Rationales
The suggested length of the rationale will vary depending on what is happening to the proposal and how many fields are changing (if applicable). For example, rationales for new courses will normally be longer than one for a course retirement.
What to include in a rationale
- Write brief statements while providing information needed for committee members to review the proposal at all approval stages.
- For changes, explain the reason behind each change being made (e.g., accessibility, improved relevance, essential for success in program). Providing this information is helpful to the official record should it need to be accessed in the future, considering staff and faculty change over.
- For course retirements, explain the reason the course is being permanently retired (e.g., low enrolment, new course being developed to take its place).
- For new courses, provide additional background that might be germane to its creation (e.g., proposed enrolment cap, frequency of planned offerings, learning outcomes, it was offered as a topics course with enrolment data, etc.).
- Special information that can be included in rationales:
- Special course grading details/request for Office of the Registrar to reach out with questions regarding special grading.
- Explanation of complicated requirement changes/reorganizations when new rules are needed; i.e., only a small change is actually occurring but the track changes make it seem like a large change.
- A few things to avoid with rationales:
- Avoid specific reference to faculty member changes (hires/retirements) or areas of expertise. Although it might be relevant, new courses should be created because of the unit's curriculum and student desire/demand.
- Avoid using terminology only known to the academic unit/faculty; spell out acronyms.
- Avoid statements that describe the change that is visible in the proposal; the rationale should be an explanation, providing context, about the change(s) being made.
- Avoid repeating information that should be included in other areas of the proposal form (e.g., effective date, consultations undertaken, etc.).