Curriculum Process

If this is the first time you have prepared a new course - or if it has been many years since you have been through the Curriculum process, this is the place to start.  

Along with direct classroom teaching, curriculum development and review are the most important responsibilities of faculty in an educational institution.  Please read the information in this handbook about the Curriculum Committee and your role in the Curriculum process.

Creating a New Course

The Course Outline is where you describe your new course and help the Curriculum Committee decide how it fits into the overall mission of the college.  It is long, but not as difficult as it seems.  Read about Creating a New Course, print the Course Outline Form, and follow the Step by Step instructions to complete the Course Outline. There are samples of content, scope, and assignments you can review and you may want to look at the lists of Action Verbs and Accomplishment Phrases when preparing your Measurable Objectives. 

You should also read the Curriculum Committee Criteria For Approval and the  Hints for Success to see what you should and should not do to ensure approval.  

Your Course Outline approval package will also need to include a Signature Page, consideration of Prerequisites and appropriate Prerequisite Matrix forms, consideration of General Education options, consideration of Transfer/Articulation options, and a Distance Education approval form if you plan to offer the course online through the COD Virtual Valley Center.

If you want more information, check the Web Resources section and read some existing Course Outlines.  You don't have to re-invent the wheel ! 

Reviewing an Existing Course

Courses are due for review every six years and the list of courses due for review each year is published on the Curriculum Committee web site. 

If your course already has an acceptable Course Outline on file, then the review process can be accomplished very quickly by:

Downloading the current course outline from the web and reviewing all sections 

Making changes to the Course Outline and returning it the Curriculum Committee

OR

Completing the Course Periodic Review Form to indicate that it has been reviewed and no changes are required.

Modifying an Existing Course

If a course is being modified only to update the textbook or to change fields that have no impact on the content, scope, or learning objectives of the course, only the Course Periodic Review Form is required.  These modifications will usually be accepted by the Curriculum Committee on the Consent Agenda and your attendance at the Curriculum Meeting will not be required.

If a course is being substantially modified, it will be considered a new course and you must complete all the steps listed for submitting a new course.  Substantial changes include changes in units, changes in the lecture/lab component, changes in prerequisites, and changes in content or scope.

To offer an existing course online, you need to complete only the Distance Education approval form.