Academics
Areas of Study
Academic Policies & Procedures Manual

Gallaudet University, Graduate School

 TITLE:
Curriculum and Policy Actions Requiring Council on Graduate Education (CGE) Approval

AUTHOR:
Council on Graduate Education

APPROVED BY:
Policy Code:
Academic/Curriculum
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
February 2025
 
FREQUENCY OF REVIEW:
Every 5 years, or as required by changes to Faculty By-Laws
 
LAST REVIEWED:
February 2025
 
LAST REVISION:
February 2024
 
DATE OF NEXT REVIEW:
February 2029

 

Academic Policy: Curriculum and Policy Actions Requiring Council on Graduate Education (CGE) Approval
 
A. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to give discretionary authority to faculty in graduate departments and programs to make specified decisions about their curricula, courses, program requirements, faculty knowledge and skills, and other academic and curricular decisions. The policy also identifies and empowers the CGE to maintain its authority over a specific and limited number of policy, curricular, and program decisions. Lastly, this policy determines which types of decisions fall under Faculty Senate authority.
 
B. Scope
This policy applies to all current and future graduate programs at Gallaudet University offered via face-to-face (on campus), hybrid, low residence, or online formats.
 
C. Definitions
In complex organizations, authority for decision-making is pushed to the level of those with the knowledge, dispositions, and skills to make relevant decisions. Gallaudet University is a complex organization. The appropriate decision-making level for academic and curricular actions is at the department and program levels. Authority is defined here as the ability to make specific and relevant decisions without approval from a higher governance body.
  • Department/Program Authority. Changes under department authority need to be reported to and reviewed by the CGE through the Curriculum Action Form but do not require CGE vote for approval.
  • CGE Authority: Although departments and programs have the authority to make specific academic and curricular decisions that affect their programs, faculty, and students, there are specific actions that have an impact on other graduate programs. Changes under the CGE’s authority require review and approval by CGE vote. These changes are reported to the Faculty Senate. CGE also has the authority to request and receive reports from departments and programs about changes made to curricula, courses, program requirements, and so on.
  • Faculty Senate Authority: Changes under Faculty Senate Authority require approval by the Faculty Senate and, where appropriate, the Board of Trustees 
D. Policy
Faculty in graduate departments and programs are empowered to make specific and relevant curricular, course, program, faculty, and student decisions without approval from higher governance bodies when those decisions satisfy the following decision criteria:
  1. The decisions align with policies and procedures dictated by professional accreditation agencies such as CAEP and MSCHE, and the US Department of Education;
  2. When 50% of required courses are offered in a different modality from the approved degree delivery format, the program is responsible for tracking their students’ matriculation to be consistent with the approved delivery format.
  3. The decisions are consistent with the University and the Graduate School’s mission and vision to educate deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students;
  4. The decisions are aligned with the general requirements of the University Faculty By-Laws and
  5. The decisions do not impact any other graduate program.
 
Although department and program faculty are empowered to make these decisions without approval, they must report those actions to the CGE using the curriculum or policy proposal forms so the decisions can be codified and stored in a repository of curricular and policy actions. When necessary, the CGE must report those changes to the Faculty Senate and appropriate offices (for example, the Registrar’s Office).
 
The Faculty Senate and the CGE also have specific and relevant decision-making authority for actions that affect all graduate education programs.
 
To implement the above policy a set of guidelines is required. Many years ago, the former Graduate Council (now, the Council on Graduate Education), created a set of guidelines to implement the above policy. Those original guidelines were revised and they are found below in the Table of Authorities.
 

Faculty Senate
Authority
(Approved by the CGE and the University Faculty Senate)

CGE
Authority
(Approved by the CGE and reported to the Faculty Senate)

Department/Program
Authority
(Reported to the CGE and Faculty Senate)

From the Faculty By-laws:

  1. New graduate degree and certificate programs;
  2. Significant changes, including closures to existing graduate degree and certificate programs

Program-Level Changes

  1. A new degree/certificate program or concentration area; (new degree programs require BoT approval)
  2. Deletion of an existing degree/certificate program or concentration area (as noted above)
  3. Adding delivery formats to an existing program or concentration
  4. Changes related to MSCHE university-level accreditation requirements

Program-Level Changes

Specified changes to a degree/certificate program or concentration area:

  1. Formal name and/or description
  2. Changes to degree/certificate program requirements for graduation e.g. minimum ASL proficiency-levels, comprehensive exam, qualifying paper, total minimum credits for degree, etc.
  3. Changes to program SLOs.

Program-Level Changes

  1. Program-specific admission requirements involving previous coursework, work experience, tests (i.e., GRE, Praxis, ACT, SAT), and ASL/English proficiency;
  2. Changes in typical program of study involving previously approved courses and other program requirements;
  3. Changing a required course to an elective, or vice versa
  4. Discipline-specific accreditation requirements not related to graduation.
 

Course Changes

  1. A new course;
  2. Dropping an existing course from Catalog
  3. Cross or dual listed courses
  4. Course level (e.g. change from 700- level to 800-level; note that 500- and 600-level courses require review by both CUE and CGE)

Existing Course Changes*

  1. Updates to terminology or other minor wording changes in the catalog
  2. Course title
  3. Course description
  4. Number of credits
  5. Prerequisites/Corequisites
  6. Changes a required course to elective or vice versa
  7. Repeatability (if a course is expected to be taken more than one time throughout a program)
  8. Changes to course delivery format. When programs exceed 50%**, they must indicate on the proposal how they will track student progress to be consistent with the approved program delivery format.
  9. Changes in a course number within the same level (i.e., 701 to 731);
  10. Course-level changes related to requirements of accrediting body (e.g. required instructor qualifications).

*Existing courses under the special topics codes 595, 695, 765, 895 will be reviewed as a new course proposal when they become permanent.

**On-campus programs require >50% of courses to be taken in an on-campus format. While >50% of an on-campus program’s courses may be approved for face-to-face, OA, or OS delivery, the program is responsible for making sure each student’s program of study is consistent with the delivery format approved by the Faculty Senate.

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