Below is a summary of questions that frequently occur for the AAC about course proposals. It may be useful for faculty writing proposals, Department Heads, and departmental curriculum committee members to consider these questions when drafting or evaluating course proposals. The current version of this FAQ reflects updates made November 21, 2025, regarding changes in form versions and broader clarifications in CEHSP or UMD Academic Affairs policy.
New Course Proposals
The first step for new courses is for Department Heads to discuss ideas with the Dean prior to a course proposal being written. With the support of the Department Head and the Dean of the College, a faculty sponsor can proceed with developing the proposal. For the time being all new course proposals must be a) budget neutral and b) not add to the total number of credits in a major (unless the major is under 50 credits).
When writing new course proposals, faculty should consider these questions:
- Only write in the boxes provided; do not alter the headings or descriptions of the different sections.
- Course Description: Avoid specifics that are likely going to be out-of-date quickly. Examples of things that have come up along these lines are references to specific theories, policies, software, technology, laws or statutes. Rather than referring to, for example, “Minnesota Statute 122A.60” or the “DSM-5” the catalog description might reference “relevant laws governing teacher development” or “contemporary psychiatric diagnostic systems”, respectively.
- Terms the course will be offered : Courses are typically offered in the fall or spring unless there are pedagogical reasons (e.g., seasonality of the course) for summer-only classes. CEHSP does not support the offering of non-required courses annually unless they embody a “High-Impact Practice” (HIP) not otherwise provided by the program. If it does involve a HIP explain how it does so when answering “What is the rationale for proposing this course”.
- Prerequisites: Any prerequisites should follow UMD’s Establishing, Enforcing, and Waiving Prerequisites policy.
- Instructor contact hours per week: The instructor contact hours should be consistent with the current workload protocols and other academic policies.
- Course delivery/instruction mode: The scheduling pattern must be appropriate for the course. This item is primarily for the purposes of determining how a course is to be scheduled in the system and also has ramifications for how faculty workload is determined. Each designator stands for its own scheduled section. A 3 credit course scheduled as “LEC” could, in practice, involve the equivalent of three 50-minute sessions per week that primarily involve discussion and have no formal lectures. For courses that are non-field work/independent study, the default should be “LEC” with a rationale provided if a “LAB” or “DIS” section is also needed or needed instead.
- Online addendum: If the course includes an online delivery format, a separate online addendum must also be submitted. Some common questions that come up with online addenda are:
- Avoid brand names and use general terms for products, materials, and programs. For example, rather than referring to a specific platform or program like “Canvas” or “Zoom,” use terms such as “Learning Management System” or “video conferencing”, respectively.
- Provide how specific information of relevance to online courses will be communicated to students, such as access to library resources, technical and ITSS support, appropriate online behavior, and disability and other accommodations.
- Include a specific number of hours per week that students should expect for the course. Refer to UMD’s Credit Standards for Instruction and Student Work policy.
- Final exam or other final graded component: The Academic Affairs Final Exam policy states that all “all classes that normally permit undergraduates to enroll” (e.g., 1XXX-5XXX-level courses) should have a final examination. This, however, need not be a formal test and could be a paper, performance, presentation, etc. Any course that has “a final graded component or end of term evaluation that assesses the level of student achievement of one or more course objectives” should indicate that there will be a final exam.
- Describe Student Learning Outcome and associated teaching, learning, and assessment methods:
- For each learning outcome, there must be detail on how the learning outcome is addressed (for example …) and assessed (for example a participation evaluation rubric).
- Learning outcomes should align with each major element of the conceptual outline.
- Learning outcomes should complete the stem “Students completing this course will be able to _______”.
- Learning outcomes should be stated in measurable terms.
- Learning outcomes should cover the range of complexity appropriate for the course. Bloom’s Taxonomy for Student Learning Assessment is a useful reference here.
- Conceptual outline and topics: The conceptual outline is a common place for questions to arise for the AAC.
- The AAC must determine if the conceptual outline is appropriate for the level and nature of the course and so they must be able to understand it at a basic level even if they are not in the same field. Spell out acronyms and explain or avoid jargon.
- Provide a clear outline of the topics that would typically be covered as core aspects of the course. Keep in mind that different instructors may approach the topics in different ways.
- The topics should be appropriate for the level (1XXX, 2XXX, 3XXX, 4XXX) and number of credits of the course. In general it is anticipated that courses at higher levels will provide more depth on a topic and will be more academically demanding than courses at lower levels. The fewer credits a course is offered for the fewer topics would be anticipated.
- Describe course instructional materials: Select course materials that are appropriate to the level of the course and that meet accreditation or other external approval processes, as necessary. Provide a full reference including year of publication in order to establish that the course was developed in the context of the most contemporary materials.
- Program impact considerations:
- Indicate if and how catalog language for the program should be updated.
- Consult appropriate people in other departments whose programs may be impacted (e.g., prerequisites from other department, is planned to be used as a course in another department’s program, impacts a course in your program that is used by another department’s program [e.g., course in program, prerequisite for a course, etc.]). At a minimum this will involve the Department Head, but may also involve DGSs, program directors/coordinators, or Associate Deans (for departments outside of CEHSP). Document these approvals in this item before sending the proposal to the AAC.
- Describe financial and staffing implications: All courses offered must be staffed, and staffing has financial implications. Therefore, this item should never have “none” or “not applicable” as an answer; if a new hire is required, it must be approved first. If applicable, state whether a currently offered course will be retired to make room for the new course and/or if fewer sections of an existing course will be offered, or if the new course will be paired with an existing course on a rotation.
Approved by AAC, 2/13/2026