This is the first course in a five-course series that focuses on the curriculum development process. This course is an offering of the Professional Development College of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. This course provides an overview of curriculum in the California community colleges, highlighting the role of faculty, the different types of curriculum the colleges can offer, and providing an introduction to various curriculum-related resources. This course consists of multiple units. There is a quiz associated with each unit and a comprehensive final exam. Successful completion requires earning 100% on all quizzes and at least an 80% on the final exam for each course. All assessments are multiple-choice. While quizzes may be taken more than once, the final exam can only be taken once.
Learning Outcomes:
Approximate time to complete this course: 120 minutes.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the origins of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.
- Define the term “curriculum” and discuss the role of the Course Outline of Record.
- Differentiate between Career Technical Education (CTE) and non-CTE curriculum.
- Explain the faculty role and responsibilities in curriculum development.
- Discuss the purview of the Academic Senate.
- Differentiate between the roles of the curriculum committee, the academic senate, and the local governing board (i.e., Board of Trustees) with respect to approval of curriculum.
- Describe the composition of your curriculum committee and the steps involved in recommending curriculum to your Board of Trustees.
- Explain the role of the “PCAH” and why understanding statewide curriculum regulations is important.
- List and explain the characteristics of a credit course.
- Explain what determines whether a course is or isn’t stand-alone, degree-applicable, program applicable, and/or transferable.
- Describe the different types of credit that may be associated with a transferable course and how that transferability is determined.
- Explain the purpose and role of C-ID and ASSIST.
- Differentiate between the three general education options available to students.
- Discuss what nondegree-applicable courses are and why they are an essential part of a college’s curriculum.
- Differentiate between the two types of work experience courses.
- Explain the difference between prerequisites, corequisites, and “advisories”.
- Distinguish between noncredit courses and not-for-credit offerings.
- Recognize the 10 categories of noncredit and explain what CDCP refers to.
- Explain what the four special populations are that noncredit is intended to serve.
- Compare and contrast noncredit and credit courses.
- Explain the types of courses that colleges can receive apportionment for.
- Discuss what contract education is and the role that it plays in the community college.