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402-1 - Course Development and Revision Policy

Title:  Course Development and Revision Policy
Owner: Office of the Provost
Last Updated/Revised: 07/01/2024

 

Policy: Course content is a core responsibility of program faculty. Each college maintains a system of curriculum folders and documents, which is shared with the Office of the Provost. The Office of the Provost manages the Instructional Designers to ensure quality and consistency of the product and the student experience. While Faculty own the content, the Instructional Designers make suggestions to ensure the course is aligned with best practices. If the Faculty and Instructional Designer do not agree on any points, individuals (e.g., Program Director, Dean, Provost) will be consulted to come to a resolution that meets the needs of the faculty while maintaining best practices in curriculum design and staying in alignment with our institutional mission.

Faculty work within their curriculum committee or smaller teams to create, review, update, or edit a course in the Course Guide. If approved by the program leadership, faculty may also work with a hired SME. The processes for approvals for course content are within the purview of the academic leadership of each program (for approvals related to assessment materials see 214 - Assessment Materials Approval Process).

Often changes to curriculum must be made quickly. This is considered a Hot Fix. A Hot Fix does not require approval by a curriculum committee as it is not considered a revision but rather fixing something that is broken (e.g., a link), missing (e.g., appears in the Course Guide but not in the class), or incorrect (e.g., a typographical error). In the case of a broken link, an equivalent alternative is supplied by the Program Director or designee.

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to detail the procedure for developing and revising curriculum.

Procedures:

Hot Fixes

  1. Faculty member completes the Hot Fix Form.
  2. Instructional Designer makes corrections, consulting with Program Director or Designee, as appropriate.
  3. The faculty member submitting the request is notified when changes are made.
  4. The faculty, Program Director, or designee communicates to the college as appropriate.

Revisions - Procedures differ by College; see below.

College of Education (COE) and College of Business and Technology Management (COBTM)

  1. Faculty member identifies the need for a revision and notifies the Program Director.
  2. The Program Director discusses revision with Dean.
    1. If the decision is to not to move forward, faculty member is notified.
    2. If the decision is to move forward, revision is discussed during the bi-monthly Curriculum Meeting with the Office of the Provost, and the course is placed on the Curriculum Revision Schedule. Revisions will be prioritized based on the current course development schedule and the urgency of the request.
  3. Program Director identifies a SME/faculty who makes edits to the Course Guide. Edits are made using track changes.
  4. Edits are approved by the Program Director.
  5. Approved edits are delivered to the Office of the Provost who will review the changes to make sure the revisions align with best practices and the mission of the university (pending revisions, approval by the Assessment Committee may be required at this stage, see 214).
  6. Revisions are made per course development/revision schedule managed by the Office of the Provost.

College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CONHS)

  1. Faculty member identifies the need for revision and notifies the Lead Faculty.
  2. Lead Faculty present revision to weekly CONHS Curriculum Committee.
    1. If not approved, faculty member is notified.
    2. If approved, changes are submitted via CONHS Curriculum Revision Form.
  3. Curriculum Revision Request is approved Program Director/Dean(s).
  4. Once the request is approved by the Program Director, the Office of the Provost places the course on the Curriculum Revision Schedule. Revisions will be prioritized based on the current course development schedule and the urgency of the request.
  5. The Office of the Provost reviews the changes to make sure the revisions align with best practices and the mission of the university (pending revisions, approval by the Assessment Committee may be required at this stage, see 214).
  6. Revisions are made per schedule and communicated to the Lead Faculty who submitted the request.

New Course Development Process - All Colleges

  1. A new course must be approved prior to development (see 402-3).
  2. The Program Director notifies the Office of the Provost of the new course and the assigned SME. The Office of the Provost places the course on the schedule. Course will be prioritized based on the current course development schedule and the urgency of the request.
  3. The Office of the Provost communicates the schedule with the Program Director who works with the SME to meet the deadlines.
  4. SME has access to the Office of the Provost for guidance during the course development process.
  5. SME delivers the Course Guide to the Program Director.
  6. The Program Director/Dean approves the Course Guide.
  7. Course Guide delivered to the Office of the Provost.
  8. The Office of the Provost will review the changes to make sure the course aligns with best practices and the mission of the university (pending revisions, approval by the Assessment Committee may be required at this stage, see 214).
  9. Course is built within the LMS per schedule and communicated to the Program Director who submitted the request, and the Office of the Registrar (see 402-3).

Scope: This policy applies to all USU courses.

Documents and Forms:

Hot Fix Form

CONHS Curriculum Revision Form