Kuali Curriculum Management (CM) is a forms-based online platform that enables campus stakeholders to submit, track, and approve curriculum motions across the University of Waterloo's governance model and assists administrators with an updated solution to publish the academic calendars. It is operated in partnership by the Office of the Registrar, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, and Information Systems and Technology.
Kuali CM is replacing existing systems and processes on campus and will link to Kuali Catalog which is used to publish academic calendars, allowing for an updated and consistent look and feel across all student groups. Courses in Kuali CM will be integrated with Quest.
Workflows have been developed in Kuali CM for driving the proposal approval process from submission through to final approval, and have been designed to meet Waterloo's unique governance process.
System terminology
The following terminology will be used throughout the Kuali CM system and training materials.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Database(s) | An organized collection of data, stored electronically, which can be viewed in various ways. Kuali CM features three curricular databases: courses, programs and plans, and regulations. |
| Record | An individual instance of an approved curriculum item, i.e., a specific course, program/plan, or regulation appearing in the respective database. For example, ECON101 or Anthropology Minor. |
| Proposal | Essentially, a motion. A proposal is created when a user is proposing to create or modify an existing record. |
| Effective date | The date, including term and year, that a proposal will take effect (if approved). |
| Version | Each record can have multiple versions associated with it and they are defined by different effective periods (start and end dates). Each time a user proposes changes, they are asked to define a new start term (effective date) and are ultimately, once approved, creating a new version. For example, ECON101 version 1 = Fall 2023-Spring 2024; ECON101 version 2 = Fall 2024-Spring 2025. |
| Revision | Revisions are changes approved to versions of a record with the same effective date as the previous instance. For example, ECON101 version 2 was created with a Fall 2024 effective date in May 2023. In October 2023, another change was initiated and also had a Fall 2024 effective date. Version 2 of ECON101 now has two revised states and both can be viewed in Kuali. |
| Status | Each record and version of a record in Kuali CM has a status. The status identifies if the course, program/plan, or regulation is in the workflow, as well as its current approved status for appearing in the appropriate academic calendar. Record statuses include Draft, Under Review, Active, Future, Past, and Retired. |
| Workflow | Workflow is the approval engine that drives the proposal approval process from the initial proposal submission through to final approval. There exists a workflow for each of the three databases and they have each been designed to meet Waterloo's unique governance process. |
| Proposer | Proposers are the individuals (employees) who need access to Kuali CM to create proposals from blank templates or submit changes to existing records. This role is restricted to the undergraduate level. |
| Approver |
Approvers are the individuals (employees) who need access to Kuali CM to perform approval-related tasks during the workflow. |