Curriculum Strategy System
- Submitters and Approvers
- Course Changes Instructions
- Program Changes Instructions
- Curriculum Archive
- Videos
Curriculum Strategy – Submitting and Approving Curriculum Proposals
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley uses Curriculum Strategy by Watermark to provide an electronic academic program and course approval system. Curriculum Strategy is an online interface that allows programs and courses to be proposed, created, assessed, revised, approved, and implemented. Faculty and staff involved in departmental-, school-, and University-level review may view the progress of their proposals from start to finish.
Through the Curriculum Strategy SSO Login, form submitters approved by the academic colleges, department chairs, deans and others can view, comment on, and approve proposals.
New users can request access by using the Curriculum Strategy User Access Request Form. The requestors supervisor and the college dean must approve access.
Existing form submitters will go to Curriculum Strategy – SSO Login and enter their UTRGV credentials to begin drafting a proposal or to approve a proposal.
Curriculum Review and Approval Workflow
Use the new course form to:
- Add a new undergraduate course
- Add a new master’s course
- Add a new doctoral course
- Replace a deleted course with a new course using a revised prefix and number (must simultaneously submit a delete course form for the existing course)
Use the change course form to make any of the following changes to existing courses:
- Change the long course title
- Change the short course title
- Change the course description
- Change the course level
- Change the schedule type
- Change the lecture or lab contact hours
- Change the grading basis
- Change the repeatability of a course
- Change the attribute to permit a course to be created as a topics course on the schedule
- Change the maximum credits allowed for a repeatable course
- Change the pre- or co-requisites of a course
- Change a corresponding active equivalent course
- Change whether the course needs consent of the department or instructor for enrollment
- Change when the course will typically be offered
- Change the equivalent TCCNS of a course
- Change the CIP code for a course
- Change the administrative unit for an existing department
Use the delete course form to:
- Permanently inactivate a course
- Inactivate a course due to renumbering or changing the course prefix (submit a new course form for the replacement, equivalent course)
RESOURCES
- The New Course Form: Guide to Form Fields provides detailed definitions and explanations of all items on the new course form.
- The Change Course Form: Guide to Form Fields provides detailed definitions and explanations of all items on the change course form.
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The University Syllabus Template provides detailed information on requirements for syllabi for new courses.
Use the new program proposal form to seek approval of:
- New undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral majors
- New undergraduate minors
- New undergraduate or graduate certificates
- New concentration for an existing undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral program
- New internal official double majors
- Offering an existing program online (traditional or AOP)
- Offering an existing program off-campus
- Add a new degree designation to an existing program
- Change an existing program degree designation if inactivating the existing degree designation(must submit a delete program form to inactivate the major under the current designation)
Use the change program proposal form to seek approval to change any information for an existing program published in the web-based catalog. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Changing the program overview in the catalog
- Changing or reorganizing course requirement lists on any section of an existing degree
- Changing admission, progression, and graduation requirements of an existing degree
- Change total credits for the degree (must meet external standards for program length)
- Change the name of an existing program
- Change the administrative unit for an existing program
Use the delete program proposal form to:
- Close and submit a teach out plan for an existing undergraduate, master’s or doctoral program
- Close and submit a teach out plan for an existing undergraduate minor or certificate
- Close and submit a teach out plan for an existing master’s or doctoral concentration
- Close an existing face-to-face program that will be moved to an exclusively online program format
- Close and submit a teach out plan for an existing online program (traditional or AOP)
- Close and submit a teach out plan for an existing program offered at a specific off-campus site (must be submitted if off-campus site will not be used continuously)
- Close the degree designation for an existing to be offered under a new degree designation
RESOURCES
- The New Program Development Workflow outlines the steps to be followed when seeking the approval of a new program (e.g., new undergraduate or graduate degrees).
- The New Program Curriculum Approval Workflow outlines the steps to be followed when seeking the approval of a new program of study/degree plan to be included in the catalog, DegreeWorks and other student information systems.
- The Change Program Curriculum Approval Workflow outlines the steps to be followed when seeking the approval to make changes to existing programs/degree plans published in the catalog, DegreeWorks, and the student information systems.
- The New Program Idea process and form can be found on the New Program Development website.
- The Graduate Degree Plan Template should be used when submitting new graduate programs and changing existing graduate programs. The degree plan template matches the organization of the content as it will appear in the published Graduate Catalog. Instructions and examples are provided in the Graduate Degree Plan Instructions and Example document.
- The Undergraduate Degree Plan Template should be used when submitting new graduate programs and changing existing graduate programs. The degree plan template matches the organization of the content as it will in the published Undergraduate Catalog. Instructions are provided in the Undergraduate Degree Plan Instructions and Examples document.
Goals of Curriculum Strategy
The goals of Curriculum Strategy are to:
- Maintain an accurate account of all course offerings and degree programs.
- Integrate course, degree, and catalog information with Banner, DegreeWorks and University Catalogs.
- Allow faculty, departments, colleges, and staff to access, edit, and propose changes to the curriculum in a web-based approval system.
- Build a transparent curriculum approval process.
- Maintain and publish a curriculum approval archive.
Accessing Proposals in Progress
Faculty, staff and administration may view any proposal in progress through the Curriculum Strategy - Dashboard. From the Curriculum Dashboard, any user may view a proposal in progress without logging in. All UTRGV users have access to view proposals in progress by clicking on the proposal name in the workflow. Committee (Graduate or Undergraduate), College, and department names have recently been added to the workflow to make it easier to locate a specific proposal.
Accessing Archived (Approved) Proposals
Once approved by the Provost, a proposal will be moved the Archived Proposals tab in the Curriculum Dashboard. Effective with the AY 21-22 cycle, a committee has been added to all forms to make it easier to identify previously approved proposals. Approved proposals will be implemented in the catalog in accordance with the university course and catalog cycle.
Downloading Proposal Reports
A report of proposals in proposal in progress or archived proposals, may be downloaded from the Curriculum Dashboard. To do so, click on the link labeled “Download Spreadsheet” from the dashboard page.
Course Change Proposal Workshop Video
November 12, 2021 - Teams Recording
Program Change Proposal Workshop Video
November 19, 2021 - Teams Recording