6,010: Courses-Procedures for Additions, Deletions, or Modifications

Revised: November 2021

This section explains the procedures for adding, deleting or modifying courses resulting in a revision in the catalog description of a course.

This section covers:

  • change in course prefix
  • change in course numbers
  • change in prerequisites or corequisites
  • change to or from S/U grading
  • change in course title
  • change in credit hours
  • change in distribution of credits between lecture and laboratory hours
  • change in course descriptions
  • deletion of courses
  • establishment of new courses
  • replacing an existing course with a new course

Technical Assistance

Technical assistance and review is available from University Courses and Curricula Committee (UCCC) staff at any point in the course approval process. When such assistance is requested by the proposal submitter, staff will review the proposal, provide guidance on required components, and begin tracking the proposal through the approval process. NSHE Common Course Numbering (CCN) forms, required for undergraduate new course proposals, course deletions, and certain course changes, will be completed by Provost's Office staff. Academic faculty will be consulted to negotiate changes.

Procedures

  1. Except for proposals involving only editorial changes in courses which the Provost's Office may immediately approve for implementation (see 4. below), proposals for changes in both undergraduate and graduate courses will be referred to the UCCC.
  2. All proposals for changes in courses originate in the department or college via Curriculog submission and, after approval by the department faculty, department and college curricula committee, and the dean, are routed to the Provost's Office.

    1. Requests for a change to an existing course that are limited to changes to a prerequisite, corequisite, or recommended preparation should be made using the “Course (short form) Prerequisite/Corequisite” approval process in Curriculog.

      Requests for a change in existing courses, to create a new cross-list for an existing course, or to reactivate an inactive course should be made using the “Course Change Current” approval process in Curriculog.

      Requests for inactivation of a course should be made using the “Course (short form) Inactivate Current” approval process in Curriculog.

      Requests for creation of a new course should be made using the “Course Add New” approval process in Curriculog.

      All requests for new courses, replacement courses, and changes to existing courses must include a detailed course calendar (including the amount of time devoted to each topic) and description of course requirements or be accompanied by a syllabus that includes this information. The import and tracking functions in Curriculog should be used when modifying existing courses and affected curricula, Library resources should be detailed in the “Information Resources Assessment” section of the Curriculog form.  In addition, proposals for new undergraduate courses, certain changes to undergraduate courses or inactivations of undergraduate courses require NSHE Common Course Numbering processing, which is performed by Provost’s Office staff.

      Course proposals will be reviewed not only as entities, but also in the context of their effect on programs (i.e., degree, major, minor, etc.).  Therefore, new or revised catalog copy for affected programs is required in the designated fields in the Curriculog form.

    2. If the proposed change affects offerings in other departments, a letter of support from the affected department(s) should be uploaded to the proposal as an attachment.
  3. Curriculog approval processes includes the Graduate Council and/or the Core Curriculum Committees and Board, as appropriate, prior to review by the UCCC.
  4. Editorial changes in courses - The Provost's Office may approve, for immediate implementation, proposals involving only editorial changes. Editorial changes are limited to changes of such a nature that they do not require action by the UCCC. Editorial changes could include correction of spelling, grammar, typographical errors, and resolution of inconsistencies such as changes in course numbers of prerequisite and corequisite courses when those courses have been renumbered through a UCCC and/or Common Course Numbering approved course number change. Editorial changes do NOT include changes in the course description, changes in the courses used as perquisites or corequisites, or any other change that is subject to review by the UCCC.
    1. A department representative may initiate the request for an editorial change in a course by submitting a memo or email, and revised catalog copy if applicable, through the department chair and dean, to the Provost's Office and the chair of the UCCC.
    2. If the proposed change affects offerings in other departments, the memo must be accompanied by a letter of support from the affected department(s).
    3. If the Chair of the UCCC and the Provost's Office approve the change, a copy of the memo and revised catalog copy will be sent to the Office of Admissions and Records. Upon receipt of the memo in Admissions and Records, the change is made in the degree audit encoding and in the catalog copy as soon as possible.