Governance Proposal Guidelines (Graduate)

Governance Proposal Guidelines (Graduate)

Major Changes

A major change is anything not explicitly listed as a minor change (see below). Examples include, but are not limited to:
  • Requests for new courses
  • Requests for new programs and concentrations
  • Addition or deletion of graduate level to an undergraduate 400-level course
  • Revisions to program and concentration requirements (i.e., adding or deleting course from the program requirement).

Minor Changes that DO require governance approval

A minor change would include any of the following:
  • Course number change (in consultation with the Associate Registrar)
  • Course title change
  • Prerequisite and co requisite change, addition or deletion
  • Change in the semester in which a course is offered
  • Catalog description (where basic content of course is affected)
  • Addition or deletion to a list of electives in a concentration or program
  • Removal of a course from the catalog
  • Change in course schedule type (i.e., lecture, practicum, directed study, etc.)
  • Change in laboratory or studio contact hours
  • Change in grading mode (i.e., Standard to Pass/No Pass)
  • Assignment or deletion of a course from a list of department area courses

Minor Changes that DO NOT require governance approval

  • Correction of typos in catalog; rephrasing of curricular rules for clarification only where wording is misleading
  • Activation of a course from "Other Approved" status (with no change to number, title, prerequisite, etc. of the latest published course description)
  • Moving a course from active to "Other Approved" status
  • Temporary inactivation of an academic degree program or concentration

New Programs/Policies and Minor Changes to Existing Programs/Policies

  • All course subject codes, numbers and titles of required courses included in the proposal should be complete and accurate.
  • The effective date of proposals is September 1, the start of the academic year unless indicated otherwise in the proposal. The President, however, may choose an earlier effective date for policies and curriculum that 1) affect immediately upcoming processes or events (e.g., registration, special academic programs, commencement); 2) are of demonstrable, immediate benefit to students.
  • Any time a new course is included in a new program, approval for the course must be requested on a "New Graduate Course Proposal Form." This form should be submitted with the request for a new program. Courses will not be included in the program until such time as the course is approved.
  • If the change will impact any prior catalogs, this must be noted in the proposal.
  • Adding or deleting a course from the requirements of a program is considered a major change to a program.
  • Include, as part of the proposal, the program description as it would appear in the college catalog.

New Courses/Minor Change to an Existing Course

Subject Code and Number
  • Do not reuse course numbers. To confirm number availability, contact the Associate Registrar.
Title
  • Character Limit: 30
  • To be read in its entirety on a student’s transcript or on the course schedule, the course title can be no longer than 30 characters. If the title is longer, it is recommended that the department submit an abbreviated version of the title with the proposal or one will be created by the Associate Registrar.
Credit Hours
  • Course credit hours may be a fixed or variable (e.g., 1-3 credit hours) amount. If a topics course is to be offered for different topics with varying credit hours, list the course as a variable credit course ranging from the minimum to the maximum number of credits for which a topic can be offered.
Course level(s)
  • 400 level courses may be assigned both graduate and undergraduate levels if no graduate equivalent exists. Governance approval through the Graduate Education Council is required to assign or drop the graduate level course from an existing 400 level course. This is a major change.

    • Note: For new courses, the request for both undergraduate and graduate level goes to both the All College Committee and the Graduate Education Council as a major change.
Course Prerequisite(s) When considering course prerequisites, include the following information:
    Course(s)
    • The subject code, number and title listed accurately and completely
    • Be sure that prerequisite courses have been approved through governance and are active
    • When using another department’s course as a prerequisite, be sure to consult with that department concerning availability and offering of the course before submitting the proposal. Attach any supportive documentation to the proposal.
    Consents
    • Any permission the student must receive in advance of registering for the course (i.e., consent of instructor, department chairperson, etc.)
    Minimum Grade Required
    • A minimum grade requirement for any prerequisite course
    Concurrency
    • Any course prerequisite that may be taken concurrently with the course for which it is a prerequisite
    Registration Restrictions
    • Any restrictions including students within a specific program and/or concentration
    General
    • Use "and" not commas to indicate a required combination or series of combinations of prerequisites
    • Use "or" not commas to indicate an option among prerequisites
    • Use semi colons for separate complex "and/or" prerequisites to show appropriate grouping
Course Descriptions
  • Try to keep course descriptions as brief as possible.
  • A change to a course description that substantially changes the content of the course would require that the course be approved as a new course as opposed to a minor change to an existing course

    • Concurrency
    • Any course that may be taken concurrently with a particular course
    Repeatability
    • Indicate if the course is repeatable for credit. Also include any limit to the number of credit hours or times the course may be repeated.
Additional Notes
  • Permanent course capacities are determined by the dean of the school in which the course is offered.
  • All proposals from the departments of the School of Education and Allied Sciences must be approved by the SEAS Leadership Committee before being submitted to the GEC.

Last Modified: May 13, 2008