UMD Curriculum Process

Proposal Definitions
Liberal Education Guidelines
CD/IP Guidelines
Freshman Seminar Guidelines
course_mappings

PROCESS FOR REQUESTS INVOLVING:
* SPECIAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURE AND FORM
* COURSE PROPOSALS
* COURSE CHANGES
* ADDING TOPIC TITLES FOR SPECIAL TOPICS COURSE OFFERINGS
* INACTIVATIONS
* NEW PROGRAM PROPOSALS
* PROGRAM CHANGES

Once proposals are approved by the College Dean's Office, proposals are submitted to the VCAA's office where they are forwarded to the next step (e.g..., liberal education, Council of Deans, UMD Graduate Council for 4xxx-8xxx, Twin Cities Graduate Council for 8xxx-level and to the Regents when necessary). The Department, College, APAS, and Degree Clearance are notified when final approval has been received.

Progress of a course proposal can be followed in ECAS (Electronic Course Approval System): <http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/faculty/ECAS.html> while a program can be monitored in PCAS (Program and Curriculum Approval System): <https://onestop2.umn.edu/pcas/>. Both require X.500 access.

A complete list and descriptions of all courses can be viewed in the course database at: <http://onestop2.umn.edu/courses/dl/designators.jsp>, and all majors and minors, including four-year plans, can be viewed at: <http://www.d.umn.edu/catalogs/current/umd/>.

Course Proposals: ECAS (Electronic Course Approval System)
Templates for proposals are listed below. Choose the template that reflects the type of proposal to be developed. Carefully follow the instructions in the form and in the linked pages, and forward as indicated in these steps:

1. Choose a template, complete all parts, and save the file using a descriptive file name, e.g., eled_1010_change, soc_1200_add_etc.

• Add a course
• Graduate school addendum for 8xxx-level courses
• Change a course (significant change to course content, outcomes, credit)
• Minor course change (title, description, grading option, delivery mode, frequency, prerequisite text)
• Inactivation of a course
• Add a special topics title (using existing umbrella course number)
• Special registration procedure and form

2. Use all URL links in the proposal form to make sure you conform to University policies.
3. Send the file to Linda Rolfe (lrolfe@d.umn.edu), Office of VCAA, for editing and clearance. Linda will return the proposal to you with suggested changes highlighted. Make the appropriate changes and go on to the next step.
4. Submit the proposal to the department for appropriate action. After final editing and approval by the department, send to the Department Head.
5. The Department Head enters name in the signature box. If the proposal is for a Graduate School course or program, forward to the Director of Graduate Studies for signature.
6. The Department Head or Director of Graduate Studies forwards the proposal to the College Office.
7. The collegiate office forwards the completed, signed, original proposals in final form to the
VCAA office - 420 DAdB. The VCAA office will be responsible to ensure that Graduate School/Liberal Education/Honors/Regential approval is obtained when necessary. Following VCAA approval, these curricular changes will be entered into the Electronic Course Authorization System (ECAS) as the authorized course and into the PeopleSoft system.
8. The Department can schedule sections of the course.

Academic Program Approval Policy:

Academic programs should be aligned with the missions, strategic plans, and compacts of their home unit/department and with the University's institutional goals and strategic directions.

Proposals for academic programs should reflect common criteria: quality; centrality; comparative advantage; need (including accreditation or competitive requirements as well as Minnesota workforce needs); efficiency and effectiveness; potential for growth and leveraging of resources.

Decisions to offer, change, or drop academic programs, when they have the potential to affect other units within the University, require consultation early in the program development stage.

Formal approval by the Board of Regents or its designee is required before new and changed programs may be publicized or initiated.

Programs: PCAS (Program and Curriculum Approval System)
Creating a new program proposal will consist of the following eight steps:

**New Program Proposal Link**
Step 1: General Information
Step 2: Documentation/Narrative Material
Step 3: Admission Requirements (requirements for admission to a major or program)
Step 4: Program Requirements
Step 5: Sub-plan/Concentration/Emphasis Requirements
Step 6: Sample Plan (only required for undergraduate baccalaureate programs)
Step 7: Checkpoint Chart (system generated from steps 3, 4, and 5)
Step 8: Submit

To Update Fully-Approved Program Proposal:
To update a fully-approved program, a new update proposal must be created. The first step in creating this proposal is to specify the type of update. This update type is considered setup data that cannot be changed. Please select the appropriate update type below—only one type of update may be available, depending on the effective term of the original program.

(It is a more efficient process to begin by printing the latest version of the program from the PCAS or catalog site and show the changes on the printed copy. Attach a cover letter (memo) with a complete explanation of the change. These changes follow the same procedure for approval with all the required signatures.)
Create a proposal affecting current (and future) students:
• The term that the changes become available will be the same as the term of the original program.
• The fields that can be updated are limited to mostly the display-only data that does not affect the rules for completing the program.

Update proposals which affect only future students have two rules:
• The term that the changes become available is limited to future terms.
• Most of the fields can be updated, including data that affects the rules for completing the program.