Guide for preparing a new or revised course or program change for approval
GCOE Senate Academic Affairs and Curriculum Committee (AACC)
(Approved Dec. 00, with minor revisions subsequently.
From 10/05 proposals (including the cover pages) should be submitted as attachments to AACC chair a week in advance of meeting, with one hard copy and signature page given to AACC chair before the meeting.
From 10/05 the "one true form" is being phased in by the University. If you can decipher it, please use it as an alternative to the specific forms linked below.)

Table of Contents
Preamble
All forms mentioned here should be downloadable as an RTF file from this site. If your browser asks you for a password, press the cancel option and the forms should download.

When GCOE Programs no longer have Directors (after 27 Jan. 2001), the Departmental Chair's signature will suffice. Where the instructions to follow read "approval from" or "consult with" your program director, AACC recommends you consult with your immediate Program colleagues to keep them in the loop.

Proposals originating in Centers and Institutes should get approval from the Program and Department that is involved in or most closely affected by the proposal. If no such relationship is apparent, please consult with AACC chair.

Proposals that pertain to the Professional Education Unit must observe requirements for NCATE accreditation (see check-list) and reflect the PEU framework for the Thoughtful and Responsive Educator. This should be checked at the Departmental level before submission to AACC.
Course proposals and Program changes that pertain to the Professional Education Unit must be submitted to the Professional Education Co-ordinating Council for, respectively, advice and approval.

A. Minor changes in description or title for existing courses [Form]
0. If in doubt about what is minor, run it through the full process; see C&D below.

1. Get approval from your program director and departmental curriculum committee.

2. Submit to Graduate Studies directly, preferably as part of the biennial bulletin-editing process, with a copy to AACC for the record.

B. New course to be offered as Special Topics (once only*) [Form]

Target date to get in Course Schedule book for following semester: Submit to Graduate Studies by last Friday in September or February. For Continuing Education courses: Submit to Graduate Studies three weeks before Continuing Education bulletin deadline (call x7-7915 to ascertain the deadline).

1. Consult with your program director and departmental chair to get clear about the parameters for your proposal and permission to go ahead.
(GCOE rationale and procedures for Special Topics and Professional Development courses.)
2. Complete the special topics form, indicating clearly whether the course is to be taught through Continuing Education. Get approval and signatures from Program Director, Chair, AACC, and Dean before submitting to Graduate Studies.

3. Submit syllabus to Graduate Studies, either with the special topics proposal or after the course is offered, with a copy to AACC for the record.

4. When a course has been offered under special topics course, a full proposal needs to be submitted for approval in time for it to be taught again (see below). *One exception is that a special topics course can be taught in two consecutive semesters if a full proposal is working its way through the approval process.

B2. New Professional Development course to be offered once only

1. Consult with your program director and departmental chair to get clear about the parameters for your proposal and permission to go ahead.
(GCOE rationale and procedures for Special Topics and Professional Development courses.)
2. Complete the Professional Development course (one time only) form [Form]. Get approval and signatures from Program Director, Chair, AACC, and Dean before submitting to Provost.

C & D. New or substantially revised syllabi (other than Special Topics) or program requirements

Deadlines for consideration by Graduate Studies Committee (GSC): Last Friday in September or February.

This translates to target dates for initial submission to AACC of first week of April or December. Proposals related to the Professional Education Unit will need PECC approval, which will add some time to the process. If you miss the AACC target date, consult with AACC chair for advice about whether or not a late submission can be processed in time to meet GSC deadline.

Establishing a liaison with the AACC through a member in your Department is recommended to help you anticipate AACC, PECC, and Graduate Studies concerns and address them before the proposals reach those committees.

C. Formal approval of new or substantially revised syllabi
1a. Consult with your program director and departmental chair to get clear about the parameters for your proposal and permission to go ahead.
1b. For a new course determine the course number the program wishes to assign (AACC does not assign numbers). Consult the Graduate Bulletin ("General academic regulations") for conventions, e.g., 698 is for Practicum courses.

2. Review the GCOE mission statement and model syllabus. Prepare your syllabus to a) incorporate keywords that indicate the ways it addresses the GCOE mission; and b) include all the sections required, such as Section 504 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, detailed grading criteria, and a bibliography.

3. Get a paper or electronic copy of the GRADUATE COURSE PROPOSAL[Form]. Read the instructions, revise the syllabus if needed, and complete the form by hand or on your wordprocessor. Save the file so that you can edit it if necessary. Questions that are not applicable in your situation should NOT be left blank. Explain why they do not apply.
3a. Keep the course title short, the course description concise, and the official abbreviated title no more than 20 characters (including spaces).

4. Get approval from and signatures of the program director, departmental curriculum committee, and departmental chair. At the same time, inform the AACC chair that the proposal is in the pipeline, ask for an AACC liaison if you do not already have one, and schedule the AACC review. In order to speed the process along, you should plan to attend. If this is not possible, send someone familiar with your proposal (perhaps the AACC liaison).

5. Meet with your AACC liaison and walk carefully through the proposal. Revise and clarify as called for.

6. Proposals should be submitted as attachments to AACC chair 6 days in advance of meeting, with one hard copy and signature page given to AACC chair before the meeting. (10/05. This replaces old policy: Get a collated, stapled copy of the full proposal (form + syllabus) to each AACC member a week before the AACC meeting.)

7. When your proposal is passed by AACC, submit the original to the Dean's secretary. If the proposal requires PECC approval, submit additional copies of the proposal as requested by the secretary.

8. When the proposal is approved by the Dean (and PECC chair and PEU Head if required), the Dean's secretary will notify you. Make the 16 copies required by the Graduate Studies Committee and send 15 with the original to Graduate Studies. Make sure the signature sheet is included. Submit the other copy to AACC chair for the records.

9. Graduate Studies will contact you regarding the outcome of Graduate Studies Committee review, which takes place 4-6 weeks after their deadlines.

10. Proposals approved by the Graduate Studies Committee are forwarded to Faculty Council for final approval.

C2. Professional Development Courses, repeated offering. [Form]
Follow steps 1-8 for regular course detailed above, EXCEPT the form required is different and the proposal once signed by the Dean goes to the Provost with a copy to AACC chair.

D. Formal approval of new or substantially revised program requirements
1a. Consult with your program colleagues, program director and departmental chair to get clear about the parameters for your proposal and permission to go ahead.

2. Review the GCOE mission statement and prepare your proposal, where appropriate, to incorporate keywords that indicate the ways it addresses the GCOE mission.

3. Get a paper or electronic copy of the PROGRAM CHANGE PROPOSAL [Form] or, if applicable, ACTION ON PROPOSAL FOR GRADUATE CERTIFICATE [Form]
Proceed as for 3-10 above.
Assoc. Dean of Graduate Studies to whom proposals can be directed and inquiries about the Graduate Studies Committee approval process:
Emily McDermott, Quinn 2-88 in the Graduate Studies Offices
617 287-5711
emily.mcdermott@umb.edu

AACC Chair, 2005-6
Peter Taylor, Wheatley 2-143-09
617 287-7636
peter.taylor@umb.edu

AACC Committee Members 2005-6 (emails follow standard @umb.edu format, except where indicated)
Alisa Beaver [Counselling & School Psych]
Natalie Lacireno-Paquet [Leadership In Ed] (Natalie.Lacirenopaqu@umb.edu)
Esmaeil Mahdavi [Counselling & School Psych]
Tara Parker [Leadership In Ed]
Denise Patmon [Curriculum & Instruction]

Meeting dates and minutes
12 Sept 05 | 29 Sept 05 |12 Oct 05 |1 Dec 05 | 24 Jan 06, 8 Feb 06, 21 Feb 06, 9 Mar 06 email reviews | 22 Mar 06 email reviews | 10 Apr 06 email reviews | 10 May 06 email reviews

Some past years' minutes/ records

2004-5 decisions
2002-3 minutes
10 Oct 02 |

2001-2 minutes
12 Sept 01 | 26 Sept 01 | 3 Oct 01 | 17 Oct 01 | 14 Nov 01 | 12 Dec 01 | 20 Dec 01 (cancelled) | 30 Jan 02 (cancelled) | 11 Feb 02 | 13 Mar 02 | 25 Mar 02 | 24 Apr 02 (cancelled) | 6 May 02

2000-01 minutes (Drafts only. Spring 01 minutes incomplete)
12 Sept | 10 Oct | 14 Nov (incl. memos on AACC role) | 28 Nov | 12 Dec (incl. memo for Senate on GPD elimination) | 13 Feb 01 | 27 Feb 01 | 27 Mar 01 | 15 May 01

Exemplary syllabi in the judgement of AACC
Spe G 647, Assessment Based Instruction (approved Apr '05)
Last update 19 May 06