Graduate Faculty Resources Handbook

• General
• Syllabi
• Curriculum
• Grading
• Assessment
• Personnel

Changing the Curriculum

Note: Adjunct faculty must work with contract faculty on curriculum changes. Adjuncts will not be able to submit curriculum change proposals.

Course proposals

• Submit online
• Log in with your lclark email user ID and password
• Detailed instructions can be downloaded here 

Program change proposals

• Program CHANGE form [MS Word]

• NEW Program form [MS Word]

Important dates

• February 1: Deadline for all proposals to be submitted to the curriculum committee for the coming academic year (May 1 —> April 31)
• May 1: The new academic year officially begins and the catalog for that year is published

Download the Curriculum Cycle graphic [PDF]

Curriculum Change FAQs

What happens with a faculty member or program/department proposes a change to the curriculum?

Step 1: Work with your program/department to identify program needs

Step 2: Write curriculum change proposal using online form. You are strongly encouraged to consult with your department, the Registrar, and the person responsible for maintaining your accreditation status as you prepare the proposal. (You can save the form without submitted it while you have discussions.) You are also invited to talk to a member of the committee at any time to discuss your proposal.

Step 3: Finalize proposal and “save and submit” it online. The proposal will automatically be forwarded to your department chair; the chair’s approval verifies that appropriate departmental review has taken place.

Step 4: After the chair approves the proposal it is forwarded to the curriculum committee for consideration.

Step 5: Committee reviews proposals

Committee accepts proposal

• Proposal author will be notified by Registrar’s office
• Proposal is sent to dean for final approval
• Approved proposal is added to a master list of approved course changes and distributed to department chairs and office staff by dean’s office (also available on Webdisk)
• Registrar’s office makes approved changes to course in Colleague course database (i.e., WebAdvisor)
• Communications director collects approved changes for subsequent year academic catalog

Committee does not accept proposal

• Proposal author will be notified of the return of the proposal by a member of the committee, who will discuss with them the reasons for the committee’s concerns/suggestions/requests.
• Proposal author may be invited to revise proposal in light of committee concerns and resubmit it. Depending on the change, the resubmitted proposal may require re-review by the chair, registrar, catalog editor, and committee.  

What are the most common reasons that the committee does not approve curriculum changes?

1. Incomplete information, especially missing or incomplete descriptions of why the change is being requested, missing context for the change (i.e., how the change affects a program requirement), and missing approval from department chairs or other necessary signatories.
2. Insufficient articulation of course information: purposes, structure, conceptual framework, grading policy, major assignments, readings, and/or resources.
3. Incorrect information
4. Incorrect form
5. You are requesting something the committee cannot decide on (i.e., you are requesting the assignment of a particular course number, which only the registrar’s office can decide on)
6. You turned in your forms too late