Course proposals are completed in Curriculog, a paperless curriculum management system.
Curricular Approval Process
- Originator: Faculty Member and/or Department Chair launches and approves the proposal.
- Technical Review: Academic Programs staff ensures the form is completed correctly, required documents are attached and curriculum policies are followed.
- Learning Outcome Review: Review of Course Learning Outcomes(CLOs) and alignment with Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs).
- Program/Department Curriculum Committee.
- Department Chair.
- College Curriculum Committee.
- College Dean and/or Associate Dean.
- General Education Subcommittee (If applicable).
Courses seeking a designation as General Education (GE) require review by the General Education Subcommittee of the University Educational Policies Committee. Courses currently designated as GE must also receive a similar committee review when requesting the modification. The new and modified course proposals include information regarding proposing new GE courses or modifying current courses. General Education Goals.
- Graduate Council (If applicable).
Courses seeking a designation as Graduate Research or Writing courses require review by the Graduate Council. Courses currently designated as Graduate Research or Writing courses must also receive a similar committee review when requesting the modification. Graduate Research Course Requirements
Graduate Writing Course Requirements
For a list of current Graduate Research Methods and Writing Proficiency Courses, please use the link provided.
- Liberal Studies Committee (If applicable).
Courses seeking a designation as Liberal Studies Integrative courses require review by the Liberal Studies Advisory Committee. Courses currently designated as Liberal Studies Integrative must also receive a similar committee review when requesting a modification.
Liberal Studies Integrative Course Criteria Requirements
- Sociocultural Inquiry Requirement Subcommittee (If applicable).
Courses seeking a designation as a sociocultural inquiry (formerly multicultural requirement) require review by the Sociocultural Inquiry Requirement Subcommittee, a subcommittee of the University Educational Policies Committee. Courses currently designated as "Multicultural" must also receive a similar committee review when requesting a modification.
- University Writing Committee (If applicable).
Courses seeking a designation as Writing Proficiency (WP) require appropriate University-Wide committee review. Courses currently designated as WP must be reviewed by the University Writing Committee, a subcommittee of the University Educational Policies Committee, after approval by the department. Writing Proficiency Requirements.
- University Educational Policies Committee (If applicable).
Courses seeking a new prefix require review by University Educational Policies Committee.
- Processing: The Curriculum Specialist will enter the course date into PeopleSoft and add to the Draft catalog.
- Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs: Review of final form, alignment with current policies.
- Enrollment Services Office. For notification purposes only.
Resources
- Bloom's Taxonomy Action Verbs
- How to Calculate Faculty Workload
- Course Classification System
(Course Classification - C-factor / S-factor definitions) - Syllabus Template
- Knowledge Lake
Archive of course and program proposals
Policies & Procedures
- Approval of Curricular Actions.pdf
- Curriculum Consultation Policy.pdf
- Course Deletion Policy.pdf
- Course Time Modules & Time Grid.xlsx
- Course Requirements & Holidays.pdf
- Credit Hour Policy.pdf
- Cross Listed Courses.pdf
- General Education Goals.pdf
- Graduate Research Courses.pdf
- Graduate Writing Courses.pdf
- Dual Listed Courses.pdf
- Liberal Studies Integrative Courses.pdf
- Multicultural Courses.pdf
- Policy for Online & Technology Mediated Courses.pdf
- Syllabus Requirements.pdf
- Template for Internship Course Proposals.pdf
- Writing Proficiency Courses.pdf
Frequently Asked Topics
Instructional Materials must be delivered in a manner that is equally effective for persons with disabilities, as per Executive Order 926.
If you require guidance to make any of your courses online or web-based components accessible as required by federal law and the CSU Accessible Technology Initiative, visit the University Accessible Technology website for more information.
Course proposals for new courses must use unique course numbers. For information on available course numbers for specific prefixes, contact the Curriculum Specialist.
Course Level Identification
| 0001-0999 | Prebaccalaureate courses. These courses do not carry unit credit toward the 120 units required for a bachelor's degree and are not included in grade point average calculations. May be used in financial aid unit calculations and excess unit approval requirements. |
|---|---|
| 1000-2999 | Lower-division courses are designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores. |
| 3000-4999 | Upper-division courses are designed primarily for juniors and seniors, and certain selected courses for graduate students. These courses should be taken by freshmen and sophomores only under unusual circumstances approved by both the instructor and major advisor. |
| 5000-5999 | Graduate courses. Open only to qualified graduate students. (Last-semester seniors within 9 units of graduation may enroll for postbaccalaureate credit with written approval.) |
| 6000-6999 | Professional postbaccalaureate courses. These courses do not substitute for course credit in a credential sequence and will not be applied toward General Education, major, minor, or elective requirements for the bachelor's degree. |
| 7000-7999 | Noncredit courses. These courses are not applicable to a baccalaureate or advanced degrees, or to a credential program. |
| 8000-8999 | Extended Education Certificate program courses and those yielding continuing education units (CEUs). These courses are not applicable to a baccalaureate or advanced degrees, or to a credential program. |
| 9000-9999 | Doctoral courses. Open only to qualified doctoral students. |
Note: Only courses numbered 1000-4999 for undergraduate students carry unit credit toward the 120 units required for a bachelor's degree.
As of July 1, 2011 federal law (Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, sections 600.2 and 600.4) requires all accredited institutions to comply with the federal definition of the credit hour. For all CSU degree programs and courses bearing academic credit, the "credit hour" is defined as "the amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:
- One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or 10 to 12 weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
- At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practice, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours."
A credit hour is assumed to be a 50-minute period. In courses in which "seat time" does not apply, a credit hour may be measured by an equivalent amount of work, as demonstrated by student achievement.
Initial establishment of course credit hours. When new courses are approved by department and college curricula committees, course credit hours assigned will be evaluated for appropriateness based on a review of the course description, which includes learning objectives, texts and other resources used, course requirements, and detailed course outlines.
Periodic review. Application of the Credit Hour Policy shall be reviewed during the Academic Program Review process to ensure that credit hour assignments are accurate, reliable, and appropriate to degree level. Evidence to support credit hour assignments includes course syllabi, course learning objectives, assignment schedules, and class schedules identifying the times that classes meet (if applicable).
- Selected Topics Courses: Topic may be repeated two times for undergraduate and one time for graduate courses. A 295X, 495X, 595X, 995X course number must be selected.
- Special Topics Courses: A set of topics may be repeated and rotated in the course scheduled as desired by the department. No special course number was assigned. Examples include:
For uniformity, certain types of courses have been listed under a single number by all departments and divisions as follows:
| Type | Normal Course # | Link to Lists | Typical C/S Factor | Typical Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooperative Education | 491X | Examples | S-36 | Used in 2-4 units and 1-3 units variations |
| Thesis | 499X, 599X, and 999X | Examples | S-3 | Used in 3-6 units, 1-4 units, 1-3 units, 3 units, or 1 unit variations |
| Continuing Thesis or Project | 7005 | Examples | S-36 | 0 units, typically accompanied by a course fee proposal |
| Graduate Project | 596X, 996X | Examples | S-3 | Used in 3-6 units, 2-6 units, 1-4 units, 1-3 units, 3 units, or 1 unit variations |
| Continuing Comprehensive Exam | 7006 | Examples | C-78 | 0 units, typically accompanied by a course fee proposal |
| Internship/ Fieldwork | 494X, 594X, 994X | InternshipsFieldwork | S-36 | 1-4 units |
| Selected Topics | 295X, 495X, 595X, 995X | Examples | C-5 | 1-4 units |
| Individual Study | 498X, 598X, 998X | Examples | S-36 | 1-4 units |
Note: In previous years, the fourth digit may have been used to indicate course unit value.
Explanation of Course Notations
The notations used in course descriptions listed under the various departments are as follows:
- Courses offered for varying units are so indicated, e.g., (2‑4 units).
- A notation such as (Formerly 4500) within a course description indicates the course was previously numbered 4500 and credit for both courses is not allowed.
- To assist in planning an academic program, many courses in this catalog are marked to indicate when they will be offered, e.g., fall, spring, or summer. Check the Schedule of Classes.
If you are creating a course with multiple components, only one component can select a letter grade or student choice option. All other components must be Credit/No Credit. If you would like multiple components to have letter graded or student choice options, separate courses (with different course numbers) need to be created. These separate courses can be linked in the course schedule if concurrent enrollment is notated on the course proposal form.
If you are creating or modifying an existing course to create multiple components, ensure you identify the grading option and C/S numbers properly. The modification form does not include a proper section at this point, but please ensure you identify these items.
Updated: October 29, 2024