Originator Tips

Course vs. Program Proposals

Program proposals that include new, altered and/or deleted courses may require multiple proposals (a proposal for each course change and a program proposal). Should multiple proposals be needed, the course and program proposals should be created and approved by the Originator simultaneously so they move through the approval steps together.

Course Proposals that do not require Program Proposals

• Changes in course title or course description
• Change in course number that doesn't impact sequencing

Establishing the Approval Process

Curriculog uses conditional steps in the approval process to ensure proposals are routed appropriately for steps such as Honors Council, Admissions & Standards, and graduate curriculum committees. Once a proposal is launched, the approval steps and workflow are locked in place even though the Originator hasn't approved the proposal. If the proposal hasn't been approved, the Originator can request the proposal be deleted and start again. Alternatively, a custom route may be requested of the system administrator.

Establishing Base Content

Due to Curriculog's integration with the Acalog (Catalog solution), Originators should utilize the import functionality whenever possible. Changes to current curriculum should start with importing data from next year's draft catalog. When creating a new course, it could be beneficial to find a course that has similar attributes (prefix, department, credit hours, course component, C.I.P. code, etc.) to import for a base to make edits to prior to launching the proposal. The department scheduling contact should be able to help identify an appropriate course to use as a template.

Importing Tips and Tricks

Importing Courses

When using the import functionality in for course proposals, Prefix (CSU's three letter subject code) is the easiest field to search by. Any course in the Acalog database (active or inactive) is available for import. If a course is missing from the results list, check the dialogue box to ensure that 'Exclude previously imported courses' is not active. If it is, uncheck the box and Search Available Curriculum again.

Updates were made in Acalog unpublished course content to simplify the data entry portion of the launching process. If information is missing from the import, please use the Contact Curriculog Support form with the course prefix, number and content that was not imported.

Importing Programs or Shared Cores

When using the import functionality for a program, Name (name of the program) is the easiest field to search by. You need to know whether you are working with a Program or a Shared Core. Shared Cores are used when curricular or descriptive content is shared across multiple programs (such as the Honors content for CBA majors, and shared content between the BS and BA in Mathematics).

Unfortunately, we don't have the same flexibility to add data to non-published content in programs, so additional data entry is required of the Originator prior to launching the proposal.

In order to track changes, the proposal should be launched after entering all required information, but before making updates to the Catalog Program Description or Prospective Curriculum.

Curricular content is generally formatted in cores and subcores in Acalog that use courses as a building block. When a program or shared core is imported into Curriculog, the prospective curriculum is displayed three ways:

• Preview Curriculum (how it will appear in the catalog)
• View Curriculum Schema (cores and sub-cores can be edited with both text and course components)
• View Curriculum Courses (all courses linked to cores or sub-cores are listed, regardless of whether they are active or not)

Collaborating with a Colleague

Due to the complexity of CSU's curricular structure and the current setup of Curriculog hierarchy, Originators may want to collaborate with a colleague or Division Director on a proposal prior to approving it. This is done after launching, but before approving the proposal at the Originator step. The process for creating a custom route step is available here.

Impact Report

All modifications or deletions of existing courses require the Originator to run an Impact Report as part of the process form. The UCC Chair has asked the Originator to attach some statement from each department where a course is listed, generally as a prerequisite in the description, or a course option in the program acknowledging the proposed change and anticipated impact (or not).

The impact report will also include any mentions within courses attached to a program. For example, when searching for mentions of ENG 1XX, programs containing ENG 3XX may appear in the list because ENG 1XX is listed as a prerequisite in the course description of ENG 3XX.