Curriculum

Curriculum Committee

This advisory committee to the Dean currently recommends and oversees policies on curricular matters, including course and program proposals for undergraduate and graduate programs. Department Heads and/or faculty members are welcome to contact Jeanine Weekes Schroer or Pam Spencer with any questions.
 


SPRING 2024 Deadlines & Meetings    
Room: by Zoom and 302 Kirby Plaza    
Day/Time: Mondays at 3-4:30pm on the following meeting dates:

Special Topics TitlesThe topic course (xx95) can be scheduled during the Course Scheduling period. Departments must submit the TITLE of the TOPIC prior to registration for the term the topic is offered.    
Liberal Education courseLE course proposals do not go before the Curriculum Committee. Submit proposals directly to Pam Spencer. She will route them to the Dean for review. If approved, the form is routed from Pam to VCAA.  DUE anytime before January 29. (This date aligns with the VCAA deadline of February 1.)

EFFECTIVE TERMS
All approved COURSE proposals (new and changes) will be effective spring 2025.
     Course changes, course proposals, special topic titles, and online addendums.
All approved PROGRAM proposals (new and changes) will be effective fall 2025.

CAHSS Deadline Dates
(Wednesday by noon)		Meeting Dates
(Monday)
Jan 17Jan 22
Jan 24Jan 29
Feb 7Feb 12
Feb 21Feb 26
Mar 13Mar 18
Mar 20Mar 25

PROPOSALS:

Please review the following points for the committee: 

1. The committee will only be meeting on scheduled dates and will only be reviewing proposals which have been submitted by noon the Wednesday prior to a meeting; no last minute proposals will be reviewed.

2. Proposals must be signed by the Department Head. Once signed, either a paper or digital copy is delivered to Pam Spencer. View the INSTRUCTIONS of this page for a menu of curriculum options.

3. Faculty submitting a proposal are encouraged to come to the meeting when their proposal is being reviewed. If they do not attend, their department representative is responsible for presenting the proposal. Some changes to proposals may be done during the meeting, if the person who submitted the proposals is in attendance. If changes cannot be made at the meeting, the proposals are sent back to the department for clarification and resubmitted.

4. If a department representative is absent the day their department proposal(s) are on the agenda, the proposal(s) will not be considered until the next meeting (when a representative is present).

5. Proposals should be completed along with consulting other affected departments within CAHSS or across campus.

 

Committee Members

Chair - The chair of this committee is also a member of the UMD Curriculum Committee.    
American Indian Studies – Carter Meland    
Art & Design – Jim Klueg    
Communication – Michael Pfau
English, Literature & Writing Studies – Paul Cannan    
Geography & Philosophy – Jeanine Weekes Schroer (chair)    
History, Political Science & International Studies – Joe Staats-POL (vote F23), Qiang Fang-HIST (vote S24) 
Music – Ryan Frane    
Studies in Justice, Culture, and Social Change – Jeff Maahs    
Theatre – Curtis Phillips    
World Languages & Cultures – Maureen Tobin Stanley    
CAHSS – Mitra Emad, Assoc Dean (ex officio)    
CAHSS Curriculum – Pam Spencer (ex officio)

Student[s]: two reps may be on the committee

Committee Google Folder

Instructions for CAHSS

Curriculum Committee Policies and Procedures

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VCAA resources: 

PROGRAM proposal

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Proposal must be presented at the CAHSS Assembly prior to submitting it to this committee.

Please click here to visit the VCAA Program Proposal site.

PROCESS:

  •  
    • Approved changes will go into effect for the next even fall term.
    • Departments are encouraged to have program proposals submitted to Pam Spencer at least four weeks before the SPRING deadline. (The deadline is the last committee meeting in the spring.)
    • Complete all relevant items on the New Undergraduate Program Proposal Form. (Delete the 'bulleted' items at the beginning of the form.)
    • Circulate proposal for departmental approval. If other departments are involved, include their approval as well.
    • If approved, the Department Head signs the New Undergraduate Program Proposal Form. (signature required)
    • This paper form (original) is delivered to Pam Spencer by noon Wednesday before the last meeting in the spring term.
    • Preliminary review of the form will be done by Pam Spencer. If no changes are needed, the form is scanned and routed through Google Docs/Drive to the committee members.
    • Committee members may review and comment online. Comments will be referenced at the committee meeting.
    • At the committee meeting, the faculty member (or departmental representative) will present the proposed program and answer potential questions from the committee.
    • If approved and no changes are needed, the Dean will review and sign the New Undergraduate Program Proposal Form. A letter of support from the Dean is required.
    • The form is sent to VCAA for processing in Coursedog.

Changes to programs become effective the next fall semester.    
(Example, approved changes submitted at the end of spring 2021 will be effective fall 2022.)    

Undergraduate programs are sent directly to VCAA. Graduate programs are sent directly to the Graduate Office.

Tips & Information

PROGRAM changes

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COLLEGIATE POLICY     
Adding courses to the curriculum can occur all year. Adding courses to a program occurs is only effective fall term.

Program Change Policy: It is CAHSS the policy that program changes may occur every two years. Adding courses can occur during the two year cycle, although program/major/minor changes may only occur during the change year. Departments are encouraged to consider the impact of changing a program (major or minor). When a program is changed, the new requirements are effective the next fall term. Students who elect to follow the new requirements make the formal request by submitting their request at: z.umn.edu/cahsschange.

Effect on Program Changes:       
Departments are encouraged to consider the impact of changing a program (major, minor or certificate).

Changing current program    
Changing title of current program    
Discontinue current program

Please click here to visit the VCAA Program Proposal site.

REQUIRED for program changes:

  • Approved changes will go into effect for the next fall term. (Ideally changes should only be submitted every two years.)
  • Departments are encouraged to have program proposals submitted to Pam Spencer at least four weeks before the SPRING deadline. (The deadline is the last committee meeting in spring.) (as of February 2019)
  • Copy the entire program found on the Academic Programs page into MS-Word.
  • To clearly show deletions and additions, copy the current program text from the online catalog, paste the copy to a Word document, and use track changes to make proposed revisions (guidance for making program changes using track changes with catalog requirements currently in PDF format).
  • Update the Sample Plan(s) (only for majors) and submit them along with the proposed program changes.
  • Circulate proposal for departmental approval. If other departments are involved, include their approval as well.
  • Department Heads must send the altered document as an MS-WORD attachment including PROGRAM CHANGE cover sheet to Pam Spencer.
  • Dept reps are required to schedule time with Pam to discuss programming and formatting. Preliminary review of the changes must be done by Pam. 
  • At the committee meeting, the committee will review the proposed changes.
  • Pam will submit the document to the Associate Dean or Dean. (If changes are needed, the department will be consulted and the proposal will be updated.)
  • Once the proposal is approved by the Associate Dean or Dean, Pam will submit the changes within Coursedog. Within Coursedog the changes will be routed to VCAA.

Changes to programs become effective the next fall semester.    
(Example, approved changes submitted at the end of spring 2024 will be effective fall 2025.)    

Undergraduate programs are sent directly to VCAA. Graduate programs are sent directly to the Graduate Office.

REQUIRED for title changes:     
To change the title of a major or minor requires the New Program Proposal form and rationale cover sheet.

  • The written rationale for the change must be presented to CAHSS Assembly. Then the written rationale and proposal are submitted to this committee.
  • Department Heads must complete the MS-WORD attachment TITLE CHANGE cover sheet  to Pam Spencer.
  • Preliminary review of the changes will be done by Pam Spencer.
  • At the committee meeting, the committee will review the proposed changes.
  • Pam will submit the document to the Associate Dean or Dean.
  • Once the proposal is approved by the Associate Dean or Dean, Pam will forward to VCAA.

Changes to programs become effective the next fall semester.

DISCONTINUED programs:     
The department head completes the Discontinued Program Proposal process and form.

Submit the form to Pam Spencer and she will share the form with the committee. After the committee reviews the proposal, the form is submitted to the Dean for review. If approved, the Dean will write a letter of support to attach to the request. All documents will be forwarded to VCAA for review.

NOTE: If courses will be inactivated due to the discontinuation of a program, the department head or coordinator must notify all affected UMD programs. The department head sends an email detailing what course(s) to inactivate to the Associate Dean. If approved, the Associate Dean, sends the request to VCAA. If specific courses will be changed to a different designator (CST to ANTH), these changes follow the course change instructions found on this site.

Discontinued programs may be effective either fall or spring semester.

Undergraduate programs are sent directly to VCAA. Graduate programs are sent directly to the Graduate Office.

Add a course to a major or minor (two options)

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Open Listing -  When ‘open listing’ is used within the format of a program, a program change is not required. For example, within the electives area of the communication major the option is COMM 1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx. Any new course added to the COMM program will automatically be applicable to this area of the major (and minor).

Course Listing -  When course listing is used within the format of a program, a program change is required. For example, in the upper division elective areas of the English major there are course lists (each course is listed). Any new course added to the English major requires a program change.

NOTE:  New courses that are applicable to a major or minor course listing must be active for fall term.

If a course is applicable to other UMD programs, the Department Heads of both departments must discuss this option and submit program changes to add this course.

TOPIC course

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Please click here to visit the VCAA Course Proposal site.

Special Topic Google Spreadsheet all proposed topic courses (xx95).    

How to submit a topic course (xx95):

Download and complete the TOPIC proposal form on the VCAA site.

Topic proposals follow VCAA deadlines. Topics proposals are submitted to Pam Spencer. Faculty are reminded to only complete the fields on the proposal form relevant to a topic (see area titled Requesting - Special topics course). The form must have the department head signature. A digital copy of the form (WORD format to accommodate potential changes) is submitted to Pam. She will review the proposal form and contact the faculty member proposing the topic if changes are necessary.

NOTE:    
The short title for topics courses is limited to 30 characters (includes spaces).    
The long title is limited to 50 characters (includes spaces).

The Dean will review proposals. If approved, Pam will forward it to VCAA. Topics do not need to be presented at the committee meeting, but will be shared. Established pre-reqs will be utilized. No different pre-reqs may be proposed.

How to submit a topic for a second time:    
Following VCAA deadlines, send an email request including the following to Pam Spencer (four business days before the deadline).

  • Term the topic was last offered
  • Term requesting to offer the topic a second time
  • Instructor
  • Short and long title (must match first offering)

Pam will assign a CAHSS tracking number to the request and forward the email to the Associate Dean. This request will be shared with the committee. If approved, the Associate Dean will forward the email to VCAA.

NOTE: A department wishing to offer a TOPIC for a third time must submit a course proposal through the regular approval process to convert this topic to a regular course.    
 

SHORT TERM study aboard programs

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Faculty members may propose a short-term study abroad experience in consultation with the UMD International Programs and Services (IPS) office. Each short-term program MUST have a UMD department course equivalent. This requires a UMD course proposal.

What is required to propose a short term study abroad program?

The ‘Short-Term Program Proposal’ and the ‘UMD Course Proposal’ forms are submitted at the same time to this committee. Submitting a short-term program proposal follows the same process

For this committee:

  • Review the deadlines for this committee.
  • DEADLINE to submit for any term follows this committee's schedule (not the IPS schedule). This schedule aligns with the VCAA Course Proposal schedule.
  • Complete the course proposal form on the VCAA site.
  • Contact Pam Spencer for the following:  Subject & Catalog Number
  • Submit the Course Proposal form and the Short-Term Program Proposal form (approved by IPS) together to this committee.

For IPS:

  • Review the IPS website for guides, deadlines, and forms.
  • Complete the ‘Short-Term Program Proposal ’ form provided by the IPS office.
  • Regarding the form, contact Pam Spencer for the following: Dept. & Course #. This assignment is crucial for programming (Program changes, APAS and Grad Planner).
  • Submit the ‘Short-Term Program Proposal’ form to IPS for approval. (REQUIRED signatures for approval: Instructor, Department Head and Dean).

Course designator/subject

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Changing a Current Designator: It is advised not to change designators. If WS/WGSS courses have the same curriculum it is best if the courses are setup with the same Course ID, different Subjects which allows the "last attempt counts for academic credit" policy to be easily implemented. All of the transfer and test credit programming of the faculty articulation decisions will have to be updated for all WS courses across all colleges, and every degree program that specifies that a degree requirement can be satisfied by a "WS" course will have to be modified to accept a "WS" or a "WGSS" course for requirement completion.

How to request a new designator/subject for your department?    
Proposals (memo format) are submitted to this committee for review. The Provost office makes the final decision on new designators. This link is from their office and notes guidelines for their approval: Request for Course Designator. Please note, the form is filled out by the UMD VCAA office and sent to the Provost office after EVCAA approval. As with other system changes, these things take time. Proposed courses with the new designator/subject cannot be processed until the new designator is requested (and assumed approved). The proposed courses can be approved, along with a new program, but the courses cannot be entered into the system or scheduled without final approval from the Provost office. Since the Board of Regents reviews program proposals, their schedule determines when items will be reviewed.

COURSE proposal

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Proposals for new courses will only be reviewed by the committee with the department head’s signature.

Liberal Education Program Course Proposal  NOTE: LEP course proposals do not go before the Curriculum Committee. Submit proposals directly to Pam Spencer. She will route them to the Dean for review. If approved, the form is routed from Pam to VCAA.

Graduate Credit: If a department wants a 4xxx/5xxx/8xxx course to be listed as graduate credit, the request must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies in the home department. If the home department does not have a director to review the course it is sent to the UMD Graduate Council for review. Additionally, all courses requesting graduate credit are reviewed & approved by VCAA. Courses at the 4xxx/5xxx/8xxx that may not be taken for graduate credit have a notation of 'no grad credit' within the course.

PROCESS:

  • Download the current Course Proposal form found here: VCAA Course Proposal site.
  • Circulate proposal for departmental approval.
  • If approved, the Department Head signs the Course Proposal Form. (signature required)
  • This paper form (original) is delivered to Pam Spencer by noon Wednesday before the next meeting.
  • Preliminary review of the form will be done by Pam Spencer. If no changes are needed, the form is scanned and routed through Google Docs/Drive to the committee members.
  • At the committee meeting, the faculty member (or departmental representative) will present the proposed course and answer potential questions from the committee.
  • If approved and no changes are needed, the Dean will review and sign the Course Proposal Form.
  • The form is sent to VCAA for processing.

New courses are typically available in the system within two weeks of receipt in VCAA. Once changes are processed, the change is immediate in PeopleSoft and the current on-line course description page.

COURSE changes (CAHSS only)

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PROCESS:

Review the current course outline within Course Descriptions. (Everyone with an x.500 username has access to this site.)

  • Course changes are discussed with the department and reviewed by the department head. Once approved, the CAHSS dept rep on this committee submits the proposed changes through this form: CAHSS course change form.

    Changes that CAN be submitted on the CAHSS course change form and reviewed by the committee:
    * course titles (short title: 30 characters (for transcript); long title: 100 characters (class schedule, APAS; will cut off at 30 characters)
    * course description
    * course typically offered
    * grading option
    * inactivate course
    * prerequisites (removal of a prereq, require a certain course(s), require a minimum amount of credits, require a certain major/minor/certificate)
    * repetition of course

    Changes that CANNOT be submitted on the CAHSS course change form but reviewed by the committee in a different format: 
    * Course number (not level) - Changing a course number is NOT recommended. It is advised to deactivate a course and submit a new course proposal. Course equivalents may be an option but not a guarantee depending on the situation.
    * Course credits (i.e. 3cr to 4cr) Include reasoning behind the credit change and what will be removed or added to the course. This does not require a new course proposal. If the course had LEP, this will remain. Submit the rationale via email to Pam Spencer
    * Course level requires a NEW course proposal form. (Proposals to change a course from a lower division (1xxx/2xxx) to an upper level course (3xxx/4xxx) or the other way around.) Form found here: VCAA Course Proposal site.
        > If changing the course level, explain rationale. This will affect all current transfer course evaluations. If the course currently applies to LEP, it does not need re-approval for LEP.
        > Courses that change level are NOT listed as equivalent. Students who take both courses will receive credit for both courses. Submit the rationale via email to Pam Spencer.
    *  Course level from 2xxx to 1xxx OR 4xxx to 3xxx. TBD...2/26/24 waiting for VCAA response, ps
    *  Reactivate courses (requires a new Course Proposal and all elements of a course should be reviewed)
    * Instructional mode (VCAA online addendum required for all courses)
    * Liberal Education (VCAA Lib Ed forms required)
     
  • The form will identify all proposed course changes and will be presented to the committee. Upon committee approval, the document is reviewed by the Dean.
  • Upon Dean approval, changes will be submitted by Pam Spencer and sent to VCAA for final approval and processing.
     

To change other fields of a course, contact Pam Spencer.

If changes will be made, departments are responsible for notifying other affected departments or programs.

How do instructors change the instructional mode for a course?

The instructional mode for a course is selected during the scheduled CCS Period 1. At this time, staff select which mode will be used for an upcoming term. Each section of a course may have different instructional modes. If the mode needs to be changed after CSS Period 1 closes, the department submits the request to the Office of the Registrar - Course Schedule Change.

REACTIVATING A COURSE: To request reactivation of a course, all elements of the course must be reviewed (rationale, description, etc.). Review all elements of the inactive course within Coursedog. The department rep submits the request through the CAHSS course change form (Google form accessed by CAHSS dept reps on this committee.). 

INACTIVATING A COURSE: For individual or multiple courses, the department head or coordinator must notify all affected UMD programs. The department rep submits the request through the CAHSS course change form. (Google form accessed by CAHSS dept reps on this committee.). 

These processes may change to accommodate needs. Normal processing time on a course change is 4-5 work days and will be effective the first day of the next term.

Page last updated: January 2024 by Pam Spencer