The Associates Forum for undergraduate, graduate, and first professional education is comprised of representatives from dean’s offices and select academic centers across VCU. This standing committee is chaired by the senior vice provost for academic affairs and is charged to advance the academic mission of the university. The membership brings forward collective thought for the purposes of:

• Ensuring academic units are represented in discussions that move forward the academic strategic priorities of the university by:
  • Building consensus
  • Creating synergies
  • Leveraging opportunities
• Serving as a conduit for implementation of policy and practice
• Strengthening our collective efforts through problem-solving and effective discourse

Forum members are liaisons between the school/college/academic centers and academic affairs. The forum serves to strengthen communication throughout units by functioning as another level of support to academic leaders (above, below and laterally). Members are an integral partner in aligning unit efforts across the campuses with university priorities and policies.

The Assessment Council is a subcommittee of the Academic Affairs Associates Forum. The council is comprised of representatives from deans’ offices and select academic centers. The council is charged to fulfill the goals of academic assessment at VCU which include fostering, supporting, and coordinating:

• A culture of assessment that embodies continuous improvement.
• Academic quality that is intentional and demonstrated through rigorous processes and measured outcomes.
• Academic programs using assessment findings to maintain and enhance student learning.

Council members serve as liaisons between the school/college/academic center and academic affairs. Members ensure compliance, completion, and integrity of the academic assessment processes. Members are responsible for collaborating closely with academic affairs to monitor assessment planning, annual assessment reporting, and the administration of the Assessment Quality Review for programs in their unit. Council members also provide advice, recommendations, and support for institutional level assessment planning and initiatives at VCU.

The Academic Calendar Committee is comprised of faculty, staff and students, all of whom represent the breadth and depth of the academic enterprise. This standing committee is chaired by the senior vice provost for academic affairs (or designee(s)) and is charged to advance academic calendar recommendations that are consistent with all university policy and priorities. The membership brings forward collective thought for the purposes of:

• Ensuring academic units are represented in discussions that move forward any changes to the calendar
• Serving as a body to consider implications of modifications to the academic calendar
• Strengthening our collective efforts through problem-solving and effective discourse

Committee members serve as liaisons for the body/unit they represent. Members are responsible for collaborating closely with academic affairs to bring forward all calendar considerations coming forward within the university, including those that affect employee holidays and university closures, exercising due diligence in vetting of any recommendations and considering the impact on the delivery of a high-quality educational experience for all students. Committee members also provide recommendations and support for calendar planning in relation to strategic initiatives at VCU. Recommendations coming forward from the committee are made to the provost (or designee) for consideration. Final calendar decisions are made by authority of the provost.

The Academic Program Review Committee will play an important role in VCU’s academic program review process. As part of a shared governance approach, this committee will ensure the transparency, integrity and overall quality of academic program review universitywide.

This committee will:

• Maintain a cohort schedule that includes all VCU degree programs on eight-year intervals and that balances the needs of the academic units and university overall
• Ensure the content of all academic program review documents is complete, reflective of all applicable internal and external policies and consistent with best practice, and make recommendations regarding updates
• Participate in the onboarding of new cohorts
• Review self-studies, reviewer reports and action plans, and provide input when appropriate
• Support the implementation of action plans between program review cycles
• Assess and evaluate the overall effectiveness of academic program review, and make data-informed recommendations for continuous improvement

Academic program review committee members will serve staggered two- or three-year terms in order to ensure continuity of the group’s work.

The University Academic Regulations Committee comprises representatives from the provost’s office, academic units and select academic centers, including faculty and students, across VCU. This standing committee is chaired by the senior vice provost for academic affairs and serves as an advisory body to the provost. The committee provides guidance and oversight of the university wide academic regulations governing the undergraduate, graduate and first-professional education at the university. The committee liaises with other bodies that provide academic regulations for graduate and first-professional education (University Graduate Council). All recommendations coming forward for changes to any academic regulations must be approved by the provost or provost’s designee. The membership brings forward collective thought for the purposes of:

• Ensuring regulations for the undergraduate, graduate and first-professional programs are current and relevant, meet the needs of an academic unit and clearly state the roles, responsibilities and expectations for students;
• Providing recommendations to remedy inconsistences in regulations and monitor effectiveness of any modifications; and
• Serving as a conduit for implementation of policy and practice.

Committee members are liaisons between the school/college/academic centers and academic affairs. Members are an integral partner in aligning the interpretation of regulations and impact across the campuses with university priorities and policies. Faculty representatives serve for a three-year term, students serve annually and administrators serve as long as they are in the particular role.

This committee considers petitions from undergraduate students appealing any regulation in the Academic Regulations section of the bulletin.

A universal petition form is under development.

The General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC) is responsible for the assessment of the ConnectED program. Please see the ConnectED Assessment page for more information.

The General Education Curriculum Committee (GECC) is responsible for implementing and maintaining the general education curriculum for the university.

Consisting of representatives from undergraduate units across the university, the GECC meets at least once per month during the academic year and reviews, approves or denies proposals for courses requesting admission into ConnectED. It is also responsible for reviewing changes to current ConnectED courses and ensuring ConnectEd courses are still meeting the expected goals of the curriculum.

Please see the ConnectED site for more information.

The University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee is responsible for course and program issues that affect undergraduate instructional programs of the university. The UUCC meets monthly during the academic year and reviews, approves or denies proposals for new courses and programs, as well as changes in existing programs. It also is responsible for facilitating implementation of strategic initiatives related to undergraduate curriculum.

View UUCC meeting schedule »
Minutes from UUCC meetings »
View UUCC guidelines »

The University Graduate Council is the representative body of the faculty of the Graduate School at VCU and serves to promote excellence in all graduate programs. While the council performs the functions of review and coordination, departments and schools are responsible for supporting and managing their own graduate programs.

Please see the Graduate school committees page for more information.