CALS Curriculum Committee and Course Proposal Information

CALS Curriculum Committee Charge

The CALS Curriculum Committee (CCC) is a standing committee of the College charged with the primary responsibility for curriculum matters in the College. Primary responsibility means that no other committee be established that overrides or circumvents the purposes of the Curriculum Committee. If circumstances require sub-committees for any academic program or curricular issues, these should report to the Curriculum Committee.

• Voting Members. One voting faculty member appointed by each undergraduate major field of study in the College, and one representative from Mann Library.
• Non-voting Members. The Associate Dean of Academic Programs, the Director of Curriculum Development and Instructional Support, the College Registrar or representatives, and two undergraduate student members.
• By Invitation. Instructors of courses under review, program coordinators, others as needed.
• Committee Chair. Elected annually by the committee from its faculty membership with a term limit of three years.
• Vice Chair. Elected annually by the committee from its faculty membership with a term limit of three years.

Responsibilities

1. Creating, reviewing, and revising curriculum-related CALS policies (distribution requirements, learning outcomes, credit hours).
2. Approval of new courses, changes in course offerings, deletion of courses, cross listings, formation of majors and minors.
3. Informing academic departments, units and programs on issues or changes relating to curriculum.
4. Providing a consultative function for majors, minors, departments, units, and programs seeking curricular advice.
5. Providing an annual report to the CALS Faculty Executive Committee.

Meetings

All members are required to attend the monthly CCC meeting. If a member is unable to attend, they should designate someone from their department or major who is well-informed about the proposals and the member's curriculum to attend in their place.

Schedule

Fridays, 8:30 am to 10:00 am; Modality: In-person (contact Kailey Mahar, ksm96 [at] cornell.edu, with questions)

Fall 2025

• August 29, September 12, October 3, November 7, December 5        

Spring 2026

• February 6, March 20, April 17, May 8   

These dates are subject to change depending on University deadlines.

Course proposals must be submitted and signed 10 days before the meeting to be reviewed. Please note that BIO prefixed courses have an additional review period with the Bio Curriculum Committee. Contact Kristy Long with questions about the Bio Curriculum Committee. 

Guest Speakers

Non-CCC Members can request to present at an upcoming meeting.

Presentations are limited to 15 minutes or less, and the request must be submitted to Melinda Oltz (mo442 [at] cornell.edu) at least two weeks before the meeting date. 

Please note that CCC can only allocate 15 minutes of meeting time to guest speakers, and meeting schedules are subject to prior commitments. It is recommended to contact Melinda Oltz as early as possible to secure a spot in the agenda.

Summer

The CALS Curriculum Committee does not meet over the summer session. Time-sensitive fall proposals are reviewed on an ad hoc basis by a sub-committee. All other proposals are held for review until the first CCC meeting of the semester.