GUIDELINES FOR NEW OR CHANGED COURSES OR CURRICULUM
All changes or additions to the curriculum at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) follow the campus process outlined below. Other curriculum and course changes may also require notification of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS COC), GSW’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 GSW 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 GSW campus, they should consult GSW’s SACS COC 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.
THE PROCESS:
1) Course or curriculum change or addition originates with a faculty member in the Academic Program. (Complete required forms—Links to forms below).
2) Graduate course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the Committee on Graduate Affairs.
3) Undergraduate course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the Committee on Academic Affairs.
4) Course or curriculum change or addition for any program that leads to Teacher Certification under the rules of Board of Regents and the Professional Standards Commission of Georgia must be approved by the Teacher Education Committee.
5) Curriculum change or addition must be approved by the GSW Faculty Senate.
6) Substantive changes must be submitted to the SACS COC by GSW’s SACS COC Liaison. If you not sure whether the change is substantive, consult GSW’s SACS COC 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 GSW’s core curriculum must be submitted to the University System of Georgia General Education Council.
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. Forms should be submitted to committees following the guidelines established by each committee. At least one signed hard copy of each form should be submitted for all required committees; after approvals are secured, programs should also submit electronic copies of the form(s) to the registrar.
Course Outline Template
(requests for revised courses must be accompanied by both the existing course outline and a revised course outline)
Request for a New Course
Course Outline Template
(requests for new courses must be accompanied by a course outline)
Request for a Curriculum Change
Request to Deactivate a Course/Program
Request for a New Program
Requests for new degree programs also require University System of Georgia approval, while requests for new minor or certificate programs only require USG notification