Process of Curricular Change

***Effective Fall Semester, 2023 - Submittal of Curriculum forms will transition to Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM) online. Please see the below instructions. Contact Sami Shahin, Committee Chair, with questions. 

Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM) - Quick User Guide

1. Log in with your SMSU username and password using one of the below links. 

    

• Less Than Major Significance

• Major Significance

2. For new Proposals, Click

• Propose New Course (Less than Major Significate form)
• Propose New Program (Major Significate form)

How to Make Edits:

1. Use the Search box to locate the form you wish to edit
2. Review the course or program
3. Click Edit Course or Edit Program to open a form for editing
4. Make edits as Click Save Changes to save and return later or Start Workflow to send the form through the approval process

The following is an abbreviated description of the process. You can download the full policy and procedures as a PDF file here.

Who can initiate a curricular change?

Normally, curricular proposals originate with faculty, programs or departments. However, proposals may also originate from students, administrators or special committees.

What are the types of curricular change?

There are two designations of curricular proposal, Proposals of Major Significance and Proposals of Less than Major Significance.

1. Proposals of Major Significance include changes to majors, minors, or certificate programs and changes that affect the LEP/MTC curriculum.
2. Proposals of Less than Major Significance include (among others) changes to existing courses, new courses and topics courses.

When can proposals for curricular changes be submitted?

The Curriculum committee meets several times during each of the Fall and Spring semesters. The schedule of curriculum committee meeting dates is here. Proposals may be submitted to the committee at any time during the Fall or Spring semesters before the final due date.

How are curricular changes accomplished?

The sponsor of the proposal (usually faculty), in consultation with his/her departmental representative and the Curriculum committee chair, prepares the appropriate proposal forms. You can download those forms here. For proposals for new majors or minors, consult with a librarian for help in completing the library resource checklist. Allow AT LEAST two weeks for completion of all paperwork.

The sponsor presents the suggested changes to his/her academic department for approval. Once approved by the department, the completed proposal paperwork is delivered to the Curriculum committee chairman. The sponsor should submit one hard-copy of the full proposal including all supporting documentation and necessary signatures in addition to one PDF file containing the proposal form and all documentation. Again, that is ONE hard-copy and ONE PDF file for each proposal. Proposals that do not originate from an existing department may be brought to the SmSUFA president. Proposals of Major Significance that affect the LEP should also be submitted to the chair of the LEC at the same time they are submitted to the Curriculum Committee.

As indicated on the Curriculum Committee schedule, proposals of Major Significance must be submitted two weeks and proposals of Less than Major Significance must be submitted one week prior to the Curriculum Committee meeting.

The Curriculum committee members will check proposals for several key points, including a justification for the proposed changes, appropriate assessment methods for new courses, logical revisions to programs of study, etc. The proposal's originator should attend the Curriculum committee meeting to answer questions that arise about these key points.

If approved by the committee:

• Proposals of Major Significance are presented to the faculty assembly and put to a vote.
• Proposals of Less than Major Significance are not voted on by the entire faculty.

Once through the committee (and faculty assembly for Major proposals), the proposal is sent to the Academic Deans’ office for final approval or for forwarding on to an external agency.

After final approval, proposals normally take effect the following academic year. Proposals for MTC/LEP designation normally take effect the following semester.