POLICY AND PRECEDENT #96-03 (as amended 8 November 1999)
MEMORANDUM FOR FACULTY AND STAFF
SUBJECT: Composition and Functions of the Curriculum Committee
A. PURPOSE. This Instruction sets forth the authority, composition, functions and responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee of the Graduate School of Nursing (GSN).
B. REFERENCE DoD directive 5105.45, "Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)," dated April 19, 1991
C. APPLICABILITY. This instruction applies to the faculty and staff of the GSN.
D. DEFINITIONS.
Curriculum: Curriculum is defined as the designated course of instruction, including all planned educational and evaluative experiences for the graduate nursing students. It involves the specification and sequencing of required and elective courses, the assignment of instructional hours, and the determination of academic credits.
Academic Affairs: Academic Affairs is defined as faculty appointments, promotions and organization, awarding of degrees, curriculum design and implementation, academic requirements for admission and graduation, and related matters vital to the academic well-being of the USUHS.
Interprogram Course: An interprogram course is a "core" course required of all students regardless of the academic program in which the student is enrolled.
E. POLICY.
1. Graduate Nursing Education: The GSN will plan, implement, and evaluate educational programs, in accordance with the recommendations of national professional and educational organizations, in order to meet the accreditation standards of NLN accreditation.
a. The mission of the GSN is the provision of quality education that prepares advanced practice nurses to deliver primary and minor acute care, including anesthesia services, to authorized beneficiaries. This mission is congruent with the mission of the University which is to provide the Nation with an outstanding academic health sciences center committed to excellence in military medicine and public health during peace and war.
b. The faculty of the GSN is responsible for the design, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum. There must be integrated institutional responsibility for the design and management of a coherent and coordinated curriculum. The chief academic officer must have sufficient available resources and authority provided by the institution to fulfill this responsibility. The curriculum of the program leading to the MSN degree must be designed to provide an educational program that is sufficient to allow the graduates to begin advanced practice in a clinical area. The GSN must evaluate educational program effectiveness by documenting the achievement of students and graduates, through verifiable and internally consistent measures that show the extent to which institutional and program purposes are met.
2. Curriculum Committee: The Curriculum Committee is charged to oversee the design and management of a coherent and coordinated curriculum for graduate nursing education. The Curriculum Committee consists of members of the faculty, the student body, and the administration, appointed by the Dean, GSN. The members of the committee are charged to represent the interests of the GSN as a whole. The committee is advisory to the Dean.
F. RESPONSIBILITIES.
1. Dean:
a. The Dean is responsible for development and administration of policy and procedures concerning academic affairs.
b. The Dean will assign each program or interprogram course in the graduate nursing curriculum to one academic department for management.
c. The Dean will adjudicate disagreements that arise within the committee concerning the design and presentation of courses which cannot be resolved by negotiation within the committee.
d. The Dean will approve the actions of the Curriculum Committee.
2. Curriculum Committee: The Curriculum Committee shall:
a. develop, review, and recommend to the Dean objectives and goals for the graduate nursing curricula;
b. assess the curricula in terms of meeting those goals and objectives;
c. ensure that the achievements of students and graduates are evaluated through verifiable and internally consistent measures;
d. determine the extent to which the departmental and interprogram courses contribute to the accomplishment of the educational goals and objectives of the GSN;
e. develop proposals for changing the curricula as necessary to meet the goals and objectives of the GSN;
f. consult with those departments, programs, and faculty whose academic programs may be affected by any contemplated curricular changes;
g. periodically review institutional policy concerning the curricula and course practices to ensure consistency in the implementation and management of the graduate nursing educational program;
h. assist the faculty by encouraging innovative teaching approaches in the curricula.
3. Department Chairs:
a. Each department chair, including those responsible for interprogram courses, is responsible for establishing objectives, designing content, and ensuring the presentation of each course assigned to his/her program(s) and for assuring that the performance of students is evaluated in an appropriate and timely manner, in accordance with the policy and procedures recorded by the Curriculum Committee and established by the Dean.
b. Department chairs are also responsible for assigning teaching responsibilities to faculty members and for the allocation of departmental resources required for the courses assigned to their programs.
4. Faculty: Faculty members are the content experts in the individual courses and they have collective responsibility for the graduate nursing curriculum in the GSN. The processes of curricular design, implementation, and evaluation, therefore, involve broad participation by the faculty both at the GSN Curriculum Committee and program levels. Faculty members are responsible, usually through course directors, to program directors and department chairs for fulfilling their assigned teaching responsibilities in the graduate nursing curriculum.
G. ORGANIZATION.
1. Membership: The committee shall consist of seven (7) GSN faculty members appointed by the Dean (including GSN department chairs as ex officio members and one member from the DoD/VA Distance Learning Program) with consideration given to recommendations from the Faculty Council. Ex officio members include the GSN department chairs, one representative each from the School of Medicine Departments of Anesthesiology and Family Medicine, one representative from Continuing Health Professional Education Office, the GSN Graduate Nurse Education Specialist, and one student from each program (non-voting). The Chair shall be a GSN nurse faculty member, other than a department chair, selected by the membership. The Dean shall appoint four other GSN faculty members from the GSN departments.
2. Terms of Members:
a. All faculty members appointed by the Dean shall have three year terms beginning on 1 August. The terms will normally be staggered so that there will be a mix of new and continuing members in order to provide continuity to the committee.
b. The student representatives shall have a one year term beginning in August.
c. Appointed members may be reappointed but shall not serve more than two successive terms.
3. Subcommittees:
a. On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, the Chair shall appoint subcommittees on an ad hoc basis and charge them to perform the studies, analyses, or other tasks needed to accomplish the initiatives established by the Curriculum Committee.
b. Subcommittees shall include one or more members of the Curriculum Committee and other members from the faculty, student body, or administration as needed to accomplish the assigned tasks.
H. COMMUNICATION: Minutes of the Curriculum Committee shall be distributed to all members of the Curriculum Committee, the Dean, department chairs, program directors, and the President (USUHS).
I. EFFECTIVE DATE: This policy is effective immediately and will be reviewed annually.
Contacts
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
4301 Jones Bridge Road
Bethesda, MD 20814