Faculty Shares the Process of Curriculum Curation

Jayme Whitcomb | Writer

When students register for classes each semester, all it takes is a few computer clicks and they have an entire course outline and syllabus provided to them. What they don’t see is the months of delicate effort that go into making sure each class meets key elements that supply them with a well-rounded academic experience at LCCC.

Has anyone wondered how class content is produced? How does an idea turn into a complete syllabus and course on Canvas?

James Ayrton, Associate Dean of Curriculum, Assessment, and Articulation shares the process of building a new class. The faculty start with the proposed course idea. From there, that proposal goes to the dean who then will approve it. Afterward, a formal proposal goes to the curriculum committee, in which they make recommendations and possible adjustments to the class content and structure. Lastly, the revised class has to be approved by the vice president of the college.

A class passes through a list of people and takes some time to become fully complete and ready for the students to register for.

“Generally, it takes two to three months for any new course or update to be complete,” Ayrton said.

Scott Keim, Associate Professor of English, is currently in the process of creating an in-depth English course on Shakespearean plays and sonnets.

“My focus in teaching is getting the students excited about Shakespeare,” Keim said. “Figuring out how many plays to assign in a semester is hard. We could spend a whole semester on just one play.”

Keim is working hard to create a class that focuses on the minority characters in Shakespeare because one of his goals is to educate students about diversity, equity, and inclusion within the plays and sonnets.

LCCC offers a wide variety of courses each semester. Creating classes takes a plethora of creativity, people, and time. From sciences to humanities, the faculty strive to provide students with classes that will prepare them to transfer, as well as for the job market.