Title

Procedure 3.24.01

Subtitle

Curriculum Review

Body

Part 1. Purpose

To establish a process for the regular, comprehensive review of the curriculum offered by Minneapolis College.

Part 2. Definitions

Definitions provided in College Policy 3.24 are pertinent to this procedure as well as the following additional definitions:

Course Outline: Official record of course topics and learning outcomes.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum: Inclusive curriculum with content and outcomes that center students’ cultures, identities, and contexts throughout course and award/program requirements; and that validates students’ experiences and values, addresses power dynamics that privilege dominant groups, and empowers students.

Equity-Minded Curriculum: Equity-minded curriculum that recognizes, acknowledges, and assesses structural practices and unnecessary barriers (e.g., concerning course placements, assessments, prerequisites, grading methods, etc.) that prevent equitable outcomes for students. Assesses current educational practices and empowers faculty, administration, and staff to make changes toward equitable outcomes regarding structural aspects of the curriculum.

Part 3. Responsibilities

The Curriculum Review process is led collaboratively by program/department faculty, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Academic Deans, and the AASC. The review will be evidence-informed, focus on improving student learning, encompass a program-level perspective, and an ongoing effort to continuously improve the curriculum. The curriculum review process will generate reports and action plans for the enhancement of the curriculum and an interim report will document the progress toward the action plan.

Subpart 1. Academic Affairs and Standards Council

Works with the department/faculty, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Academic Deans to develop the curriculum review process and provides guidance and feedback to programs/departments.

Subpart 2. Program/Department Faculty

The process of curriculum review is a shared responsibility of the department/program faculty. The department/program faculty will participate in the curriculum review process through review of their respective program learning outcomes, common course outlines, curriculum maps, and program learning outcome assessments and produce summaries of the findings, action plans, and curriculum revisions.

Subpart 3. Administration

The curriculum review process is supervised and coordinated by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the appropriate academic dean in collaboration with the AASC.

Subpart 4. Academic Operations

Provides general support in the process of curriculum review activities and set up and maintenance of the curriculum review database.

Part 4. Curriculum Review Components

A comprehensive curriculum review encapsulates the following components:

  1. Review the information, data, and documentation that has been part of the Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) assessments from the previous five years
    • The department/program faculty will produce a summary of past PLO assessment findings and actions taken during the 5-year review cycle.
      • Where applicable, show how programs incorporated feedback from program advisory committees
    • Provide a 5-year plan for PLO assessment that lays out when the program plans to assess each of its PLOs during the next review period
  2. Review the program/department’s PLOs to ensure that they are:
    • Clear
    • Current and relevant
    • Culturally inclusive and equity-minded
    • Specific and measurable
    • Appropriate for the level of the award.
  3. Review the common course outline for each course offered by the program/department to ensure that:
    • Topics are clear, current, relevant, culturally inclusive, and equity-minded.
    • Learning outcomes are clear, current, relevant, culturally inclusive, equity-minded, specific, measurable, and appropriate for the level of the award(s) that require the course.
    • If applicable, topics and learning outcomes are aligned with industry standards and recommendations from program advisory committees.
    • Placement and prerequisites are aligned across program and Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) requirements.
  4. Review the department/program curriculum map
    • Review the alignment of PLOs to courses to ensure that all PLOs are met through the courses that constitute each award offered by the program.
    • Review the alignment of programs to the College’s Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) to ensure:
      • Associates degrees meet all ILOs.
      • Diplomas and certificates meet at least the Communication ILO and are encouraged to meet others when relevant.

Part 5. Curriculum Review Timeline

A comprehensive curriculum review is an iterative process to be conducted every five years on a cycle established and maintained by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, in consultation with the AASC Chair.

  1. Program/departments that are up for review will be notified in the Fall and provided materials and guidance on how to complete the curriculum review
  2. Programs/departments will present their review to AASC during the following spring semester
    • This report-out will identify any curricular adjustments that the program/department plans to make at the program and/or course level
  3. Feedback will be provided to the program/department by the AASC
  4. Academic deans and programs/departments will create a plan to address any feedback or curricular changes resulting from the curriculum review

Owner(s) Title: Vice President of Academic Affairs

Date of Adoption: 5/19/2022

Date of Implementation (if different from adoption date): N/A

Date Last Amended: N/A

History and Subject of Revisions: N/A

Regulatory Authority (e.g. Minnesota State policy, federal or state law): Minnesota State Board Policy 3.36 and System Procedure 3.36.1

ID
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