This website provides information to assist University of South Alabama faculty and staff in the creation and submission of curriculum proposals and revisions. The information presented here applies only to courses and programs administered by Academic Affairs. It includes information on procedures and deadlines for the following types of proposals at all academic levels:
Typically, all curriculum proposals require at least departmental, college and university-level approval. Some proposals may require additional approval from one or more outside agencies such as the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Council on Colleges (SACS-COC), and in rare cases the Department of Education. Note that some proposals may also be subject to review by an accrediting body in the program's discipline.
The USA Faculty Handbook section 6.9 specifies the committees and administrative offices charged with curriculum review at the university level, as well as providing additional guidance for the development of new academic programs. Review committees include the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, which reviews all new undergraduate course and program proposals as well as curricular changes to existing programs, the Graduate Curriculum Committee of the Graduate Council, which reviews all graduate courses and program proposals, the Honors College, which reviews proposals with an Honors ("HON") designation, and the Writing Committee, which recommends and monitors Writing ("W") credit courses. Each academic department and college should have its own curriculum review committees as well.
Reviewers take into account a number of considerations in assessing a proposed change. These may include the rationale for the change, the impact on current students if it is implemented, and for new courses and programs, expected student demand, learning outcomes and academic content, whether the course or program duplicates existing offerings, and expected cost.
Beginning fall, 2023, new curriculum proposals will be submitted through CourseLeaf CIM, a curriculum review software platform that includes reviewer workflow tools. Proposals for new courses or programs, revisions to existing courses, and revision to program requirements in the Bulletin should be entered into CIM. Additional CIM functions include adding a course fee, deactivating a course, requesting a course be added to the general education curriculum, or requesting a new course prefix. Once entered and submitted to Workflow, the curriculum review process is also managed within CIM.
General Education Course Proposals
Questions regarding CIM may be directed to: courseleaf@southalabama.edu. If your question is related to courses or program, please put "CIM" in the subject line.
End Users: In addition to the instructions above, a CourseLeaf End-User Training Video is available in Canvas (USA Online log-in required).
Approvers: A CourseLeaf CIM approver training video is available in Canvas for faculty and administrators who are workflow approvers for courses and programs in CIM (USA Online log-in required).
Curriculum changes impact a number of university stakeholders. Students may have their ability to register for a course or to count it toward a degree requirement impacted by curricular changes. Advisors need to know of changes months in advance to correctly advise students for subsequent terms. And staff and administrators must adjust course schedules, degree requirements, the University bulletin, and other resources in a timely manner to ensure the smooth implementation of curricular changes.
The deadlines below are designed to ensure timely review of proposed changes and are updated annually.
| Changes for the 2024-5 Bulletin | Deadline | Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|
| Changes to program requirements (e.g., revised course requirements, changes to elective blocks, revised program admissions requirements, etc.) | 2nd Friday in January (Jan. 12th, 2024) |
January 19th, 2024 |
| Changes not affecting program requirements (e.g., editing descriptions, formatting, faculty listings, etc.) | 2nd Friday in May (May 10th, 2024) |
N/A |
| Type of Change | Desired Implementation Date | Deadline for Proposal Submission | Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| New courses affecting program requirements (courses required by new programs or revised program requirements). | 2024-5 Bulletin (Fall, 2024) |
2nd Friday in January (Jan. 12th, 2024) |
January 19th, 2024 |
| New courses not affecting program requirements | Fall, 2024 | 2nd Friday in March (March 8th, 2024) | March 15th, 2024 |
| Changes to existing courses that affect fall or summer student registration (e.g. changes to prerequisites or course attributes). | 2024-5 Bulletin (fall, 2024) |
2nd Friday in January (Jan. 12th, 2024) |
N/A |
| Changes to courses not affecting fall or summer registration (e.g., course description) | Fall, 2024 | 2nd Friday in May (May 10th, 2024) |
N/A |
| Changes to courses for the spring term. | Spring, 2024 | September 15th, 2023 | N/A |
| Type of Change | Desired Implementation Date | Deadline for Proposal Submission | USA Meeting Date | ACHE Due Dates | ACHE Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New program proposals or substantial changes to programs that require review by ACHE (e.g., new majors). | Fall, 2025 |
2nd Friday in May |
May 10th, 2024 |
June 2024 (new program) July 2024 (other changes) *See ACHE website for specific dates |
Sept 2024 |
| New program proposals not requiring ACHE review (e.g., new minors) | Fall, 2024 | September 15th, 2023 | September 22nd, 2023 | N/A | N/A |
| Program Inactivation | Fall, 2024 | September 15th, 2023 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
