The University of Iowa

Overview
Deadlines
Adding
Revising
Dropping
Cross-Referencing

Overview

Approval forms for all course additions and changes must be submitted through the course approval work flow system on MAUI.

Forms move from the departmental initiator to the DEO, who must approve the request. After the DEO approves a form, the system sends it to the College for approval. Most requests are discussed in the collegiate curriculum committee before approval is given.The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum also reviews all requests to add, drop, or revise a course.

Courses numbered 100 and above are next sent to the Graduate College for approval which in turn forwards the request to the Registrar for input into the system. Once this process is completed, the Registrar sends an email to the initiator noting the completion of the request.

The complete process often takes more than a month. Requests should be sent as soon as they become known.

Any questions about the course approval process may be addressed to Kathryn Hall.

Deadlines

Changes to course numbers, titles, credit hours, prerequisites, grading options, and cross-referencing may not be made if the course is already published on ISIS.  Instead, a future semester must be chosen for the changes to be effective. Forms with an incorrect date are returned to the initiator for revision. 

Each year, the Board of Regents grants final approval for the addition or discontinuation of courses. Course additions and deletions approved before February 15 are included in the current year's report to the Regents. Course additions and deletions approved after February 15 appear in the following yearly report. Departments making significant curricular changes that involve approval by the Regents should insure that courses needed for those changes are included in the appropriate report.

The online General Catalog is updated to reflect current offerings. A pdf of the Catalog which is not updated is kept as a historical record and may be found from the Registrar's home page.

Adding a Course

• Requests to create a new course may be made at any time but may take four weeks or more to process. Course approval forms should be submitted via MAUI as soon as feasible. Once a course is approved and entered, it is up the department to request its inclusion on ISIS.
• When creating a new course, numbers of previous, discontinued courses may not be reused for ten years. All current and dropped course numbers should be reviewed on InfoBank or on MAUI before a new number is chosen. New courses will not be approved if an inappropriate number has been used.
• Both the old numbering system and the new four-digit version are currently in use and both sets of numbers are required on the form.
• All titles of new courses are reviewed by the Regents and are part of the historical record of the offerings of The University of Iowa. Titles should be chosen thoughtfully.
• CLAS requires that all new courses include a short course description suitable for the General Catalog. Courses without an appropriate description will be returned to the initiator for revision. A certain style is followed for Catalog descriptions; for guidelines and samples, visit this page.
• All new courses must include a rationale, explaining why the course is being added. This is a CLAS requirement and is not starred on the Registrar's course approval form. Forms that do not include a rationale statement will be returned to the initiator. For rationale samples, visit this page.
• Particular resources needed to support the new course should be noted in the appropriate box. If new resources are not anticipated, "none" may be stated in the resource box.
• Topic courses may be used for special opportunities (e.g., visiting faculty) and to avert the need to have new courses approved frequently or at the last minute. Topics course should be designated as repeatable for credit.
• To propose adding GE status to a course, visit the General Education Program.
• To add a First-Year Seminar course, visit the First-Year Seminar Program.

Revising a Course

• Changes to course numbers, titles, credit hours, prerequisites, grading options, and cross-referencing may not be made if the course is already published on ISIS. Instead, a future semester must be chosen for the changes to be effective. Forms with an incorrect date are returned to the imitator for revision. 
• Both the old and new numbering system is in use. Provide both the current course number and new four-digit form. If both sets of numbers are not included, the form will be returned.
• The rationale box must be used for an explanation of the change.
• Changes to cross-referenced courses must be made by the administrative home of the course, which must discuss the cross-referencing with the appropriate department. Other involved departments do not need to submit an additional form.
• If the modified course has been approved for the General Education Program, that box on the form must be checked so that CLAS may immediately revise the University-wide GE lists.

Dropping a Course

Courses may be dropped from the curriculum in two ways:

1. Courses may be discontinued through the MAUI course approval workflow process at any time as long as the  course is not on ISIS.
2. Each fall, the Registrar also prepares a list of courses for each unit that have not been taught in the last four years. The College asks departments either to discontinue these courses or to justify their continuance in the departmental curriculum. When departments agree to discontinue courses via this inactive course list, no course approval form is needed. The list is generally due by February 15.

If the dropped course is part of the General Education Program, the GE box must be checked on the form so that CLAS may immediately remove the course from University-wide GE lists.

Cross-Referencing a Course

• Departments may cross-reference (also known as cross-listing) a course within the ISIS list of another department or departments.
• Courses are NEVER cross-listed with another actual pre-existing course. Instead, cross-listing is only a way to have a course appear on ISIS in more than one list; thus a "shadow" course with no existence outside of cross-listing is created for this purpose.   Choose a number for this course that is not already in use. All cross-listed courses should have identical titles; the same number of semester hours; the same grading instructions (letter-graded or S/F or S/U for undergraduates), and if possible the same course number. If identical numbers are impossible because the same numbers are not available, the numbers should be as close as possible.
• The administrative home of the course is responsible for creating the new course and for requesting the cross-referencing. The administrative home of the course must speak with the concerned departments BEFORE submitting a request to cross-list a course.
• Co-existing courses involving two actual courses where students meet in the same room with the same instructor at the same time are not permitted and are never approved.