Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

The faculty of Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) has primary responsibility for all university curricula.  All academic courses and programs of study are initiated by faculty, approved by a series of faculty committees at the department, college, and university levels, and approved by the Office of Academic Affairs as described in Policy Statement 45 (Courses and Curricula) [1].

The Louisiana Board of Regents has final approval authority for all academic programs, but all programs are initiated by faculty.  Proposals for all new academic programs initiated by the faculty are reviewed and approved by the faculty in the unit, by the curriculum committee in the school or college, by the dean of the school or college, by the Graduate Council and the Graduate School dean if applicable, and by the Faculty Senate Courses and Curricula Committee.  Further approvals are required from the provost and executive vice chancellor, the chancellor, the president of the system, and the LSU Board of Supervisors before the proposal is sent to the Board of Regents. 

All policies and procedures associated with academic programs, including courses, curricula, concentrations, and minors, have been developed and approved by the university’s Faculty Senate in the spirit of faculty governance of such policies.  Policies and procedures for adding, dropping, or changing a course, curriculum, concentration, or minor are described in Policy Statement PS 45.  All such proposals are initiated by the faculty of an academic unit, approved by the curriculum committee of the school or college, by the Graduate Council and the Graduate School dean if applicable, and by the Faculty Senate Courses and Curricula Committee before submission to the Office of Academic Affairs.  Approval by deans and by the Office of Academic Affairs ensures that the academic programs are consistent with the university’s mission and that adequate resources are in place to insure the quality of the programs.  The attached flow chart (Figure 1) outlines the approval procedure.  Each step in the process is for review and approval.  The proposal can be sent back at any point with specific requests for more information.  Note that the Office of the University Registrar only reviews proposals for completeness and adherence to catalog requirements.

The time line for the establishment of the Bachelor of Science in Coastal Environmental Science (CIP Code 40.0607) illustrates the proposal approval process.  In fall 2005, the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences and the Department of Environmental Sciences approved the submission of a Letter of Intent (LoI) for a new undergraduate degree in Coastal Environmental Sciences.  The LoI was approved by the Office of Academic Affairs and submitted to the Louisiana Board of Regents.  The Board of Regents approved the LoI on May 25, 2006.  The full proposal for the undergraduate program was approved by the faculty of both departments and by the School of the Coast and Environment in September 2006.  The Faculty Senate Courses and Curricula Committee approved the proposal on January 24, 2007 [2].  The Office of Academic Affairs approved the proposal the same day and forwarded it to the LSU System office for submission to the Board of Supervisors.  The Board of Supervisors approved the proposal at its meeting on July 12-13, 2007 [3].   On December 6, 2007, the Louisiana Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Bachelor of Science in Coastal Environmental Science (CIP Code 40.0607) [4].

The Faculty Senate Courses and Curricula Committee is composed of at least one (but no more than two) faculty member from each college or school not within a college, one undergraduate student, and non-voting  representatives from the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of the University Registrar.  The committee is responsible for the approval or disapproval, after review, of proposed additions, alterations, or eliminations of courses, curricula, and degree programs submitted by colleges and schools.  It consults, when deemed appropriate, with units that appear to be affected by changes in courses or curricula [1].

The university has a process in place that requires all programs to be evaluated each year [5].  The faculty set learning outcomes for each undergraduate and graduate program and establish metrics to be used for the assessment of the student learning outcomes of each program.   The faculty review the results of the assessment each year and, as indicated by the review, identify steps to change the program to improve student learning.  The faculty responsible for each program submit an assessment report that is reviewed by the college dean and by the Office of Academic Affairs.  The data collected by each department and the analysis are loaded onto TaskStream for review by the Office of Academic affairs.  An example is the assessment of the Bachelor of Science program in the Department of Environmental Sciences [6].