Consultation guidelines

Curriculum proposals can rarely be considered in a silo. It is important to understand how a proposal - to create, to change, and/or to retire - can impact existing curriculum across campus, including another academic unit's plans for proposals of their own.

Consulting those other units is critical, needs to occur early in the process, and is more than just "informing" - it usually involves a dialogue/discussion - and it should be documented in Kuali Curriculum Management (CM) during the submission process. Kuali CM is not a replacement for communication, but can be used as a tool to share proposals with other Kuali CM users.

Consultation is essential because:

  • It helps to clarify the impacts and resolve potential challenges related to curricular decisions and changes (for all units involved), including ownership, timetabling, instructor availability, room caps, course reserves, budget, etc.
  • It helps identify potential opportunities for collaboration across unit lines.
  • Related curricular business can all move forward at the same time – much clearer to the governance committees moving forward.

Below are some guidelines regarding when consultation is needed and what to document. If additional guidance is required, users can contact their faculty/AFWI contact or the Office of Registrar.

When is consultation required

Courses

Course proposals may have an impact on other units (e.g., departments/schools, other faculties, Co-operative Experience Education (CEE), Centre for Extended Learning (CEL), etc.).

When is consultation required?

Some examples (not an exhaustive list):

  • When retiring a course that is listed in a plan(s) outside the originating academic unit (see Dependencies section to learn where the course is listed).
  • When adding or removing a cross-listing (all stakeholders should be in agreement).
  • When making any type of change to a course that is already cross-listed (all stakeholders should be in agreement).
  • When changing requisites for a course that is listed in a plan(s) outside the originating academic unit (see Dependencies section to learn where the course is listed).
  • When creating a course that other academic units might be interested in teaching/cross-listing or deemed to have research expertise (it is simpler to add the cross-listing at the same time a course is created than to modify it later with a different effective date).

Programs and plans

Modifications to academic programs or plans may have an impact on other units (e.g., departments/schools, other faculties, Co-operative Experience Education (CEE), Centre for Extended Learning (CEL), etc.), as well as students. Regardless if the change requires approval or is considered editorial, individuals and units impacted by the change should be identified and consideration should be given to consultation and communication. Communication between faculties and other units (e.g., CEE) still needs to occur for editorial changes, where applicable.

In addition, the Quality Council now requires that all major modifications "should include an assessment of the impact the proposed modification will have on the program’s students. Input from current students and recent graduates of the program should be considered as part of the development of the [major modification]". (Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance, n.d.). Individuals can reach out to the Academic Quality Enhancement (AQuE) Office for assistance in determining whether student consultation is required; check with the appropriate faculty/institution representative to see who should handle the inquiry. Note: The AQuE team will be determining whether a change is a major or minor modification once a proposal has been submitted - in some cases, the proposal may be sent back to the proposer or approved with a comment regarding needed student consultation.

When is consultation required?

Some examples (not an exclusive list):

  • When adding courses (required or elective) from another discipline.
    • Before agreeing to an addition, disciplines should consider:
      • Will there be an increase in the demand for the course? Can this be accommodated?
      • Will enrolment reserves be needed to accommodate these students?
      • Do the requisites of the course need to be modified?
  • When removing courses (required or elective) belonging to another discipline.

What to document

Documenting the consultation in Kuali CM

Both proposal forms for courses and programs/plans include a Consultation field. This HTML text box allows for as much documentation as is needed, depending on what is occurring with the proposal, and can be formatted for readability.

This is a summary of the information that should be documented for members of governance committees to review - for each consultation touch point:

  • Consultation with another unit on campus:
    • The name of the department/school/unit that was consulted.
    • The name of the individual who was consulted.
    • The role of the individual who was consulted.
    • Was the consultation for awareness/acknowledgement or for approval.
    • The date the individual acknowledges/approved the change (not just the date an email was sent).
  • Consultation with students:
    • Details about the method of consultation (e.g., email, survey, feedback session).
    • Details about the student audience (e.g., first-year students in plan X, all students in major Y).
    • Details about agreement (i.e., was there a vote, was it unanimous support, etc.).
    • Date of the consultation.
    • Any concerns that were raised and how they were addressed.

Examples of good consultation documentation

  • Consultation with Joe Office, ACUG MSE and Jane Desk, MSE Option co-ordinator - discussed adding MSE446 as an antireq and adding CHE523 to the MSE option (June 2025).
  • Awareness email sent to Civil and Environmental Engineering (from J. Bloe to J. Doe, Oct 27, 2025).
  • Permission to add CHEM 101 to this plan was granted by the Dept of Chemistry (M. Red, Associate Chair) on Nov 1, 2025; 15 spots will be reserved for our students.
  • Retirement of GEOG 309, and replacement with AVIA 370, was decided at a GEM curricular review session and was reported via email (B. Rodenhurst, Associate Chair, Sept. 10, 2025).
  • Sept 4, 2025: Met with the Applied Mathematics Undergraduate Committee (AMATH ACUG) to discuss the MathPhys plan revisions and gather feedback.