Committee for Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP) Operating Code
(Last revised 09-16-2026)
This operating code shall be reviewed and updated at the beginning of each academic year. Once an updated version is approved by the committee, it shall be posted to the CEPP website.
Function
To recommend to the faculty and administration short and long-range educational plans for the College and thus be instrumental in clarifying, improving and changing major policies and educational procedures; to evaluate 微密圈's present practices and goals. CEPP meets annually, and whenever necessary in the pursuit of its functions, with the appropriate faculty committee and/or the appropriate committee of the Board of Trustees. CEPP shall post the agenda and minutes of its meetings as well as other relevant documents on its website in a timely manner and such that they may be accessed by other faculty committees and members of the 微密圈 community. Chairs of any 微密圈 committees may be invited to sit with CEPP when consultation is desirable. The Chair of CEPP shall also sit on the Institutional Planning and Policy Committee (IPPC). CEPP meets whenever it is deemed necessary to the pursuit of its functions.
Membership
Five faculty members, two of whom must be tenured, each from a different department and with at least one member from each of the four Divisions of Disciplines, elected to serve three year terms, or appointed from the ad hoc pool as needed; the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs or his/her designated representative; the Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs or his/her designated representative; two students selected by the Student Government Association (SGA); and the Faculty Director of Assessment (FDA) who, as an ex officio member, serves as liaison between CEPP and the IPPC Subcommittee on Institutional Effectiveness. CEPP may appoint such subcommittees from among its members or from the College community at large, as it deems helpful to facilitate its work. Membership information shall be updated on the CEPP website at the beginning of each year, or whenever a change in membership occurs.
Operating Procedures
Long-term Planning
CEPP will remain mindful of the need for long-range educational plans for the College. In consultation with other important bodies at the college, CEPP will develop an agenda in order to address the highest priority issues related to academic planning. At the end of each school year, a tentative plan will be made for the next year. The plan will be reexamined and refined at the beginning of the next year. CEPP will oversee and periodically review the Goals for Student Learning and Development (GSLD), which both the curriculum and co-curriculum are mapped to, as outlined in the College鈥檚 Institutional Effectiveness Plan. Revisions to the GSLD require a vote of endorsement by the faculty. CEPP selects the College-wide assessments of the GSLD to be coordinated by the FDA. Accordingly, CEPP oversees the assessment of the general education curriculum in coordination with the FDA. In that capacity, CEPP in collaboration with the FDA, will develop a multi-year General Education Assessment Plan to guide annual assessment projects in advance. CEPP reviews the GenEd Assessment Plan annually, and revises it as needed. The FDA will provide regular updates to CEPP throughout the year and share the final assessment results with CEPP for review and response.
New members of CEPP will be expected to familiarize themselves with the complexities of such agendas both in terms of dynamics at 微密圈 and on the national scene. CEPP members will seek out and arrange for access to informative materials and experiences (e.g., AAC&U website/documents, workshops, conferences, retreats, etc.) relevant to generating educational policy. Recognizing that CEPP is challenged by the long-term goals and needs of the institution combined with relatively short-term service on the part of members, the committee will take whatever steps it can to provide continuity and stability in terms of how the committee functions. The Chair will maintain a long-term archive, which will be handed off to each new Chair. Important documents and minutes will be stored in the electronic CEPP archive
(/cepp/).
Meetings
CEPP generally meets weekly for one hour. The timing and schedule of the meetings is determined by the chair, in consultation with the committee. When possible, decisions are reached by consensus. Any committee member can request a formal vote of the committee. Discussions may be confidential. All decisions related to educational planning and policy will be documented and available through publicly archived minutes.
Faculty members of CEPP, with the exception of the Chair, will take turns keeping minutes. Copies of minutes will generally be made available to the committee before the next meeting by way of email (i.e., cepplist@skidmore.edu). The scribe will record attendance of members and guests, and any absent members. At the meeting after a given set of minutes are taken, they will be reviewed, amended if necessary and approved by the committee. After that, an electronic version will be sent to the CEPP website, and in compliance with the Faculty Handbook will be available.
Consultation
CEPP will utilize as many resources and avenues (e.g., surveys, email correspondence, individual interaction, special meetings, special faculty meetings, faculty meetings, Student Government Association meetings) as necessary to ensure extensive, widespread and high-quality consultation take place during all major initiatives. CEPP will meet each year with the Dean of the Faculty's Office to discuss long-term planning and goals. Whenever proper procedures or practices concerning faculty governance are in question, CEPP will consult with the Faculty Executive Committee for guidance.
Chair
Before the end of the school year, the outgoing Chair, in consultation with other members of the committee, will arrange for a relatively experienced member of the committee to become Chair the following year. In the event that no member of the committee is willing to serve as chair the most senior member of the committee (in terms of years of service on CEPP) becomes the Chair. If this is a tie, the more senior faculty member (in terms of years of service at 微密圈) becomes the Chair. When there are one or more volunteers to become chair, the current members of CEPP will vote to elect the next chair, ideally at the end of the fall semester or the beginning of the spring semester. The person with the most votes will be elected. If there is a tie and the members of CEPP cannot reach a decision, CEPP will invite the chairs of the committees that participate in the Committee of Committees (COC) to vote anonymously. The candidate with the most votes will be elected. The chairship transition will take place before the end of the school year so that the incoming Chair has time to plan for the following year's agenda before the summer recess.
With some consultation, the Chair will offer a specific agenda for each meeting. As appropriate, agenda items may come from committee members, academic departments and programs, the offices of the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Operations and Student Affairs, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean of Student Affairs/VPSA, the Director of Admissions and Student Aid, Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee, the Student Government Association, Off Campus Study and Exchanges, Summer Programs, or other relevant parties. The Chair is responsible for updating and maintaining the CEPP website, including timely posting of minutes and agenda items.
Regular Business
CEPP reviews and approves all affiliated or 微密圈 study-abroad programs. CEPP reviews the 微密圈 calendar and makes appropriate recommendations on scheduling. CEPP reviews new and existing student academic prizes as well as practices regarding their recognition. CEPP reviews any proposals to establish or eliminate a department (Faculty Handbook Part One, Article XIV). CEPP consults with Curriculum Committee to review proposals to establish or eliminate minors (Faculty Handbook Part One, Article XVII). CEPP is expected to be involved with curricular discussions involving the periodic accreditation process (Middle States Commission on Higher Education). The next accreditation is expected in academic year 2033鈥�2034. At least once per accreditation cycle, CEPP will review teaching evaluation practices. The Chair of CEPP will keep the email list updated. In addition to the members of CEPP, the Registrar and the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Operations and Student Academic Affairs will remain on the email list. The Chair of CEPP will attend Committee of Committee meetings as well as Institutional Policy and Planning Committee meetings. The Chair of CEPP will also serve as a moderator of the faculty listserv, together with the Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) and the Vice Chair of the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC).
General Education Curriculum
CEPP represents the faculty in policy decisions regarding the ongoing review and revision of the College's general education requirements. CEPP is charged with leading a formal review of the general education curriculum every five years. The last review was during the 2024-25 academic year, and the next review will be during the 2029-2030 academic year. Any substantive revision of the curriculum must generally entail at least two years of planning, including the formal process of offering a motion on the faculty floor. Devising a sensible and coherent plan for changing general education requirements should be based on a highly inclusive process of consultation with broad consideration for the GSLD, recent trends in the delivery of college requirements (e.g., availability of seats, offerings, etc.), assessments of student learning, the limitations of scarce resources, and especially the will of the faculty. Such planning requires detailed timelines for gathering data, drafting text, and consulting with numerous parties multiple times. Changes to these requirements are considered major policy and must be approved by the faculty in a vote on the faculty floor after the requisite lay-over. Matters relating to the implementation of approved changes are considered routine business and may be either set in motion directly by CEPP or approved by the faculty in instances where consultation seems necessary or desirable. Since they are not major policy, implementation plans may be approved in the same meeting in which they are introduced.
Code of Conduct Regarding Confidentiality
- CEPP normally does not have an expectation of confidentiality in its discussions. A specific discussion could be made confidential if a member requests it. This can apply to minutes as well.
- Members are free to discuss committee business with outside parties. If the committee is still debating a subject and has not reached a conclusion or a recommendation, CEPP members should be careful to formulate their presentation of these issues as 鈥渋n progress.鈥� Members should refrain from providing conclusive information about ongoing business.
- Communication between CEPP members about CEPP issues should not be forwarded to outside parties.