Courses - Substantial Course Revision

Substantial Course Revision

We suggest you read through the process below, utilize the walkthrough guide at the bottom of this page, and consult with your fellow faculty members, division AP&P representatives, curriculum specialists, counselors, the articulation officer, and your dean to ensure you are covering all aspects of how your course impacts students. Please make sure that you are only performing a substantial revision to address anything a non-substantial could not. 

The Process for Substantial Course Revisions

Courses, including their prerequisites and advisories, must be reviewed and/or revised at least once every four years. For career technical education (CTE) courses, this review must occur every two years. More frequent reviews may be necessary if faculty become aware of significant changes in the discipline or subject area, if students are not being well-served by the current course, or due to changes in Title 5 or other state regulations.

Stage 1: Prior to Launch and Origination

  1. Review the current Course Outline of Record (COR) and identify aspects that need revision. Discuss these with colleagues in the discipline/division, including the dean, department chair, and AP&P representative.

  2. Determine if the course revision is substantial or non-substantial. If the COR revision includes changes to the course title or numbering, units/hours/LHE, instructional type, maximum enrollment, repeatability, grading method, SAM code, transferability/GE status, requisites, description, objectives, and/or content, in addition to homework, methods of instruction, methods of evaluation, and textbooks, it is a Substantial Course Revision. These are major changes that alter the standards required by Title 5. A change to the units of an existing course also requires a change to the course number.

  3. If you begin a revision in eLumen as a Non-Substantial Course Revision, you can only change Homework, Methods of Evaluation, Methods of Instruction, and/or Textbooks. If you decide to make changes to additional areas after starting, you must delete your Non-Substantial Course Revision and start again as a Substantial Course Revision. You cannot change a Non-Substantial Course Revision to a Substantial one; you must delete it and start over.

  4. If adding a course from another discipline as a prerequisite or corequisite, request a course validation study by emailing the AP&P faculty co-chair and the Curriculum Specialist. Once the course validation study is completed, it will be emailed to the requesting faculty for review.

  5. If the course is a vocational or career technical course, provide the name of the advisory committee, the date(s) on which the course/program was discussed, and attach the advisory committee meeting minutes with the highlighted sections that relate to the requested change.

  6. Review previously established Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and make any necessary revisions to ensure they align with the course revisions.

  7. Begin the revision process in eLumen by creating a Substantial Course Revision. Periodically review all information with the Division AP&P representative, discipline/division faculty, department chair, and dean. Submit the revision

Stage 2: Articulation Officer, Division Coordinator (Dean), Librarian 

  1. Review of the course revision by the Articulation Officer and the Division Coordinator to ensure accuracy and completeness.

  2. Review by the Librarian assigned to AP&P to assess the library’s ability to support students’ research needs.

  3. Check eLumen (“Inbox”) to review comments regarding the course and submit any necessary revisions. The revision will then move to the next stage of the process.

Stage 3: AP&P Outcomes Review Committee, Tech Review Committee, Tech Review Chair 

  1. Review of the course revision by the Outcomes Committee, the Tech Review Committee, and the Tech Review Committee Chair to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with the college mission.

  2. Check eLumen (“Inbox”) to review comments regarding the course and submit any necessary revisions. The revision will then move to the next stage of the process.

Stage 4: AP&P Committee

  1. Reading and review of the course revision by members of the AP&P Committee.

    1. Committee members may identify issues not seen in previous stages.

  2. Check eLumen (“Inbox”) to review comments regarding the course and submit any necessary revisions. The revision will then move to the next stage of the process.

Stage 5: AP&P Committee Agenda

  1. The course will be placed on the AP&P Committee agenda for review and approval by the full AP&P Committee.

  2. Two of the three division representatives must attend the meeting to support and discuss the course revisions (instructor/faculty, proxy, AP&P representative, and/or dean).

    1. Course representatives can present the course revisions, respond to questions and suggestions from the committee, and take notes for completing necessary revisions.

  3. Any required changes should be provided to the Curriculum Specialist. If needed, the revised course proposal will return to AP&P for an additional review by the full committee.

  4. Once approved, the revision will move to the next stage of the process.

Stages 6: VP of Academic Affairs

  1. Approval of the course revision by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Stages 7: Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees 

  1. Submission to the Academic Senate, along with the AP&P Committee’s recommendation for approval. Once approved, it moves on to the Board of Trustees with the AP&P Committee’s recommendation for adoption.

  2. The Board approves the course based on “delegated authority” from the Academic Senate and Chancellor’s Office.

  3. If required, the course is submitted to the Chancellor’s Office for further review and approval. If the Chancellor’s Office returns the course revision without approval, further work will need to be done based on their remarks.

  4. Once all necessary approvals have been granted, the course may be included in the next College Catalog, allowing it to be scheduled with the approval of the dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

 

Note: Class schedules are set in advance, generally one year, by the college. A course reviewed and approved in the fall of one year may be placed in the class schedule for the following fall. Similarly, a course reviewed and approved in the spring of one year may be placed in the class schedule for the fall semester of the next calendar year. The scheduling of classes, especially after the established deadline for the schedule, is the prerogative of the Vice President of Academic Affairs in consultation with the division dean.

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