Course Proposals & Curriculum Committee
Please note that the Help Desk does NOT provide oversight or assistance with this process or system. For assistance with course proposals or with the online Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM) system, please get in touch with us via our support webpage.
Please review all the documentation below prior to submitting course proposals through the CIM system. Incorrect/incomplete course proposals may be sent back for revisions prior to consideration by approvers in the workflow. Delayed workflow could potentially result in the proposal not reaching the Curriculum Committee for consideration.
The link to the CIM Course Management system is at the end of this web page.
About the Curriculum Committee
The University Curriculum Committee has primary responsibility for coordinating curricula across the University’s academic components. Its role is based on the premise that primary responsibility for the curriculum rests with the faculty in each academic unit in each college. As a result, TWU’s curriculum represents a diversity of programs that meet student needs within a unified whole, which requires coordination among academic components.
The University Curriculum Committee Membership is composed of faculty members and a representative of the Library nominated by the Faculty Senate Committee Selection Committee and appointed by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. One undergraduate student is nominated by the Vice President for Student Life, and one graduate student is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. A representative of the Academic Council is designated by the Academic Council. Ex-officio members include the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Strategic Initiatives, the Dean of the Graduate School, the Registrar, and the Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning with Technology.
The work of the University Curriculum Committee is facilitated by the Office of Curriculum and Strategic Initiatives. Committee members carry out Curriculum Committee Liaison Assignments to assist academic components with their proposals to the committee.
The TWU Curriculum Committee Handbook details the description and membership of the Curriculum Committee, guidelines for university curriculum management, review criteria for course proposals, instructions for submitting new or modified course proposals, and the course deactivation and reactivation process.
2024-25 Curriculum Committee Documents
Organizational Meeting - Friday, September 27, 2024
Program Proposals
For details and deadlines regarding degree program proposals please visit the Program Proposals website.
Timeline
Proposals must be approved by all steps in the CIM Course Management workflow and reach the Curriculum Committee Review step 2 weeks prior to the Curriculum Committee meeting date to be considered. Course proposals take an average of 8-10 weeks to be reviewed and approved before reaching the Curriculum Committee step for consideration. Additional workflow time may be required for proposals that are also being proposed for Core or Global Perspectives consideration. Please submit your courses far enough in advance to allow for adequate review time. If approved, courses may be effective during the semester identified below.
Curriculum Committee Meetings
The Curriculum Committee will consider four rounds of course proposals during the academic year. Meetings are virtual, and a videoconference invitation will be sent to all faculty and staff prior to meetings for those who wish to participate virtually.
Description | Date | Location & Time | Course may be available |
---|---|---|---|
Organizational | Friday, September 27, 2024 | Zoom @ 2-4 pm | NA |
Round 1 | Friday, October 25, 2024 | Zoom @ 2-4 pm | Spring 2025 |
Round 2 | Friday, December 6, 2024 | Zoom @ 2-4 pm | Spring 2025 |
Round 3 | Friday, February 14, 2025 | Zoom @ 2-4 pm | Summer 2025 |
Round 4 | Friday, April 4, 2025 | Zoom @ 2-4 pm | Fall 2025 |
Approved courses will not be available for early registration in the above-noted semesters.
How to Prepare in Advance / About Submitting Proposals
It is recommended that you log into the CIM Course Management system and click on the "Propose New Course" button. This will pull up a complete blank course form with the required information that will need to be provided. There are Help Bubbles next to most fields that will provide you with additional information and guidance on the information to be entered. Note that if the course proposal includes a request for Texas CORE or Global Perspectives consideration, the form has additional questions that will open and need to be answered.
The CIM system allows users to save proposals before submission to the workflow for consideration. Saved proposals are accessible by all faculty and staff to allow for collaborative creation and modification before submission. Once submitted, a course proposal cannot be modified by faculty unless rolled back to the start of the workflow by the current approver in the workflow or the system administrator.
WARNINGS
Do Not Copy and Paste from Word documents, PDFs, or webpages. Hidden formatting you cannot see can carry over and can cause issues with the CIM system's functionality and catalog PDF creation. Always type directly into the fields or past content as PLAIN TEXT, and then format the information using the tools in the form.
Coordinate Collaborative Work. Only one person can edit a proposal at a time. If more than one tries to edit simultaneously, the edits of the first individual who saves their work will be recorded. All others working simultaneously will not be able to save their work.
Helpful Proposal Information
Guidelines for Well-written Student Learning Outcomes
Please carefully review the Guidelines for Well-written Student Learning Outcomes, as SLOs frequently require the most revisions prior to Curriculum Committee approval. These guidelines were developed by the faculty of the SLOs Guidance Task Force. For SLO assistance, please contact Dr. Gray Scott, Director of Academic Assessment and Accreditation at academicassessment@twu.edu or 81-2327.
Updating Student Learning Outcomes
All TWU courses should have approved Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) in the CIM Course Management system.
- If a course does not have SLOs populated, the course has not been reviewed or approved by the university in over 10 years and needs to be submitted for re-review and approval.
- If the course has other missing data fields in the system, those will need to be added as well.
- If there are no modifications to the course title or description, select the "Immediate" Approval Type in the online course form. The proposal will not need to go to the Curriculum Committee for re-approval. SLOs added to the course form will be sent through the CIM system's workflow to the component's assigned leadership and then to Academic Assessment for review/approval.
- If the course title and/or description are modified in conjunction with the SLO updates/additions, select the "Full Review" Approval Type in the online course form. The proposal will need to be reviewed/approved by the full CIM Course Management Workflow and Curriculum Committee.
To update course SLOs, scroll to the bottom of this page and select the "Access the CIM Course Management System" button.
Writing SLOs for Course Proposals Workshop
Faculty should review the Guidelines for Well-written Student Learning Outcomes. These guidelines are current and should be used when developing course SLOs to increase the likelihood of receiving SLO approval.
The Office of Academic Assessment offers an occasional workshop, “Writing SLOs for Course Proposals,” to help faculty create well-written student learning outcomes (SLOs) statements when submitting new or modified course proposals to the TWU Curriculum Committee. You can request a workshop for your component by contacting the Director of Assessment (see below) or view a workshop recording on YouTube. You can also download the SLO Workshop PowerPoint and the SLO-Cooking Exercise handout, which were used in the recorded workshop to assist you in developing the SLOs.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Gray Scott, Director of Academic Assessment and Accreditation, at academicassessment@twu.edu or 81-2327.
The Administrator Approval Process
All new and modified course proposals require approval from Academic Component and College administrators prior to being considered by the Curriculum Committee. The system allows these administrators to approve, roll-back, make edits to, and/or comment on course proposals. Administrators can receive one-on-one training on how to utilize the CIM system by contacting Scott Martin in OEVP at smartin4@twu.edu or 940-898-3508.
Page last updated 10:17 AM, October 4, 2024