Committee on Undergraduate Programs - Academic Senate

Instructions

Recommendations for undergraduate curricular or academic program changes may be advanced by individual faculty, academic departments, administrators, and ASNMU. In the case of interdisciplinary programs, one or more faculty members can be appointed by CUP to form a subcommittee to be responsible for the proposal (and its administration, once the proposal has received final approval). 

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the CUP Shared Google Drive. Proposals must use the official forms found on this website. Each course change, deletion, or addition, as well as each program change, deletion, or addition requires a separate form. The Summary of the Proposal Form must be included with all submissions.

Deadline for all proposal submissions is Oct0ber 1st. 

Deadline for ICP proposals: April 1st. 

Direct all e-mail correspondence concerning CUP matters to cup@nmu.edu.
 

Creation of New Program Proposal Documents:

All new program proposals must be submitted in two separate parts.  Part 1 is due by February 1st and outlines the overall program and identifies academic requirements as well as all costs associated with the new program.  After review and approval by CUP and EPC, Part 2 will be requested.  Part 2 outlines the program in greater detail as well as includes all of the new course and/or course change proposals associated with the proposed program. Once requested, Part 2 is due October 1st.

1. New Program Proposal Part 1 (Due: February 1st)
2. New Program Proposal Part 2 (Due: October 1st)
    

Individually Created Program (ICP):

This program is designed for students with clearly defined educational goals that do not correspond with existing programs at Northern Michigan University. It leads to a B.A. or B.S. degree with the term "Individualized Studies" appearing in place of the major on the transcript. Students in consultation with their advisers and the registrars office develop a program of individualized concentration which is then submitted to CUP. Proposals must include letters of support from any head of a department in which at least 8 credits are required for the proposed ICP. 

All ICP proposals are due by April 1st.

For more information on ICP requirements click here

Creation of Proposal Documents:

1. All submissions must use the official Google Document forms below.
2. Create a copy of the appropriate form within your Google Drive.
3. When ready for submission, place your entire proposal in the CUP Shared Drive.

Submission of Proposal Documents:

1. Submissions must contain individual Google Document proposal forms and any supporting documents combined in a file folder.
2. Upload the file folder to the CUP Google Share Drive.

NOTE:  The Summary of Proposal form must be included with all submissions.  For additional information, see the Official CUP Submission Guidelines.

Official Forms

NOTE:  Each file has view only access.  To edit forms, create a copy within your Google Drive.

• Summary of Proposal - Include with all submissions
• Course - Change Proposal
• Course - New Proposal
• Course - Deletion Proposal
• Program - Change Proposal
• Program - New Proposal: Part 1 (Due: February 1st)
• Program - New Proposal: Part 2 (Due: October 1st)
• Program - Deletion Proposal
• ICP Form:  Individually Created Program Application

Operating Procedures

1. Membership. 

The Committee on Undergraduate Programs shall have nine voting members with faculty rank as approved by the Academic Senate.  A representative of the Registrar’s Office will be an additional member.  Upon the recommendation of CUP and with the approval of the Academic Senate, a specifically named representative can have full membership rights.  Up to three students may be added to the Committee with full privileges of membership.  There can be one alternate student member.  The Committee will confer with the Associated Students of Northern Michigan University in its efforts to find appropriate members.  Committee terms of faculty members shall be three years, one-third of which shall expire each year.  If a member misses more than three meetings a semester, CUP may ask the Committee on Elections and Committees to replace that member.

2. Officers. 

The Chair sets the agenda and calls the meetings, subject to the will of the Committee.  If the Chair is to be absent from a regularly scheduled meeting, he/she can designate a temporary acting head.  The Secretary takes minutes.  Either the Chair or the Secretary is responsible for maintaining communications and providing appropriate information to those who shall have it.  Ordinarily, the Chair will represent the Committee to the Academic Senate when reports are made, although this can be delegated to a member who may be a senator.  The Chair may choose not to vote, except to break ties.  The Chair acts as parliamentarian for the Committee, but any decision of the Chair can be overruled by a majority vote.   

The Secretary will be on a rotating basis; the Chair will announce the Secretary of the Day in the agenda for each meeting.  At least one back-up secretary will also be named, in the event that the secretary is absent from the meeting.  The Secretary of the Day will make minutes available for committee members to review at the next CUP meeting, if at all possible.  If it is impossible to get the minutes that quickly, the secretary will get them to the committee at the earliest possible meeting.

3. Elections. 

Organizational meetings of the Committee are to be held at its first meeting in the Fall Semester.  At that time, elections will be held for a Chair.  An individual must have served at least one year as a regular member of the Committee to be eligible for election as Chair.  Any deviation from this policy will require Senate approval.  Nominations will be held open until it is clear that no members wish to offer an additional nomination.  No one nominated for either may decline the nomination; nominees may make a statement indicating why they should not be elected.

4. Quorum. 

The quorum for the Committee shall be a majority of its membership, with the provision that at least five faculty members are required to be in attendance.  In the interim between the close of the academic year and the opening of the Fall Semester, the Committee’s new faculty members who have been appointed for the coming academic year can be counted to make up the quorum, which shall be six.

5. Voting. 

Decisions are made by a majority vote of those present and voting.

6. Duties of the Committee.

1. The Committee is responsible for making recommendations to the Academic Senate about the undergraduate curriculum for the entire University.  Frequently, these recommendations will originate from requests by departments or interdisciplinary committees, but CUP does have the option of initiating action of its own.  The Academic Senate also can refer items to the Committee.  The Committee will provide guidelines, updated as appropriate, to all departments. 
2. The Committee ordinarily meets in executive sessions when it initially considers proposals.  All interested parties are to be given the opportunity to comment in writing to CUP about proposals under consideration before it makes final recommendations to the Academic Senate.  The Committee will invite representatives from affected departments to attend its meeting when that would better enable it to make fair and sound recommendations.  Once CUP has made a preliminary examination of a proposal, an affected department or committee has the right to appear one before CUP, more often if CUP chooses.  Committee votes are ordinarily held in executive session, but it can, if it wishes, move to an open session by a majority vote.  While CUP frequently meets in executive session, it nonetheless has the responsibility to inform the Academic Senate and all interested parties of the reasons for its decisions.  A five-minute period at the start of each meeting will be established to provide the opportunity for public commentary. 
3. Once the Committee’s recommendations are ready, the Chair will report them to the Academic Senate as soon as feasible.  Departments which believe they have not been properly consulted beforehand can at that time request reconsideration of the proposal so that they can be heard.  If the Senate determines that the concern is justified, it may return the recommendation to the CUP for review.  If a department, having been properly consulted, wishes to appeal a recommendation by the CUP, it may do so, following procedures established by the Academic Senate.
4. Within two weeks of receipt, the Chair will review all proposals submitted for completeness and see to any needed editorial changes and discrepancies.  This may include correspondence or input from effected departments, the faculty submitting the proposal(s), their department head(s), and their Senate Representative(s).
5. CUP may expedite review of programs or courses that will require further university action (new faculty, additional requested resources, etc) in order to hurry along their incorporation.
6. CUP can establish subcommittees at its discretion.  It need not report either their existence or membership to the Academic Senate.

7. Amendments. 

These procedures can be amended or rewritten if approved by a majority of the entire Committee, as long as they do not conflict with the Bylaws of the Academic Senate. All approved changes to these operating procedures will be shared with the Senate.

(amended April 2018)