Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UGCC)

Committee Charge

The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UGCC) is responsible for reviewing and recommending to the Provost the addition of new or the deletion or modification of existing undergraduate curricula and undergraduate policies. The UGCC is also responsible for the oversight, on-going review, and improvement of the university’s core (general education) curriculum. This Committee has primary responsibility, as representatives of the faculty, for the content, quality, and effectiveness of undergraduate programs and the general education curriculum at Florida Tech.

Specifically, this committee reviews and makes recommends to the Provost regarding:

• Adding undergraduate academic programs at a new or existing off-campus instructional site
• Adding a new undergraduate degree, major, minor, certificate, specialization, or concentration to the curriculum or re-opening a program that was previously offered
• Adding a new method of delivery to an existing undergraduate academic program (face to face, distance (at least 50%))
• Changing co/pre-requisites or credits of an undergraduate course
• Changing graduation requirements in an undergraduate program (including changes in program length or credit hours)
• Closing an undergraduate program (including at an off-campus site or ending a program in a specific modality)
• Requesting an online undergraduate course to have the same number as an on-campus undergraduate course
• The academic components of any cooperative academic arrangements
• The addition of a new undergraduate course to the curriculum
• The addition of a new Honors section to an existing undergraduate course
• The establishment of a dual undergraduate degree or joint academic award with another institution
• The need for new or modification of existing undergraduate policies

In their review and recommendations this committee is careful to ensure that Florida Tech’s educational programs embody a coherent course of study, are compatible with the university’s mission and goals, and are based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education. The Committee ensures that program requirements conform to commonly accepted standards and practices for degree programs.

The Committee ensures that all undergraduate curriculum is reviewed consistently regardless of location or modality.

Committee Membership

The voting membership of the UGCC is comprised of one full-time faculty from each academic unit offering undergraduate courses and one full-time library faculty, one representative from Military Science, one representative from Honors College, and one representative from Freshman Year Experience.

Academic unit representatives are elected by the respective academic unit and nominated by their respective Dean to the Provost for a committee service term up to two consecutive years on a staggered basis. Re-appointment is possible.

If a member of the UGCC cannot complete the two-year term, the academic unit head will nominate a replacement for the unexpired duration of the term. If a dean or academic unit head wishes to replace a representative for any other reason, the respective dean will recommend the change with an accompanying rationale to the provost for approval. 

The chair of the UGCC is elected for a two-year term by the voting members of the committee. The role of the UGCC chair is to serve as a voting member representing his/her academic unit, call the meetings, set the meeting agenda, ensure review of curricular proposals, and oversee the operation of the committee to ensure adherence to university policy and accreditation standards. Re-election is possible.

The academic deans, library dean, provost, academic program assessment committee chair, registrar, and the university accreditation liaison are ex-officio, non-voting committee members.

AY2023-2024 Voting Members

College of Aeronautics (COA)

• Dr. Brooke Wheeler, Associate Professor
• Mr. Michael Splitt, Assistant Professor - COA Online Programs

Nathan M. Bisk College of Business (COB)

• Dr. Alina Malkova, Assistant Professor
• Dr. Angel Otero, Assistant Professor - COB Online Programs

College of Engineering and Science (COES)

• Dr. Reza Jahanbakshi, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace, Physics & Space Sciences (APSS)
• Dr. Manasvi Lingam, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace, Physics & Space Sciences (APSS)
• Dr. Melissa Borgen, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering & Science (BES)
• Dr. Keshav Chivukula, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering & Science (BES)
• Dr. Stephen Smith, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)
• Dr. Christopher Bashur, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)
• Dr. Naveed Mahmud, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS)
• Dr. Ryan Stansifer, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS)
• Dr. Vladislav Bukshtynov, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and Systems Engineering (MSE)
• Dr. Kegang Wang, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Civil Engineering (MCE)
• Dr. Toby Daly-Engel, Assistant Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences (OEMS)
• Dr. Stephen Wood, Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering & Marine Sciences (OEMS)

College of Psychology and Liberal Arts (COPLA)

• Dr. Kenneth Pike, Assistant Professor, School of Arts & Communications (SAC), UGCC Chair
• Dr. Kaitlynn Gokey, Assistant Professor, School of Behavior Analysis (SoBA)
• Dr. Travis Condrat, Associate Professor, School of Psychology (SoP)
• Dr. Danita Berg, Assistant Professor - CoPLA Online Programs

Evans Library

• Chelsea Carroll, Head of Library Instruction

Military Science

• Dr. Jeffrey Dories, Assistant Professor, School of Arts and Communications (SAC)

Honors College

• TBD

First Year Experience (FYE)

• Christopher Finn, Director of Student Advising

AY2023-2024 Non-Voting, Ex-Officio Members

• Dr. Hamid Rassoul, Interim Provost and Senior VP for Academic Affairs
• Dr. Munevver Mine Subasi, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
• Dr. Mark Archambault, Associate Provost for Accreditation
• Dr. John Deaton, Dean, College of Aeronautics
• Dr. Theodore Richardson, Dean, Nathan M. Bisk College of Business
• Dr. John Harris, Dean, College of Engineering and Science
• Dr. Robert Taylor, Dean, College of Psychology and Liberal Arts
• Nancy Garmer, Interim Dean, Evans Library
• Caroline Johnston, Registrar

The UGCC meets at least monthly during the academic year. The engagement of committee members is critical to the work of the UGCC. The voting members are expected to be available throughout the academic year to regularly attend meetings and to make best efforts to attend any special meeting outside of the typical academic year. During summer term, minimum of 50% quorum is sufficient to vote for agenda items. The voting members are also expected to have read materials in advance of the meeting and to be aware of relevant academic policy and procedures.

  AY2023-2024 UGCC Meeting Calendar

Meeting Schedule	Agenda Items Due
Friday, September 1, 2023 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, August 25, 2023
Friday, September 29, 2023 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, September 22, 2023
Friday, October 27, 2023 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, October 20, 2022
Friday, November 17, 2023 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, November 10, 2023 APAC Deadline for new undergraduate programs: November 1, 2023
Friday, January 26, 2024 8:00-9:00 AM  Deadline for 2024-2025 catalog changes	Friday, January 19, 2024
Friday, March 1, 2024 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, February 23, 2024
Friday, April 5, 2024 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, March 28, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024 8:00-9:00 AM	Friday, April 19, 2024

Guests and Open Meetings

The UGCC may regularly invite faculty and other guests who are subject matter experts in the curriculum matter being discussed to provide context and answer questions from the committee members.

The UGCC meetings are open to all Florida Tech faculty, administrators, and staff.  Guests in attendance can contribute to the discussion and provide questions, comments, and other information for the committee to consider as part of their deliberations. After the open discussion, the committee members deliberate and vote. Guests may not disrupt final deliberation and voting.

All faculty and staff are welcome to bring forward prospective items for the committee’s consideration. Those items should be submitted in advance to the UGCC chair or brought up at the end of the meeting as other business and will be considered for a future agenda.