2005–2006
COURSE AND PROGRAM
DEVELOPMENT HANDBOOK
Division of Academic A ffairs
Offices of Academic Prog ramming
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Office will likely not even know that your proposal is under review. While the
Director will be happy to assist in whatever way possible, you will be responsible
for tracking your proposal and making sure that your department and College
review it expeditiously.
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Proposals that have cleared the originating College and are under review by the
Faculty Input System can be monitored more easily. In the first place, they will
have been given a specific response date that will be no later than 90 days after
they have entered the System. If you are the contact person for the proposal, then
you will be notified of this date at the same time as the reviewing bodies..
Assuming no delays, you can expect that your proposal will be through the
System by that date. In the second place, at any point you can check with the
CPD Director about the status of your proposal.
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Proposals that have been through the Input System still require further action.
First, the process, beginning with formal approval by the Associate VicePresident, must be completed. Approval by the Associate Vice-President may be
speedy, but it may also take some time, especially if there are such things as
budget issues to resolve. Likewise, proposals for new programs or revisions of
teacher preparation programs will require external review. This will also take
time, though you can monitor your proposal’s progress by contacting the CPD
Office. Second, the date by which an approved curriculum change can be
implemented may depend upon how quickly it can be entered into Banner. No
matter how quickly Records and Registration can do this, a change that is
approved today will not be implemented tomorrow. There will always be a time
lag.
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Having a realistic set of expectations about how long it will take for a curriculum
change to progress from idea to implementation is an important part of
understanding the system. Even the best and most desirable changes may take
upwards of a year to complete the process. Knowing and accepting this
beforehand will decrease frustration with what appear to be undue delays. As was
stated earlier, the system does work, but it also takes time.
Conclusion
This Handbook has been put together with an eye toward two things: explaining EMU’s
Course and Program Development process as clearly and concisely as possible, and
providing some guidance to faculty involved in developing and putting forward proposals
for curriculum change. It is by no means exhaustive of the complexities of the current
system; but it does attempt to show that the system is logical and can be navigated with
little trouble or frustration.
The information contained in the Handbook is a start, but only a start. Knowing where to
go to obtain supplemental information is even more important in making the process of
modifying the curriculum work to maximum advantage. The CPD Office is designed to
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I-A. REQUEST FOR NEW COURSE
Instructions:
1. The Request for New Course form should be used whenever you are proposing a new
course. The information that is requested is designed to paint a complete picture of the
course, including such things as its relationship to other courses in other departments, the
type of students who will be allowed to take it and a complete set of prerequisites.
2. As with all of the forms and guidelines, the Request for New Course form asks for a
departmental contact. This should be someone in the department who will be responsible
for answering questions about it and, if necessary, defending it in case of challenge.
Usually this will be the person who has prepared the paperwork, but it need not be.
3. (Items B5-B8) These ask for prerequisites, corequisites, concurrent prerequisites and
equivalent courses. These are all courses that either students must complete before or at
the same time as they are taking the new course or whose content is equivalent to that of
the new course. Please remember that if you list a course as equivalent to the new
course, students will not be able to earn credit for both. List only specific courses on
these lines. Other limitations on enrollment, for example Department Permission, are
given as Restrictions.
4. (Items B9a-B9d) These items restrict enrollment to only certain types of students, for
example to graduate students, those admitted to the College of Business or those who
have departmental permission. For the most part the information requested is clear, but
there is one item that deserves special mention. As a rule, undergraduate and graduate
students cannot take the same courses. However, there are exceptions. Graduate
Certificate and Masters students may earn graduate credit in certain 400-level
courses; and undergraduate seniors may be allowed to take 500-level graduate
courses. These are the only exceptions. Graduate students may not earn graduate credit
for courses below the 400-level, and undergraduate students may not take courses above
the 500-level. Please keep this in mind as you fill out Item B9a.
If you wish to allow Certificate and Masters students to take a 400-level course,
you must have the Graduate School’s permission. You need to complete the Approval
Form for 400-level Course for Graduate Credit and attach it to the new course form. In
addition, in the sample syllabus that you are asked to provide, you should clearly
distinguish the course requirements for undergraduate and graduate students and the ways
in which each will be graded. The Graduate School will look carefully to be sure that
course requirements for graduate students taking the course are appropriately
challenging.
5. (Item B10) If you are proposing your course for inclusion among those that earn
General Education credit, you must also complete and attach the Request for Inclusion of
a Course in the General Education Program: Education for Participation in the Global
Community. Approval of courses for inclusion in this program, which will be
implemented in the Fall of 2007, is not automatic. New courses proposed for General
Education credit will be sent to the General Education Advisory Committee for review.
This Committee will look to see that the course matches the outcomes given for the new
program and make its recommendations to the Associate Vice-President.
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6. (Items C11-C14) These ask for information about the relationship between the
proposed course and others within the Department. Item C11 asks about whether the
course will be required or a restricted elective in any departmental programs. If it
is to be required, then it will either be in addition to existing requirements or it will
replace one or more of them. In either case, but especially if the course is will add to
existing requirements, you may need to do a Program Revision. Your best bet is to
contact the Course and Program Development Office for advice and assistance.
If the course you are proposing will replace an existing course, you may want to
delete the existing course. While there is a specific form for deleting courses, you do not
need to fill it out. Simply complete Items C13 and C14.
7. (Items C15-C16) These items ask for information about the relationship between the
proposed course and courses in other departments. This is important information,
primarily because of the sensitivity that reviewers have to potential duplication of course
content. Providing the information up front and asking that you get support from
departments in which there are similar courses is the best way of guaranteeing that your
proposal will not run into trouble when it is reviewed by the Input System.
It may well be that you do not know whether there is potential content overlap
between the course you are proposing and courses elsewhere. If you don’t, you should
contact the CPD Office. The Director can do a catalog search to ferret out other courses
that have similar titles or discuss similar topics. If this search shows that there is
potential overlap elsewhere, you should discuss your proposal with the departments
involved before you submit it and attempt to get their support. Include documentation of
such support with the proposal. If other departments do not support your proposal, you
should also include information to that effect in the proposal.
8. (Item D17)This item asks that you provide a sample syllabus for the course that
includes all of a-h. The syllabus shows the course content, means of evaluating students,
bibliography, etc. Reviewers scrutinize the syllabus very carefully, and they can be very
critical of courses whose sample syllabi seem underdeveloped or inappropriate. Three
facets of the syllabus seem especially important. First, spell out the course goals,
objectives and student outcomes as fully as possible. Second, make sure that the syllabus
is appropriate to the course you are proposing. For example, if you are going to offer the
course on line, do not require that students bring things to class. See to it that student
assignments fit the course you are proposing. Third, give a complete and up-to-date
bibliography. A bibliography none of whose entries are current will very likely raise
questions. In addition, the Library will review the bibliography to determine which items
it currently has and the estimated cost of those it does not. Often it is helpful to treat the
bibliography as a kind of ‘wish list’ of resources that would provide beneficial
supplementary materials to those who will teach and those who will take the course. A
complete bibliography thus can form the basis for increasing Library holdings in the
content area covered by the course.
9. (Item E) Provide a Cost Analysis only if the proposed course is going to require
resources beyond those that the Department can provide. If its cost can be borne by the
Department, then there is no need for you to discuss finances.
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I-E. REQUEST FOR INCLUSION OF A COURSE IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION
PROGRAM: EDUCATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY
NOTE: This form is currently under revision by the General Education Advisory
Committee. Along with instructions, it will be added to the Handbook when it becomes
available.
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