Clark College offers courses for credit, delivered in multiple modes, with the appropriate content and rigor to culminate in achievement of student learning outcomes and lead to degrees and certificates with program content in recognized fields of study.  Curricular changes made to credit courses enhance student learning and reflect changes in recognized fields of study and industry.

330.001 Course Changes

All courses offered by the College for credit must have a Course Action Request (CAR) form on file in the Office of Instruction. The use of the CAR form and the following procedures should guarantee that all offerings have been reviewed by the proper groups and that the routine operations are not delayed by lack of information.

330.003 Curriculum Changes

Curriculum changes may be proposed by the Office of Instruction, by the appropriate unit deans, or
by members of the faculty. Changes to permanent course offerings, additions, deletions, and other major revisions must receive prior approval by the Curriculum Committee and the vice president of instruction.

330.005 New Courses

To create a new course, follow the steps listed in Administrative Procedure 330.025 COURSE ACTION REQUEST (CAR) FORMS.  If the course will be part of a vocational program, approval must also be obtained for the new course from the program’s Advisory Committee and meeting minutes from the Advisory Committee must be attached to the CAR form. 

The review of any course approval should include, but not be limited to, the following criteria:

1. The level of the course should be appropriate to a community college.
   
   
2. Content should be appropriately rigorous and taught by qualified personnel.
   
   
3. The course should fill a demonstrated need.
   
   
4. The course must make economic sense considering the cost to students and to the College.
   
   
5. The course should be offered through the appropriate department.  All departments with an interest in the course (because of prerequisites or because they offer similar courses, for instance) should be informed of the proposed action and given the opportunity to provide feedback.

The course may be either approved with or without revision, or it may be rejected by the division chair or instructional dean.

330.010 Revisions to Courses

To revise an existing course, follow the steps listed in Administrative Procedure 330.025 COURSE
ACTION REQUEST (CAR) FORMS. If the course is part of a vocational program, it satisfies a degree requirement, and either the credits, instructional hours, or title are being revised, approval must also be obtained for the revision from the program’s Advisory Committee and meeting minutes from the Advisory Committee must be attached to the CAR form.

The following items normally bypass the Curriculum Committee:

1. Quarters offered (printed in the catalog)
   
   
2. Print course information in catalog (y/n)
   
   
3. Concurrent enrollment removal/clarification (within one department)
   
   
4. Removal of a course fee
   
   
5. Change in coding of a course fee
   
   
6. Any coding change/correction (not in catalog, but in SMS database)

330.015 Deleting Courses

To delete an existing course, follow the steps listed in Administrative Procedure 330.025 COURSE ACTION REQUEST (CAR) FORMS.

330.025 Course Action Request (CAR) Forms

To create a new course, revise an existing course, or delete an existing course, follow the steps below after discussing the proposal with department members who may have a stake in the change.

1. Download the newest version of the appropriate (addition, revision or deletion) CAR form from the College Intranet, and complete it using Microsoft Word.
   
   
2.  E-mail the CAR form to the division chair or department head with the required attachments (listed on the CAR).
   
   
3. The division chair or department head will review the CAR form and forward it with all of the attachments to the unit dean.
   
   
4. The unit dean will review the CAR form and forward it with all of the attachments to the Office of Instruction.
   
   
5. The Office of Instruction will add the CAR to the Curriculum Committee agenda for review.
   
   
6. All CAR forms must meet the timelines set by the Curriculum Committee to be effective in subsequent quarters of the academic year.  Adherence to these timelines will ensure that the proposed addition or revision will be included in the published class schedule and be available for advising.

 Approved CAR forms will be processed as follows:

1. The course information will be entered in the College catalog master.
   
   
2. The course will be processed according to SBCTC requirements.
   
   
3. The course information will be inserted in the next issue of the College catalog, if appropriate.
   
   
4. The course will be added to the appropriate distribution list(s) in the degree requirements section of the catalog.
   
   
5. The course approval addition/revision/deletion will be implemented according to the effective date indicated on the CAR form.
   
   
6. Course information will be added to degree audit and course prerequisite mechanisms.
   
   
7. The vice president of instruction has the authority to approve course approval additions/ revisions/deletions of an exceptional nature.  This approval will be effective for one quarter only. If the addition/revision/deletion is to be permanent, the faculty and instructional dean must follow the Course/Curriculum Change Procedures above.

If a CAR is approved by the Curriculum Committee but not by the vice president of instruction, the reasons for the disapproval by the vice president of instruction will be given to the Curriculum Committee members in writing.