A. Instructional Development Fund*

* Approved by the President, July 1982. Only Teaching Faculty (2.1-2.4) are eliggible to apply for grants under the auspices of this Fund.

B. Approval of Programs ^*

* Promulgated bu the Office of the Provost, November 15, 1979. Revised August 1, 1984.

1. Undergraduate

Each of the colleges has a Committee on Curriculum appointed by the dean of the college or elected through established college procedures. This Committee, normally comprised of five to seven members, is charged with responsibility for considering new curricula for the college, and changes in existing curricula. The Committee will make its recommendations to the college faculty.

When a new or revised undergraduate program is proposed, it will normally first be referred to the proper departmental or college Curriculum Committee for its review. The proposal should contain as a minimum, a listing of the entire curriculum including anticipated new courses and new course sections; evidence of the need for such a program or revision; a list of new faculty requirements and current faculty who are or will be involved in the program; and (for new programs), a five-year budget projection; a five-year class-by-class enrollment projection; and plans for three- and five-year reviews of the viability of this program.

If a new or substantially revised program affects only one college, it is sent, after approval by the Curriculum Committee and the college faculty, to the Provost or his designee, who is the Chairperson of the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UUCC), for budgetary and administrative review. The Provost or his designee then forwards the program to the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for academic review. After budgetary and academic approval, the proposal is then submitted to the Faculty Senate for its approval, and if approved, then to the President and the Board of Trustees for their review and action.

Where a new or substantially revised program affects more than one college, the proposal will first be referred to a joint meeting of the Curriculum Committees of the colleges concerned. The proposal then follows the procedures outlined above through the Provost's Office, the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Senate, the President and Trustees for approval. The provision of forwarding recommendations to the Faculty Senate does not apply to course changes within a college where such changes do not affect departments in other colleges.

In the case of minor revisions, a copy of the proposal should be forwarded by the College Curriculum Committee to the Chairperson of the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee who may report the matter to the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for informational purposes or for appropriate action as deemed necessary.

Proposed programs, curricula, and courses originating in University College and the School of Engineering Technology leading to certificates, associate's degrees, or bachelor's degrees will be sent to the College Curriculum Committee(s) of the appropriate college(s). After approval by the College Curriculum Committee(s) and faculty, such proposals are sent to the Provost for administrative review and then to the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee in the normal manner described above.

In the event that no College Curriculum Committee, or more than one, wishes jurisdiction, the proposal will be sent to the Provost for administrative review and then to the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee in the manner described above. This committee will assume jurisdiction and rule on the content of the program. Recommendations of the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee will be reported to the Faculty Senate for possible referral to the full Senate.

a. University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UUCC)

* Adopted by the Faculty Senate, May 8, 1978. Revised March 15. 1982 and May 6, 1985.

1) Composition

The UUCC shall be composed of one faculty representative from each of the colleges, chosen annually by and from the respective curriculum committees, plus three Academic Deans chosen annually by the Provost.

The Provost or his designee shall chair the UUCC and shall vote only in the event of a tie. Invitations to attend meetings as non-voting participants shall, as a rule, be extended to the Dean of University College, the Director of the School of Engineering Technology, the Dean of Cooperative Education, and those Deans of colleges who are not themselves members of the UUCC.

2) Functions and Procedures

a) The function of the UUCC shall be to consider and make recommendations to the Senate concerning any proposals for undergraduate curriculum changes (e.g., establishment, change, or deletion of curricula; establishment of University-wide requirements; elimination of overlapping courses; or establishment of interdisciplinary programs crossing college lines) affecting the colleges which would normally require Senate action. Such proposals may originate within the UUCC itself, or may be submitted to the UUCC in writing via the Chairperson or by any person or group.

In the latter case, a copy of the proposal must also be submitted to the Senate Agenda Committee (SAC). (Herinafter called SAC.)

b) The UUCC shall meet within two weeks of the receipt of any proposal to vote on whether it should be studied further.

(1) If the UUCC favors further study, it shall move promptly to consider the proposal, develop a charge and a timetable, and report these matters to the SAC.

(2) If the UUCC does not favor further study, it shall report its recommendations to the SAC forthwith. Within two weeks of the receipt of the UUCC report, the SAC will consider placing the recommendation before the Senate for ratification. The SAC will report on receipt and consideration of UUCC proposals at the Senate meeting directly following SAC's consideration.

(3) If the SAC receives no response from the UUCC on a given proposal within six weeks of first having received notice of it, it may bring the matter directly to the Senate for possible consideration.

c) The UUCC, following the report of any ad hoc committee and its own deliberations, shall (after making appropriate additions or modifications) forward its recommendation to the SAC.

d) The UUCC shall constitute the Senate's designee in considering interdepartmental and intercollege disputes arising from matters concerning courses or programs offered or proposed. The Senate Agenda Committee will review UUCC's recommendations for possible referral to the full Senate.

(1) All proposals for new courses or programs (including, but not limited to, concentrations, specializations, program minors or majors) or significant changes thereof, must be submitted to every college Curriculum Committee and Dean, with a copy to the Provost, at least thirty days before the new courses, programs or changes can be publicized or implemented by the proposing College. (This requirement applies in particular to the inclusion of new courses in the Registrar's course registration booklet.)

(2) If overlap or duplication would appear to result from the course being offered, the proposal should set forth the extent of the apparent duplication or overlap, and give the reasons for it.

(3) Recommendations by UUCC on actions forwarded to the Committee from any sources shall be forwarded by submitting parties to the Provost, and the Senate Agenda Committee.

(4) If, within two weeks of receiving the UUCC recommendations, the Senate Agenda Committee does not indicate its intent to forward them to the full Senate for its consideration, the resolution recommended by the UUCC shall be put into effect by the appropriate authorities.

3) Meetings

a) The UUCC shall meet at least once during each academic quarter, and shall submit to the SAC each quarter a status report on all matters under consideration.

b) The UUCC shall keep appropriate minutes of its meetings which shall reflect the sense of the meetings, except that all votes taken shall be recorded in detail.

Proposed graduate programs will usually originate in an academic department and will then be referred to the appropriate Graduate School Committee(s). If the proposal affects only one college, it is sent to the Provost or his/her designee after approval by the Graduate School Committee for academic and administrative analysis. The Executive Committee of the Graduate Council then institutes academic review by the New Programs Committee. After budgetary approval and academic approval by the New Programs Committee, the proposal is reviewed by the Graduate Council. Following approval by the Graduate Council, the proposal is sent to the Faculty Senate. Finally it is submitted to the President and the Board of Trustees for their review and action.

If the proposed program involves more than one college and there is not agreement between the involved units, the proposal may be referred to a joint committee of the involved Graduate School Committees for resolution of the issues prior to formal submission to the Provost or his/her designee.

a. University Graduate Council*

* Established by vote of the Faculty Senate, June 7, 1966. Revised June, 1979 and December, 1982. Revised by vote of Graduate Council May 31, 1985.

The University Graduate Council is established to formulate and recommend for adoption general academic policies and regulations for the creation and governance of graduate programs at Northeastern University.

1) Purpose

The purpose of the University Graduate Council is to carry on a continuous review of policies, regulations, and procedures affecting graduate degree programs, and to make recommendations for their improvement to the Provost. Graduate degree programs are defined as post-baccalaureate programs offered and administered by the graduate schools of the University.

2) Membership

a) Only Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors from the colleges who are employed full-time at the University, are actively engaged in graduate teaching and research, and do not have academic appointments which make them eligible for appointment as administrative members of the University Graduate Council shall be eligible for election to the University Graduate Council.

Each academic department or unit responsible for offering graduate programs will elect one representative to serve on the University Graduate Council. When an eligible college does not have at least three elected representatives as a result of this provision, the college will elect additional representatives as may be required to bring the number of members from that college up to a total of three.

The terms of representatives will start in September and be for a period of three years. Whenever a representative must terminate his/her membership before a full term has been served, a new representative will be elected to serve a full three-year term.

b) The Provost or his/her designee will be an ex-officio, non-voting member and shall be the chairperson of the University Graduate Council.

c) The Dean or the Director of Graduate Studies of each college offering graduate programs will be a member of the University Graduate Council.

d) There will be a Secretary appointed by the Provost or his/her designee who will attend all meetings. The Secretary will not have voting rights.

3) Functions

The University Graduate Council will recommend approval or disapproval of new graduate programs, review existing graduate programs periodically to assure that their quality is maintained and that there is a proper relationship to other degree programs, recommend to the Provost changes and additions for the improvement of all graduate studies, and establish and amend the By-Laws of the University Graduate Council to enable that body to carry out effectively the foregoing functions.

4) Procedures

a) Meetings

The Chairperson of the University Graduate Council will be the Provost or his/her designee who will be a non-voting member. The Vice-Chairperson will be the chairperson of the Executive Committee, who will serve with voting rights in the absence of the chairperson of the Council. At a minimum, the University Graduate Council will meet once during each of the fall, winter, and spring quarters. Additional meetings will be called by the Chairperson at the recommendation of, and with the approval of, the Executive Committee. Additional meetings may also be called at the request of any four members of the University Graduate Council. This request is to be addressed to the Chairperson and to the Executive Committee of the University Graduate Council.

A quorum will consist of one-half of the membership. Meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

b) Guidelines

The University Graduate Council will establish guidelines for the proposal of new programs and the review of existing programs.

c) Amendments to the By-Laws

Amendments to the By-Laws will be circulated at least one week before the meeting and will require a two-thirds majority of those present, excluding abstentions, for approval.

5) Standing Committees

There will be three standing committees: the Executive, New Programs, and Program Review committees. In addition, the Executive Committee will appoint ad hoc committees when the need arises. Each standing committee will consist of at least one member from each College offering graduate programs. The Chairperson of the University Graduate Council will be an ex-officio non-voting member of all committees.

a) The Executive Committee

The purpose of the Executive Committee is to ensure the smooth and continuous operation of the University Graduate Council.

The Executive Committee will be composed of one Graduate Council member from each college elected for a two-year term by the members from that college serving on the University Graduate Council. The chairperson of the Executive Committee will be elected at the first meeting of the academic year by the members of the Executive Committee. The chairperson will serve for two years and may be re-elected.

The Executive Committee will call meetings and prepare agenda for University Graduate Council meetings, select the chairpersons of all committees, coordinate the activities of all committees, review and respond to reports from all committees, maintain the records of the business of the University Graduate Council, and provide an annual report of the business of the University Graduate Council.

(1) Meetings

The Executive Committee will meet no later than the second week of the new academic year.

Minutes of each meeting will be kept and become a part of the permanent record of the business of the Committee. A quorum will consist of one-half of the members of the Committee. Meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

(2) Committee Memberships

During the spring quarter of each year, the Executive Committee will inform the Dean/Director of each college of the number of expiring terms and the standing committee memberships which are to be filled. Upon receipt of the results of the election in each college, the Executive Committee will prepare a membership list of the University Graduate Council and its standing committees for the academic year beginning in September and distribute this list to the entire membership. New members of the University Graduate Council will be sent a copy of the By-Laws and Operating Guidelines.

The Executive Committee may recommend to certain colleges a modification of the election procedure to achieve overlapping terms of membership on standing committees.

The Executive Committee will select the chairpersons of the New Programs and Program Review Committees from the membership of the Executive Committee.

As the need arises, the Executive Committee will select members for ad hoc committees from among the members who have not been elected to the standing committees. Whenever possible, the chairpersons of such committees will be selected from among members of the Executive Committee who do not chair a standing committee.

(3) Proposals for New Programs

Proposals for new programs will be received by the Executive Committee for forwarding to the New Programs Committee. The New Programs Committee will review the proposal and report its findings in writing to the Executive Committee so that the proposal can be placed on the agenda for a University Graduate Council meeting.

(4) Program Reviews

The Executive Committee will determine the schedule of program reviews. The Provost and the Chairperson of the Executive Committee will inform the head of the department or program to be reviewed and the Dean of the College of the date on which the self-study report is due.

Self-study reports will be received by the Executive Committee for forwarding to the Program Review Committee. The Program Review Committee will review the self-study report and any other pertinent information and report its findings in writing to the Executive Committee so that the proposal can be placed on the agenda for a University Graduate Council meeting.

(5) Annual Reports

The Executive Committee will receive an annual report at the end of each academic year from each standing committee. These reports will be incorporated into an annual report of the business of the University Graduate Council which will be presented at the first meeting of the University Graduate Council in the following academic year.

The Annual Reports will provide a permanent record of the business of the University Graduate Council and will be maintained by the Executive Committee. These records will be housed in the Office of the Provost.

b. The New Programs Committee

The purpose of the New Programs Committee is to ensure that new graduate programs are consistent with the overall aims of the University to provide high-quality graduate education in the academic areas identified by each college.

The New Programs Committee will be composed of one Graduate Council member from each college, elected for a two-year term by the membership from that college serving on the University Graduate Council. In addition, the chairperson will be selected from the membership of the Executive Committee by the Executive Committee.

The New Programs Committee will review all proposed graduate programs according to the procedures established by the University Graduate Council, report its recommendations, recommend changes as needed in the procedures for reviewing new programs, and submit an annual report.

1) Meetings

The first meeting of each academic year will be called by the chairperson no later than the fourth week of the fall quarter.

Minutes of each meeting will be kept and will become a part of the permanent record of business of the Committee.

A quorum will consist of one-half of the members of the Committee. Meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

2) Proposals

The process for reviewing proposed programs is outlined in Section V of the University Graduate Council By-laws.

3) Annual Report

At the end of the academic year an annual report will be submitted to the Executive Committee detailing the business accomplished, unfinished business, and future plans of the Committee.

c. The Program Review Committee

The purpose of the Program Review Committee is to ensure that graduate programs offered by the University maintain the academic standards projected for them at their initiation.

The Program Review Committee will be composed of one Graduate Council member, from each college, elected for a two-year term by the members from that college serving on the University Graduate Council. In addition, the chairperson will be selected from the Executive Committee by the Executive Committee.

The Program Review Committee will review, on a periodic basis, all graduate programs. It recommends program changes and follows up those recommendations approved by the University Graduate Council. It may recommend termination of a program if necessary. The Committee will recommend changes as needed in the procedures for program review and submit an annual report.

1) Meetings

The first meeting of each academic year will be called by the chairperson no later than the fourth week of the fall quarter.

Minutes of each meeting will be kept and will become a part of the permanent record of the business of the Committee.

A quorum will consist of one-half of the members of the Committee. Meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

2) Program Review

The process for reviewing existing programs is outlined in Section VI of the University Graduate Council By-laws.

3) Annual Report

At the end of the academic year, an annual report will be submitted to the Executive Committee detailing the business accomplished, unfinished business, and future plans of the Committee.

6) Elections

a) University Graduate Council

Faculty members will serve a three-year term commencing with the fall quarter of the academic year. The Executive Committee will notify each department or college when its representatives' terms will expire. Elections to the University Graduate Council will be arranged by whatever method departments or colleges may choose; however, only those faculty members holding the rank of Assistant Professor or above will be eligible to vote in these elections. Election of members will take place in the spring quarter of the preceding year.

b) Standing Committees

The members of the University Graduate Council from each college will be convened by its Dean/Director during each spring quarter to elect members to fill expiring terms on the standing committees: Executive, New Programs, and Program Review committees. The Executive Committee will inform the Dean/Director of these terms.

The Dean/Director will inform the Provost and the Executive Committee of the results of these elections by the eighth week of each spring quarter.

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