School of Nursing: Procedure For Academic Planning And Implementation

Title

School of Nursing: Procedure For Academic Planning And Implementation

Unit Procedure

Introduction

Purpose

To be evaluated at next review.

Scope of Applicability

To be evaluated at next review.

Procedure

Introduction

Procedures for Academic Program Planning & Implementation identifies the steps in the School of Nursing program planning and implementation process. The Course Map is a long term plan identifying proposed course offerings by program and semester and serves as a guide for the development of more detailed documents: the Course Schedule, the Course and Clinical Rotation Schedule (CCRS) and the Faculty Responsibility Sheet (FRS).

Course Map

Policy

In consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Program Directors each develop the course map for the program for which they are responsible. The course map identifies all on campus and distance education SON course offerings for 4 years, the present academic year and 3 future years.

Procedure

1. Program Directors propose course offerings based upon the faculty-approved curricula, approved distance-learning programs, projected fiscal resources and interdisciplinary offerings.
2. The course map is shared with the Academic Affairs Council and program executive committees for input/corrections/suggestions.
3. The course map is finalized each year at the September AAC meeting
4. Faculty and students will be informed when the course map is posted and/or updated on the SON website (http://www.unc.edu/depts/nursing/). A disclaimer on the document will indicate that "this is a long-range planning document, and course scheduling by semester may sometimes vary based on resource availability or unanticipated program changes. Faculty and students will be advised to check periodically for updates to the document."

Course Schedule

Policy

Using the Course Map, the Academic Affairs Council develops the Course Schedule (course list and class schedule) for the current year. To assure that all involved constituencies have input into the Course Schedule, it will be developed collaboratively with adequate time for feedback. The Course Schedule includes the times that all on and off campus SON courses will be offered during the current year, room assignments and responsible faculty. The Course Schedule will be published twice a year, October 1 (spring) and March 1 (summer, fall, and spring). Requests for classrooms will be submitted to the office of Administrative Services in accordance with the Policy for Classroom Scheduling for Institutional Needs.

Procedure

1. Using the Course Map, each Program Director will develop a preliminary Course Schedule with input from the appropriate executive committees and faculty, and considering what is known about university course offerings, curricular requirements, student enrollment, clinical placements, fiscal constraints, faculty assignments, and faculty and student interests.
2. The preliminary Course Schedule is brought to the Academic Affairs Council for discussion as follows:

   Course Schedule Table

   September meeting	January meeting
   Spring: all program levels	Summer and Fall: all program levels
   	Spring (preliminary): all program levels

   
   This is a best estimate and is subject to change.
3. The revised Course Schedule is circulated to other appropriate constituencies, including representative students, program executive committees, APA coordinators, and program leaders within one week of the Academic Affairs Council meeting. All comments are returned to the appropriate Program Director within two weeks and the Course Schedule is revised as needed.
4. The Academic Affairs Council approves the final Course Schedule at the September (spring) and February (summer and fall) meetings.
5. The Course Schedule is circulated and posted by October 1 (for the forthcoming spring semester) and March 1 (summer and fall of that year and preliminary spring of the following year).
6. The Course Schedule will be submitted to the Office of Administrative Services (OAS) for assignment of classrooms after the schedule has been approved by the Academic Affairs Council. This procedure is outlined elsewhere (Policy for Classroom Scheduling for Instruction Needs, September 2001).
7. Late revisions, when necessary due to unforeseen circumstances, are posted to faculty and students when approved by the Academic Affairs Council and/or the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Course and Clinical Rotation Schedule (CCRS)

Policy

The CCRS is a working document that provides information on faculty assignments for all courses at all program levels. Using the Course Map, the Program Directors will develop the structure of the CCRS. Program Directors will be responsible for adding or deleting courses; Division Heads will be responsible for adding or deleting sections of courses as required by enrollment.

Procedure

1. After the October meeting of the Academic Affairs Council, the Division Heads will solicit from faculty their preferences for teaching assignments.
2. Program Directors will solicit recommendations by the end of November regarding faculty teaching assignments from APA Coordinators, Program Leaders and appropriate program executive committees.
3. Using enrollment data from the Office of Admissions and Student Services, Program Directors and faculty preferences for teaching , the two Academic Division Chairs will work together to initiate the first draft of the CCRS for the next academic year. This draft will be submitted to Academic Affairs Council for discussion at the January AAC meeting and all Division Heads will be present for this meeting. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will provide leadership for conflict resolution, if required.
4. The Division Heads will meet with the Program Directors and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to discuss faculty requests, course needs, and any other information that would be helpful to the faculty assignment process. Recommendations about faculty assignments for core courses will be made at the February AAC meeting.
5. The first circulation for the CCRS for the upcoming academic year will be on February 1; it will be updated and re-circulated on May 1, August 15, October 15 and December 15. The Division Heads will be responsible for soliciting new information and/or changes for the CCRS two weeks immediately prior to its recirculation. Each revision will be forwarded to the Dean, the Associate Deans, Assistant Deans, and Program Directors and will be retained on file in the Division Offices.

Faculty Responsibility Sheet (FRS)

Policy

Based on information gathered to develop the CCRS, the FRS is developed to reflect each individual faculty member's responsibilities for the calendar year. The FRS is a working document that demonstrates faculty assignments for teaching, research, practice and service. All faculty in the Division are listed on the sheet. The FRS presents a consistent format for easily identifying the workload assignments of faculty. Assigning CHE value to teaching commitments follows the "Guidelines for Faculty Assignments/Responsibilities" available on the P drive. The FRS is first circulated on April 15; it is updated and re-circulated on August 15 and Dec. 15. Each division is responsible for posting their final FRS for the current year.

Procedure

1. After the February 1 circulation of the CCRS, the initial FRS is developed by the Division Heads to reflect teaching assignments. Information is sought from the Office of Administrative Services to verify research and practice funding. During faculty evaluation conferences, data about other responsibilities will be added to the FRS. At the March AAC meeting the FRS will be shared with the Academic Affairs Council for feedback and discussion. All Division Heads will be present at this meeting. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will provide leadership for conflict resolution about faculty assignments.

2. The Division Heads will update the FRS two weeks immediately prior to its recirculation. Each revised FRS document will be sent to the Dean and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Division Heads, and Program Directors and will be retained on file in the Division Offices.

3. Each faculty member signs a contract for the next year at the time of their annual evaluation. This contract includes the information from the FRS and is signed by the individual. At this time the division head shares with the faculty the teaching assignments and proposed course times. These contracts may be changed during the year to reflect changing faculty roles.

Exceptions

N/A

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Peggy Wilmoth, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Important Dates

• Effective Date and title of Approver: 11/7/2000 Admin. Council
• Revised: 6/25/2003
• Revised: 10/15/2003 (as working revise only until determined if changes work)
• Revised: 9/14/2004 approved by Academic Affairs Council

Approved by:

Peggy Wilmoth

Associate Dean Academic Affairs