Academic Affairs

Curriculum

Subject to approval of the EVCAA and the final authority of the Board of Regents, departments and colleges have the authority to establish their curricula and the requirements for majors and minors, and to add to or remove courses from both in accordance with rules established by the college or campus.

A program curriculum should reflect the courses and course sequencing required in order for students to complete the program having developed the stated learning outcomes.  Analysis, discussion and program revision based on assessment results assures that a program remains current and viable. 

There should be a balance among the amount of change in program requirements from year to year, the role of advising in course selection, the way in which the program is defined in university systems, and the demands on staff time to reconcile systems for individual students. As curricular changes are planned, faculty should consider how the change will be implemented and its impact on students currently in the system.
Impacts of curricular change.

Follow the link to view the Online Catalog.

Curriculum Review Process

The curriculum review process for proposed new or modified courses and programs begins with the faculty.  All curriculum must be approved at the department and college level before submission to EVCAA. 

Courses Proposals

Program Proposals

Special Credit Registration Proposals

Liberal Education Guidelines

Cultural Diversity/International Perspective Guidelines

Course Mappings

This course mappings (Excel) file references programs that require specific courses.  When course change proposals are considered, departments whose programs require the course should be consulted about impact on individual programs. 

Electronic Systems

Electronic Course Scheduling Manual

When proposals reach EVCAA, they are entered into systems designed to track the approval process, to provide current information about the curriculum, and to track changes in the curriculum over time.  The Electronic Course Approval System (ECAS login) maintains course information; the Program and Curriculum Approval System (PCAS login) maintains program information.  Both are accessible using X.500 login/password.  These systems, in turn, feed information into registration, degree audit, catalog, graduation planner, class schedules, etc.  A Systems Diagram represents these connections.

When proposals are received to Academic Affairs they are entered into ECAS to show they have been received.  Once changes are fully processed in ECAS, the change is immediate in PeopleSoft and the current on-line catalog.  Normal processing time on course changes is 4-5 workdays; new courses are typically available in the system within two weeks of receipt in Academic Affairs.  Anyone with a X.500 login/password can view ECAS to check if a proposal (change or new course) has been received and/or fully approved.  It is the individual department's responsibility to track new courses and changes to existing courses and follow-up with their college or Academic Affairs with any questions on concerns.  Exceptions to deadline dates will only be made in exceptional circumstances. 

Changes in PCAS are reviewed by the Registrar, the Office of the Provost at the system level, and by Twin Cities staff for catalog copy and may take several weeks to be processed after approval from Academic Affairs.  New programs may be in the system for up to four months before final Board of Regents approval. Changes to programs become effective in the next fall semester.  All proposals, both undergraduate and graduate programs for a new catalog year must be submitted to VCAA by the first day of spring semester.  This includes changes to current programs as well as new program proposals. 

Scheduled Cleanup

The following processes will be conducted during summers on the schedule indicated:

1. Course inactivation - every summer using a course list generated by PeopleSoft query (UMSR_ACTIVECOURSES_NOCLASSES) in line with the Inactive Courses policy. 
2. Course rotation data will be sent to departments every summer for review and update.
3. Data on course prerequisites, equivalencies, and registration requirements codes will be sent to departments for review as needed.