RYERSON UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Policy Name: Procedures for the Preparation, Submission and Approval of Academic Proposals Ref. No.: 07 Academic Council Approval Date: May 6, 1975 (Procedures Committee Report #5) Status: CURRENT A copy of the approved document follows. Note: See related curriculum policies including Ref. No. 21 "Academic Jurisdiction", Ref. No. 32 "Procedures for Program an Course Curricular Revisions", Ref. No. 33 "Program Balance", Ref. No. 35 "Degree Programs Policy", Ref. No 45 "Constitutional Provisions for Department/School Councils", Ref. No 112 "The Development, Review and Approval of New Undergraduate Degree Programs", Ref. No. 126 "The Periodic Review and Evaluation of Undergraduate Programs at Ryerson", and Ref. No. 127 "Procedures for Graduate Program Approval". PROCEDURES FOR THE PREPARATION, SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF ACADEMIC PROPOSAL REVISED 1975 A. PROCEDURAL OBJECTIVES: Academic Council delegates much of its responsibility "for maintaining a continuing review of the educational policies and priorities of the Institute to Departmental Councils, and to that end, approval of academic proposals is permitted at various levels. Except for routine changes to existing courses, all changes to curricula, programs, or academic policy must be reported to Academic Council, for information or for final approval, before they may come into effect. The following procedures are designed to guide Chairmen and Deans in the preparation and submission of such proposals. Depending on the nature of the proposal, certain "routes" are established, requiring the consultation and/or approval of the areas involved in and affected by the proposed changes. The objectives of the procedures are to: 1. free Academic Council from detailed discussion of purely Departmental or Divisional affairs, 2. avoid having independent action by one department result in unforeseen confusion to another department's academic planning, 3. avoid bringing the proposing department inadvertently into conflict with basic Institute policy or philosophy. The procedures should help to keep conflicts and unexpected upheavals to a minimum, while at the same time ensuring that Council is kept fully informed of developments, and is free to concentrate on the academic principles involved in proposed modifications, rather than on details of implementation. It is the responsibility of the Chairmen and Deans to determine what areas of the Institute are affected by proposed academic changes, and to ensure that full consultation, as required by these procedures, has occurred before the proposals are brought to the attention of Council. B. DEFINITIONS: Course: a unit of study approved for inclusion on one or more programs at Ryerson. Credit Course: a course for which a grade is assigned and for which one semester or year of course credit is granted towards a certificate, diploma or degree. Non-credit course: a course for which a grade may or may not be assigned, and for which no credit is granted towards a certificate, diploma or degree. Program: a balanced sequence of courses leading to the general intellectual development of the individual, and to the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to a particular discipline, career, profession, etc. Program balance: the balance between the different kinds of courses in a program, usually expressed in the form of a ratio of credits, courses, hours, and frequently expressed in terms of the ratio of professional to general. Professional course*: a course directly related to the acquisition of knowledge and/or skill essential to the particular career for which the student is being prepared. General course*: a course which provides depth and breadth to the students' education either by providing educational background to the professional courses, or by fostering awareness of the social, historical, and cultural context of our society generally and of the student in particular. Required (or 'core') course: a course required of all students in the program; usually professional, but can be general. Elective course: a professional or general course which the student may select from a specified list. Teaching Department: the academic department responsible for the development, teaching and grading of a course. Program Department: The academic department responsible for the administering of one or more programs. *NB: The classification of a course depends on its context in a given program, and the particular contribution it makes to program balance. C. CHANGES TO EXISTING COURSES: l. Routine changes in course content to keep material up-to-date without altering the general objectives of a course require approval by the teaching departmental council, Chairman and Dean; when applicable, such course modifications are reported to the Chairmen of all Departments which include the course on their program. Normally, this requirement is met by ensuring that Departments making use of the course are provided with up-to-date course outlines. 2. Changes which go beyond those in (1) are accomplished by deleting the existing course and substituting a new course on whatever programs are affected by the change. a) If the course substitution is made by a program department, and affects its program only, approval by the Departmental Council, Chairman and Dean is required, and the Dean reports the change to Academic Council for information. b) If the course substitution affects the programs of departments other than the proposing department, the substitution requires consultation and/or a approval as follows: i) For required courses, approval for the substitution is required by the teaching Departmental Council, Chairman and Dean, plus the Departmental Councils, Chairmen and Deans of all program departments using the course. ii) For elective courses, approval for the substitution is required by the Departmental Council, Chairman and Dean of the teaching department. However, consultation with affected Departments must precede the submission of the proposed substitution to Academic Council, so that adjustments can be made, or, if circumstances warrant, so the affected Departments may recommend that the old course be continued. iii) For courses which are required in some programs, and elective in others, approval is recurred as outlined in (i), and consultation as in (ii). Once the necessary consultation and/or approval has occurred, the Dean of the teaching department reports the substitution to Council. 3. Changes to existing courses which require additional support service for implementation must have involved consultation with the Registrar before being reported to Academic Council, to determine if there are any operational factors which would limit the feasibility of the proposed change. The Registrar is also consulted as to the proper number and title designations of all new courses, so as to ensure the maintenance of accurate student records. 4. Changes to existing courses which have cost or significant academic implications must be approved as above, but are referred by the Dean of the teaching department to the Vice-President, Academic for referral to the appropriate committee(s), (e.g. Standards Committee), for recommendation to Council. 5. All course changes are reported or recommended, in both summarized and detailed form, to the Secretary of Academic Council, no later than two weeks prior to the meeting of Council at which the change is to be presented. D. CHANGES TO EXISTING PROGRAMS: I. Definition: Changes to programs include: l. The inclusion of additional courses or hours in a program. 2. The deletion of a course, replaced by a course in another discipline. 3. The reduction of the total number of courses or hours making up a program. II. Procedural Criteria: In each case, the key questions affecting the "route" the proposed change will take are: 1. Does the change conform to the previously defined objectives and philosophy of the program? 2. Is the program balance altered? 3. Does the change have cost implications? III. Procedures: l. It is the responsibility of the Chairman and Dean of the proposing Department to determine if the proposal alters the objectives or balance of the program(s) affected, and/or if it has cost implications. 2. Changes to programs involving alteration of program objectives, balance and/or having cost implications: a) Should the change have effect within the proposing Department only: i) Departmental Council approves the proposal. ii) The Dean of the Department refers the proposal to the Vice-President, Academic, for referral to the appropriate commitee(s), (e.g. Standards, Deans, Priorities, etc.). iii) The designated Committee recommends the proposal to Academic Council, in summary form, and the Chairman of the proposing Department reports the complete detail of the recommended change to the Registrar, through the Secretary of Council. b) Should the change have effect beyond the proposing Department: i) Consultation takes place with all departments, including support service departments, affected by the proposed change. ii) The Departmental Councils, Chairmen and Dean(s) of all departments involved approve the proposed change. iii) The Dean(s) of the program department(s) refer(s) the proposal to the Vice-President, Academic, for referral to the appropriate committee, and the proposal continues as in (a), (iii), above. c) Should the affected departments not agree to the change, and the proposing department wishes to proceed, the following procedures are observed: i) The proposing Departmental Council approves the change, with the participation of representatives from affected Departments. ii) The matter is referred by the Dean of the proposing department to the Vice-President, Academic, who will make a recommendation on the issue to Academic Council, after consulting appropriate committee(s). The Chairman of the proposing Department reports the complete detail of the recommended change to the Registrar, through the Secretary of Council. 3. Changes to Programs which do not involve alterations to program balance or philosophy, and/or cost implications: a) Should the change have effect within the proposing Department only: i) Departmental Council approves the proposal. ii) The Dean reports a summary of the change to the Secretary of Council, for information, and the Chairman reports complete detail. b) Should the change have effect beyond the proposing Department: i) Consultations take place with all affected departments, including "non-academic" support service departments. ii) The Departmental Councils, Chairmen and Dean(s) of all departments involved approve the proposal. iii) The Dean(s) of the program department(s) report(s) the change to the Secretary of Council, for information, in summary and detail. c) Should the affected departments not agree to the change, and the proposing department wishes to proceed, the following procedures are observed: i) The proposing Departmental Council approves the proposed change, with the participation of representatives from the affected departments. ii) The matter is referred by the Dean of the proposing department to the Vice-President, Academic, who will make a recommendation on the issue to Academic Council, after consulting appropriate committees. iii) The Chairman of the proposing department reports the complete detail of the recommended change to the Registrar through the Secretary of Council. E. CHANGES TO POLICIES: I. Classification: l. Institute Policies: of application to the entire Institute. 2. Interdepartmental Policies: of application to a particular department, discipline, or course, but having significant operational or academic effect beyond the jurisdiction of any single Departmental Council. 3. Departmental Policies: of application within the jurisdiction of a single Departmental Council. II. General Objectives: Council acknowledges the importance of providing considerable latitude for policy-formation at the Departmental level, as a means of enabling the academic community to respond to changing needs in the conduct of curriculum and pedagogy. For this reason, Council delegates the responsibility for academic policy review and innovation to the Departmental and Divisional level, as much as is consistent with the following general objectives: 1. That individual Departments operate within ate limits of basic Institute policy and philosophy. 2. That a reasonable degree of consistency in the conduct of academic affairs obtains throughout the Institute. 3. That the effects of policy innovation within one department on other departments, including support service departments, are anticipated and considered. 4. That policy changes are fully and clearly communicated to all students, faculty and staff involved in and affected by their implementation. III. Procedures: 1. Departmental Council (or Divisional Committee) approves the policy proposal. 2. The Dean of the Division is responsible for ensuring that the policy contributes to the general objectives outlined above. Guidance in this matter is provided by: a) the Registrar b) the Secretary of Council c) the Vice-President, Academic, and Deans' Committee. 3. A11 policy changes which involve alterations or modifications of Institute policy or which are not consistent with the above general objectives, are recommended to Academic Council by the Dean of the proposing department, for approval. 4. All other policy changes of academic or operational significance are reported to Academic Council by the Dean of the proposing department, for information. 5. Policy changes are communicated to all students, faculty and staff involved in and affected by their implementation. April, 1975