Types of course proposals: New, change, retire

  • New courses can be:
    • A topic that has never been offered before
    • A previously offered special topic changing to a permanent offering
    • An existing course which has been changed so drastically that it is essentially a new offering
  • Changes: Occur when an existing course has one or more course fields updated.
  • Inactivations/retirements: Occur when an existing course is no longer to be offered to students.

Courses appearing in the courses database with Kuali Curriculum Management (CM) will also be moved, via integration, to Quest. The corresponding proposal type in Kuali CM will dictate the action to be taken in Quest and thus it is imperative that the correct proposal type is selected.

Considerations to determine proposal type

Creating a new course

  • Is the proposed content already offered in another discipline’s existing course (in or outside your own faculty)?
    • If so, can it be cross-listed instead of creating a new course?
      • If yes: see cross-listing process.
      • If no: consider adding the existing course(s) as antirequisite(s) to the new course and suggest to the other discipline that they add the new course as an antirequisite to their course, with the same effective date. See how to build requisites.
  • Could the content of the new course be of interest to another discipline?
    • Another discipline may want to add a cross-listing.
    • Another discipline may want to add the new course as a requirement to their plan(s).
    • If yes to either: the items listed above should be discussed with the other discipline(s) so that the submission can be co-ordinated and reach the top of the governance approval process at the same time or in the correct sequential order.
  • What enrolment cap is being considered?
    • Are there room usage constraints that need to be considered?
  • Has the content of the new course been previously offered in another format, e.g., a topics course?

Changing a course

  • Are requisites being added?
    • If the course being added to a requisite belongs to another discipline: consultation with the other discipline is required.
      • Before agreeing to an addition, disciplines should consider:
        • Will there be an increase in demand? Can this be accommodated?
        • Will enrolment reserves be needed to accommodate these students?
    • If a new course is being added, will current students, who haven't taken the new course yet, still be able to take the course. Does an interim status need to be created until existing cohorts are through?
  • Are requisites being removed?
    • If the course being removed from a requisite belongs to another discipline: consultation with the other discipline is required.
    • Has enough time elapsed - the rule of thumb is to keep retired/inactivated courses in requisites for five years (a typical cohort cycle)?
  • How much is changing with the course (e.g., description, title, level)?
    • Are the learning outcomes similar or different behind the visual changes?
    • Is it really a course change or should it become a new course?
      • If students have taken the course previously and the idea is that they could "repeat it" = new course.
      • If students have taken the course previously and they can't take it again = course change.

Retiring a course

  • The proposed course inactivation/retirement may affect one or more academic plans in your, or other University of Waterloo, academic unit.
    • If it affects another discipline’s plan(s): it is your responsibility to contact the other discipline so that they become aware and may begin to adjust their curriculum (if applicable). This consultation should be indicated in the Kuali CM proposal
  • When is the planned last offering of the course?
    • If it is a required course, will students who need to take it still be allowed to (until when) and if not, what options will be provided to those students?
      • If the course needs to be offered in the future, past the allowed effective date (one academic calendar year at a time), it should not be retired at this time; submit a proposal to retire when the proposed effective date matches the academic calendar cycle being worked on.