Adding New Courses and Changing Existing Courses
Creating a New Course
All new courses require approval by the appropriate Faculty Council(s). Please send all materials directly to the Faculty Council chair(s).
Instructors should obtain Departmental Chair approval and submit a completed Course Proposal form and documentation outlining the proposed course content (syllabus, cases, readings) along with an explanation for how the course fits into the school’s overall curriculum. Instructors are encouraged to discuss any possible course material overlap with existing courses with those instructors and/or department. Include in the proposal information for how the courses differ or indicate that coordination between instructors will reduce overlap of content.
If a course is intended to be for both undergraduates and graduate students, it must be approve by both councils separately.
For the fastest processing, please always include the following information when submitting a course proposal:
- Course Title
- Credit Amount
- Course description
- Intended Population and / or Prerequisite
- Intended First Offering Term (please be mindful of the deadlines for each semester)
Experimental to Regular Course Approval
If approved, new courses are typically approved first as “Experimental” for one or two offerings.
Prior to being offered again, the course must be reviewed by the Faculty Council(s) again – requesting either additional “experimental” offerings, or to be approved as a “regular” course in the curriculum.
Instructors must include the course syllabus and readings/cases as well as enrollment and course evaluations.
Instructors and Area Chairs are responsible for knowing if their course(s) are experimental and will need to be submitted to be approved as a regular course.
Changes to Already Existing Courses
Title/Description Changes
Minor course title/description changes do not need Faculty Council approval. In general, these are changes that do not impact the purpose of the course and do not represent a change in course content.
- For course descriptions, minor changes would usually be 1-2 sentences
- For course titles, this could be approximately 1-4 words, depending on meaning
Instructors who have any changes of this nature should obtain the approval of their Department Chair, and then contact the Ross Registrar’s Office with the updated information.
- The Ross Registrar’s Office will submit the appropriate paperwork to the central Registrar’s Office who then makes the updates in Wolverine Access.
- Please note that it can take 1-2 weeks for course changes to be processed after the Registrar’s Office receives them.
Title/Description Changes that represent a change in course content should be reviewed by the appropriate Faculty Council(s) for approval. Submit a Course Proposal request approved and signed by the department chair to the council.
Credit Changes
Changing the credit value of a course always requires Faculty Council approval. Submit a Course Proposal request approved by the Department Chair to the Faculty Council.
Prerequisite Changes
Updates to prerequisites are required to be in agreement with the various student programs at Ross, as they serve an important function in seat allocation.
For Core Courses, changes to the prerequisite should be discussed with the area chair and the program office of the student population that will be affected, and then it can be approved by the Faculty Council.
For Elective Courses, changes to the prerequisite can be requested by the faculty member teaching the course as long as it is still in agreement with the Ross academic programs (for example, prerequisites cannot be adjusted to allow undergraduates in graduate courses).
- To request a change to your prerequisite, please fill out this Google form.
Please note that prerequisite changes can take 1-3 weeks to be completely processed. If course enrollment is in progress, there is a likelihood the changes will not take effect for all students in time. Questions about the process can be directed toward the Ross Registrar’s Office curriculum email address, ross.curriculum@umich.edu.
Special Topics
Special Topics courses should be approved first by the departmental chair, and then brought to the Faculty Council(s) for review of the topic and course content. Please submit a proposed syllabus and readings/cases to the council.
