Procedure 257: Updating Academic Content in Catalogs

University Procedure #257

Section 1. Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to define the process for making changes to academic content in the catalogs. Content affecting such items as graduation requirements, general education and liberal studies information, program requirements, and course descriptions is addressed in this procedure. The goal is to enable publication of timely and accurate information for students, faculty, and staff use and preservation of program and course information for future reference. The process for making changes to other text in the catalog (e.g., university mission) is not included in this procedure.

Section 2. Authority

This procedure is issued pursuant to authority granted under the Rules and Regulations of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU).

Section 3. Effective Date

This procedure shall become effective upon signature by the president and shall remain in effect until modified or expressly revoked.

Section 4. Responsibility

Responsibility for implementation of this procedure is assigned to the provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Section 5. Procedure

1. Where university or MnSCU policy governs course and program changes, all changes made to the university’s catalog shall follow those policies. Policies that may apply include:
   1. MnSCU Policy 3.19 Program Redesign
   2. Metropolitan State University Policy 2070 New Program Approval
   3. Metropolitan State University Procedure 251 Course, FDIS, Group Internship, and Theory Seminar Review
   4. Metropolitan State University Policy 2010 General Education/Liberal Studies/Goal Areas

2. The catalog shall bear the publication date of the academic year in which it was published. The catalog shall be published annually on July 1 to reflect program changes effective fall semester.

3. Colleges and departments own the catalog content describing their programs. As content owners, faculty are responsible for updating and ensuring the accuracy of program and course content in the catalog. All changes and updates must follow college or school procedures.

4. Catalog updates must be approved and submitted to Academic Affairs by the dean.

5. The General Education Committee is responsible for updating and ensuring the accuracy of general education and liberal studies content in the catalog. All changes and updates must follow university governance and procedure and be approved by the provost and vice president for academic affairs, or designee, before they can be published.

6. Different kinds of changes require different change procedures. Five different types of changes to the catalog are addressed in this procedure:
   1. Minor editorial changes and corrections
   2. Omissions
   3. New programs
   4. Changes to existing programs
   5. New courses

7. Minor editorial changes and corrections are defined as changes made necessary by unclear formatting, typographical errors, documented minor errors in content, and mechanical, grammatical, and punctuation errors. Content owners may request minor editorial changes at the time errors of these types are noticed. Minor editorial changes and corrections may be published immediately.

8. Omissions are defined as material that is inadvertently missing from the catalog. Content owners may request posting of omitted material at the time the omission is noticed. Such changes may be published immediately upon approval by the dean.

1. New programs are defined as academic programs that have received approval according to Metropolitan State University Policy 2070 New Program Approval since the most recent publication date of the catalog. Information about a new academic program may be published at the time the program secures approval. The effective date of a new program should be included in the catalog copy.

10. Changes to existing programs are defined as changes that have received approval since the most recent publication date of the catalog. Changes to existing programs may be published only at the time of the annual publication of the catalog (Section 5B). The process for updating the catalog for changes to existing programs is:
    1. As soon as program changes are approved, the content owner may submit the changes for publication.
    2. The content approver may approve the submitted changes in the development site at any time. Catalog material that reflects changes to existing programs must be approved by the dean by May 15 for the material to be published in the annual catalog on July 1.
    3. Approved content will be published in the annual catalog on July 1.
    4. Changes to existing programs will have an effective date of fall semester of the publication year.

11. New courses are defined as courses that have received approval according to Metropolitan State University Procedure 251 Course, FDIS, Group Internship, and Theory Seminar Review since the most recent publication date of the catalog. Course descriptions are published through changes to the university’s curriculum database.

12. Annual Review of Academic Program Content in Catalog

All academic program content must be reviewed annually by the content owner and dean or executive director. The process for the annual review shall be:

1. The content owner will be notified by February 1 that the deadline for review is April
2. The content owner must review and sign-off on the content by April 1. Any changes to content must be made in accordance to the provisions of this procedure.
3. Following approval by the content owner, the dean or executive director must review and sign-off on the content by May 15.

13. Archiving and Posting of Archived Catalogs
    1. An electronic copy of the current catalog and all course descriptions will be archived by the Information Technology Department by October
    2. Previous archived copies, dating back five years, will be posted on the University web site for students/faculty and staff reference.

Section 6. Exceptions

Exceptions to this procedure require approval from the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Section 7. Review

This procedure will be reviewed and modified as appropriate.

Section 8. Signatures

Issued on this day, February 1, 2011

Gary Seiler, Interim Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs

Sue K. Hammersmith, President