Charge to the Curriculum Committee

The Curriculum Committee of the College of Business is charged with developing a comprehensive and cohesive curriculum for the College of Business (College) and with updating that curriculum on a continuing basis. This curriculum should reflect the vision and mission of the College.

Vision Statement: The College of Business at Montana State University will provide a locally revered and nationally recognized business education for undergraduate students and in selected areas of graduate study.  The programs of study will be distinguished by the personalized attention accorded to students, an integrated and contemporary curriculum, and the dedication of the faculty to creating an extraordinary classroom environment and facilitating career opportunities for graduates.

Mission Statement: The mission of the College of Business is to provide excellence in undergraduate and select graduate business education.  To accomplish this, the College:

  • Fosters an integrated, experiential, and personalized learning environment.
  • Encourages critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, effective communication, ethical decision-making and social responsibility, and life-long learning,

The College is committed to the teacher-scholar model in which faculty members are simultaneously engaged in teaching and research.  The College provides service and outreach to its stakeholders in keeping with this aspect of the University’s land-grant mission.

Curriculum development is an on-going process and should be conducted in an orderly fashion, seeking continuous improvement. The College curriculum represents a sequence of education experiences designed to increase the knowledge, skill, interpersonal competence and professional judgment of our students.

The Curriculum Committee shall engage in a regular, comprehensive and proactive review of the College’s curriculum to ensure that the curriculum meets the mission of the College.  The Committee shall not be merely reactive to proposals brought to the Committee, but shall take a proactive role in making recommendations to the faculty to ensure that the College’s curriculum is current and meets the learning goals of the College as reflected in the College’s mission.  There are several elements of the Committee’s review of the curriculum:

  1. A regular review of the curriculum as described in the attached schedule and development of recommendations to the College faculty for curricular changes if necessary.
  2. A timely review of results forwarded to the Committee by the College’s Assessment of Learning (AoL) Committee and the development of recommendations to the College faculty for curricular changes to improve student learning as required.
  3. The consideration of proposals brought to the Committee by faculty members or other College committees.
  4. The proactive development of recommendations by the Committee itself.
  5. The management, with the College’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, of the bi-annual MSU catalog revision process.

The Committee shall develop its own internal procedures for ensuring that it accomplishes its charge.

Changes to the Curriculum

Any faculty member, group of faculty, option, College committee (including the Curriculum Committee itself) or administrator of the College may propose a change to the College’s curriculum.  (A change includes a change in the number of credit hours required for a degree, minor or program; the addition or deletion of a program, option or minor; the addition or deletion of a course; a change in course title, course content, prerequisites; a substantive change in course description;  and other changes in catalog content.)

A proposed change to the curriculum shall first be submitted to the Committee, which shall review the proposal in a timely manner.  Should the Committee wish to recommend adoption of the proposal with amendments, or to recommend against adoption, the Committee shall discuss its recommendation with the originator(s) of the proposal in order to give the originator(s) an opportunity to discuss the proposal with the Committee. The Committee may not refuse to present a proposal to the full faculty.

A proposed change that substantively affects the curriculum of a single option (e.g. a proposed change to an option’s required or elective courses) must be supported by a majority of that option’s tenure-track faculty before the Committee will consider the proposal or make a recommendation to the full faculty.

The Committee shall make a report to the full faculty on each proposal, which report shall contain the original proposal, the Committee’s recommendation for action, and the basis for the Committee’s recommendation. 

Faculty Voting on Curricular Changes

The Committee shall distribute its written report on a proposed change to the curriculum to all faculty members (including adjunct faculty and administrators) at least five working days before a general faculty meeting.  At this general faculty meeting, the Committee shall briefly explain the proposal and its recommendation, and open the floor up to discussion.  Upon conclusion of the discussion, a motion may be made to move the matter to a written ballot which motion shall be seconded and then voted upon by the faculty present at the meeting.

All tenure-track faculty are eligible to vote on the proposal, as are all non-tenurable participating faculty who have at least two years of continuing employment at the College.

Election of Members of Curriculum Committee

Each option shallelect one tenure-track faculty member in that option to the Committee for a two year term.  In addition, the adjunct faculty shall elect a representative from among the participating adjuncts to serve a one-year term on the Committee.  Tenure-track terms shall be staggered so that two options elect their representative in year one, with the other two options electing their representative in year two.  Members shall normally not serve on the Committee for more than four consecutive years.  The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs shall serve on the Committee ex officio.

The Committee members shall elect the chair of the Committee to serve a one year term.  The chair may serve more than one consecutive one year terms.

Should a member leave the Committee prior to the expiration of her/his term, the Dean will appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of that term. The replacement will be selected in a manner which to the extent possible balances discipline representation (same as the person who left) and workload in the judgment of the Dean.

 

For the full College Curriculum Policies & Procedures, please contact the Jabs Dean's Office: 406-994-4423.

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