Catalog Memo
TO: Department Chairs, Center and Program Directors
FROM: Richard R. Flores, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
DATE: March 3, 2009
SUBJECT: The Undergraduate Catalog, 2010-2012
The College of Liberal Arts is now soliciting proposals for changes to the current Undergraduate Catalog for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years. The enclosed document includes section(s) of the Undergraduate Catalog, 2008-2010, that are pertinent to your department or program. Once your faculty committee has completed its review, forward the materials to your administrative staff in order to prepare your documents for the new catalog in the required format. Instructions for preparing catalog documents are enclosed. Please note our new deadlines. We encourage you to submit changes at your earliest convenience.
Changes Requiring THECB Approval: Deadline: April 15, 2009
In addition to the Faculty Council legislative approval process, certain proposals require final approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and necessitate an earlier submission deadline. These include changes that involve:
• Adding a new degree or degree program
• Changing the name of a degree or degree program
• Dropping a degree or degree program
Please submit proposals for THECB changes, including the required THECB and Impact Statement form, to the College of Liberal Arts, Academic Affairs, c/o Cynthia Cervantes, mail code G6000 no later than April 15, 2009. Detailed instructions for preparing documents in the format required by the Faculty Council are enclosed. Documents should also be sent electronically to cac@austin.utexas.edu.
Changes Requiring Faculty Council Legislative Approval: Deadline: July 3, 2009
Proposals that affect either college academic policy or the requirements of an existing degree or degree program require approval through the Faculty Council legislative process. These include but are not limited to:
• Changes to the requirements of a major or minor
• Changes to the requirements of an honors program
• Changes to the requirements of a concentration
• Changes to general degree requirements and academic policies
Please submit proposals for legislative changes, including the required Impact Statement form, to the College of Liberal Arts, Academic Affairs, c/o Cynthia Cervantes, mail code G6000 no later than July 3, 2009. Detailed instructions for preparing documents in the format required by the Faculty Council are enclosed. Documents should also be sent electronically to cac@austin.utexas.edu.
Special note: With the introduction of +/- grading to the undergraduate curriculum and the Faculty Council’s 2008 decision to change all individual references to grades in the catalog to the “minus (-)” equivalent, most majors and programs with grade requirements in either specific courses or in each course used for the major will require a catalog change. Please direct questions to Cynthia Cervantes, cac@austin.utexas.edu.
Changes Not Requiring Faculty Council Approval: Deadline: September 1, 2009
Scholarships and Head-notes: The enclosed document includes your scholarship and head-note sections if they are included in the current Undergraduate Catalog. Changes to these sections should be printed neatly and clearly in red on the provided document and do not require an Impact Statement. Substantial additions should be typed in the same format as that of the catalog and attached as inserts. Once completed, forward the document by campus mail to College of Liberal Arts, Academic Affairs,
c/o Cynthia Cervantes, mail code G6000.
Changes to the Course Inventory: Deadline: October 1, 2009
Courses: All changes in course information including the addition and retirement of courses must be submitted online via the Request for Change in Course Inventory system. The system will open for changes on September 1, 2009. The deadline for approving and forwarding forms is October 1, 2009. Please consider updating your subject-matter descriptions on all topics courses since these are now published in the Course Schedule.
Special Note: With the introduction of +/- grading to undergraduate courses, you may also need to update any prerequisites that include letter grades. The Faculty Council is considering changing all current grade prerequisites to the grade – (minus) setting. For example, a prerequisite that currently states “a grade of C or better in SPN 506” will be automatically changed to “a grade of C- or better in SPN 506.”
All course inventory inquiries should be directed to Lisa Vera, lisav@austin.utexas.edu.
Forward all catalog documents, with the exception of changes to the course inventory, by the required deadline to Cynthia Cervantes, College of Liberal Arts, Academic Affairs, mail code G6000. If you have any questions please contact Cynthia by email, cac@austin.utexas.edu or by phone at
232-2987.
