Writing proposal rationales

A proposal rationale is a summary included in each course and plan proposal - no matter if it is a new, a change, or a retire type of proposal - to explain to approvers what is happening and why.

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Rationales are usually composed by faculty members within an academic unit to present the proposal to colleagues for approval. However, what is noteworthy is that the same rationale is carried forward throughout the entire governance approval process - from the academic unit all the way to Senate (if applicable). 

Although colleagues within one's own academic unit, or even faculty, may have the technical understanding of the material presented, the provided rationale must be able to explain and justify to all committee members on each governance committee.

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• Suggested length: 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 ones for course retirements.
• Format: 
  • Write brief statements while providing information needed for committee members to review the proposal at all governance approval levels.
  • Use either paragraph format or list of bullets.
• Tips:
  • Although it can be important to note how the proposal is part of a larger package of changes and can be addressed, the rationale for creating, retiring, or changing the specific proposal should be able to stand on its own.
  • Avoid repeating information that should be included in other areas of the proposal form details section (e.g., effective date, consultations undertaken, etc.).
  • Avoid using terminology only known to the academic unit/faculty; spell out acronyms and abbreviations.

What to include and exclude in a rationale

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, reason existing campus offerings isn't sufficient, etc.).
• 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 design and/or student desire and demonstrated demand.
• Special information that can be included in rationales:
  • Special course grading details/request for Office of the Registrar (RO) to reach out with questions regarding special grading.
  • Special coding requests (not count in averages).
  • Grading details for part A/B courses where the same grade is given upon completion of the set of courses.

Course changes

• Explain the reason (e.g., accessibility, improved relevance, essential for success in the program) behind each change being made (e.g., components, titles, requisites, etc.). Providing this information is helpful to the official record should it need to be accessed in the future, considering staff and faculty change over.
  • 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.
• For cross-listed courses where there is no change - the change is only on the other offering(s) - a proposal is still required and a generic rationale is sufficient.
  • Samples: 
    • No change is being made to this course; a new version/a revision is being created with a matching effective date because its cross-listed offering is changing.
    • Creating row to match the [effective date] change to [course]. No change is occurring to this course.
• Special information that can be included in rationales:
  • Explanation of complicated requisite 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.

Course retirements

• Explain the reason the course is being permanently retired (e.g., low enrolment, new course being developed to take its place, no longer needed for the unit's curriculum, etc.).
• Explain any impact on any academic plans listing it as a requirement (required or optional) or on any courses that list it as a prerequisite.

New programs/plans

• Provide additional background that might be germane to its creation (e.g., market research, student interest, proposed course sequence) and/or a summary of the new program brief.
• Special information that can be included in rationales:
  • Intended audience for the plan (e.g., minor, option, diploma).
  • Explanation of averages, progression, admission/declaration requirements that might not need to be in the academic calendar (this can help assess if the proposed academic calendar text is correct or if the Office of the Registrar/Graduate Studies Postdoctoral Affairs needs to provide guidance).

Program/plan changes

• Explain the reason (e.g., accessibility, improved relevance, essential for success in program) behind each change being made (e.g., averages, invalid combinations, requirements list, additional constraints). Providing this information is helpful to the official record should it need to be accessed in the future, considering staff and faculty change over.
• Special information that can be included in rationales:
  • 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.
  • When course unit weights are in the process of changing, the visible units will not match any of the written totals (referencing this is helpful).
  • When course numbers are in the process of changing, the current/old numbers will be visible, not the new (referencing this is helpful; in complicated scenarios, attaching a document mapping/outlining the eventual end result may also be helpful).

Program/plan retirements

• Explain the reason the program/plan is being permanently retired (e.g., low enrolment, lack of resources, etc.).

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Good

Needs improvement

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