Course, Curriculum and Catalog Management: Acalog/Curriculog Chancellor’s Cabinet June 30, 2014

Objective UNC Charlotte will soon offer Acalog/Curriculog as an electronic academic program and course approval system for creating, modifying, and accessing degree programs, individual courses, and catalog information. This system is being implemented during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Why is this necessary? We have well-meaning processes and systems for managing our curriculum – the efficiency and utility of which have been lessened as we have grown and become more complex: Inaccurate and inconsistent quality of information Delays and inefficiencies Duplication of effort Paper-intensive Lack of synthetized information Lack of historical record and accountability No reporting or data analysis capabilities

Student Success Core Initiatives Curriculum Faculty This project is also a cornerstone of our student success core initiatives which work to integrate the work of students, faculty, and curriculum in a comprehensive way to improve student success

Student Success Core Initiatives Graduation Analytics A comprehensive effort to: Clarify degree requirements and expectations Identify and mitigate barriers to successful graduation both in terms of program design and student performance Students Curriculum Faculty

Goals of Project Maintain accurate account of all course offerings and degree programs Integrate course, degree, and catalog information with Banner and degree audit systems Allow faculty, departments, colleges, and staff to access, edit, and propose changes to the curriculum and catalog in a web-based approval system To so, the goals of the project are:

Benefits of Acalog/Curriculog Supports any number of users, working on their own schedule, or concurrently – from anywhere via web browser Provides a real-time account of where proposals are in the process and what steps remain Integrates course and curriculum information with Banner and related websites, ensuring accuracy There are several benefits of this system, including: Acalog/Curriculog serves to organize courses and curriculum in a central database that is integrated with Banner which will then serve as a repository to generate other related documents such as: Academic Plans of Study, Degree Maps, and Degree Audit.

Consultation and Support Academic Advisory Team Faculty Council Undergraduate Course & Curriculum Graduate Council Faculty Information & Technology Services Faculty Academic Policy & Standards Associate Deans Office of the Registrar This project has been led by an advisory team consisting of members from:

Academic Advisory Team Advise during conceptualization and development, serve as primary contact Consider policy and procedural implications Name College/Unit/Committee Charlie Brody College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Jennifer Hurlbert Belk College of Business Erik Wikstrom College of Health and Human Services Ken Chen College of Computing and Informatics Lee Gray College of Arts + Architecture Kelly Anderson College of Education Henrietta Thomas University College Ron Smelser William States Lee College of Engineering Susan Sell Graduate School Stephanie Otis Atkins Library Drew Polly Faculty Representative: Undergraduate FITSAC Kim Harris Undergraduate Course and Curriculum Committee Alan Freitag Faculty Representative: Graduate Graduate Council Chris Knauer Office of the Registrar

Guiding Principles Definitive Source Accuracy Clarity Efficiency Faculty Focused Process, Student Focused Product The Academic Advisory Team has created a set of Guiding Principles to frame the project: Definitive Source. The Catalog is the definitive, comprehensive source for academic program and course information. Any additional resources (i.e. plans of study, degree maps, Banner, degree audit) are generated from the information that is identified in the Catalog. The Catalog is published annually. Accuracy. Degree program requirements and course descriptions in the Catalog should be accurate and up-to-date. Catalog accuracy ensures the accuracy of other campus systems, including Banner and degree audit. Clarity. Catalog content should be clear and easy to understand for students, faculty, advisors, and program administrators. Information should be delivered consistently in a standardized format across programs and colleges and throughout the Catalog. The delivery of the curriculum should emphasize efficient and logical sequencing to facilitate student acquisition of knowledge and timely graduation. Efficiency. Program, course and catalog management processes should be timely, transparent and accessible to facilitate annual publication of the catalog. The processes and associated deadlines and deliverables should be clear and reasonable. Faculty Focused Process, Student Focused Product. The process of the creation and maintenance of University courses and curricula is a faculty-driven and faculty-owned process. The Catalog, as the product of this process, must be student-focused and user-friendly.

Vendor Selection Digital Architecture Acalog –catalog management Curriculog – curriculum management An RFP (Request for Purchased) was prepared and issued by the Office of Academic Affairs and Information Technology Services. The Academic Advisory Team evaluated the six proposals received and recommended two vendors for on-campus presentations. Presentations to campus were conducted in March 2014. Following feedback received from those who attended presentations and after extensive reference checking from peer institutions both within the UNC system and nation-wide, the Academic Advisory Team recommended the purchase of Acalog/Curriculog. Acalog/Curriculog is currently used within UNC by: ECU, Wilmington and Winston-Salem and is being considered by UNC-Chapel Hill. I have initiated a listserv of those of us in the system who are utilizing the product(s) so we can share best practices and learn from one another. Acalog/Curriculog is also used nationally by hundreds of institutions including large, research institutions such as: UVA, Cornell, Cal Poly, Kansas State, University of TN, and LSU.

Tentative Project Timeline March 2014: Vendor selected Summer 2014: Develop catalog template Fall 2014: Departmental curriculum review Spring 2015: System live; all short forms and long forms processed via system June 1, 2015: 2015-2016 Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs produced via Acalog/Curriculog

Thank You Maria Arrington-Ferguson, Project Manager, A.Arrington-Ferguson@uncc.edu Leslie R. Zenk, Assistant Provost, lzenk@uncc.edu