Preventing CourseLeaf submissions from being rolled back

Each year, a number of course and program proposals and change requests cannot be approved as submitted due to missing, incomplete, and/or incorrect information on the CourseLeaf form and/or required attachments.

Please be aware that courses and programs that cannot be approved as submitted will be rolled back by the academic editor, if not a preceding step in the CourseLeaf workflow. They may be rolled back more than once as, e.g., the undergraduate or graduate deans may have different concerns than the academic editor.

Negative impact of rolling back course and program submissions:

Rolling back CourseLeaf submissions creates extra work for the department and everyone else in the workflow. It delays final approval, sometime significantly. Departments must make corrections and resubmit the requests. The resubmission goes back to each step that has already reviewed and approved it. If the submission was rolled back at the academic editor, it will go to the end of her queue, which at various points in the spring semester includes hundreds of courses and programs.

To avoid roll backs, be alert to the most common problems:

Most common problems

Courses

On the syllabus:

For course submissions, the most common problems are with the syllabus:

ALL course records in CourseLeaf must have an up-to-date syllabus that includes all required elements. If such a syllabus is not already on file, a copy must be attached to the submission, no matter how small the change. If there is no syllabus, the submission will be rolled back.

Below are the most common problems associated with syllabi. If any of these pertain, the submission will be rolled back:

1. An up-to-date syllabus is not attached to the CourseLeaf form.
2. The statement regarding hours spent in class and in independent learning is missing or inaccurate. It must be included on the syllabus and must cover sufficient hours per credit, appropriately distributed. See the syllabus template for all required elements of a syllabus*.
3. There are insufficient class meetings on the schedule and/or the final is not scheduled during the exam period. The class schedule for a 15-week course must include 14 weeks of class meetings with the “final” as week 15, to be scheduled during the University exam period. The final might be a traditional final exam, take-home exam or paper due date, presentations, or other final graded assignment or activity.
4. Learning outcomes are not included or are improperly phrased. Note that learning outcomes are what students will be able to do at the end of the course, not what they will learn in class. Outcomes should be on both the syllabus and CourseLeaf form.

On the CourseLeaf form:

Form fields are self-explanatory or include additional information. Reading the guidance or explanatory information provided on the form will help you to avoid most rollbacks.

Programs

If not already on file, program submissions must include up-to-date learning outcomes and a curriculum map. This includes existing programs, no matter how small the change. The only exceptions are concentrations and certificates associated with a degree program. If a map and/or outcomes is missing, the submission will be rolled back.

The following guidance is taken from the CourseLeaf program form on the program management site.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what you expect students to be able to do upon completion of the program with the skills and knowledge they have gained (not what will be covered in the program). In the fields below, identify a minimum of three of the program’s most important learning outcomes. Questions to consider when developing learning outcomes include:

• What do you expect graduates of your program to know and be able to do when they complete their degree?
• How do these goals reflect the mission and aspirations of the program?
• What discipline-specific outcomes are required for accreditation?
• What skills does the workforce require of new hires from this program?

When are learning outcomes required?

All program forms, whether for new or existing programs, must include learning outcomes. Learning outcomes should be written in terms of observable behavior that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and competencies that students are expected to possess upon successful completion of the program.

See the assessment page for more information about outcomes.

Curriculum mapping

Curriculum maps incorporate program learning outcomes and should reflect a coherent plan of study. Questions to consider when creating a curriculum map include:

• To what extent are key program goals introduced and reinforced appropriately from course to course?
• How well do course outcomes track with program outcomes?
• Are there opportunities for students to organize, synthesize, and integrate what they are learning across courses?
• Are courses suitably preparing students for graduate school or a chosen career?

When is a curriculum map required?

A curriculum map must be provided or updated in the following circumstances: (1) this is a new major or minor program, (2) this is an existing program and you are making changes to the required curriculum, or (3) this is an existing program but there is no map on file. Certificate programs require maps only if they are not connected to a degree program. Concentrations do not require maps. Only required courses need to be mapped.

Using the mapping worksheet (which may be found on the Assessment Guidelines page), connect required courses to the learning outcomes listed above by indicating whether knowledge and skills for each outcome are introduced (I), further developed (D), or satisfactorily achieved (A). Elective course options do not need to be included on the map.

See the assessment website for more information about curriculum mapping.