Graduate Course Proposal Submission
All graduate course proposals must be initiated in CourseLeaf Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM) - Course Management, and all consultation on each course proposal must be obtained via CIM. No hardcopy submission of graduate course proposals is required at any point in the Graduate Council curricular review process.
After a course proposal has been approved through the program-specific and college-specific curricular reviews and reviewed by the Director of Graduate Council Administration, it will be included on the next meeting agenda of the Graduate Council Joint Curricular Committee. After each Joint Curricular Committee meeting, feedback from the Committee is entered directly into the course proposal in CIM and the proposal is returned to the proposer via CIM for further action. The proposer’s response via CIM is required.
Some course change proposals and all course drop proposals undergo expedited review on behalf of the Joint Curricular Committee. The timing of this review is not dependent upon the monthly meeting dates of the Joint Curricular Committee. However, if there are any issues or concerns about these proposals, they may be forwarded to the co-chairs or the Joint Curricular Committee for full review.
After approval by the Graduate Council Joint Curricular Committee, course proposals are published in the Graduate Council Curriculum Report; a 30-day comment period follows publication. New courses are effective the semester following the expiration of the comment period. The timing of when course changes can be effective is determined by the Registrar’s office based on the timetable for scheduling courses.
Sample Course Proposal
A sample course proposal is below, with guidelines for filling out each section. As a general rule, avoid excessive use of discipline-specific jargon, as the Joint Curricular Committee comprises faculty from disciplines across the University. Course proposals need to be clear and comprehensible to a general audience.
Create Proposal
Academic Level: Graduate
Proposal Summary: Provide a concise summary of the proposal that will be included in the email notification to consultants and reviewers so they can judge if they need to review the full proposal.
Principal Faculty Member: John Doe
This individual must be a member of the Graduate Faculty.
Were any other faculty members responsible for the development of the course?: No
If yes, list the additional faculty members. These individuals must also be members of the Graduate Faculty.
Proposers Home College: Liberal Arts
The home college in which the Principle Faculty Member hold membership on the Graduate Faculty. This field will determine the choices for Proposer's Home Unit (if needed).
College: Liberal Arts
This may be the same as the proposer’s home college but can be different. This field will determine the choices for Unit that will initially offer the course (if needed). Select the college that will initially offer the course.
Unit: English (UPLA_ENGL)
Select the unit that will initially offer the course. Only units from the selected college above will appear in the drop down menu.
Graduate Program Head: Jane Doe
Must be the Graduate Program Head or Director of Graduate Studies/Professor-in-Charge of the graduate program as listed in the Graduate Program Management System (GPMS).
Is this proposal for a common course: No
In most cases, proposals for common course numbers (590, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, 599, 600, 601, 602, 603, 610, 611, 890, 894, 895, 896, 897, 898, 899) only need to provide the Course Designation, Course Information, and Long Course Description. The course title and the abbreviated title should both be the title of the common course, the minimum and maximum credits should match the credits listed here, and the course should be repeatable. The Short Description and the Long Course Description should be copied from the Common Course Numbers descriptions. Enter "N/A" in the other sections. However, any course proposal for a capstone course that will be used as the culminating experience for the degree (including 894 Capstone Experience) must have responses for all fields so the Joint Curricular Committee can review and evaluate it appropriately.
Course Abbreviation: ENGL
Faculty are encouraged to use disciplinary course abbreviations already in existence. Course abbreviations should not be campus/college specific. A new course abbreviation should not be created for one or two courses within a minor.
Course Number: 571
Note the difference between 500- and 800-level courses. Graduate courses at the 500-level foreground research in the frontiers of knowledge in a field of study, while those at the 800-level foreground the application of theory and research to professional practice in a field of study.
Justification of Course Number: Explain how the course fulfills the requirements of a 500- or 800-level course, based on specific reference to the definitions of 500-level and 800-level courses outlined in GCAC-204 Graduate Council Graduate Course Definitions.
Title: Writer in the Community
There is no character limit for Course Title. Avoid using the term “Introduction,” which is not appropriate for graduate-level work, and the term “Advanced,” as graduate-level courses, by definition, are advanced. “Foundations in [Topic]” would be appropriate for the first course in a sequence. To indicate a foundational course and a course that follows on the same topic, titles such as “[Topic] I” and “[Topic] II” would be appropriate.
Abbreviated Title: Writer in Community
The Abbreviated Title field is restricted to 30 characters or fewer. The abbreviated title will appear on students’ transcript and should be as informative as possible within that constraint.
This course will be delivered: In Residence
Indicate whether the course will be delivered in residence, off-site, or online. More than one option can be selected. Off-site means either at a Penn State location that is not a graduate center approved to offer a graduate degree, or at a non-Penn State location.
Most courses are not repeatable. This is typically used for courses such as independent study, research courses, music ensembles, etc. If the course is repeatable, enter the total maximum credits a student can apply to degree requirements by repeating this course.
The following prose may be helpful:
- This course provides a broad exploration of XXX (course content).
- In particular, it investigates XX (major topics).
- It considers XX and builds an awareness of XX, especially in relation to XX (sub-topics).
- Building on these insights, students will conduct XX and apply XX to XX (learning outcomes).
- Students will recognize, identify, and apply XX to XX (learning outcomes).
The following prose may be helpful:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- recognize and identify XX in relation to XX.
- demonstrate a basic understanding of XX.
- discriminate between XX and XX.
- analyze XX and apply that analysis to XX.
- Include percentages per evaluation method to total 100%. For percentages within a category (2 quizzes totaling 20%, for example), note whether these will be weighted equally to total that percentage.
- Make sure percentages are appropriately weighted (e.g., quizzes should count for less than major research papers).
- Do not include class attendance as an evaluation method in graduate courses; however, class participation is a legitimate method of evaluation.
- Do not include office hours as an evaluation method.
- Make sure evaluation methods are not unique to the faculty member proposing the course, but can be used by any faculty member teaching the course in the future.
- A typical 3-credit course requires 45 hours of instruction. See Senate Policy 42-23 Credit Requirements by Types of Instruction.
- Bullet the major topics covered with sub-topics underneath each.
- Do not include course readings or specifics, only major topics and relevant subtopics.
- Include time allotted for exams, if applicable. Note that end-of-semester exams worth more than ten percent of the course grade must be held during the final examination period, not during the 15 weeks of instruction.
The following prose may be helpful:
- This course will serve as a prerequisite for XX degree program, or XX concentration in department XX.
- This course builds on content covered in XX and XX courses and enables student to do XX.
The following prose may be helpful:
- This course addresses the needs of increasing numbers of students interested in XX.
- This course will be a requirement for the XX degree program in YY.
- It will serve as an elective for the XX degree program in YY(s).
- It will also attract students in other programs. List these other programs, and make sure the program heads are consulted.
Frequency of Offering and Enrollment: Indicate how many students are expected to enroll and how often the course will be taught.
Notes for Reviewers: If the proposers have any additional information about the proposal to share with reviewers throughout the review process, please include it here.
Consultation: Consultation requests are made directly in CIM. Consultation should be requested from all units with a known interest in the subject field. Consultation should also be requested from any other programs listed in the proposal as potentially affected by the course, preferably at the level of the program/department head. Some duplication of instruction is inevitable, but the Joint Curricular Committee is concerned with keeping such duplication to a minimum.
If consultants respond to the proposal with significant questions or concerns, these must be addressed by the proposers directly in the proposal in CIM.
For the initial round of consultation, add consultants and select “Include” for each. Use the green plus sign to add consultants, and the red x to remove them. The Consultant's Response field is selected by the Consultant.
For later rounds of consultation, the existing consultants can be either Included or Excluded depending on whether they should be consulted again. For consultants being added for the first time, “Include” must be selected.
Links Related to Curricular Review
For additional information or to request consultation on a proposal, contact the Director of Graduate Council Administration.