Preparing Curriculum Proposals
Also see Curriculum Guidelines, UBC website.
Proposals for new courses, course changes and course deletions must be approved by the initiating Faculty and the Faculty of Graduate Studies before proceeding to the Senate Curriculum Committee. All new and major curriculum changes must be approved by the Senate and by the Board of Governors before they can be implemented. Curriculum changes approved after mid January may be approved by Senate for implementation in the following winter session, but will not be included in the online University Calendar.
Note: This also applies to all Certificate programs offered at UBC.
UBC Policy on the Approval of Certificate Programs
In order for a new program to be offered in September, Senate approval must be granted by the previous February so that the new fees can be considered at the March meeting of the Board of Governors. If there are no fee/tuition implications of a new program, Senate approval may be granted as late as March, but proposers are asked to submit new programs as early as possible in the academic year.
Note: These deadlines also apply where changes to an existing program triggers changes in fees.
The timeline established by the Graduate Council New Programs and Curriculum Committee allow little time for consultation if serious questions are raised during the review process.
Submission of curriculum proposals
- Submit 15 paper copies of the proposal along with supplementary materials to the Curriculum and New Programs Committee of Graduate Council, care of the Graduate Council Secretary, Faculty of Graduate Studies.
- Submit electronic copies of the proposal to the Graduate Council New Programs and Curriculum Committee Secretary, Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Before a proposal is forwarded to the Graduate Council New Programs and Curriculum Committee, it must be approved by the proposing Faculty using whatever procedures that Faculty considers acceptable (a full Faculty meeting, a Faculty curriculum committee, a program committee, etc). Proposals without Faculty approval will not be considered until they have been approved by the budget Faculty and a summary of the changes along with properly signed change forms have been received by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Proposals may only be submitted to the Committee by the chair of a Faculty/college curriculum committee (or equivalent), or in his or her absence, the dean.
For information about procedures, contact the Secretary of the Graduate Council New Programs and Curriculum Committee. Each year the Registrar, on behalf of the Senate Curriculum Committee, makes available a set of guidelines for the submission of curriculum changes. The guidelines include various forms used, the procedures to be followed, and various important deadlines.
Please note that this section of the website has been adapted from the Enrolment Services Curriculum Guidelines. We will do our best to keep the information as current as possible.
