Rules for Changes to the Academic Catalogue

Unless otherwise noted, changes to the Academic Catalogue involving academic policies and academic programs should be submitted to the Academic Affairs Committee, either submitted in writing to the Committee Chair or referred to the Committee by Faculty vote at a Faculty meeting. Changes to the Academic Catalogue not involving academic policies and academic programs are not handled through AAC.

Portions of the Academic Catalogue Reviewed by AAC

Any changes to academic policies and practices in the following sections of the Academic Catalogue should be submitted as proposals to the AAC. The AAC will review them, consider whether they are substantive changes, suggest revisions, and send them to the appropriate stakeholders, if any.

Policies for Academic Programs and Courses

The policies for making changes to the Course Offerings section of the Catalogue vary, as described below, organized by who approves the changes.

AAC Approval, Faculty Approval, and Board of Trustees Approval Required. The following changes must be submitted as proposals to the AAC. After consideration by the AAC, which may include suggestions of changes to the policy and reconsideration by AAC, any such proposal will be placed on the agenda of an upcoming Faculty meeting as a motion from the AAC.

• New academic programs (majors, minors, or other programs with curricular implications). Each such proposal must include a list of student learning outcomes, as well as an assessment plan. New majors may require reporting to SACSCOC according to a specific timeline. The proposal must reflect consultation with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, which will provide assessment and SACSCOC resources.
• Programmatic changes to the requirements of majors and minors. Programmatic changes are those alterations to a major or minor course of study that affect all students pursuing that major or minor, such as the number of hours required for the major or the addition of a required course from another department. Changes that affect only some students, such as occasional course substitutions, exceptions, or waivers for individual students, are not programmatic changes and do not need approval by the AAC and the faculty as a whole. These should be approved by the Executive Committee of the Faculty.
• New courses (except for -85 courses). Proposals for these courses must follow the “New Course Approval Procedure” posted on the Dean of the Faculty's website. A course that was previously but no longer listed in the Catalogue is considered a new course.
• Substantive changes to course descriptions. Substantive changes to a course description are those that alter significantly the course’s content or function in the curriculum.
• Deletion of a program, major, or minor. Before submitting to AAC, a proposal should reflect consultation with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness regarding SACSCOC regulations and timelines for program closure.

AAC Review and Approval Required. The following changes should all be submitted as proposals to AAC. Unless otherwise described, they do not require the vote of the Faculty.

• Change in course prerequisites.
• Cross-listing a course in another department. Requires approval by departments concerned before submission to AAC.
• Deletion of a course. If the AAC has curricular concerns about the implications of a deletion, it may submit the proposal to the Faculty with a recommendation for approval without objection. Note that a course that is deleted from the Catalogue may not be taught again unless it is approved as a new course.
• Changes in course numberings if a change in level (from 100 to 200, for example). Requires Registrar approval before submission to AAC.

AAC Approval Not Required. The following changes in the Course Offerings section do not require AAC approval and can be sent directly to the Catalogue Editor. If there is a question of whether a change meets these criteria, consult with the AAC.

• Non-substantive changes to course descriptions. Grammatical or stylistic alterations to a course description that do not change substantively the content of the course may be made by the department or program concerned.
• Notation of when the class is offered. For example, removing or changing the portion of a course description that says “Offered: spring of even-numbered years.”
• Course renumbering at same level. Must be done in concert with the College Registrar.

Special Rules for Courses taught under the -85 number. All courses taught for the first time under the - 85 number must have received departmental or program approval before being offered. If a department or program wishes the -85 course to be offered a second time, a course proposal and rationale for the continued -85 designation must be submitted to the AAC for approval. If a department or program wishes the -85 course to be offered more than two times, on each occasion the course must again be submitted to the AAC, for one of two possible actions: 1) the AAC will review the course proposal and submit it to the Faculty for approval as a regular, ongoing course offering with its own permanent number; 2) the AAC will consider circumstances specified in the proposal and may approve the course's being offered again under the -85 designation.

Portions of the Academic Catalogue not Overseen by AAC

The following sections of the Academic Catalogue are not reviewed by the AAC. None of these changes require a vote. Sections with an asterisk are updated annually with current information.

All changes in these sections should be submitted to the Catalogue Editor.

Policy History

The original version of this policy was approved by the Faculty on March 14, 2011.

1. Revised: April 7, 2025
2. Next scheduled review: September 1, 2028