Proposing A New Course

Overview Guidelines

Proposals for changing curriculum in new courses can be linked to a program revision, or be submitted by department faculty individually. The resources below can guide you through the process of proposing a new course.

New courses proposals must be submitted for approval on a New Course Form within Curriculog.

A sample syllabus must accompany a new course. You can refer to the Syllabus Policy and review the campus accessibility standards.

Select a teaching mode for the new course: either face-to-face, hybrid or online. New online or hybrid courses are approved through the regular curriculum review process, following the same process as any new course.

Lower division courses presume no background on the part of the student and limited experience with college level work. Upper-division courses are designed for students with greater skill or experience with college work, and require abstract thinking, application and analysis. Upper-division courses will have prerequisites or catalog statements describing the level of preparation needed to enroll.

CSU Course Classification System (CS Numbers)

Please use the following course numbering when proposing a new course:

• 90-99 Non-baccalaureate level

• 100-299 Lower-division courses

• 300-499 Upper-division courses

• 500-599 Graduate level courses

 General Education:

If your new course is a General Education Course, please see the General Education page as well as these Title 5 & CSU GE Definitions & Requirements:

• Title V, 40405 General Education Breadth Objectives

• CSU Executive Order 1100

SEIE Courses:

• If your new course falls within the School of Extended and International Education (SEIE), check out these specific related requirements from their Courses & Programs Policy page:

  • All Chancellor’s Office Executive Orders will apply to courses and programs offered through SEIE.

  • Non-academic credit-bearing courses offered by SEIE may award certification of particular skills, or certificates of completion. Documents attesting to these awards must clearly specify the nature of the award in order to avoid confusion with the award of a degree.

  • Each time it offers a course, SEIE shall consider: the appropriateness of intended sites and facilities; the qualifications, teaching interests, and availability of SSU faculty members in the appropriate disciplines; and the qualifications, teaching interests, and availability of faculty for the course.

  • The department Chair pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement must approve instructors who teach SEIE academic courses offered for University credit (CBA).

• Credit-bearing courses offered through SEIE shall be evaluated in the same manner as courses offered through state support as outlined by the SSU Curriculum Guide.  Copies of said evaluations will follow the same process as state-offered courses.

• To learn more about the approval process for courses, visit the approval guide for SEIE courses.