Curriculum Committee

The process for proposing new courses or changes to existing courses is as follows: * 

1. Discuss any new course proposal within the department as appropriate. Be sure that the department chair supports any changes or new course proposals.
2. Create a proposal for a new course or to change an existing course in the UW Curriculum Management System (Kuali Curriculum Management) and submit when it is ready. It will be automatically forwarded to each level of review for approval.
   
   If not approved, it will be sent back to the proposer with questions or suggested edits. Once addressed, the proposal can be re-submitted.The status of the course approval workflow can be checked by the proposer on a dashboard within Kuali. Anyone encountering trouble with a course proposal in Kuali can seek help with the UW Curriculum Office (uwcr@uw.edu) or see your department’s representative to the CBE Curriculum Committee.  
3. The department chair’s approval of the course proposal will automatically send it on to the CBE Curriculum Committee for review. The Curriculum Committee will review it for completeness, accuracy, and for general conformance to academic standards across college departments. They will also consider CBE space needs or college resources that may be impacted by the course proposal.
   
   The proposal will either be approved by Curriculum Committee vote or will be sent back to the proposer with questions and/or suggested edits. In rare cases, it may be brought to the CBE Elected Faculty Council for discussion of possible impacts outside the proposing unit.
4. If approved by the CBE Curriculum Committee, the new course or change to the existing course will be sent to the Dean for approval.
5. After the Dean approves a new course or change to an existing course, it is sent to the University Curriculum Office, which reviews the proposal before being sent to the UW Curriculum Committee for final approval. 

Course Development and Approval Process

Course Approval
Either consensus or unanimous vote of the departmental representatives of the CBE Curriculum Committee is required to approve a new course or substantive change to an existing course. The CBE Curriculum Committee can reject a new course or changes to an existing course, and/or refer a course proposal to the CBE Elected Faculty Council. All proposals that fail to obtain approval by the CBE Curriculum Committee are referred to the CBE Elected Faculty Council. Additional referrals may be approved by a vote of the department representatives of the CBE Elected Faculty Council. All rejections will be accompanied by a rationale provided by the Chair of the CBE Curriculum Committee. 

Affected Unit
For courses that are likely to be affected by the new course or change to the existing course, obtain review and approval from that unit. Affected units retain the right to recommend that a proposed course be approved, approved with modifications, rejected, and/or rescinded. In the case of recommendations to reject or rescind approval, a written justification is required. 

Special Topic Courses
Departments and departmental programs are strongly encouraged to use Special Topic course designations (298/498/598) in the first one to three years of offering a new course. The results can be used to measure and verify demand, the effects of the course on other programs and departments, costs, and curricular benefits. Beyond three years, departments are requested to either submit a new course proposal for existing Special Topics or cease the offering. CBE Curriculum Committee review is not required for departmental and departmental program Special Topics courses.  

BE Special Topics (298/498/598) courses should be submitted to the Curriculum Committee for review by emailing the Curriculum Committee chair at least 2 weeks before the course is to be submitted in Time Schedule. This form can be used to submit proposals for BE Special Topics or an email with the title and description of the proposed course works as well.

In general, proposed new courses and changes to courses will be reviewed for general ‘standards’ as established by Article VIII, Section 3 (College of Built Environment Bylaws as revised 8 June 2017) which states: 

In exercising the authority granted in Article VIII, Section 2, individual Departments may not set standards lower than those established by the College, nor may a unit take action when it is contrary to academic or research policies adopted by the College through its governing body. The College faculty reserves the right to reject or modify any departmental action taken under Article VIII, Section 2. 

The CBE Curriculum Committee retains the right to require modifications and reject proposed courses. The following questions should be considered in the process of developing proposals for new courses and course changes: 

Is the course duplicative? 

• Were all affected units consulted and approvals and acknowledgments of chairs/directors of affected units secured? 
• Does the course justification discuss how the course is distinct from and related to others? 

Does the course require new resources or additional space/facilities? 

Does this course (and associated program) have a demonstrated demand of sufficient enrollment, distinct from existing courses (and associated programs)? 

Is the course appropriate to the Academic Program, Department, College, and University curriculum? 

Are the learning outcomes clear?  Does the design of the course fit the learning outcomes? 

Do the title and catalog course description accurately reflect course content? Do those descriptions accurately distinguish this course content from existing courses, in this department and across other departments, colleges, and schools? 

Is the number of course credits appropriate for the amount of work required? Is the level of the course appropriate for the content? Should this course have both an undergraduate and graduate number? If graduate and undergraduate, there must be two separate course proposals filed. 

Is the syllabus clear and complete?  Does it include the following: 

• learning objectives 
• detailed schedule (with readings) of lectures, labs, and discussion sections 
• explanation of how the labs and discussion sections are related to the lectures 
• key student projects, assignments, and other required activities (quizzes, exams, papers) 
• how students will be evaluated (note that in classes with both 400 and 500 level listings, there should be a clear distinction between the undergraduate and graduate evaluation criteria) 
• required syllabus statement on religious accommodation and recommended syllabus statements on accommodation, conduct, safety and diversity. 

Are the modalities for the course clearly articulated and appropriate to meet student needs? (e.g., in-person, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous online; for lecture, all discussion sections, individual discussion sections, labs, office hours) 

BE Course proposals should be initiated by an instructor or the Director of the BE Curriculum by submitting the standard course proposal in the UW Curriculum Management System ((Kuali Curriculum Management). 

In addition to the above criteria for all courses, BE courses should meet the following criteria: 

• Feature significant breadth and multidisciplinary content such that it serves a larger student audience than the students within a single department. 
• Include content spanning more than two units within the college. 

The UW Curriculum Committee does not assess courses for DIV (to meet the UW 3-credit Diversity General Education requirement), but instead defers to college/school curriculum committees to ensure that the spirit of the requirement is followed. 

To ensure consistency across the College’s DIV offerings, the College requires that courses fulfill the University DIV requirements: 

NOTE: These are the current UW requirements, and cannot be amended by our College. 

1. Be at least three credits; 
2. Have diversity, as defined in the legislation, as central and explicit in the course; 
3. Have the relevant aspect(s) of diversity explicit in the course title and course description that appear in the University course catalog; 
4. Have the relevant aspect(s) of diversity explicit in the learning goals and activities detailed in course syllabus; 
5. Retain the central emphasis on diversity regardless of the instructor; 
6. Encourage critical thinking about race, ethnicity, sex and gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, religion, creed, age, and/or socioeconomic status, especially in relation to power, inequality, marginality, and social movements, and communication across cultural differences. 

Refer to additional requirements for one-time course offerings, study abroad courses, and independent study in the Diversity Requirement Course Approval Guidelines published by the Office of the Provost (2014).

The CBE Curriculum Committee has the option to fast-track non-substantive program and course changes. The CBE Curriculum Committee Chair has the option to review non-substantive changes and move the proposed course or program change forward without review by the entire CBE Curriculum Committee. Submission deadlines must still be followed. 

Non-substantive course changes do not significantly alter the course content. Examples include: 

• Change in title, but not content 
• Change in abbreviated title 
• Change in number at same or lower level 
• Decrease or increase in credits 
• Retirement of a course 
• Change CR/NC to graded or vice versa 
• Minor change in prerequisites