Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
How long will it take for my proposal to get approved?
The curriculum management process has many parts, and as such there is not one single timeline for how long proposals take to be approved. Proposals must be reviewed at both the department and college level before being reviewed by the UCCC, which may take several weeks. Once the proposal is submitted to the UCCC, it will be reviewed at the Committee’s monthly meeting. If approved, the proposal must then go through a period where it can be reviewed by the associate dean’s council and is then signed by the provost office. This step usually takes about a month after UCCC approval. This is the final step for course proposals, but many degree proposals must also be reviewed by the Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL), which will generally take two to three months, and some degrees may even need to be reviewed at the federal level by SACSCOC, which can take several months. In planning for your proposal, please be aware of the submission deadlines for the UCCC, your college curriculum committee, and IHL. Missing one of these deadlines may set your proposal back by as much as a month.
What proposals have to go to IHL?
The following types of degree proposals must go to IHL for approval. Listed along with these is the IHL Appendix needed (available here) that will need to be attached to the proposal.
- New Degree Programs (Appendix 8)
- New Graduate Certificate Programs (Appendix 16)
- Adding Distance (Campus 5) to an Existing Degree Program (Appendix 10)
- Modifications that add a Campus (other than Campus 5), change the Degree Name, or CIP Code of an Existing Degree Program (Appendix 9b)
- Suspending or Deleting an Existing Degree Program (Appendix 9c)
What does it mean when a proposal is Passed Contingent?
A proposal that is passed contingent contains minor deficiencies or needs minor revision(s)that the UCCC Chair can oversee and approve. An e-mail will be sent to the initiator of the proposal explaining the minor revision(s) in the minutes from the UCCC, and the proposal will be sent back to the initiator in the CIM system. Once the minor revisions have been made and resubmitted, the proposal workflow will direct it back to the UCCC Chair, who will review and approve the proposal. No further review by the full UCCC or any lower curriculum committee is necessary.
What is a Technical Change?
A Technical Change is an accelerated workflow used for modifications that do not change any of the content of a course. Examples of modifications allowable under a Technical Change include:
- Changes to the course title
- Changes to the catalog description
- Changes to the course prerequisites
- Changes to the repeatability of the course
- Addition of campus(es), provided there is no change needed to method of delivery (excludes Campus 5 Distance)
- Changes to the subject code with the full support of all departments involved
Note that all Technical Changes are subject to the discretion of the UCCC Chair. If any of these listed changes are made in conjunction with edits to course content, they will be considered as part of a full course modification by the UCCC.
How are Special Topics approved?
Special Topics are proposed using the Special Topics Eform, and must be approved by the proposer's department head, dean's office, and the UCCC Chair. When submitting the eform, it should be routed to the department head, who will route it to the dean's office once approved, and so on. Further help can be found by looking at the Document and Routing Help within the eform itself.