Curriculum Guidelines

In order to have a curriculum change be included in the next year’s published (printed or online) university catalog, it must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate program, department, General Education (as applicable), and college level committees and dean, and submitted for review to the appropriate University-level committee by November 1 or by the end of the fall semester.

The November 1 deadline guarantees that a proposal will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) for the next catalog. Proposals submitted after November 1 will still be reviewed and may make the catalog depending on the amount of proposals received.

• Undergraduate curriculum change requests with approvals are submitted to the Catalog Coordinator in the Registrar’s Office. 
• Graduate curriculum change requests with department and dean approval (and college-level graduate curriculum committee as applicable) are submitted to the Graduate College Dean’s Office. 
• Proposals will be considered by the committees on first-come, first-served basis.

• When assigning numbers to new courses, the availability of the number is verified. Previously deleted course numbers are not available for re-use during the 5-year moratorium following the date of inactivation. The Registrar’s Office can assist with determining course number availability.
• Some course numbers are set aside for university wide use across all subject codes. University wide numbers are listed on the catalog website.

• The Faculty Senate specifies that the University Curriculum Committee “supervise all undergraduate offerings of the university determining that curricular changes be compatible with existing programs, feasible under given circumstances, and consistent with the educational objectives of Boise State University under state and federal law.” These duties are typical of those of most other types and levels of curriculum committees or councils as well. The goal of curriculum committees is not to dispatch proposals, but rather to expedite approval at higher levels, and to facilitate excellence in curricula. 
• Attendance by Department Proposal Originator(s) at all Full Review meetings where their proposal is being discussed is required since questions which must be answered by someone close to the proposal and its history. 

New majors that are set to be implemented in a future catalog can be implemented a semester or two early for enrollment purposes. In those situations, the graduation requirements will be based on the approved implementation date that coincides with the first catalog the major appears in.

Changes to existing majors must adhere to the catalog deadline to help reduce the confusion when advising and clearing degree requirements. Changes to existing catalog requirements can be changed via memos from the department chair to the Registrar’s Office. Memos cannot be used to circumvent the curriculum process and will not be applied forward to future catalogs. 

• University-wide course numbers
• University Foundations Program
• Policy 4050—Minor Curriculum Change Procedures
• Policy 4060—Special Topics Course Proposals
• Policy 4080—Credit Hours
• Policy 4090—University Course Numbering Revision
• Policy 4140—Responsibilities for Curricular Changes and Class Scheduling
• Policy 4150—Annual Revision of Boise State University Catalog