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GUIDELINES  FOR NEW OR CHANGED COURSES OR CURRICULUM

(Last updated March 25, 2010)

All changes or additions to the curriculum at Valdosta State University follow the campus process outlined below. Other curriculum and course changes may also require notification of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), VSU’s accrediting agency; the Board of Regents; or the University System of Georgia’s General Education Council. This process can be time-consuming; depending on the change being proposed, official approval from VSU and any outside approvals may require up to 12 months or more. If programs have questions about whether their proposed changes will need to move beyond the VSU campus, they should consult VSU’s SACS Liaison or the Office of Academic Affairs.

If a department or a program wants a change to appear in the catalogue for the beginning of the academic year in August, the entire process must generally be completed by February of that year.

PROCESS:

1. Course or curriculum change or addition originates with a faculty member or curriculum committee in the Academic Program. (Complete required forms—Links to forms below).

Course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by academic program’s department or division.

3. Course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by academic program’s college.

4. Graduate course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the Graduate Executive Committee. (Schedule for Graduate Executive Committee).

5. Course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the University Academic Committee. (Schedule for Academic Committee).

6. Course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the VSU Faculty Senate. (Schedule for Faculty Senate)

7. Substantive changes must be submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools through VSU’s SACS Liaison ; new academic degrees, majors, or changes to the name of degree programs must be submitted to the Board of Regents for approval ; and additions to VSU’s core curriculum must be submitted to the University System of Georgia General Education Council.

FOR NEW PROGRAMS/MAJORS:

If a department, college, or division is proposing a new degree, the appropriate proposal form from the University System of Georgia must be used (Guidelines and forms available at http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/new_programs/).  If the new degree is also to be offered externally, the External Degree Proposal form must also be submitted (see below).  This form or forms should be accompanied by VSU’s “Request for a New Program” form and must follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG. After USG approval, individual new course and curriculum proposal forms must be submitted and approved.

FOR NEW CERTIFICATES:

If a department, college, or division is proposing a new certificate program, the appropriate proposal form from the University System of Georgia must be used (Guidelines and forms available at http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/).  This form must follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

TO CHANGE THE METHOD OF DELIVERY FOR AN EXISTING VSU PROGRAM:

If a department, college, or division wishes to offer an existing degree program at another location or online, the External Degree Proposal Form from the University System of Georgia must be used (Guidelines and forms available at http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/external/).  A “Request for Revised Catalogue Copy” form may also be needed for any catalogue changes. These forms must follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

TO PROPOSE A NEW COURSE FOR VSU’S CORE CURRICULUM:

If a department, college, or division is proposing a new course for VSU’s core curriculum, the VSU Request for a New Course form should be used as well as the “Core Curriculum Course Proposal Form” for the University System of Georgia’s General Education Council (available at http://www.usg.edu/academic_planning/committees/view/general_education/) . These forms must follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

FOR DEACTIVATING OF TERMINATING A PROGRAM:

If a department, college, or division wishes to deactivate or terminate a program, the appropriate University System of Georgia form must be used (available at http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/).  This form must be accompanied by the VSU “Request to Deactivate a Course/Program” form and follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

FOR SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE/PROGRAM MODIFICATION:

If a department, college, or division wishes to make substantial curricular or mission and academic priorities changes, the appropriate University System of Georgia form must be used (guidelines and forms available at http://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/changes/).  These forms should also be accompanied by the appropriate VSU forms and should follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

The academic forms below are available in Word 2007; users should be able to save copies of these forms to their computers, title them appropriately, type in the required information, print forms, and then subsequently revise the forms as needed. Signed hard copies of the forms should be submitted for all required meetings; after the Academic Committee has approved a form, programs should also submit electronic copies of the form to the catalogue editor.