The full CPC membership consists of up to fourteen full-time faculty* and one associate faculty, the vice president of Instructional Services and one other administrator, two classified staff (one evaluator and one with duties related to curriculum), and one student, all selected by their constituent group.
*Six FT faculty represent the general education (GE) areas; two faculty are from CE; one faculty each from counseling, noncredit, the Honors Program; and associate faculty. Permanent members are the Articulation Officer and Faculty Coordinator of Online Education.
For the curriculum approval process, only faculty members and the Vice President of Instruction (or proxy) are allowed to vote. However, all committee members and CPC guests are invited to discuss the curriculum proposals in the open CPC meetings (Brown Act covered with the same rules as AS).
The curriculum packet is a compilation of approved curricula from CPC for a given period. Faculty submit curriculum that is rigorously evaluated by the committee following state mandates summarized by the Programs and Courses Approval Handbook (PCAH) and our local CPC processes. All curriculum must be approved by the committee; for new courses and new programs, two reads are required before a vote occurs. The curriculum packet includes courses and programs that are:
● New ● Modified ● Deactivated
The Course Outline of Record (COR) must be modified at least once every six years or be deactivated; changes can be requested at any time by faculty discipline experts. Programs are changed to meet external requirements, reflect course changes, or to respond to changes at transfer schools or specific industries.
As a subcommittee of AS, CPC compiles all approved curriculum into a single agenda item usually at the first AS meeting in November and February. Since CPC is tasked with all curriculum work** on behalf of the AS, the curriculum packet is placed on the AS agenda as “Consent.” As a single item on consent, AS votes to approve/disapprove all of the curriculum in the packet with one vote. Although the AS can pull the curriculum packet from consent to discuss, individual votes on specific courses or programs in the packet should not occur. After AS approval, the curriculum packet moves to the Board of Trustees (BOT) agenda, again as a consent item. Similar to AS, the curriculum packet can be pulled from consent for discussion, but the vote to approve is for the entire packet.
** While the curriculum packet contains all items that CPC approved, it is truly a recommendation made to AS. Similarly, AS approving the packet is viewed as a recommendation to the BOT; when you hear about local approval, the BOT is the only group allowed to approve curriculum.
Visit CPC MiraCosta website to review Agendas and meeting minutes