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Guidance for Course Proposals

Approval Process

All course proposals (new, change, drop) are processed via Curriculum, UK's curriculum management system. The approval process is as follows:

  1. A course proposal is reviewed by the faculty of the proposer’s department.
  2. Upon approval, the department will submit the course proposal to the college faculty for review. This is often done through a group of faculty organized through the dean’s office such as a faculty council or Educational Policy and Curriculum committee.

  3. After approval at the college level, a course proposal then goes to the Office of the Provost.

    NOTE ABOUT MINOR COURSE CHANGES: Minor course changes do not go to an academic council. Minor course changes will move from the college level to the Office of the Provost.

    1. Courses taken primarily by undergraduate students (100- through 400-level courses) are reviewed by the Undergraduate Council (UC).
    2. Courses taken primarily by graduate students (600- and 700-level courses) are reviewed by the Graduate Council (GC).
    3. Courses taken by students in the professional health care colleges (800- and 900-level courses) are reviewed by the Health Care Colleges Council (HCCC).
      1. Health care colleges have the option of sending undergraduate and graduate course proposals to the HCCC, but are not required to do so unless the course includes direct patient contact and/or care.
      2. Courses taken by both undergraduate and graduate students (400G- and 500-level courses) are reviewed by both the UC and GC.
  4. The academic council will then send a course proposal to the Office of the Provost.
  5. Office personnel will put reviewed courses on a campus awareness post for review. Any concerns about a particular course proposal can be brought to the Office of the Provost, which will facilitate next steps.
  6. After the campus awareness post comes to an end, Office of the Provost personnel will send notice of approved courses to the Registrar and to other campus individuals, including the contact person(s). This email is formal notice that the approval process was completed.
  7. The Registrar’s office will enter the course information into UK's systems and the course can be offered as early as the following fall semester.

Curriculum

Syllabus Requirements

See the Instructor Resources webpage for information on required syllabus components and guidance. 

Graduation Composition and Communication Requirement

If this course is intended to fulfill the GCCR for your program, you must complete this form.

GCCR Course Form

UK Core Courses

Review Forms

Arts and Creativity Area

Humanities Area

Social Sciences Area

Natural, Physical and Mathematical Sciences Area

Composition and Communication I Area

Composition and Communication II Area

Quantitative Foundations Area

Statistical Inferential Reasoning Area

Community, Culture and Citizenship in the U.S.A. Area

Global Dynamics Area

Experimental UK Core Courses (UKC)

The UKC prefix allows faculty to propose a course for UK Core and to teach it up to two times prior to submitting it for formal approval. We encourage faculty to be “experimental” in their approaches, while also ensuring that the course meets the learning outcomes for UK Core course area as defined by the relevant course template.

Note the following:

  • Experimental UKC courses may only be taught twice, after which they must be submitted as new courses through regular curriculum channels prior to being taught again.
  • Instructors of UKC courses, like instructors of all UK Core courses, are expected to participate in Core assessment activities.
  • UKC courses should not generally be utilized as a vehicle for teaching large numbers of students in an expeditious manner, but rather to provide faculty with the opportunity to develop and test new courses prior to the formal approval process.
  • Students may not repeat the same title for credit, unless they are exercising the repeat option.
Requests for approval for Experimental UK Core Courses are submitted via Qualtrics, not Curriculum. 

In order to submit a request for an experimental UK Core course (UKC), proposers must first receive approval from department faculty and college-level faculty. Instructions on how to document these approvals is below.

In addition to identifying the course hundred series and Core area that the experimental course will fulfill, proposers must also suggest the specific course number (and ensure that it falls within the selected course hundred series/Core area).

To submit requests:

Click on this link and respond to all survey questions. Proposers are also required to upload three files, described below.

  • Upload #1: Course Syllabus
    • Proposers must provide a complete syllabus that meets all the requirements established by the former Senate. Proposers will upload the course syllabus via a question toward the end of the Qualtrics survey referred to above.
  • Upload #2: UK Core Area Course Checklist
    • Proposers must evaluate their course syllabus against the appropriate UK Core area course checklist. Proposers will upload the completed checklist via a question towards the end of the Qualtrics survey referred to above.
  • Upload #3: Department and College-Level Approvals
    • Proposers must compile any/all documentation of department and college-level approvals and combine them into a single PDF. Proposers will upload the documentation of approval via a question towards the end of the Qualtrics survey referred to above.
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