Curriculum Proposals

The curriculum review workflow starts with the faculty submitter. A complete proposal routes to the department chair.

The department chair circulates the proposal with the department faculty (or department curriculum committee, if applicable). The chair also consults with other affected colleges, departments and programs. Once reviewed by the department faculty, the chair enters the decision or returns the proposal for changes. An approved proposal continues in the workflow and is routed to the college associate dean. An automatic notification is sent to the library.

The associate dean routes the proposal to the college curriculum committee. Once reviewed by the committee, the designee enters the decision or returns the proposal for changes. An approved proposal continues in the workflow.

The associate dean routes the proposal to the Ethnic Studies Academic Committee (ESAC), if applicable. ESAC reviews undergraduate courses proposed to meet the Ethnic Studies (ES) designation. The ESAC chair enters the committee’s decision or returns the proposal for changes.

The associate dean circulates the college’s approved proposals with the university associate deans, EPC/GSC chairs, executive secretaries and recording secretaries. Modification and/or consultation may be requested prior to full committee review.

The associate dean routes the college’s approved proposals to EPC (undergraduate) or GSC (graduate). In some cases a proposal may need to be reviewed by both committees. Once reviewed by EPC and/or GSC the designee enters the decision or returns the proposal for changes. An approved proposal will continue in the workflow.

The EPC/GSC recording secretaries route the approved proposals to the registrar. The appropriate campus area will update SOLAR or DARS and mark the proposal as complete, ending the workflow. An email notification with a link to the archived proposal is sent to the submitter, department chair and associate dean.

User Guides

Download the applicable user guides below:

• Submitter (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23
• Submitter Supplement (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23
• Department Chair (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23
• College Curriculum Committee Member (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23
• College Curriculum Committee Approval Designee (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23 
• Proposal Manager - Associate Dean/Designee (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23
• Ethnic Studies Academic Committee (ESAC) Designee (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23 
• EPC/GSC Member (PDF) - rev. 2/27/23

Reference Sheets

• Copy/Paste (Plain Text) Instructions (PDF) - rev. 8/1/17
• Incognito/Private Browsing (PDF) - rev. 3/3/20
• Print/PDF Instructions (PDF) - rev. 10/6/17
• Time Out Information (PDF) - rev. 10/26/20

• Submitter and Department Chair Training Video
  • Transcript (PDF)

FAQs

1. Do I need to use a specific web browser to access the proposal form?
   Yes, please refer to the CSUN IT OnBase website for the list of support browsers. The list has been updated for OnBase Foundation EP3. For technical assistance, please contact your College IT.
2. How do I access a saved/completed proposal form?
   A link to access the proposal form is sent to the submitter's email address entered on the form. The same proposal link is used throughout the workflow. Note: The email notification is sent from No-Reply-OnBase. This email address is not setup to receive emails. Please contact curriculum@csun.edu with questions.
3. How do I access the proposal form if I lost or never received the email notification?
   Contact curriculum@csun.edu to obtain a copy of the email notification. When you access the proposal, verify that your email address was entered correctly on the form.
4. Do I need to login to access the proposal link from the email notification?
   Yes, you will be prompted to login with your CSUN User ID and password.
5. How do I access proposals from off campus?
   VPN is required to access proposals from off campus. See VPN for more information or contact your local IT support.
6. Can I review track changes/revision history on the proposal form?
   The form does not display track changes or revision history.
7. Can I copy and paste text from another file/source into the curriculum proposal form?
   Any text copied from another file/source (e.g., Word, email, website) must be pasted as plain text in the proposal form. See the Copy/Paste (Plain Text) Instructions (PDF) Reference Sheet for details.
8. What file types can be attached to the curriculum proposal form?
   PDF is preferred. Multiple documents should be consolidated into one file whenever possible to reduce the number of attachments. Adobe Creative Cloud software is available for use on all faculty and staff university-owned computers. Note: Once the form is saved the attachment cannot be deleted.
9. How can I print or save a copy of a proposal form?
   The Print button is available at the bottom of any saved form. Use the Print button to print a hard copy. Depending on the web browser you can select Print to save the form as a PDF (note: Chrome supports printing the form to a PDF file.) See the Print/PDF Instructions (PDF) Reference Sheet for details.
10. How do I share a copy of the proposal for feedback?
    To share a copy of the proposal, use the Print button to save a PDF of the form. Feedback can be provided directly on the PDF using the Adobe Reader comment and annotation icons.
11. How long can the proposal be open until it times out?
    For security reasons, the form will timeout after 20 minutes of inactivity. If you are editing the form be sure to save regularly.
12. What happens with denied proposals?
    Proposals that have been denied by the department or one of the approval committees (College Curriculum Committee, Educational Policies Committee, Graduate Studies Committee) are no longer part of the workflow. The proposal will be archived in OnBase.
13. What is the process for consulting the library?
    When the department approves a proposal, an automatic email notification is sent to the library with a link to view the form.

Email notifications are sent throughout the workflow process. Learn more about the different email notifications below. Emails are sent from . Email notifications may take up to 15 to 15 minutes to send.

Submitter: Receives an email notification when a proposal is saved as a draft, submitted for department review, or returned for changes. The submitter will also receive a reminder email on the first Monday of the month for proposals in Proposal Completion or Returned to Submitter status. Finally, the submitter receives an email notification when the proposal has completed the workflow.

Department Chair: Receives an email notification when a proposal is submitted by a faculty member or returned from the associate dean. The department chair will also receive a reminder email on the first Monday of the month for any proposals in department review or returned to department status. Finally, the department chair receives an email notification when the proposal has completed the workflow.

University Library: Receives an email notification the first time a proposal is approved by the department chair.

Associate Dean: Receives an email notification when a proposal is approved by the department chair, or approved or returned from an approval committee. In addition, the associate dean receives an email notification when a proposal has completed the workflow.

College Curriculum Committee Designee: Receives an email notification when the associate dean routes a proposal to the College Curriculum Committee.

Ethnic Studies Academic Committee Designee: Receives an email notification when the associate dean routes a proposal to ESAC.

Registrar: Receives an email notification when the EPC or GSC recording secretary routes a proposal to the registrar and when a proposal has completed the workflow.

EPC or GSC Recording Secretary: Receives an email notification when a proposal is returned for changes by the registrar and when a proposal has completed the workflow.

CSUN

• Academic Assessment and Program Review
• Certificates Policy (2009) (PDF)
• Course Accessibility Checklist
• Course Alignment Matrix (DOC)
• Course Classification Guide (PDF)
• EPC Curriculum Review Checklist (PDF)
• EPC Standard Operating Procedures (PDF)
• GSC Curriculum Review Checklist (PDF)
• GSC Standard Operating Procedures (PDF)
• Guidelines for Curricular Consultation-EPC (PDF)
• Resource Implications for Curricular Change (PDF)
• Sample Course Descriptions
• Syllabus Best Practices

Chancellor's Office

• Academic Programs
• New Program Development
• Program Modification
• Program Planning Guide

Educational Policies Committee and Graduate Studies Committee

Fall 2023

• May 19, 2023: Deadline for all Fall 2024 Curriculum Proposals, including New Selected Topics Series/Placeholders and Ethnic Studies proposals approved or under review by ESAC; and New Experimental Topics Courses for Spring 2024.
• August 25, 2023: Deadline for Colleges to submit revised Curriculum Proposals to be reviewed by EPC/GSC during Fall 2023 for Fall 2024 implementation.
• September 1, 2023: Deadline for Colleges to submit Previously Offered Experimental Topics Courses, and New and Previously Offered Selected Topics for Existing Series to be offered in Spring 2024.

Please contact your associate dean for college curriculum deadlines.

• New Program Catalog Copy (Graduate)
  • Graduate NP Catalog Copy Template (docx)
  • Graduate NP Catalog Copy Example (docx)
• Program Modification Catalog Copy
  • PM Catalog Copy Template (docx)
  • PM Catalog Copy Example (docx)

Overview

Criteria for interdisciplinary courses may allow their inclusion in more than one section of General Education. Courses cannot be listed in both Basic Skills (A1, A2, A3, or B4) and Subject Explorations (B-F).

Process

For new courses, check the applicable section(s) in the General Education section of the Curriculum Proposal form. Include all information and attachments required for new course proposals.

To submit a request to add an additional GE section to a previously-certified GE course, initiate a Curriculum Proposal Form for a Course Modification and complete the minimum required fields (indicated with an asterisk). In addition:

1. Check the current and proposed GE sections.
2. Provide the current and proposed course descriptions. Remember to include the new GE section at the end of the proposed course description.
3. In the Justification section of the proposal, briefly explain (in no more than one paragraph) how the course meets the SLOs of the proposed GE section.
4. Complete the impact section.
5. Attach:
   1. Student Learning Outcome Matrix for the proposed GE section demonstrating that the course SLOs meet at least two of the GE section SLOs.
   2. Course syllabus was updated to include the relevant SLOs from the proposed GE section (as required by CSUN’s Syllabus Policy).
6. Enter the Record of Consultation, if applicable.
7. The proposal must be submitted by the college to EPC according to the normal EPC curriculum calendar.

Listing Across Matrices

• Mathmatics/Quantitative Reasoning Matrix (docx)
• Life Science Matrix (docx)
• Physical Science Matrix (docx)
• Arts Matrix (docx)
• Humanities Matrix (docx)
• Social Sciences Matrix (docx)
• Lifelong Learning Matrix (docx)
• Comparative Cultural Studies Matrix (docx)

Graduate Studies Memo Templates

• Graduate Admission Requirements Modification
  • Graduate Admission Memo Template (docx)
  • Graduate Admission Memo Example (docx)
• Graduate Program Electives
  • Graduate Program Elective Memo Template (docx)
  • Graduate Program Elective Memo Example (docx)
• Graduate Program Suspension
  • Graduate Program Suspension Memo Template (docx)
  • Graduate Program Suspension Memo Example (docx)

Associate Dean Overview Memo Templates

• Overview of College Proposal Submissions
  • Overview Memo Template (docx)
  • Overview Memo Example (docx)
• Selected Topics and Previously Offered Experimental Topics
  • Selected and Previously Offered Memo Template (docx)
  • Selected and Previously Offered Experimental Memo Example (docx)

Updated July 2018