UNC Asheville
ACADEMIC POLICIES
COMMITTEE
Memorandum Sept 2,
2011
To: UNC Asheville
Faculty
From: Rob
Berls, APC Chair (2011-2012)
Copy: Faculty Senators
and Concerned Administrators
Subject:
APC Information & Procedures for
Academic Year 2011-2012
A. General
Information about APC
1. According to the University of North
Carolina at Asheville Faculty Senate Constitution, APC has “responsibility for
developing institutional policy and procedures in academic matters."
2. The members of APC for 2011-2012 are:
Chair: Rob Berls (Drama)
Kitti
Reynolds (Environmental
Studies)
Nancy Rupert (Education)
Bryan Schaffer (Management & Accountancy)
Surain Subramaniam (Political Science)
Sophie
Mills (Classics)
ex officio members:
Alicia Shope (Registrar's
Office)
Keith Krumpe (Academic
Affairs)
3. APC is
scheduled to meet on the following dates in Red Oak Room, at 3:15 pm:
FALL SPRING
Sept 1 Jan
12
Sept 15 Jan
26
Sept 22 Feb
2
Oct 13 Feb
16
Oct 20 Feb
23
Oct 27 Mar 1
Nov 10 Mar 22
Nov 17 Mar 29
Apr 12
Apr
19
4. Documents may be submitted to APC at any
time, but Senate rules (the requirement for documents to have two readings), Catalog printing deadlines, and APC's
extensive agenda that is not limited to catalog duties, impose limits. If new
proposals or changes are to be incorporated into the 2012-2013 academic catalog, documents
must be electronically submitted to the Associate Registrar, Alicia Shope, for editorial review by Monday, October 31, 2011.
All concurrences and the mandatory editorial approval from the Associate
Registrar must be in the hands of the APC chair by Monday December 5, 2011. If
APC’s schedule permits, proposals submitted after October 31, 2011 may still be
considered this academic year, but may not be completed in time for inclusion
in the 2012-2013 Catalog.
B. Procedures
governing Catalog or policy changes.
1. PROPOSAL PREPARATION. A
proposal must be accompanied by a cover letter as shown in Section C below. The proposal itself must follow the format shown
in Section D. For general guidelines
governing Catalog copy, see Section E.
Departments submitting proposals
are responsible for consulting all other affected departments or programs. APC requires written concurrence from those
programs (see Cover Letter Format, Section C below). APC cannot act on proposals that provide no
evidence of coordination with affected departments, or on documents submitted
without an Impact Statement and Rationale. Numerous or complex changes should
be submitted as separate documents rather than as one single document.
2. MANDATORY EDITORIAL APPROVAL. Before seeking concurrence, documents are to
be electronically submitted to the Associate Registrar, Alicia Shope (ashope@unca.edu), via email attachment for
editorial review. She will consult with the APC Chair to resolve editorial
questions.
3. PROPOSAL
SUBMISSION TO APC. After
editorial approval, the Registrar’s Office will forward the document to the APC
Chair and to the Senate Secretary (sgravely@unca.edu).
A hard copy of the cover sheet is required,
with signatures of concurrence/non-concurrence and acknowledgement of editorial
approval from the Registrar’s Office before APC will consider a document.
4. APPLICATION. The Chair of APC determines whether
proposed changes are minor or major. A
proposed change is minor if:
•
There
are no substantive resource implications, for either the department or the
university.
•
There
is no change in the size of a degree program or minor.
Examples of minor
changes include changes in course descriptions, modifications of degree
requirements which don’t change the required hours of a degree program,
non-substantive clarifications of academic policies, requirements for
demonstrating major, oral, or computer competency, and changes in course
prerequisites.
The Chair forwards
all documents, designated as major or minor, to the other members of APC. Major documents will be considered by APC as a
whole. If approved by APC, the documents will be forwarded to the Faculty
Senate for final action.
Minor documents
will not be considered by APC as a whole, and will be reported directly to the
Senate unless any member of APC asks that the committee consider the
document. If APC approves the document,
and the change is still considered to be minor, it is reported directly to the
Senate. Documents are Faculty Senate documents and are posted on the Faculty
Senate web site after the date of Senate approval (for major documents) or APC
report to the Senate (for minor documents).
Each department
will be informed when its major proposal is placed on APC's agenda, and an
informed department representative should attend the APC meeting on that date. APC pays special attention to the proposal's
Impact Statement and Rationale, and is interested in how a proposal will affect
resources, students, and other departments or programs.
5. FACULTY SENATE ACTION. The Senate has a two-reading rule. A proposal approved by APC will be submitted
at one meeting (for "first reading") and will be discussed and voted
upon at the next scheduled meeting ("second reading"). When documents are scheduled for "Second
Reading," it is wise for a departmental representative to attend that
meeting to answer Senator’s questions about the proposal.
6. UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION ACTION. Upon approval by the Senate, documents must
then be approved by the Provost or, in some instances, the Chancellor.
C. Cover
Letter Format.
After editorial approval, a hard copy of
the cover sheet is required and must include the following information:
•
the
current date;
•
the
title of the proposal as listed on the format page;
•
the
desired date requested changes are to take effect (usually Fall 2012);
•
the name, phone number, and e-mail
address of the contact person within the department responsible for the
proposal.
PART 1) Overview:
Begin with the
following: The attached Catalog changes are
hereby submitted for consideration:
Provide a brief
description of each proposed change and its appropriate title, listing each
separately (a) through (z).
PART 2) Mandatory
Editorial Approval:
Registrar’s Office:
____________________________ (signature of Associate Registrar)
PART 3) Concurrence(s)
Required:
Department A: _________________________
(signature of chair, program dir.)
(Concur / non-concur
_____________________ / see attachment ____)
Department B: _______________________
(Concur / non-concur _____________________
/ see attachment ____)
Etc. as necessary
Note: a rationale for non-concurrence must be attached by
the non-concurring department or program. Objections to a proposal
should be clear and specific. If no concurrence is believed to be required,
proposal writers should indicate "none" in the blank under this item.
The concurrence portion is particularly important. Departments must be
sensitive to how their proposals affect other departments and sections of the
Catalog.
D. Proposal
Format
All APC submissions
must be written in the following format, using bold headings as they appear
below. The guiding principle is clarity. The clearer the proposal, the
easier it will be for the committee to examine it and the greater the likelihood
the changes will be correctly inserted into the Catalog. All materials will
be returned to the writer if the format is not adhered to. A sample proposal is available on the Faculty
Senate website at http://www.unca.edu/facultysenate
.
APC Document
_____: Title of Document.
The number will be supplied by the APC Chair when the document is discussed at
APC; titles should be as specific as possible and should describe the changes carefully;
avoid titles such as "Catalog Changes
in Math," which are too general to serve as an index for future searches.
Effective Date: ______.
Give
semester and year proposed changes would begin. (For Catalog changes, these are always the beginning of the next
academic school year.)
1. Delete _____ (where relevant).
This should include current course number, title and description, or statement
heading, page number, and affected paragraph(s) as stated in the current Catalog. It is usually better to delete an entire
sentence or paragraph than to try to change only clauses.
2. Add _____
(where relevant).
This
should replace the above material or reference a specific section page and
paragraph number in the 2011-2012 Catalog.
Additions of complete sentences or
paragraphs are better than inserting only a couple of words.
Impact Statement:
This
should be concise and specific, describing how the proposal will affect major,
minor, and university requirements. This
statement must also include:
Reference to concurrences (see section C)
that have been obtained from departments or programs which are affected by the
proposed change(s), describing how the change(s) will affect them. Proposed changes in courses included in the
Education Department's Licensure Programs must obtain concurrence from the
Education Department as well.
A resource statement explaining how the proposed change is likely to affect the
submitting department or program's future staffing needs and course offerings.
Rationale:
This statement should briefly justify the change(s), explaining the reasoning
behind the proposal. If a rationale is
intended to become a policy in its own right, it should be included in a
separate submission.
E. General
Administration Guidelines and Suggestions for Catalog Copy
PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW
State degree and
program name offered, and number of hours required for completion. Make prerequisites explicit. Avoid
hidden prerequisites. Truth in packaging is an essential component of
University integrity.
DESCRIBE DEGREE PROGRAM
A short description
assists students in understanding the scope and emphasis of the program.
It may include the preparation necessary to complete all requirements.
LIST COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The course
requirements (course numbers and titles) should follow each program heading.
LIST CONCENTRATION OPTIONS
Following the core
course requirements, list the “emphasis” or “concentration” areas (not to be
confused with “tracks,” “programs,” or “other degrees offered.” The
concentration or emphasis area should clearly indicate the number of hours
required as well as course requirements.
Format and Questions Meetings
There will be three
meetings held on September 12, 19, and 26, 2011 at 10 am in New Hall Room 121
to discuss formatting and answer questions about submitting APC documents. Please contact Rob Berls
at rberls@unca.edu for additional times or to
ask further questions.