Curriculum changes

The Faculty Council in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, along with its curriculum subcommittee, oversees and facilitates all curriculum changes for the college. Curriculum changes may include individual course changes, course fee requests, new course proposals, program change proposals, new program proposals and program moratorium and discontinuance requests. Guidelines for proposals and descriptions of review procedures are provided here.

For questions about curriculum development and change, please contact:

• Jennifer Wareham, jwareham@wayne.edu
• Lori Pile, loripile@wayne.edu

Curriculum review process: Summary of steps

• Course change/new course proposals

  Course change proposals and new course proposals are reviewed first by the CLAS curriculum committee (i.e., the CLAS Faculty Council's curriculum subcommittee). Upon approval by the CLAS curriculum committee, proposals are forwarded to the Provost's Office and Course Records. The approval process can take approximately four to six weeks, from submission to final approval.

• Program change/new program proposals: Undergraduate level ^1,2,3

  Undergraduate program change or new program proposals must undergo review and be approved by the following levels before implementation:

  1. Departmental/program-level approval CLAS.
  2. Curriculum Committee (currently two to three-week review times from mid-September to mid-May).
  3. CLAS Faculty Council (typically meets on the first Thursday of every month from September to May).
  4. CLAS Faculty Assembly (for all major program changes and new program proposals) (there are four Faculty Assembly meetings per year, effective fall 2017).
  5. Provost's Office/Course Records (standard review time is approximately one month until approval).
  6. New program proposals must then also receive BOG approval (exception: new minors, new concentrations).

  ¹Changes are now only effective in fall semesters. Departments can no longer make substantive curriculum changes mid-year.

  ²This schedule assumes no revisions. Proposals sometimes need to go back to departments for revision before going on to the next approval level. Sometimes this revision time can be worked into the waiting times between approval levels, but sometimes revisions cause a more significant delay.

  ³Active review and approval windows now start in September and end in February each year, if departments/programs want their changes to be effective the following fall semester. Proposals submitted in the fall semester have a high likelihood of being approved for the following fall. Proposals submitted in winter semesters may not be approved in time for the next academic year.

• Program change/new program proposals: Graduate level^1,2,3

  Graduate program change or new program proposals must undergo review and be approved by the following levels before implementation:

  1. Departmental/program-level approval.
  2. CLAS Curriculum Committee (currently two to three-week review times from mid-September to mid-May).
  3. CLAS Faculty Council (typically meets on the first Thursday of every month from September to May).
  4. CLAS Faculty Assembly (for all major program changes and new program proposals) (there are four Faculty Assembly meetings per year, effective fall 2017).
  5. New Programs Committee of Graduate Council (standard review time is approximately one month until approval).
  6. Graduate Council (meets on the third Wednesday of every month from September to May during the regular academic year).
  7. Provost's Office/Course Records (expected review time should be approximately one month until approval).
  8. New program proposals must then receive BOG approval (exception: new concentrations).

  ¹Changes are now only effective in fall semesters. Departments can no longer make substantive curriculum changes mid-year.

  ²This schedule assumes no revisions. Proposals sometimes need to go back to departments for revision before going on to the next approval level. Sometimes this revision time can be worked into the waiting times between approval levels, but sometimes revisions cause a more significant delay.

  ³Active review and approval windows now start in September and end in February each year, if departments/programs want their changes to be effective the following fall semester. Proposals submitted in the fall semester have a high likelihood of being approved for the following fall. Proposals submitted in winter semesters may not be approved in time for the next academic year.

Curriculum change resources

Curriculum change resources can be found at the Office of the Provost.

Syllabi

Course change forms that signify changes in content or course format should also be accompanied by course syllabi. New course forms should also be accompanied by course syllabi. The Provost's Office offers syllabus guidelines.

Learning outcomes on syllabi

Before submitting course changes or new course proposals with syllabi, departments and programs should pay special attention to learning outcomes on their syllabi. Each learning outcome should include one action verb and these action verbs should exemplify the exact types of learning that students may be doing in the course.

Bloom's Taxonomy is an excellent guide to the types of action verbs that can be used in learning outcomes. Instructors and department chairs can also contact the assessment office or the Office of Teaching and Learning for extra help in creating syllabi.

Grading scales on syllabi

Please remember that undergraduate grading scales are different than graduate grading scales at Wayne State. If you are creating a syllabus for a course that includes both undergraduate and graduate course numbers, then the syllabus must have both grading scales.

View Wayne State grading scales

Program proposals

The Graduate School offers guidelines for graduate-level program proposals.

The Provost's Office offers guidelines for undergraduate-level program proposals.

The CLAS Dean's Office provides advice and feedback on early drafts of program proposals and can even help with program planning before drafts are written. Please contact Jennifer Wareham or Lori Pile for assistance.