Process for Review and Approval of New Courses
Multidisciplinary review and approval of all courses by the Course and Curriculum Review Committee (CCRC) are important components of the Institute's culture. The intent of the review process is to assure clear communication about course offerings between the Program and the CCRC and the CCRC and the Registrar. All courses, except for those originating in CIPSI, are reviewed by the CCRC after approval by the sponsoring program. CIPSI courses are sent directly to the CCRC, as the CCRC functions as the curriculum committee for all HP courses and other courses arising out of CIPSI.
The goals of CCRC review are to:
- assure consistent quality and rigor of course offerings
- minimize unnecessary redundancy
- assure that course submissions follow best practices for course design
Membership of CCRC is composed of two representatives from each school within the Institute and one member-at-large (MAL).
I. Originating Course Proposals Suggestions for new courses may come from several sources:
- Institute faculty members may propose courses they wish to develop.
- A program committee or ad hoc interdisciplinary task force may identify a topic for which it feels a course is needed and seek a faculty member or members to develop a proposal for it.
- The Course and Curriculum Review Committee (CCRC) itself may identify a topic for which it feels a conjoint course is needed and seek a faculty member or members, or appoint an interdisciplinary planning group to develop a proposal for it.
II. The Review Process Submission and review of course proposals vary slightly depending upon whether the course is an interprofessional course offered through CIPSI, an interdisciplinary course sponsored by a program, or a program-specific course. Definitions of each type of course follow below. Please also see the
Flowchart for Review of All Courses for the list of course prefixes and the specific steps for the review of each type of course.
- Interprofessional courses (HP): If a course is designed to be of equal value to all students and is not profession-specific, the proposal is sent directly to the CCRC for review and approval. (This category also includes all IMPACT Practice courses.)
- Interdisciplinary courses (CH, DNH, HRS,NH,OH,PH): If a course is required or designed primarily for students from a specific program, but can be elected by other interdisciplinary students, the proposal is sent to the sponsoring program committee for review and approval before being sent to the CCRC with a request for review and approval.
- Program-specific courses (CD/DNP/DNS/HE/NP/NS/OT/PA/PT/RS): If a course is required or designed solely for students from a specific program, the proposal is screened, classified, and approved through the program’s curriculum review process before being sent to the CCRC with a request for review and approval.
In all cases, the program faculty or the primary instructor will be responsible for reviewing other Institute course offerings to ensure that no major duplication of content exists. The question “Is the course content redundant with any other courses currently being taught, whether interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary or program- specific?” should be specifically addressed as part of the course justification in the New Course Approval Form.
III. Format of New Course Proposals Proposals for new courses are submitted online to the CCRC by using the form titled: New Course Approval Form. This interactive form may be found in the Faculty Handbook on the Faculty Compass page and on the Intranet page of the Registrar.
IV. Time Frame for Course Proposals Proposals for new courses must be received by the CCRC with adequate time for review and possible return to the instructor for implementation of recommended changes. The CCRC meets monthly from September through July. Courses must be submitted by July 1 to be reviewed (and possibly revised) in time for inclusion in the official Institute Catalog.
V. Action of the Course and Curriculum Review Committee The CCRC will review all courses submitted as interprofessional, interdisciplinary, or program-specific. Following the review, the CCRC may vote to:
- recommend to the submitting faculty member that the course be approved as described
- request further information, additions, or changes in the courses as described, and schedule a second review at a later date
- decline to approve the course
All decisions made by CCRC are communicated to the faculty member or group submitting the course proposal.
VI. Filing and Scheduling Following review and acceptance of the course by the CCRC, the chair of the CCRC will notify the Registrar’s Office in the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) that the course has been accepted. This notification will be submitted online using the Formstack approval form. The chair of the CCRC will also notify in writing the faculty member or group who submitted the course proposal. Faculty members must work with their respective program chair to determine scheduling of courses.
VII. Late submissions to CCRC In the case where faculty members agree (are hired) to develop and teach a new course after the deadline for submission of course proposals, the CCRC should be notified by the person responsible for assigning the faculty member to the course. The faculty member teaching the new course is expected to submit a course proposal to the CCRC during the semester in which the course is first taught.