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Course approval

Forms

Deadlines for course approval

In order for courses to be available for students at registration, faculty should submit the necessary proposal forms by the following deadlines. These deadlines ensure time for the course to be approved by faculty governance. (For more information about how courses move through faculty governance, see the course approval process.)

NOTE: These deadlines are for proposals previously approved by the appropriate department and division (if required).

Deadline for submission of General Education courses (FYI, suffixed courses, courses with LP designations): by noon on Monday of the 5th week of the semester preceding the term the course will be offered.

Deadline for submission of non-AGES courses (non-FYI courses, and courses without suffixes or LP designations): noon on Friday of the 4th week of the semester preceding the term the course will be offered.

Course approval process

1. Courses in the major

Curricular change (developing new courses, adding and dropping courses from the major, etc.) normally begins at the department level. A member of the department formally proposes a change, and if the department votes to approve, the proposal is sent to the department's division chair for placement on the agenda of a division meeting. Once a proposal is approved by the division, the division chair should confirm this with the chair of Education Policies Committee (EPC) and/or (if applicable) the chair of the General Education Committee. Unless otherwise indicated, all proposed changes will take effect the following academic year.

Interdisciplinary programs that are not themselves departments — e.g., Asian Studies, Women's & Gender Studies — propose changes directly to the General Education Committee (if applicable) and EPC when proposing courses not cross-listed with another department.

2. FYI 102 courses

New FYI 102 courses are proposed in consultation with the department, and then proposed by a faculty member directly to the General Education Committee. When a course has been approved by this committee, it is then reported to the faculty, who have one week following the dissemination of the report to request that an item be sent back to the committee. 

3. Adding General Education Learning Perspectives and suffixes to new or existing courses

In order to be considered for General Education designations (any of the Learning Perspectives, G, D, or Q suffixes, etc.) a faculty member must seek approval from the General Education Committee and faculty.

Documentation

1. Required for all new courses, including general education courses

Faculty members seeking to propose any new course should submit the syllabus and supporting materials to their department chair for consideration by the department. The department chair should submit the departmentally approved course to the division chair for divisional consideration. Once a course has been approved by the department and division, the faculty member seeking approval should then use the New Course proposal form to submit the course for Gen Ed and/or EPC approval. The division chair should confirm division approval to the chair of EPC.

2. Required for courses with General Education designations

Approval by the General Education Committee is required for new FYI 102 courses, and for courses fulfilling Learning Perspectives and Skills requirements. In order to have courses considered for the Augustana General Education program, faculty need to complete the appropriate General Education approval form(s) along with the New Course proposal form. For questions about the General Education approval process, contact the Gen Ed Chair.

NOTE: In order to be available to students for registration, courses need to go through the entire faculty governance process. This means that faculty members need to adhere to the dates listed above. Approval documentation must list the effective date when submitted through governance, or the assumed effective date will be for fall term of the following academic year.