major or minor Summer/fall term of following academic year
Revised undergraduate major or minor Summer/fall term of following academic year
New graduate degree program/certificate Immediate upon approval
Revised graduate degree program/certificate Fall of following academic year

Table of dates for 2023-2024:

Submission Deadline C&C meeting item will be considered
Wed, September 6 Fri September 15
Wed, September 27 Fri, October 6
Wed, October 11 (last date to submit CCC transition worksheet for departments for on time approval) Fri, October 20
Wed, Oct 25 Fri, Nov 3
Wed, Nov 8 Fri, Nov 17
Wed, Nov 22 Fri, Dec 1
Wed, Jan 10 Fri, Jan 19
Wed, Jan 24 Fri, Feb 2
Wed, Feb 7 Fri, Feb 16
Wed, Feb 21 Fri, March 1
Wed, March 6 Fri, March 15
Wed, March 27 Fri, April 5
Wed, April 10 Fri, April 19