Guidelines for Planning to Change a Course

College of Charleston
Faculty Curriculum Committee


Courses do not stand or fall on their own merits; they will be judged according to how they contribute to a student's course of study.  A course must have a coherent place within a program--either a major, a minor, or the general education curriculum.  A course may require changing due to reasons such as updating course content, educational research that suggests changes in format, changes in faculty or expertise, etc.  If the changes are extensive, however, a New Course Proposal may be required.

Typical changes handled by this form:

  1. Course Number
  2. Course Title
  3. Catalog description
  4. Prerequisites
  5. Gen Ed status
  6. Minor content changes
  7. Course format, LEC, LAB or LLB
  8. Course credit hours
  9. Cross listing

Changes not handled by this form:

  1. Frequency of offering
  2. Syllabus wording (so long as it does not conflict with catalog description)

Questions to consider about course changes:

  1. What are the goals, objectives and intended outcomes of the program (these should already be well defined by the department sponsoring the new course)?  If the proposed course changes would alter more than 1/4 of these intents, then a new course proposal is appropriate.
  2. How do the beginning, middle and end of the curriculum develop the goal objectives and intended outcomes of the program?  If the proposed changes significantly affect the placement in the curriculum (e.g., changing a freshman course to a junior course), then a new course proposal is appropriate.
  3. How does this course enhance the liberal education of the students?  A course changed from a majors-only course to a General Education course should probably be considered a new course.
  4. More than two of the changes listed as "Typically handled by this form" is considered a major change, and a New Course Proposal form is usually required.

The Change of Course form should not be used repeatedly to avoid using a New Course Proposal.

The Curriculum Committee Web Page is maintained by Bob Perkins. Please e-mail comments or suggestions to: perkinsr@cofc.edu. 
Revised August 19, 2008.