Course Proposals

To propose a new 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 proposals have been approved by the College Curriculum Committee, they are forwarded on to the University Curriculum Review Committee for final review. In reviewing the proposal, the College Curriculum Committee will consider the following:

  • Is the course duplicative?
  • Were all affected units consulted and approvals and acknowledgments of chairs/directors of affected units secured?
  • Does the course justification discuss how the course is distinct from and related to others?
  • Does the course require new resources or additional space/facilities?
  • Does this course or program have demonstrated demand to have sufficient enrollment?
  • Is the course appropriate to the department, College, and University curriculum?
  • Are the learning goals clear? See the Center for Teaching and Learning’s website on course design for guidance on designing effective learning goals.
  • Do the title and catalog course description accurately reflect course content?
  • Is the number of course credits appropriate for the amount of work required? Is the level of the course appropriate for the content?
  • Should this course have both an undergraduate and graduate number? See policy on 400-500 level parallel courses.
  • Is the syllabus clear and complete?
  • Does the syllabus include the following:
      • detailed schedule (with readings) of lectures, labs, and discussion sections
      • explanation of how the labs and discussion sections are related to the lectures
      • key student projects, assignments, and other required activities (quizzes, exams, papers)
      • how students will be evaluated (note that in classes with both 400 and 500 level listings, there should be a clear distinction between the undergraduate and graduate evaluation criteria)
      • required  syllabus statement on religious accommodation and and recommended syllabus statements on accommodation, conduct, safety and diversity. See Syllabus Guidelines for more information and sample syllabus statements.

Adding the Diversity (DIV) designation to courses

Context

The UW Curriculum Committee does not assess courses for DIV (to meet the UW 3-credit Diversity General Education requirement), but instead defers to college/school curriculum committees to ensure that the spirit of the requirement is followed.

  • There has been an increase in instructor efforts to integrate critical diversity content into existing, discipline-specific courses, and a more general conversation about adding DIV courses to the College of the Environment curriculum.
  • The CoEnv Curriculum Committee believes that the University’s definition of the DIV requirement does not provide enough specific guidance to adequately evaluate proposed DIV courses.
  • There should be a high bar: DIV/JEDI topics should be the core focus of DIV designated courses, even if it limits the number of DIV courses a unit is able to offer. But this high bar shouldn’t inhibit faculty from incorporating JEDI into any course.

Resources

To ensure consistency across the College’s DIV offerings, the College requires that courses fulfil the University DIV requirements (slightly amended by CoEnv):

NOTE: This is the current UW requirement, cannot be amended by our College.

  • help students develop an understanding of the complexities of living in increasingly diverse and interconnected societies.
  • address cross-cultural analysis and communication; and historical and contemporary inequities such as those associated with (but not limited to): race, ethnicity, class, sex and gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ability, religion, creed, age, and socioeconomic status.
  • use active learning to encourage critical thinking about justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) topics including: power, inequality, marginality, and social movements.
  • use active learning to support effective cross-cultural communication skills.

In addition, the College of the Environment will use the following rubric to assess requests for the DIV designation specifically regarding the incorporation of diversity, or more broadly justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) content:

  • strongly recommend that it is represented in the course title.
  • must be explicit in the course description which appears in the course catalog (50-word description).
  • represented by at least one learning objective stated in the course proposal and listed in the course syllabus.
  • a major focus of all aspects of the course, including topics, readings, activities, assignments, and course products.

Proposing C ENV Courses

  1. Determine if the proposed course is an appropriate fit for a college-level offering. A course offered at the college level using the C ENV prefix should meet the following criteria:
    • Feature significant breadth and multidisciplinary content such that it serves a larger student audience than the students within a single unit.
    • Include content spanning more than two units within the college.
  2. Submit a course proposal to the College of the Environment Curriculum Committee including the following:
    • If this is a new permanent course, submit a New Course Application using the UW Curriculum Management (UW CM) system to outline the proposed course level, rationale, content, learning goals, etc. In the “Justification” section of the application, include a statement about anticipated student demand and any information that supports estimated enrollment.
    • Documentation of course funding sources and course budget, including all resources required to offer the course (instructors, teaching assistants; honoraria, travel, lodging and/or meals for guest lecturers; field trip expenses; receptions, etc.). All funding must be secure before any new C ENV course proposals are submitted to the College Curriculum Committee.
    • If this is a Special Topics course, submit the C ENV Special Topics Course Application and the funding and staff support information noted above.
      NOTE: The Committee strongly suggests that instructors offer a pilot version of a new course first as a C ENV special topics course before proceeding with the approval of the new permanent course number in order to refine course goals and structure, determine student demand, etc.
    • Documentation of course funding sources and course budget, including all resources required to offer the course (instructors, teaching assistants; honoraria, travel, lodging and/or meals for guest lecturers; field trip expenses; receptions, etc.). All funding must be secure before any new C ENV course proposals are submitted to the College Curriculum Committee.
    • Statement of any staff support required to manage logistics (events; receptions; assisting with establishing Writing Links, Freshman Interest Groups, or Service Learning, etc.).
    • Documentation that the instructor has consulted all affected units before submitting the course proposal to the College Curriculum Committee for review.

College of the Environment Curriculum Committee review process

  • After the College Curriculum Committee approves the proposal, they will send proposals for new permanent C ENV courses to the University Curriculum Committee for review and approval. Proposals for special topics courses are not reviewed by the University Curriculum Committee.

NOTE: Allow approximately three quarters from the submission of a new course proposal to the intended quarter for the course offering.

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