Undergraduate Course Proposals

Dates & Deadlines

Proposals submitted after the deadlines noted below will be reviewed during the current academic year if time permits but may not be approved in time to be offered in the requested effective term.

• Proposals for New Courses:
  • Apr. 1, 2024 – effective spring 2025
    • Proposals will be reviewed by no later than the end of Sep. 2024
  • Oct. 1, 2024 – effective summer 2025 or fall 2025
    • Summer 2025 proposals will be reviewed by no later than the end of Oct. 2024
    • Fall 2025 Proposals will be reviewed by no later than early Mar. 2025

• Proposals to Revise or Deactivate an Existing Course*:
  • Oct. 1, 2024 – effective fall 2025
    • Proposals will be reviewed by no later than early Mar. 2025

• Proposals to Revise Existing UNC Summer Study Abroad Courses:
  • Oct. 1, 2024 – effective summer 2025
    • In CIM, please include an additional comment at the bottom of the form to indicate that the course is a UNC Summer Study Abroad course and the proposal should be effective for summer 2025, not fall 2025.
    • Proposals will be reviewed by no later than end of Oct. 2024

*For undergraduate courses (numbered below 700), course revisions and deactivations must have a fall effective date (not spring or summer) to align with the beginning of the academic year. This is in place to avoid having conflicting information in the Academic Catalog (published annually on June 1) and ConnectCarolina, and to ensure the undergraduate curriculum is stable for the entire academic year (i.e., no changes). If there is an extenuating circumstance requiring a course revision to go into effect for spring or summer (e.g., external accreditation standards), please contact Nick Siedentop. 

Proposals & Revisions

All course proposals and revisions are managed through our curriculum inventory management system (CIM). Once a proposal or revision is fully approved in CIM:

• New Course Proposals:
  • The course in added to the Next Academic Catalog (published annually on June 1st)
  • The course is available to be scheduled for a future spring, summer, or fall semester in ConnectCarolina
• Proposals to Revise an Existing Course:
  • The course is added to the Next Academic Catalog (published annually on June 1st)
  • The course is available to be scheduled for a future fall semester in ConnectCarolina

See section below on several types of special General Education course proposals that are managed outside of CIM.

Propose a New Course

Faculty wanting to develop a new undergraduate course should discuss the idea with their unit’s undergraduate curriculum committee, chair, and/or director of undergraduate studies. Determine whether the new course aligns with the unit’s overall curriculum and whether a similar course already exists. All new course proposals must include a syllabus that is both an effective map of the course’s logistics and an invitation for students to actively engage in the learning process. For additional information, see syllabus guidelines.

Process:

1. Login in to CIM-Courses using your onyen and password
2. Select Propose New Course (a new window opens)
3. Complete all required fields (in red boxes)
4. To request a General Education requirement, select the appropriate Gen Ed curriculum under the heading Curriculum Requirements (e.g., IDEAS in Action, Making Connections).
   1. Select the specific requirement(s)
   2. Select check boxes for learning outcomes
   3. Provide a brief justification statement for how your course meets the selected learning outcomes. You can also highlight this information on the syllabus (for both students and the Course Committee reviewing the proposal)
5. Upload syllabus. Make sure there is clear alignment between the learning outcomes and the course assignments/activities/readings.
6. At the bottom of the form, select Save Changes (to return to the form) or Start Workflow (to submit for approval)

Edit or Inactivate a Course

Proposals to edit or inactivate an existing course should include a justification statement and be submitted with a fall effective date to align with the start of the academic year. A syllabus is required only if changing the credit hours or requesting a General Education attribute.

Process to Edit a Course:

1. Login in to CIM-Courses using your onyen and password
2. Search for course number
3. Select Edit Course (a new window opens)
4. Edit fields that are changing
5. To request a General Education requirement, select the appropriate Gen Ed curriculum under the heading Curriculum Requirements (e.g., IDEAS in Action, Making Connections).
   1. Select the specific requirement(s)
   2. Verify that all learning outcomes are included on the syllabus by selecting each check box
   3. Provide a brief justification for how the learning outcomes are incorporated into course. You can also highlight this information on the syllabus (for both students and the Course Committee reviewing the proposal)
6. Upload a syllabus if changing the credit hours or requesting a Gen Ed
7. At the bottom of the form, select Save Changes (to return to the form) or Start Workflow (to submit for approval)

Process to Inactivate a Course:

1. Login in to CIM-Courses using your onyen and password
2. Search for course number
3. Select Deactivate (a new window opens)
4. Select End Term from dropdown menu
5. Provide justification statement for deactivation request
6. Select Start Workflow (to submit for approval)

Review & Approve a Course Proposal

After a course proposal is submitted to workflow it is routed to the appropriate “roles” for approval. Every department/unit has a “CIM Chair” role. Departments may also create a CIM role for their curriculum committee (CIM Curr Cmte) and/or their Student Services Manager (CIM SSM), as additional steps to the approval process.

The workflow steps are generated for each proposal based on the several factors, including the home unit, any cross-listed units, academic level, and General Education attributes.

The Approval Guidelines provide suggestions for each role in terms of what information and content to review from the CIM proposal.

Process:

When a proposal is routed to a role for approval, the system sends an email to all users assigned to that role. The email will include the course number and a link to the approval queue. You can also use the steps below.

1. Login in to the Approval Queue using your onyen and password
2. In the Your Role drop-down menu, select your role (e.g., POLI CIM Chair)
3. Review the proposal
   1. For new course proposals, review all content including the attached syllabus to verify it includes all required elements.
   2. For course edit proposals, review the red & green mark-up.
4. Select one of the following actions buttons:
   1. Approve to move the proposal to the next workflow step.
   2. Rollback to request edits, additional information, or clarification from the submitter
   3. Edit to make changes to the proposal before selecting Approve or Rollback.

Check the Status of a Course Proposal

Faculty and staff can check the status of a course proposal.

1. Login in to CIM-Courses using your onyen and password
2. Search for course number
3. If the course is in workflow, the workflow steps will appear in box to right of the course title. The search display will indicate if the course is in workflow.

Special General Education Course Proposals

There are some General Education courses that have a special proposal process (outside CIM).

Additional Resources

• Course Committee Guide
• Syllabus Guidelines
• Syllabus Template
• IDEAs in Action Learning Outcomes
• Communication Beyond Carolina Justification Addendum
• Center for Faculty Excellence Teaching and Learning
• Instructional Modes
• Instructional Contact Hours
• Course Numbering at UNC Chapel Hill
• CIM User Guide