The faculty at Nicholls State University has primary responsibility for the content, quality, and effectiveness of curricula. While the Nicholls faculty holds responsibility for reviewing and initiating changes in curricula, every level of the University's academic administration monitors course and curriculum development, as outlined in Section 5.8.9.1 of the University' Policy and Procedure Manual, Curriculum Development.

Faculty Responsibility for Curriculum Development

As stated in Section 5.8.9.1 of the University's Policy and Procedure Manual, all course and curriculum development and changes are initiated and approved at the departmental level by qualified faculty in the discipline [1].

5.8.9.1. Curriculum Development

Faculty have the primary responsibility for curriculum, including course additions, deletions, or modifications, and program additions or modifications. These additions and modifications may involve Board of Regents approval. Faculty should be aware of the complete process from the department level to the Board of Regents. Knowledge of time limitations is crucial for a successful conclusion to the process.

In most cases, a curriculum proposal is developed intra-departmentally. The college curriculum committees review the proposal and either approve it by sending it on to the Dean or sending it back to the Head with suggested modifications. The Dean may return the proposal to the committee for further modification or send it on to the Courses and Curriculum Committee or the Graduate Council as required.

After review by the Graduate Council or appropriate committee, the proposal may be returned to the appropriate Dean for modification. The committees may also schedule hearings with specific Department Heads or faculty proposing changes in order to obtain further information. Upon approval by the committee, a recommendation is forwarded to the Faculty Senate.

The Senate votes on the proposal and forwards its recommendation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs makes final disposition of the proposal and notifies the Senate of the recommendation. More detailed information of the responsibilities in the routing process for curriculum changes is found in the Courses and Curriculum Procedures document.

Approximate deadlines for the steps described above are as follows. These deadlines are necessary in order to make the publishing deadline required by the University Bulletin:

•	Proposals should go from the committees to the Deans for distribution to the appropriate committees on or before the third week in September.
•	The Courses and Curricula Committee is required to submit proposals to the Faculty Senate on or before the fourth week in November for action by the Senate at its December meeting.
•	Exact dates for proposal submissions are established by the Courses and Curricula Committee each year.

Departments must submit requests to the dean of their college for review and approval. Once approved by the dean, the request is submitted to the University Courses and Curricula Committee for review and approval, as per Courses and Curricula guidelines [2]. All voting members of the University Courses and Curricula Committee are full-time teaching faculty.

Evidence of faculty approval of this process is provided in minutes from Courses and Curricula Committee meetings [3] and Faculty Senate meetings [4].

Maintenance of Curriculum Quality

Monitoring of curriculum quality, content, and effectiveness exists at many levels. The highest level of monitoring occurs during regular external reviews by either accrediting agencies or external review teams, in which curriculum examination is a standard part of the review process. One hundred percent of all programs deemed mandatory for accreditation by the Louisiana Board of Regents are currently accredited at the national level, as discussed in Core Requirement 2.5 [5] and Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1 [6]. In addition, all programs that do not have an accrediting agency undergo a periodic Academic Program Review [7]. These reviews examine curricula to determine appropriateness to their disciplines and missions [8].

Continuing quality of curricula is ensured with annual evaluations of all faculty members. The University expects, as specified in the formative evaluation review process, that the faculty, through professional development activities, remain current in their fields to ensure relevant course content [9]. This Performance Assessment, as described in Section 2.10 of the University's Policy and Procedure Manual, includes a review of exams, syllabi, student evaluations of instruction, and faculty development activities [10]. Further discussion of the hiring and evaluation of faculty is available in Comprehensive Standards 3.7.1 [11] and 3.7.2 [12].