Frequently Asked Questions

Course Requests Requiring Only Chair/Dean Approval

Course Requests Requiring Board of Regents Approval

• How is a graduate course added to the Graduate Catalog and to degree audits?

  The Graduate College coordinates the editing and printing of the Graduate Catalog. Contact their office for additional information. Degree plans are not included in the Graduate Catalog. Graduate degree audits are located in DARS and are updated by contacting the Graduate College.

• How is an undergraduate course added to the Undergraduate Catalog and to degree audits?

  Our office coordinates the editing and printing of the Undergraduate Catalog. The course additions, changes, and deletions will be added to the catalog edit before it is sent to each College. At that time, faculty and/or staff will edit the degree plans for correct inclusion of courses. The degree audits in DARS are updated by Supervising Advisors at the undergraduate level.

• Our department would like to change a prerequisite or a corequisite on a current course. How do we do that?

  The department is required to submit a course inventory change form. The form should include in the description, the change in prerequisites or corequisites and the justification for the change.

• What does repeatable for credit mean?

  Repeatable for credit means that this course can be repeated by the student for credit in his degree. If the student takes this course a second time, both letter grades will count in the student’s GPA and in the hours calculated towards a degree. If this option is not indicated on a course form and a student takes a course for the second time, the second grade will replace the first in the student’s GPA and on the transcript.

• What are the valid grade options?

  1) All letter grades: A, B, C, D, F, I, W are all valid for entry by the faculty.
  2) Credit/Non-credit grades: CR, PR, F, I, W are all valid for entry by the faculty.

• Which CIP code do I use on my topics course proposal?

  Use the same CIP code as the header record. Our office will verify the code upon submission.

• Which CIP code do I use on a course addition proposal?

  Use the CIP code that most closely relates to the course description. You can find CIP code information on the THECB website at http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/CIP/. The CIP code is unnecessary for a course deletion proposal and most course change proposals.
  The Office of Curriculum Services will review CIP codes submitted on course proposals for verification that our University is authorized to teach under this code.

• Why does the abbreviated title on the course proposal form only allow me to enter 18 characters?

  The student transcript allows for 18 character course titles.

• Our department faculty want to change a current course’s content and therefore, its course description. Does this require a course change proposal or a course addition proposal?

  The general rule is that if 50% or more of the course description and course content are changing, you create a new course. This requires a course addition form and supplemental form. If the old course will no longer be offered, you must also submit a course deletion proposal.
  If the course description and content are changing, but less than 50% of the content and description changing, then you should submit a course change form with the updated course description. This will also require an updated supplemental form.

• What is the difference between a cross listed course and a cross referenced course?

  Cross-referenced and cross-listed courses are courses that have been determined by the faculty to be equivalents with at least 50% of the same course content. Cross-referenced and cross-listed courses count as repeats of each other in grade point calculations and degree audits. Cross-referenced courses can be inactive or active courses, whereas cross-listed courses are typically active courses. Cross-referenced and cross-listed courses can be established across multiple academic administrative units or in a single unit. If course additions are proposed as replacements for deleted courses, then the course addition proposal should include the deleted course as a cross-reference.

• Where can I access the guidelines for completing the CIM Course Addition Form?

  Guidelines for Completing the CIM Course Addition Form

• Our department has an inactive topics course in the inventory. This course was never taught. Can we use this number and suffix for a different topic?

  Yes. Because this course was never taught, the department may submit a course change proposal (P.P.S. 2.01, Attachment B), along with the supplemental form (P.P.S. 2.01, Attachment C). The form requires Chair and Dean approval. It can then be submitted to the Curriculum Services office in JCK 1040.

• Our department would like to offer a topics course next month. How quickly can the Curriculum Services office process this request?

  If there is a header record in the course inventory, our office can add a topics course as soon as they receive a topics course proposal, with the required signatures (Chair, Dean, and Graduate Dean if applicable) and the required supplemental form. We will email you with confirmation of entry and you can immediately schedule the course.

• Our department would like to offer a topics course, but we do not have a header record course in the inventory. How quickly can a header record course be processed?

  A header record course is a permanent course and is used for reporting purposes at the THECB. This course must be processed through the annual course cycle; just as all other permanent courses are processed.
  The department will submit a header record course proposal along with two possible topics courses. For example, MKT 5397 is submitted as the header record course and MKT 5397A and MKT 5397B are submitted as the two potential topics.

• Can our department schedule and teach the header record course?

  No. This course is used for reporting purposes only and is not intended to be taught.

• Our department is unsure of actual topics we will teach, but we know the topics option is valuable to the department for quick processing of course proposal ideas. How can we submit the two required topics course proposals when we do not have a topic in mind?

  The two potential topics courses you submit are just that, potential topics. The submission of two potential topics demonstrates to the review bodies (CCC, UCC, BOR, etc.) that the department has seriously considered this option and that the department has ideas that could be of interest to their students. It is not required that these actual topics be scheduled and taught.