Procedures for Graduate Course Changes

For all changes, support should be solicited from program area faculty and noted on any documents submitted.

Title Only

If change in title is simply to change the title to more closely reflect what is actually being taught, the originator submits a letter addressed to the GSC chair and given to the Graduate Coordinator containing the following information:

old title and course number
proposed new title and number
reasons for the change

Usually originator will be the instructor who has been teaching the course.

GSC will be notified of the proposed change, and will vote to approve/disapprove at its next scheduled meeting.

If the course has been offered in the past as an unnumbered topic (that is, listed only in the each semester's Course Schedule inventory and not in the Graduate Catalog overall inventory of courses), and if the GSC approves the course title change, then no other paperwork needs to be done, other than to advise course schedule preparer that the course has been approved by the GSC.

If the old course title is a numbered topic listed in the Graduate Catalog, then a Request Change in Course Inventory Form needs to be prepared and sent to Official Publications to change the inventory and Graduate Catalog.

Content Only

If title is adequate, but content has changed substantially, then a departmental New Course Title Request Form should be completed and the request referred to GSC Programs and Courses Committee for their recommendation. The Committee makes a report to the GSC, which then acts on the request.

If the course is one that has been offered regularly in the past under one of our generic course numbers, but the specific topic is not in the Graduate Catalog, and if it is approved by the GSC, then a Request Change in Course Inventory Form should be prepared to get the topic into the Graduate Catalog and give it a topic number.

New topic under an existing generic number (EDC 385G, or 390T for example) OR to establish a new course with a new number.

Proposer discusses proposed course with area faculty, gains support, then prepares the departmental New Course Title Request Form and submits to GSC chair with a copy to Graduate Coordinator. Request is referred to GSC Programs and Courses Committee for their recommendation and is then acted on by GSC.

If the new topic is to be offered only occasionally or is a course still under development, Official Publications recommends that it be offered as an unnumbered topic, which means that the only formal paperwork that needs to go to Official Publications is for production of the Course Schedule. Unnumbered topics do not get listed in the Graduate Catalog, but once approved by the GSC can be put in the Course Schedule. Once the content is fixed, and if we expect the course to be offered on a frequent and continuing basis, it should be given a topic number and be listed in the Graduate Catalog. To do this, we submit a Request Change in Course Inventory Form to Official Publications to add the new topic number and title.

In general, these instructions apply to generic courses in C&I that have topics under them, i.e., EDC 382S, 382E, 385G, or 390T. Changes in title or content to nongeneric courses (such as EDC 383N, 383T) fall under Item #3 and would require approval by the GSC and a Request Change in Course Inventory Form.

Cross-listing a course from another department.

Syllabus/course description of proposed cross-listed course is circulated among appropriate program area faculty, who determine if the course falls within its “program scope” and objectives. If cross-listing is recommended, a GSC member must bring the recommendation to the GSC at its next scheduled meeting. The course must not overlap or conflict with any existing C&I course.