Contact person: Audrey Shalinsky, Associate Dean
Adding, modifying, or eliminating courses is one part of maintaining a curriculum. The Course Action Request Form for initiating a request to add, modify, or eliminate a course is available at University of Wyoming Office of the Registrar: Course Committee Information. The instructions for the form accompany it. For information about the process and the various committees that must approve courses, link to the A&S web site.
Requests for new courses need to follow the numbering system explained in UNIREG 721. The various course committees will be stringent in applying that numbering system. Requests for new courses need to include a proposed syllabus, and a clear explanation of the availability of resources to offer the course. For example, will other courses be offered less often or is an instructor increasing her/his teaching load?
Changes to courses, including adding a cross-list (courses at the same level in multiple departments) or dual list (courses simultaneously taught at the undergraduate and graduate level) or proposing a change in prerequisites, for example, are handled through the same process. Requests to change the content of a course should be accompanied by both the old and the proposed new syllabus. Requests to change or eliminate a course with a 1000 or 2000 number also requires contacting the Statewide Course Catalog coordinator (consult Janet Timmerman at X6-3152).
Requests for courses to be dual-listed (that is, to have both a 4000 and 5000 number) need to explain what different requirements there will be for graduate students. The explanation may be included in the accompanying syllabus.
The completed form must be signed by the head(s) of the department(s)/ program(s) involved in the creation, cross-/dual-listing, modification, or elimination of the course.
For all requests, the original plus 10 copies are sent to the A&S Dean’s Office. The Course Action Review Sub-committee reviews the requests and makes a recommendation to the Central Committee. Upon approval by the Central Committee, the request is sent to the University Course Committee and/or USP committee if applicable. If approved by the University Course Committee, the requested action becomes effective. The process takes a minimum of 60 days. For a change or new course to be included in the next Bulletin, the process should be initiated no later than September.
USP courses are the university-wide general education courses at the University of Wyoming. The College of Arts and Sciences requires that any requests for USP approval are first submitted to the Central Committee. That group will screen applications regarding only the availability of resources in the unit to offer the courses in a regularly scheduled fashion. The University Studies Committee will review the proposals based on its criteria. Also, no unit may submit more than 10 USP courses without getting approval from the Central Committee. The criteria for approving additional courses are at http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/a&s/Faculty/university_studies_information.htm.
The Dean’s Office has a short form to be filled out and attached to USP approval requests, http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/a&s/Faculty/USP%20and%20Resource%20Commitment.doc That form will ask for the information necessary for the Central Committee to make its decisions relating to the availability of resources. Directions for submitting courses for USP are at USP forms http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/unst/USP_2003_faculty_page.htm.
Graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences are expected to be liberally educated—to have the knowledge and skills to deal with the unexpected and to see opportunities from multiple perspectives. A liberal education enhances the intellectual flexibility needed to find new applications for knowledge and to offer varied solutions to complex problems. To develop these abilities, the college faculty designed the A&S Core.
When you advise students, they should understand that you are suggesting courses that may meet different types of requirements: USP, the A&S core, their major and their minor (if applicable). Refer to the A&S Web for information on degree requirements.