Northern Kentucky University Undergraduate Catalog Revision Web Site 2007-08

2007-08 Undergraduate Catalog is now available. Check with Admissions for printed. Click here for catalog in pdf format.

2008-09 Undergraduate catalog revision process will begin August 20, 2007

Faculty Section Updates - Requests for updates to faculty section will be sent by e-mail to all faculty members on September 8, 2007. Final request for updates to faculty section will be sent by e-mail to all faculty members on October 10, 2007.

First Round of Catalog Edits - Deadline for 1st edits is September 28, 2007.
Second Round of Catalog Edits - Deadline for 2nd edits is November 16, 2007.
Final Edits - Absolute deadline for FINAL EDITS is December 14, 2007.

Style Notes and Course Description Guidelines Created

CATALOG UPDATE PROCESS FOR 2008-09

General Notes

The Office of Curriculum, Accreditation, and Assessment (CAA) is responsible for production of the Undergraduate Catalog.

Catalogs from 2000-01 forward are maintained online in PDF format. A limited number of the printed versions may also be available from admissions. For PDF file see: http://access.nku.edu/catalog/prioryear.htm.

Faculty or staff who wish to request changes to the text of the Undergraduate Catalog should ask their chair or director to submit their requests to unit heads in the fall. Note that all changes to degree requirements and academic policies must be approved by the by Faculty Senate or Provost no later than December 1 in order to appear in the next edition of the Undergraduate Catalog.

Unit heads may request an immediate correction of substantive errors in the degree requirements and policies in the online Undergraduate Catalog by sending an e-mail to lepperm@nku.edu with a cc to the Dean's/Director's Office representative listed in the following table. Online corrections to academic program requirements must be approved by the appropriate Dean's/Director's Office. The corrections will be included in the Catalog Update page of the online catalog.

Unit Responsible for Catalog Section and Contact

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG REVISION PROCESS

The revision process for the NKU Undergraduate catalog takes place every fall. Usually there are three rounds of edits--the initial round requesting first edits, a second round requesting additional edits, and a final round to review changes made as a result of the first two rounds of edits and to catch new/late changes. All edits will be handled via paper for 2007-08.

Revision and Publication Schedule
The first round of edits typically begins in late August - early September with with delivery of prior year catalog copy to all departments. Publication of the final catalog copy is scheduled for early February. See table below for dates. This schedule is absolute and must be adhered to in order to ensure that the new catalog is available for the first orientation sessions in late February.

The second round of edits consists of changes to prior year catalog submitted by department and approved curriculum changes. Review cycle typically begins in mid August. See table below for dates. The document may not show the formatted version of the copy, but will reflect all changes received during first round and other updated. Copy will be distributed on tearsheets or as Microsoft Word files.

The third and final round of edits typically begins in mid November. Departments will receive a preliminary copy of the printed version of the catalog. See below for dates. Copy will include formatting which should reflect the actual printed catalog. Only minor changes will be allowed during this edit process. Major revisions will be postponed until the next revision cycle.

IMPORTANT: Items included on the University Curriculum Committee agenda after mid-October WILL NOT make the final catalog copy. Keep this deadline in mind when submitting course/program changes to the University Curriculum Committee for approval. See Curriculum Deadlines brochure for exact submission and approval dates.

WHERE TO SEND CORRECTED CATALOG COPY
Departments should return the corrected copies to Curriculum, Accreditation, and Assessment, Founders Hall 502 by the deadline specified in following table.

Production Schedule for 2007-08 Undergraduate Catalog

FACULTY SECTION UPDATE PROCEDURE

The faculty section is annually updated based on information received from departments, publications, and specific requests from faculty members.

The first round in the update process begins in early September when an e-mail is sent to all faculty members requesting that they review the information in the most recent undergraduate catalog for accuracy and completeness. See table below for dates.

The second round begins in mid-September when each department is sent a copy of the most recent faculty section for review. Departments are requested to revise copy to include faculty promotions, deletions, and additions. Copy is revised upon receipt of information from departments. A second review by the departments occurs during the second round of the catalog copy update process.

The third and final round of edits occurs in mid-November. All faculty members are sent an e-mail requesting they review the updated faculty section. See table below for dates. The updated section includes all requested revisions submitted by faculty members and departments. Department are also asked to review the updated faculty section during the final catalog edit process.

If a faculty member is not listed in the faculty section, two things may have occurred. Faculty member may have been hired prior to the update deadline, but may have an incomplete personnel file or faculty member may have been hired after the final update deadline.

If faculty member has been recently promoted, it is the responsibility of the faculty member or department chair to provide this information to the catalog editor during the catalog update process.

See Style Sheet for information on faculty information format.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTION SECTION

The course description section is updated annually based on University Curriculum Committee (UCC) actions. Course additions, deletions, or updates will not be included in catalog without UCC committee approval.

The first round in the update process begins in early September. Course section is revised to include all course changes that were approved by the UCC after the catalog update process closed for the prior year. Once the file is updated, each department is notified that the file is available online for review. E-mail notices are sent to each department chair and college deans to review the section. Changes should be sent to the catalog editor by date requested.

The second round begins in late-October when each department is asked to review the revised course description section for additions, deletions, and course changes. Only updates that have been approved by the UCC will be included. Changes should be sent to the catalog editor by date requested.

The third and final round of edits occurs in late-November. Each department will receive an e-mail notification to review the revised course description section for updates, deletions, and course changes. Only updates that have been approved by the UCC will be included. Changes should be sent to the catalog editor by date requested.

If a course change, deletion, or addition is not included in the printed copy of the undergraduate catalog, if may have occurred for various reasons. What should you do? First check the UCC website to verify the information was approved. Note the date of the final action of the committee. This date will determine whether or not the course update was included. All course changes, deletions, and additions submitted and approved after December 31 will not be reflected in the printed version.

CATALOG EDITOR

The University catalog editor (assigned by the Provost) examines all proposals for curricular improvements to the undergraduate catalog. As part of the curriculum process, curriculum forms are send to the catalog editor following approval by the University Curriculum Committee. Changes will be examined for completeness and accuracy and then forwarded to the registrar to update the student information system.

Each year the catalog editor will ask all academic units to review the prior year's catalog copy. Units should review language included in description, each program's description and list of requirements, the faculty section, and all course descriptions.

It is the responsibility of each academic unit to write the initial copy for new programs (including program description, admission requirements, and list of course requirements) new courses, and new faculty members. Departments that need assistance in writing catalog copy should seek advice from the catalog editor. The catalog editor may need to edit submitted copy for consistency of style and appropriate length. All such changes will be made in consultation with the department.

The catalog editor will not make changes to the printed catalog that have not been approved by the appropriate university-level review body.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

For questions concerning the catalog production process and catalog deadlines contact:

Mary Lepper, Director of Curriculum, Accreditation, and Assessment
FH 508, phone: 859-572-6124, e-mail lepperm@nku.edu or

Barbara Thomes, Academic Secretary
FH 5021 , phone 859-572-6578, e-mail
thomes@nku.edu

For questions concerning the curricular approval process, contact your department chair or your college dean or see UCC Forms and Guidelines for information.

To check if a curriculum form has been submitted, click "View Submitted Curriculum Forms" on the UCC website: http://access.nku.edu/ucc/. You can view submitted curriculum forms for either the current year or view forms submitted since 2001 by selecting All Years.

Current Year - To view where a current year curriculum form is in the curricular approval process, see the UCC website: http://access.nku.edu/ucc/2006/Review2.asp. Current year will display only the forms submitted from July - June of the current academic year. All forms will display a list of all forms submitted since the on-line form submission process was implemented. Choose the particular form you wish to review, i.e. Appendix H New Course Form. See following example for list of submitted Appendix H forms. Note that information on Course Name, Curriculum Action, Last Action Date, Course type, and date form was originally submitted is displayed. If there has been no curriculum action taken, the "curriculum action" box will indicate that "form was submitted - no action taken."

Prior Years - To see if a curriculum form was approved in a prior year see the University Curriculum Committee website at: http://access.nku.edu/ucc/2006/Review.asp. All forms will display a list of all forms submitted since the on-line form submission process was implemented. Choose the particular form you wish to review, i.e. Appendix H New Course Form. See following example for list of submitted Appendix H forms. Note that information on Course Name, Curriculum Action, Last Action Date, Course type, and date form was originally submitted is displayed. If there has been no curriculum action taken, the "curriculum action" box will indicate that "form was submitted - no action taken."