People

• Li Marcus – Director
• Lexi Hergeth – Curriculum and Training Specialist
• Jen Cathey – Courses & Curriculum Associate
• Shivi Rawat– Graduate Student Intern (Academic Year)
• Org Chart

2025-2026 Projects

OUCCAS staff engaged in projects including:

• The GEP Elective, recommended by the Council on Undergraduate Education (CUE) in Spring 2026 in response to the UNC System mandate to mitigate any adverse effects on current students, was introduced as a temporary measure. To begin researching what to do with those three hours while also acknowledging that senior leadership would be changing and that accreditation requirements might change, CUE proceeded in the Fall semester to discuss possibilities, elicit campus feedback, and hear proposals. In the Spring, the group wished to examine the GEP as a whole, rather than focusing solely on small pieces at a time. They considered General Education structures at other UNC system schools and peer universities, examined the history of the GEP since 2004, and compared it to available student and industry feedback. All of this resulted in the compilation of this information in a recommendation summary document. This document collects and summarizes present data and questions for future consideration, whether the next step would see examination of three hours alone, the GEP as a whole, or setting up assessment efforts for the GEP as it stands currently.
• Noting that the student learning outcomes provided for some types of specialized courses could be strengthened, a subcommittee of UCCC gathered to identify ways to improve the guidance given to these types of courses. Current guidance focuses on examples, which leads to the copy/pasting of examples into course records, rather than the development of different outcomes most appropriate to the offering discipline. Because of this, the group favored a conceptual approach with examples that provided information specific to the discipline and a breakdown of why those examples fit the needs of accessibility. They have charged next year’s UCCC with the development of this resource.
• With the increasing interdisciplinarity of academic programming, OUCCAS requested that UCCC examine and discuss the current definition and practice of “Disciplinary Distinction” as defined on its website for undergraduate minors and certificates. This discussion covered the current way that colleges currently define or deal with double-counting credits, confirmed that no accreditation requirements preclude double-counting, and that the registration process for these credentials looks primarily at the title of both credentials (and prevents Animal Science majors from pursuing an Animal Science minor in a 1:1 title comparison). This discussion did not result in any change, but in a collection of understanding of practices across campus that OUCCAS can now provide widely.
• The Business Requirements phase began in the Summer of 2024 for the CIM for Courses Refresh and the CourseLeaf 10 operating system update. Originally planned for go-live in June 2025, testing and updates continued into August 2025 and paused until late Fall 2025 with update go-live for June 2026. This has involved continued close collaboration among the core team of OUCCAS, the Graduate School, and Registration and Records (with additional support and assistance from OASIS, EMAS, and EAS) to continue to consider feedback and test for errors and updates needed. The Director has led the implementation effort, and OUCCAS has conducted extensive testing alongside its partners.
• Per recommendations from the 2023 External Program Review and from the campus, the University Program Associate developed a comprehensive suite of twelve (12) checklists/worksheets detailing action review items for UCCC and CUE members, which are also available to the campus community. This aimed to streamline processes for both internal OUCCAS administrative use and external faculty engagement with committee actions by enhancing efficiency, ensuring consistency, and providing clear guidance for critical academic committee workflows. This project supports Goal 2 with its focus on collaboration and operational clarity, and excellence.
• From a suggestion and request from Physics, OUCCAS researched the current process and programming that drives Free Electives for undergraduate students in various programs; most especially, what courses are exempted from counting towards this category, how, and why. With help from EMAS and EAS, we learned that programs specify exemptions, which are coded specifically in a back part of the degree audit system. These are never brought to the forefront of programming in CIM for Programs or the Catalog. With Physics being the pilot case, the program will include a list of Free Electives Exceptions or Courses Ineligible for Free Electives or a similar title, and this list will be visible to students and updatable in the same way that other category lists are – within CIM for Programs and showing in the Catalog.
• Continued weekly office hours with Lexi – open to all via Zoom to discuss CIM, curriculum or course development, the approval process, etc.

CUE reviewed the following:

ACTION	CUE 2025-2026
Existing Course Review for GEP	11
New Course New to GEP	20
Honors/Special Topics Shell Offerings	6
Courses Dropping GEP/ Dropped Courses	10 GEP Removed
Total Courses	47

UCCC reviewed the following:

ACTION	UCCC 2025-2026
New Courses	124
Revised Courses	238
Dropped Courses	26
Ownership Change	2
New Curricula	11
New Prefix	6
Revised Curricula	75
Discontinuations	6
Total Actions	509

Note: Number of Administrative Updates = 194