Curriculum Committee

The College of Alameda (CoA) Curriculum Committee (CC) is a sub-committee of the CoA Academic Senate, responsible for making recommendations to the CoA Academic Senate on matters relating to the integrity of the curriculum.  This integrity is evaluated relative to the Vision, Values, Mission, and Goals of the Institution and the outcomes of learning we seek to achieve.  Further, CC engages in oversight for the alignment of the curriculum with the CoA and Peralta Community College District (PCCD) Educational Master Plans (reference: PCCD Board Policy 2.23 and Title 5 on Academic and Professional Matters).

CoA Curriculum Committee normally meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month in L-237 – from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Starting in March 2020, CoA Curriculum Committee meets every 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of the month via ConferZoom virtual meeting space from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. until the COVID-19 pandemic stay at home order is lifted.  CoA Curriculum Committee meeting dates for 2020-2021 are listed below:

CoA Curriculum Committee Meeting Schedule 2020-2021

CoA Technical Review Committee meets by appointment to review and edit curriculum updates proposals and new course proposals as they move through the CurriQunet approvals process.  Please email Jayne Smithson, Curriculum Committee Chair (jsmithson@peralta.edu) to schedule a technical review of any proposal(s) launched in CurriQunet.

To access CurriQunet META: click on  CurriQunet access .  Please see the CurriQunet Information section below for more information.

Information regarding course and program articulation can be viewed at the Articulation Office webpage.

Course updates, new course proposals and changes/updates to CoA programs (degrees and certificates) must be submitted to the Peralta District Council on Instruction, Planning, and Development (CIPD) for review after receiving approval at CoA Curriculum Committee meeting. CIPD generally meets every 1st Monday of the month from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the Peralta District Board Room.  Please check the Peralta District website for alternative meeting arrangements during the COVID-19 shelter at home county directive.

It is the Task of the Curriculum Committee:

• To advocate for the integrity of all curriculum matters at College of Alameda.
• To review and make recommendations on all curricular matters, including but not limited to: approval of new programs and courses, course revisions or deactivations, prerequisites and corequisites, and placement of courses within disciplines; and process and outcomes evaluation protocols which effect curriculum.
• To review and recommend changes in general education requirements and graduation requirements.
• To make recommendations regarding policies and procedures affecting curriculum.
• To engage in self-directed study, to meet its regulatory obligations under Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, and to maintain authority delegated by the State Chancellor’s Office.

CoA Curriculum Committee By-Laws

Innovative Curriculum Statement

As a result of any level of educational experience at the College of Alameda – for one course or a complete program of study – that students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a degree of mastery of a body of knowledge in their chosen areas of interest: to enable students to use this knowledge with respect for the inter-relatedness of humans in the environment, engage with people from diverse backgrounds, understand and acknowledge the significance of daily individual and social actions relative to global issues and the emergence of our shared future.
• Demonstrate a degree of proficiency at the life skills of critical thinking to better access, evaluate, and interpret ideas and information enabling them to communicate effectively, reach conclusions, and solve problems; such that they may apply these in their professional pursuits.
• Demonstrate a degree of capacity to assume responsibility in the practice of these life skills to live an ethical life with respect to the impact of their own life upon Planet Earth; while building their capacities of self-confidence and self-discipline enabling them to pursue happiness and intellectual curiosities with integrity in their personal lives.

All activities at CoA as an institution strive to serve these goals.

CoA Curriculum Committee normally meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month in L-237 – from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Starting in March 2020, CoA Curriculum Committee meets every 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of the month via ConferZoom virtual meeting space from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. until the COVID-19 pandemic stay at home order is lifted.  CoA Curriculum Committee meeting dates for 2020-2021 are listed below:

CoA Curriculum Committee Meeting Schedule 2020-2021

CoA Technical Review Committee meets by appointment to review and edit curriculum updates proposals and new course proposals as they move through the CurriQunet approvals process.  Please email Vinh Phan, Acting Tech Review Chair (vinhphan@peralta.edu) to schedule a technical review of any proposal(s) launched in CurriQunet.

Click on the links in the menu on the left side of this page to access specific forms, schedules and curriculum information.

CurriQunet META is our current online curriculum management system.

The URL is: https://peralta.curricunet.com

Faculty login information:

Your username is your *complete* Peralta faculty email address.  Contact the CoA Curriculum Specialist Phat “Frank” Nguyen Le (pnguyenle@peralta.edu) if the CurriQunet system does not recognize your Peralta email address.  Some older accounts were set up with other email information that is no longer relevant in this system, so an update might be necessary.

Your password is the same password that you set up for previous access.  If you don’t remember your password, just click “Forgot your password?” to reset it.

Click here to access the CoA CurriQunet User Manual

Course Outline of Record (COR)

The Course Outline of Record (COR) is what is evaluated by Universities to determine if what we teach is congruent with what they will accept for our students to be able to transfer to their institutions. This is called Articulation. Please consult with the Articulation Officer for more details on this process. The COR also serves as a guide for all lecturers who may teach this course at this college. It therefore reflects both the Discipline in which this course is taught and the philosophy of that department at College of Alameda.  The COR should reflect the Institutional Learning Goals (ILOs) of College of Alameda as “A Learning College”.

The components of the Course Outline of Record (COR) are as follows:

1. The Cover section contains information on the title or proposed title of a course.  The title should be a concise essence of what the course is about.  The Course Description is a synopsis what the course covers, written in the specific “Peralta way” format.
2. List of Changes is where reason(s) for this course update are noted in detail. Start with the date of update launch, then briefly list all information update sections.  For example:  1/1/2020:  updated SLOs, added DE addendum, updated textbooks, etc.
3. Units/Hours section includes information on the minimum duration for the class. Full semester means that the course offering must cover the full 17.5 weeks of any given semester.  Full semester course designation means that this course cannot be offered as a late-start class, or summer session class or intersession class.  Choose an appropriate minimum duration designation if there is any possibility that this course could be offered in a shorter time-frame than full semester.
4. Degree/Transfer section includes Taxonomy of Programs (TOP) Code and other Course Basic (CB) Data Coding requirements. CB codes are used to gather statistical information by the State Chancellor’s Office for various funding allocations.  Ask the CoA Tech Review representative or Curriculum Committee Chair for help with these codes, if needed.
5. General Education section is where the Course Identification Numbering System (C-ID) Descriptor number is entered for transfer program core courses. If this course articulates with a C-ID descriptor for transfer model curricula (TMC), contact the CoA Articulation Officer for more information, if needed.
6. Lecture/Lab Content is a detailed progression of topic areas that show how the Student Performance Objectives will be communicated to the students in this class.
7. Student Performance Objectives (SPOs):  SPOs are exit skills that describe/define “content mastery” in statements as to what it is a student will learn in this class. Each of these statements should start with a word from Bloom’s Taxonomy that describes the objective being discussed.
8. Student Learning Outcome Assessment (SLOs):  SLOs are different from Student Performance Objectives (SPOs).  Whereas Student Performance Objectives (SPOs) are “what a student learns” in this class, Student Learning Outcomes are “what students can do with what they learn” after they leave the class and/or program. SLOs are assessed at the end of every semester that the course is taught and are used to help monitor the application of learning.  SLOs should be “mapped” in CurriQunet to CoA Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) that help measure student success.
9. Methods of Instruction should reflect the ways that the material in this course will be conveyed to students. These should be explained in the “other” box in CurriQunet as to how each method addresses specific Student Performance Objectives in this course.
10. Distance Education (DE) information must be completed if this course could be offered online in any form. Completing the DE Addendum ensures that this course conforms to state guidelines regarding regular effective contact between instructor and students, student-to-student, and instructor to individual student feedback in an online setting.
11. Assignments must be conceived so as to assure performance of college level work. These should be explained in the “other” box in CurriQunet as to how each assignment addresses specific Student Performance Objectives in this course.
12. Student Assessment: These are the ways in which student learning will be assessed. Student assessments always should contain writing component or clear explanation as to why a writing component is not included. Student assessment methods should be explained in the “other” box in CurriQunet – as to how these assessments relate to and reflect the Student Performance Objectives in this course.
13. Requisites are recommended preparation and/or required courses that need to be completed either prior to or concurrently with enrollment in this course. Talk with the department chair and other department faculty about preparation needed for students to be successful in this course.
14. Textbooks need to be current publications (ideally published within the past year – but no older than 3 years). If an older book is listed, the entry needs to be justified (e.g. “a classic in the field”). Course Readers are encouraged as reflective of unique course content needs.
15. Library information lets the CoA Library staff know about reference and support materials necessary for this course.
16. Attached files is the section where any ancillary and/or support materials to justify offering this course should be placed, including evidence of consultation with other Peralta District colleges about catalog changes and/or new course offerings. Consultation forms are available in the Online Resources section on this website.
17. Codes/Dates is the final section in CurriQunet. This section auto-populates the originator name for this course update or new course, so make sure that the correct name appears in this area.  Complete the CB code sections and include comments for anything that needs to be brought to the attention of Tech Review.

In updating and developing curriculum, it is recommended you work on the following with your colleagues before you launch your course proposal in CurricUNET:

• Conceptualize your new course or course updates(s)within the framework of your discipline. The course title drives the description, which drives the objectives, which in turn drive lecture content.
• Consult with college discipline faculty members, department chair and cluster chair. Reach out to discipline faculty from other colleges if new curriculum or curriculum change being proposed is shared or substantially similar to content at another Peralta District college.
• Write and revise new course(s) your COR in Word and pass it by colleagues before drafting your proposal in CurriQunet.
• Consult with the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) coordinator for your division for help in wording SLOs: STEAM Division= To Be Advised;  LSLA Division = Amanda Price (aprice@peralta.edu);  CE Division = Olga Fish (ofish@peralta.edu)
• Consult with the CoA Distance Education (DE) Coordinator Jennifer Fowler (jfowler@peralta.edu) for help with completing the Distance Education section in CurriQunet
• Consult with the Tech Review Chair Patricia “Trish” Nelson (pnelson@peralta.edu) for help with the technical aspects of completing your CurriQunet proposal. [NOTE:  Trish in on sabbatical for fall 2020 semester.  Please contact Vinh Phan (vinhphan@peralta.edu) for Tech Review appointments while Trish is away from CoA.]
• Consult with the Articulation Officer Vinh Phan (vinhphan@peralta.edu) if you have questions about transfer-level courses.
• Contact the Curriculum Committee Chair for help with curriculum matters:  Jayne Smithson (jsmithson@peralta.edu)

Timeline for curriculum approval:

Plan ahead!  Curriculum changes can take months to approve and longer to implement.  Generally speaking, a new course, catalog change or program that reaches Peralta District Council on Instruction, Planning, and Development (CIPD) meeting and Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting by the beginning of December can expect to be implemented the following fall semester.  A new course, catalog change or program that reaches CIPD and BOT by the beginning of May can expect to be implemented the following spring semester.

Non-catalog change course updates that do not need State approval can be implemented within the processes of COA after nominal review at CIPD and BOT.

There are several review steps in the CurriQunet process before a course can be brought to CoA Curriculum Committee meeting for review and approval.  Generally speaking, a course proposal can take between two to four weeks of review, especially if revisions are needed.

After all approvals are recorded in the CurriQunet process, the course proposal will be scheduled for review at the next Curriculum Committee meeting.  Depending on when CurriQunet approvals are met, placing the course proposal on the agenda for the next Curriculum Committee meeting could take up to another two weeks.

After a course proposal is approved at CoA Curriculum Committee, the proposal must be reviewed at the next Peralta District Council on Instruction, Planning, and Development (CIPD) meeting.  CIPD meets on the first Monday of each month to review course and program proposals for all four colleges in the Peralta District.

Upon approval at CIPD, new courses and courses with catalog changes must be approved at the Peralta Board of Trustees the following month and then forwarded to the State Chancellor’s Office for further action before the course can be implemented at CoA.

AP 4020 Program, Curriculum and Course Development states:

Consultation among colleges regarding curriculum issues is necessary to ensure

A. Program integrity
B. Appropriate use of district resources
C. Program delivery to students in convenient locations
D. Adequate enrollment in all programs at all colleges

Consultation is Required among Colleges regarding the following Curriculum Issues:

A. Offering a new course, making a substantive change to an existing course, or course reinstatement when it is similar to any course offered at another college.
B. Substantive change to existing UCN course
C. New single course which overlaps courses offered as part of an approved program at another
college
D. New programs (certificates or degrees) or substantive changes to programs which are similar to any other program or contains similar courses offered at other colleges (whether or not these programs are in the same discipline)
E. Borrowing a course

Peralta District consultation requests should use the following form:

Course and Program Consultation Form

Consultation requests should be addressed in a timely manner (preferably within 2 – 3 weeks of receiving a request) to facilitate curriculum and program changes.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are an essential part of curriculum course outline of record (COR) construction for every course in CurriQunet.

Where exit skills or Student Performance Objectives (SPOs or “Exit Skills”) are a list of what a student will learn in a class (degrees of mastery of the material), “Student Learning Outcomes” (SLOs) are what students can do with what they learn after they leave the class and/or program.

Thus, SLOs are not the same as SPOs. SPOs are discreet points of learning whereas SLOs are more complex indices of objectives comprising skill sets.

As a general guideline, courses in CurriQunet should have no more than three (3) SLOs listed in the COR.  These SLOs will be used to assess Student Learning Outcomes for that course at the end of every semester that the course is offered.  SLOs are assessed to measure improvement in student success as a result of innovations in delivery of instruction from semester to semester.

Refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy when writing your SLOs.

Remember to “map” your course SLOs to the COA Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) to complete the SLO section in CurriQunet.

Learn more about SLOs and SLO by contacting the SLO representative for your division:

Olga Fish Career Education (CE)

Amanda Price Liberal Studies and Language Arts (LSLA)

To Be Advised:  Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Kinesiology (STEAM)

Curriculum Committee helps to facilitate College-wide Program Reviews by helping those programs under review to update their courses, degrees and certificates in a timely manner.  Program Reviews for STEAM and LSLA programs are on a 3-year review cycle.  CE programs are on a 2-year review cycle.

Curriculum Committee sends a list of courses and programs currently in CurriQunet to the Department Chair and/or Cluster Chair of each program that will undergo full program review that academic year.  Department/Cluster Chairs are encouraged to review each course on this list to ensure that the course has been updated within the past three years (the past two years for CE courses) to ensure compliance with state guidelines.  Click here for a copy of the Curriculum Review Process Form for Program Review

Please contact the Curriculum Committee Chair for help and/or further information on updating courses prior to and/or during Program Review.