Course Review, Revision, and Approval Process

POLICY:

All new courses and all modifications to the name; credit allotment; pre- or co-requisites; course description; and course learning outcomes must be approved by the respective Academic Council and Total Faculty Organization (TFO) before being added to the curriculum. All syllabi for existing courses including name, credit allotment; pre- or co-requisites; course description; course learning outcomes; topical outline; teaching methods; and evaluation methods are to be reviewed by the respective Academic Council every three years (triennial review). Once a course has been approved by TFO, the name; credit allotment; pre- or co-requisites; course description; and course learning outcomes cannot be changed unless approved by the respective Academic Council and TFO. Instructor name, office hours, required textbooks, recommended textbooks, topic outline/schedule, teaching methods, and evaluation methods can be changed without approval by the respective Academic Council and TFO, but will be reviewed during the regular triennial review process.

PROCEDURE:

Course Review Process

1. New Courses: New courses should be presented to the appropriate Academic Council (undergraduate, graduate clinical, or PhD) for review and approval prior to submission to TFO. Consultation with the staff support of the respective Academic Council prior to presenting to the Council is recommended to ensure compliance with requirements.
2. Course Revisions: All proposed course revisions impacting course name; credit allotment; pre- or corequisites; course description; or course learning outcomes should be reviewed by the appropriate Council prior to submission to TFO. Consultation with the staff support of the respective Academic Council prior to review by the Council is recommended to ensure compliance with requirements.
3. Following Council review, the faculty member submitting a new or revised course will discuss changes recommended by the Council, make changes based on that discussion, and will send the final syllabus to the staff support of TFO.
4. Triennial Review: All courses will be reviewed by the respective Academic Council on a rotating basis every three years. The area of concentration/major coordinator or faculty member responsible for courses scheduled for triennial review will be notified by the staff support of the respective Academic Council.

Required for Approval of New and Modified Courses and Courses Scheduled for Triennial Review

1. All courses to be reviewed must use the approved SON course syllabus template (didactic or clinical).
2. The course syllabus submitted to and approved by the appropriate academic Council must include the following:
   • The course number and title
   • Credits and their distribution (e.g., didactic, clinical, and/or laboratory credits) along with the hours of instruction including simulation hours
   • Prerequisites
   • Corequisites
   • Course description
   • Course learning outcomes
   • Topical outline of the content covered for didactic courses or clinical competencies addressed for clinical courses
   • AACN domains, competencies, and sub-competencies/specialty area competencies or standards addressed (except PhD courses)
   • Teaching methods
   • Evaluation methods
     • Evaluation methods and course learning outcomes evaluated (New courses only)
     • Evaluation methods and their contribution to course grade
     • Description of evaluation methods
3. If more than one section of a course is being offered and taught by different faculty, the faculty teaching the sections need to meet prior to offering the course to ensure consistency in the content and methods of evaluation across the sections 
4. If there is an option for extra credit in the course, it must be included in the syllabus and must be available to all students
5. If distance education or online students are required to be on campus for any course-related activities, this requirement must be clearly stated in the syllabus

Approval Process

1. Once the course has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate Academic Council , it will be presented at the next Total Faculty Organization meeting where curriculum review is an agenda item
2. The appropriate Associate Dean will submit revisions to the State Board of Nursing. Once approval is obtained, the Associate Dean will notify appropriate faculty and the Center for Student Success so the course can be added to the School’s curriculum.
3. Once a course has the required approvals (TFO and, as necessary, State Board of Nursing and CCNE), the staff support person for the respective Academic Council will add the course syllabus to the School of Nursing database used to house syllabi. A copy of the approved course syllabus will be sent to the faculty member responsible for the course.