Changing Curriculum

Proposing a Course Change

To change an existing course within your unit, proposals must be submitted to the College Curriculum Committee by the proposal submission deadline for each meeting.

Please submit course proposals using the UW Curriculum Management (UW CM) system. This system supports the submission of new course and course change applications.

For assistance with the UW CM system, contact Michelle Hall (College or the Environment, Curriculum Committee), your unit’s curriculum coordinator or curriculum committee chair, or the UW Curriculum Office.

After Course Change proposals have been approved by the College of the Environment Curriculum Committee, they are forwarded on to the University Curriculum Committee for final review.

Non-Substantive Course Changes

Non-substantive course changes are reviewed by the Chair of the College of the Environment Curriculum Committee instead of the full Committee.

Changes Considered Non-Substantive

Type of change
Example
Change in title, but not content From “Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences” to “Foundations in Atmospheric Sciences”
Change in Abbreviated Title “From Intro Environment” to “Foundations Envir”
Non-substantive change in course description From “introduces key approaches to environmental science” to “studies the foundations of environmental science from a range of disciplinary perspectives.” Also includes changes made to clarify or update a course description.
Change in number at same or lower level From OCEAN 325 to OCEAN 375 – both at 300-level; or from OCEAN 375 to OCEAN 275 – from 300-level to 200-level
Decrease or Increase in credits From (5) to (3) or (3) to (5)
Retire course Retiring any course as long as it does not affect another department’s requirements
Change CR/NC to graded or vice versa “Credit/no credit only” to “Graded”
Change to or from hyphenated grading From ESRM 442 and ESRM 443 graded separately to ESRM 442 hyphenated with ESRM 443 (i.e., final grade assigned for both 442 and 443 at completion of 443)
Non-substantive program changes Changing requirements for minor in Earth and Space Sciences from “3 courses from ESS 300, 399, 420, or 446” to “3 courses from ESS 300, 399, 420, 446 or 470,” as long as the course added is similar to the others.
Change in prerequisites From requiring MATH 124 as a prerequisite for FISH 433 to requiring MATH 124 and PHYS 123 as prerequisites for FISH 433.

Once non-substantive course changes have been approved by the Chair of the College of the Environment Curriculum Committee, they automatically go to the University Curriculum Review Committee for final review.

Changing Undergraduate Program and Admissions Requirements

To propose changes to existing undergraduate program requirements, submit an undergraduate program proposal change form in the UW Curriculum Management System (UW CM). For a detailed explanation of how to change programs and credentials in UW CM, see the Programs and Credentials quick guide.  To learn more about the undergraduate program proposal process, refer to these FAQs and to the Undergraduate program proposal process flowchart.

To learn more about the undergraduate program proposal process, please review:

All new undergraduate program proposals (degree, major, option, minor) require a Notice of Proposal (NOP). For details on the NOP process, please see:

Changing Graduate Program Requirements

The Graduate School’s Office of Academic Affairs and Planning coordinates the review of graduate program changes. See their “Creating/Modifying Programs” page for detailed guideline son modifying graduate programs.

Dean's Office Contact: