Course Revisions
Considerations for Course Modifications and Additions
See the Provost Office’s course changes website for the process, forms, and handy checklist (under Forms heading) to use in addition to the considerations list below.
- Review process
- 400-level courses designated for graduate credit are reviewed by the Curriculum Council of the Faculty Senate and the Graduate Course Review Committee. NOTE: 400-level courses intended for graduate credit must include additional graduate-level work for graduate students.
- 500-level courses are reviewed by only the Graduate Course Review Committee.
- Note that a flipped course is not necessarily a blended/hybrid course. The latter uses the online component to meet fewer times face-to-face.
- If the course can be taken for both undergraduate and graduate credit, what additional work is required of graduate students? Note that there should be cognitive differences between undergraduate and graduate student work.
- Is the course of sufficient rigor for graduate credit?
- Are graduate faculty listed who will teach the course?
- Does the syllabus have sufficient detail (outline of topics, week by week; list of course materials [textbooks, bibliography, computer resources, etc.]; description of assignments as well as weighting of these and exams; grading scale, etc.)?
- Is there good rationale for a new course?
- Does the new course overlap with another existing course and require collation of some sort?
- If the new course replaces an existing one, has a drop form (Form 90B) been submitted for the latter?
- Is the title and course description clear and appropriate?
- Are prerequisites, grade type, etc. clearly designated on the Form 90A and syllabus?
- Is the number of credits appropriate for the amount of work involved?
- Is this a generic course? If so, what is the limit on repeat hours?
- What is the credit-hour limit or maximum credit accumulation?
- Is this a variable or multiple-segment course?
- CRC Best Practices document outlines some minimum expectations for syllabi. See the IDLT syallbus template also.
Considerations for Program Modifications
(courtesy of Graduate Council Programs Committee)
- Provide adequate background information and justification/rationale for all requested changes (i.e., distill but adequately detail the unit's decision-making process) so the committee members understand what went into the process that resulted in this request.
- Include data to support the proposed changes.
- Indicate that you are making decisions that are based on good evidence.
- What are best practices?
- What data do you have to support the changes?
- How will the changes improve outcomes?
- Provide adequate detail about the proposed change so that the Committee members understand exactly what it will entail. For example, a comprehensive exam exit option is proposed. What is the exam’s structure? How is it designed to be comprehensive? What happens if someone fails? Who will prepare and grade the exams? How is the workload distributed? Is it fair?
- All changes in the catalog copy need to be justified in the request. If changes are included that were previously approved but not yet published, provide the tracking number as a comment.
- Have a clear understanding of the effective date. Policy 1Q8 governs the soonest possible date.
- Proofread your submission.
Note: If the proposed change(s) will impact the unit’s assessment plan, remember to submit a new plan to the Graduate Committee on Assessment through the Graduate School.
