The Committee on Academic Standards (CAS) is a standing committee of the Faculty Senate of Golden Gate University.

Consistent with the university’s policy on policies, responsibilities and procedures, the faculty, through CAS, will exercise its role in shared academic governance by providing a critical voice in all matters related to the content, organization and delivery of GGU’s educational programs. To accomplish this, CAS is responsible for the oversight of academic standards.

CAS plays an important role in assessing and maintaining the currency and the desired academic quality standards of all courses and degree programs, led by the Committee on Assessment (COA) as described below. To this end, CAS performs routine post reviews of academic programs within one year of their implementation dates and actively participates in the outcome assessment and program review programs sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs.

CAS:

1. Develops, reviews, and approves admission, probation, and retention policies for all schools other than the Law School.

2. Approves all degrees, certificates, and courses offered for academic credit. In its decision-making, CAS will take into consideration and work to ensure:

• • The University applies best practices within the wider educational community and the relevant professional field;
  • That curricular offerings avoid redundancy;
  • There are measurable differences between undergraduate and graduate courses;
  • That courses in a program flow logically from the educational objectives of the program; and
  • That course offerings have appropriate prerequisites.

Examples of the types of proposals that come to CAS for review and approval include:

1. Standards Issues: Policies regarding

• Admission requirements.
• Transfer credit.
• Registration (standard, open enrollment, audit, c/nc).
• Academic standing.
• Grading.
• Degree completion and graduation requirements.
• Academic integrity (of students).
• Other academic policies.

2. Curricular issues

• New initiatives
  • Beyond existing disciplines/locations
• Courses:
  • New
  • Revisions – minor/major
  • Deletions
• Degrees/programs:
  • New
  • Revisions – minor/major
  • Deletions
• Locations:
  • Existing degree/program at new site
  • Deletions
• Delivery:
  • Mode
  • Term length
• Other:
  • Curricular issues

1. CAS is composed of the following voting members:

• No fewer than one full-time faculty member from each school,
• Subject to II.c.2. below, the chair of CAS, and
• One dean from each school.

2. CAS shall also have the following ex-officio non-voting members:

• the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA),
• the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), if the ALO is not the VPAA,
• the Registrar,
• the Undergraduate lead Advisor,  the Graduate lead Advisor,
• a representative from Admissions designated by Admissions or others vested with supervisory authority over Admissions, and
• a representative from Financial Aid designated by Financial Aid or others vested with supervisory authority over Financial Aid.

3. The faculty members are selected by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.

4. The chair is a full-time faculty member selected by the Executive Committee to serve as chair.

1. A schedule of meeting dates, meeting times, and deadlines for submission is distributed annually as early as possible in the academic year, with a goal that the annual schedule is set at the September meeting.

2. Meetings shall not be scheduled on either national holidays or dates generally recognized as significant by religious affiliations (i.e. Christmas, Yom Kippur, etc.)

3. The organizing principle for the schedule is the type of proposal: course proposals, degree/concentration proposals, certificate proposals, location proposals, mode-related proposals, and standards proposals.

4. No later than one week in advance of a scheduled CAS meeting, the chair shall provide all persons listed at IIa.1 and IIa.2.with a reasonably detailed agenda for the meeting and minutes of the past meeting(s) that are subject to review and approval

5. All University faculty and staff personnel concerned with academic programs are always welcome to attend meetings as guests of CAS.

1. A quorum is a majority of voting members.

2. The voting members are the faculty and school deans referred to in IIa.1 above. The chair of the committee votes only in case of a tie.

3. On matters requiring a vote, each voting member is entitled to one vote, which may be cast in person, via telephone, or via videoconference. Members unable to attend may send a substitute upon prior confirmation with the Chair. Substitutes are allowed to vote on behalf of the voting member to the extent authorized by the member.

4. A simple majority vote of the quorum is required for approval of any action.

The Committee on Admissions and Academic Probation (CAAP) shall collaborate with CAS on issues affecting policy, but will report directly to the Academic Senate.

1. All proposals presented to CAS shall be submitted on authorized and appropriate CAS forms. The forms and related procedures are incorporated by reference, and shall be adapted to current practice as approved by CAS.

2. The submission forms identify the required signoffs and/or narrative comments. The submission forms are presented in Appendix 2.

3. Upon CAS approval of new degree programs, substantially changed programs, programs approved for new locations, and such other matters that are voted on by CAS, the chair of CAS shall record the approval by executing an approval certificate, a copy of which shall be retained by the CAS secretary. The chair shall forward a copy of the matters approved to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for implementation considerations. After appropriate implementation plans are developed and approved, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will sign the forms and send copies to the CAS Chair, responsibility center manager, the Coordinator of the University Bulletin, and other affected parties. The Office of Academic Affairs shall maintain an archive of all correspondence and approved and executed forms.

The Chair’s duties include:

• the preparation of meeting agendas,
• the management of CAS meetings with particular attention to the policies and procedures set forth in this manual, and
• the administration of cross-school issues.

The secretary’s duties include:

• the preparation of meeting minutes,
• the processing of submissions, and
• record keeping of all submissions to CAS, whether matters are voted on, and if so, whether matters voted on are approved, tabled for future discussion and consideration, or disapproved.

Records shall be maintained by the CAS secretary, and shall be in the custody and control of the Office of Academic Affairs. All CAS records shall be accessible upon request, to be made available for inspection at reasonable times in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs by faculty members and other University representatives authorized by CAS, the VPAA, the Faculty Senate or any Dean.

1. Each school establishes a school curriculum committee (SCC) comprised of full-time faculty members.

2. All proposals submitted by the academic departments or programs within a school or by a teaching location desiring to offer one of the school’s academic programs are first approved by the SCC.

3. Cross-discipline proposals require approval by the SCC for each school affected by the proposal.

4. The SCC work to ensure that full-time members at the department and/or program level are actively involved in the design and review processes of new and/or revised academic proposals and all faculty members, including adjunct faculty are given an opportunity to provide input.

5. The SCC submits approved proposals to CAS at least one week in advance of scheduled CAS meetings.

1. The full-time faculty of the school determines the composition and the operating procedures of the SCC.

1. The school dean is responsible for the presentation of proposals approved by the school curriculum committee.

2. The dean acts as the intermediary between CAS and the SCC when necessary.

1. The VPAA helps the committee members in interpreting and understanding relevant academic policies and procedures.

2. The VPAA supports a culture of due diligence, openness, free exchange of ideas and thoughts.

1. Issues affecting more than one school are first reviewed in a meeting convened and chaired by the Chair of CAS.

2. Representatives from each school involved are invited to attend the meeting.

3. The purpose of the meeting is to exchange views and resolve as many problems as possible prior to submission to the relevant SCC.

4. CAS provides final review and approval of these issues.

1. Under exceptional circumstances, proposals may be submitted at times other than at a regularly scheduled meeting. All of the required submission forms must be completed and distributed by the presenter to each committee member.

2. The CAS secretary will take the vote by phone or email.

3. The approval of these exceptional proposals requires the majority of the voting members.

4. The Chair of CAS determines whether a given proposal warrants exceptional treatment.