Curriculum Review – Process and Roles

Process

Leading up to the sponsor’s formal Curriculum Review, NPS initiates the following sequence of steps:

• The Academic Associate begins coordinating with sponsors and stakeholders on issues related to the curricular review, and collecting required internal data such as exit interviews, survey results, and course content for analysis.
• An external review may be conducted by the curriculum sponsor who identifies manpower, numbers of personnel needed, and the mission-related requirements for NPS students within specific areas.
• The Academic Associate conducts a curriculum self-study, identifying a set of curriculum issues to be discussed with the program sponsor that will become part of the agenda for the formal Curriculum Review. The department conducts a review to assess the curriculum’s quality and relevancy to the sponsor’s needs.
• The Academic Associate consults with the sponsors on the status of the review, gathers a set of expected issues, and drafts an action plan. The Academic Associate reviews and formalizes the issues and the proposed presentation to the sponsor along with the NPS President, Provost, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and the Director of Programs.

During the formal Curriculum Review process, items for action are identified and drafted for implementation.

Roles

Because each curriculum at NPS has an external sponsor, the unique positions of Academic Associate and Program Officer — positions critical to the Curriculum Review process — were created.

Academic Associates

Once a curriculum is established, a part-time academic associate, a faculty member recommended by a School’s dean, is appointed by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. The Academic Associate assumes the primary responsibility for managing the curriculum by developing, maintaining, and updating the curricular program to accommodate the needs and academic requirements of NPS, the Department of Navy and the Department of Defense. The Academic Associate maintains a close relationship with the curriculum sponsor to ensure Navy requirements are linked to the academic ESRs. The Associate works with specialty sponsors and consultants to define pertinent needs, including professional objectives, to delineate projected utilization of program graduates, and consults with department Chairs and faculty to propose useful courses and curricula. These plans and projections consider the impact of developing technology, evolving bodies of knowledge (i.e., other graduate programs related to those under their purview), and the changing mission of the Navy and other military services. [Link to Appendix from the NPS Faculty Handbook, further describes the Academic Associate position.]

Program Officers

The Program Officer, an active duty military officer typically at the rank of Lt. Colonel or Commander, who holds a military faculty appointment within a specific School or department, has administrative responsibilities for a set of curricula, including student oversight and the Curriculum Review process. The Program Officer also acts as a liaison between program sponsors and Academic Associates in overseeing the content of a School’s curricula.

Academic Associates/Program Officer Oversight

Although the Academic Associate and Program Officer operate as a team, the former oversees the academic quality and integrity of the curriculum while the latter represents the sponsor’s interest in the content of the curriculum. Each Academic Associate/Program Officer team maintains ongoing contact with the students, faculty, sponsors and alumni of their curriculum. Shared practices may include academic advising, evaluation meetings, exit interviews, review of course evaluation data, hosting campus visits and conducting biennial and informal curriculum reviews with sponsors, maintaining contact with NPS alumni, supervising course coordinators, and reviewing course outlines with faculty.