Faculty are the guardians of the university curriculum and, as such, the CASE Curriculum Committee are responsible for overseeing curricular requests not just from our departments/centers, but from every other unit at the University. Every curricular proposal begins and ends with faculty oversight. There are opportunities for experimental courses and valuable resources to support curriculum development.
The CASE Curriculum Process: From Proposal to Faculty Senate
The CASE Curriculum Process is composed of three phases: Pre-Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate, Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate; and Post-Faculty Senate.
- Pre- Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate Review
Faculty and/or departments interested in creating a new program/course or modifying an existing course/program should begin the process by consulting with their department and CASE Curriculum Committee Representative prior to creating the proposal. This ensures that proposals are reviewed for consistency, filled out correctly and required supporting documents have been included for further review.
Note: Some departments will require that a curriculum proposal be voted on and approved in a department meeting prior to submission. It is recommended that your proposal be approved by your department prior to submission in CourseDog. Curriculum proposals will not move forward if they have not been approved by your department.
Once faculty receives approval from the department, they may proceed to CourseDog and create their curriculum proposal. Upon submission, the proposal will go into an approval queue that will consist of the following:
Department > CASE Curriculum Committee Representative*> Curriculum Committee Chair > University Dean > Faculty Senate
*Subject to change
Be advised that a proposal may be sent back to the Faculty Contact at anytime if a clarification and/or revision is required.
- CASE Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate
Once the committee approves a submission:
- The Associate Dean, who acts as a liaison to the Committee, reviews the submissions, makes any necessary changes, approves them on the Dean’s behalf, and forwards them to the Faculty Senate.
- The Faculty Senate prepares the submissions for publication in the University Curriculum Committee Bulletin.
- The Graduate and Undergraduate Councils review program submissions.
- The University Curriculum Committee reviews new course proposals, course change/deletions, and program proposals. Some program requests require a hearing.
- Approved submissions are forwarded to the Faculty Senate.
- The chairs of the University Curriculum Committee and the two councils sign the forms.
- On the floor of the Faculty Senate, the chair of the University Curriculum Committee presents a motion to approve all items on a specific bulletin. Although usually the Senate approves the bulletin as a whole, senators may question any item being presented.
- After the senators approve the motion, the chair of the Faculty Senate signs the forms on behalf of the Senate.
- Post-Faculty Senate
Once a proposal has been approved by the Faculty Senate, it is sent to the Provost’s Office and/or the Registrar’s Office for processing and final approval:
- New course proposals are sent to SCNS (Statewide Course Numbering System) in Tallahassee where they are forwarded to the faculty discipline representative who will review the approved proposal and assign a course prefix and number (Please note that prefixes and numbers are assigned at their discretion). The new prefix and number will be sent to the Office of the Registrar and a notification will be sent to the faculty contact upon receipt.
- Course change/deletions are processed internally by the Office of the Registrar.
- Program changes are updated into PantherSoft and the Online Catalog by the Office of the Registrar.
- New programs will be assigned a code by the Office of the Registrar. Notification of the new code will be sent to the Office of the Dean and the department chair.
- Hearings
All proposals will go through one or more hearings during the Curriculum and Faculty Senate (FS) process prior to final approval. Please refer to the grids below to find out which hearings will be required for your proposal. Note exempt cases listed below the grids.
UNDERGRADUATE Curriculum Council (FS) Undergrad Council (FS) Grad Council (FS) GLCOC (FS) UCCOC (FS) New Minors X New Undergraduate Tracks X X New Undergraduate Degrees X X New Undergraduate Policies X New Undergraduate Majors X X GRADUATE Curriculum Council (FS) Undergrad Council (FS) Grad Council (FS) GLCOC (FS) UCCOC (FS) New Graduate Degree Tracks X X New Graduate Degrees X X New Graduate Policies X New Graduate Major X X Unit Specific Admission Requirement X OTHER Curriculum Council (FS) Undergrad Council (FS) Grad Council (FS) GLCOC (FS) UCCOC (FS) Global Learning Designation X University Core Curriculum X The following proposals DO NOT require Curriculum, Undergrad, Grad, GLCOC, or UCCOC Council hearings: Accelerated Degrees (Bachelors, Masters, 4+1); Changes to Programs; Combined Degrees; New Certificates/Changes to Certificates; Course Changes; New Courses; and, New Degree Designations. Please note that the Faculty Senate may request a hearing for any proposal if more information is required.
CASE Curriculum Committee
- Curriculum Committee 2024-2025
CASE Curriculum Committee 2024-2025
Department Committee Member Biology Alain Duran Chemistry Jeff Joens Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology Hyejin Bang Earth and Environment Hong Liu Educational Policy Studies Amy Li English Michael Creeden Liberal Studies Vanessa Sohan Math and Statistics Mirroslav Yotov Philosophy Kenton Harris Physics Rajamani Narayanan Psychology Rachel Ritchie Teaching and Learning Jennifer Mirabal Women’s Studies Michaela Moura-Kocoglu - Committee Responsibilities
The College of Arts, Sciences, and Education Curriculum Committee (CASE CC) will meet five times a year from September to February. The CASE Curriculum Committee Representatives will elect a chair and a vice chair at the first meeting of the academic year in September. The chair will also serve as the College representative to the University Curriculum Committee, while the vice chair serves as acting chair whenever the chair is absent or unavailable. The term of a chair and vice chair is for one year from the date of appointment, usually the start of the academic year. The Chair and Vice Chair may also represent their department as a curriculum representative, if necessary.
Currently, there are 13 CASE Curriculum Committee Representatives representing each department within the college. Representatives are chosen by the chair and/or elected by faculty of their respective departments to act as a liaison between the college and the department for all matters concerning curriculum. Unlike the Curriculum Chair and Vice Chair, there are no term limits for representatives.
The primary role of the CASE Curriculum Committee Representatives is to advise their department and faculty of the university curriculum process. Representatives should also assist faculty in creating proposals needed by the department and faculty, ensuring that they follow all guidelines and complete requirements for their submissions as mandated by the Faculty Senate.
The most effective Curriculum Committee Representative is the one who works closely with the appropriate members of the department in the process of creating the submission. That way, the representative, armed with information about the process learned from the meetings, can make sure that submission is ready for review by the CASE Curriculum Committee.
The Curriculum Committee Representative and/or Faculty Contact must submit proposals to the Office of the Dean via email before the proposal submission deadline (see CASE Curriculum Committee Meeting Calendar below for more info). The Office of the Dean will review submissions and send them back for revision if there are any errors and/or inconsistencies with the proposal(s). We encourage all representatives and Faculty Contacts to submit their proposals early to give ample time to provide feedback, if needed.
Proposal are due approximately one week before the CASE Curriculum Meeting (Friday) and distributed to all Curriculum Committee Representatives, along with the meeting agenda, shortly after the deadline (NOTE: Proposals will not be accepted after the deadline). At this time, it is highly recommended that all representatives review all agenda proposals, particularly those of their own departments, and report any errors or inconsistencies they may find prior to/or during the meeting. The representative and/or the Faculty Contact for the proposal are advised to attend the meeting. If the Faculty Contact cannot attend the meeting, the representative may take his/her place and should be ready to answer any questions the committee may have concerning the proposal. Proposals will be tabled to the next meeting if there is no Faculty Contact or representative at the meeting.
The representative and/or the Faculty Contact will present their proposal(s) the day of the meeting. Committee members will have the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and/or raise objections with regards to the proposal(s). After a short discussion period, a vote will be taken for approval. If the submission passes by a simple majority it will be considered approved.
If the committee finds that a proposal will need a minor revision prior to moving on to the Faculty Senate, they may approve the submission pending requested revisions or additional information. The Curriculum Committee Representative is responsible to convey that information to the appropriate Faculty Contact so that the revisions required by the committee are made immediately. Any changes or additional information required must be submitted to the Dean’s Office by the Wednesday following the CASE Curriculum Committee Meeting. The Dean’s Office will not review any submissions that do not meet the conditions set by the CASE Curriculum Committee.
Here are some of the recurring questions with submissions:
- Overlap – the material overlaps with that studied in another discipline. At the meeting, the representative of the other notices that overlap and the lack of consultation (there is no letter from the chair) and requests such a letter
- Incomplete submissions – Required documentation in support of the proposal is missing. Submissions should be checked to ensure that all the required information is included.
If a Curriculum Committee Representative decides not to continue his role during (or at the end of) the academic year, he/she must notify the Office of the Dean immediately. The outgoing representative or department will need to provide the name of the new representative as soon as possible. The outgoing representative should brief the new representative with information about the committee, curricular process and any pending curricular issues the department may have.
- Curriculum Committee Meetings 2024-2025
Bulletin #5 will be your final opportunity to submit curriculum proposals for review, approval and inclusion into the 2025-2026 catalogs and the 2025-2026 Undergraduate Major Maps. There are however, some exceptions for certain proposals. Please see below for more details.
*Bulletin #4 will be your last opportunity to submit Course Changes related to CREDITS or PREREQUISITES to be made in time for Fall registration, which begins in March.
**New Course proposals submitted for Bulletin #5 will be included in the Online Course Catalog, but students will not be able to register for these courses until they are fully approved by SCNS. The latest you can expect these courses to be made available for registration is by July 1.
2024-2025 CASE Curriculum Committee Meeting Calendar Coming Soon!
Additional Information - NEW FOR 2024-2025!
With the introduction of a new online curriculum submission system, scheduled to go live later this Fall, significant changes have been made to the curriculum calendar. While most of our processes will remain unchanged at the college level, there are notable changes post-CASE Curriculum Committee. These changes are, as follows:
- Bulletin #6 has been removed from the Faculty Senate calendar permanently. As a result, there will only be five meetings held for the Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate.
- All proposals submitted and approved during the Curriculum Review period (Bulletins 1-5) will be effective for the Fall semester of the following year. For example, a proposal submitted, reviewed and approved during Bulletin 1-5 will be made effective for Fall 2025.
- IMPORTANT! No reviewed and approved proposals will be made effective for either SPRING or SUMMER, so please plan accordingly.
- The effective date for ALL 2024-2025 curriculum proposals will be Fall 2025.
To track the progress of a CASE CC approved curriculum proposal, please visit the Faculty Senate Curriculum SharePoint site here.
Course Proposals
NOTE: As we have transitioned to a new Online Curriculum System, physical curriculum proposals WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED by our office or the Faculty Senate. Proposals must be entered in CourseDog and submitted on or before the CASE Proposal Submission deadline.
Changes to a course prefix, number, credit hours, title description, or prerequisite, MUST have a current syllabus attached to justify the change. New course proposals MUST be submitted with a proposed syllabus which includes learning outcomes, major topics and textbooks.
Experimental courses must be submitted to the Dean's Office for experimental course numbering, Dean's signature and approval. The Registrar’s Office will not repeat an experimental course unless there are extenuating circumstances, e.g., a permanent number for the previously submitted and approved non-experimental course has not been received.
All Other Proposals
Proposals MUST include a completed proposal checklist available from the curriculum forms page on the Faculty Senate webpage. Please note the faculty contact submitting the proposal MUST be present at the hearing for the respective bulletin, if applicable.
The listing of applicable hearings and respective additional parties required are as follows: Joint Hearings is defined as Undergraduate Council & University Curriculum Committee and/or Graduate Council & University Curriculum Committee. The proposals that require joint hearings are: NEW Undergraduate Degree Programs, NEW Majors, NEW Tracks, NEW Graduate Degree Programs. NEW Undergraduate Minors only require the presence of Undergraduate Council. NEW Certificate programs, CHANGES to any program/major/track, etc., and Course Proposals do not require a hearing.
If you have any questions concerning Grad/Undergrad Councils or the Faculty Senate, please email Mary Cossio.
Courses
- Online Courses
FIU Online provides pedagogical and technological tools as well as training for online professors to make curriculum accessible, engaging and effective for your students.
New Courses
The process of a course proposal, approval and implementation take about 2-3 business weeks. In the request form, be sure to include your department chair's email in the Supervisor Email space, so that they can get a copy of the request.
- Faculty submits
online course proposal - CASE conducts enrollment analysis
- CASE conducts
pedagogical assessment - FIU Online assigns Instructional Designer (ID)
- Faculty and ID Designer design course shell and content
Here are resources that will help guide you through the process.
If you have any questions, please contact Wendy Sanchez in the CASE Dean's Office. - Faculty submits
- Experimental Courses
Experimental courses are those that are offered on a trial basis, often prior to submitting the course for permanent status. Courses may be offered as experimental only once. Offering an experimental course more than once requires permission from the Graduate or Undergraduate Dean.
Procedure for Requesting an Experimental Course
- Requests for experimental courses require that the completion of a New Course Proposal Form. On the top right-hand corner, write in EXPERIMENTAL and the semester and the year when the course will be offered (e.g. FALL 2008).
- Department must submit the original and 2 copies as well as a copy of the syllabus to the Dean’s Office. The College will assign a number and forward the form to the Registrar’s Office. Until the number has been added to the master catalog by the Registrar, the course may not be added to the schedule. If the screens are open, then the course may be inputted by the department; if they are closed, then a request to add a course must be submitted.
Submission Guidelines
- Department may offer no more than 3 experimental courses each semester. Requests to offer an experimental course a second time must be accompanied by “Memorandum of Justification”.
- Submission is due at least 2 weeks prior to the opening of the scheduling screens. If the request is to offer the course a second time, the request should arrive in the Dean’s Office 4-6 weeks prior to the opening of the screens.
- Global Learning Courses
Global Learning courses are interdisciplinary and part of undergraduate education.
- Gordon Rule Courses
The Gordon Rule aims to improve the critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication of students, especially through writing.
Curriculum Resources
What we teach and how we do so shapes how students learn and use their knowledge. FIU provides several resources to help educators provide the best curriculum possible.