Faculty develop and modify curriculum, with shared governance consultation and administrative oversight.
Academic Affairs Curriculum Office staff enters the information for new courses and course changes in the University's curriculum management systems.
Each curriculum update is viewable in the online catalog upon the effective term of the change. The following table shows the effective catalog year with the corresponding deadline dates in which deans/designees submit course materials to the Curriculum Office. These deadlines are necessary to ensure course information is processed in a timely manner for departments submitting program changes, for class scheduling, and for student course planning and registration.
| Academic Affairs Deadlines during an Academic Year | Course Curriculum Changes accepted | Effective Catalog Year |
|---|---|---|
| October 1 | * Course changes and new course proposals for the upcoming (same academic year) spring and summer terms -- NOTE: If the new course is being proposed for Liberal Education approval, the February 1 deadline in the previous academic year must be observed * New Topics Titles for the upcoming spring and summer terms (same academic year) | Same academic year's catalog |
| November 1 | * Course changes and new course proposals for the next academic year (required deadline for fall changes and strongly recommended deadline for spring and summer changes; the Nov. 1 deadline is required if there will be program changes related to the course change) * New Topics Titles for fall term of the next academic year | Next year's catalog |
| February 1 | * Liberal Education proposal forms and Community-Engaged Learning proposal forms for the next academic year (fall, spring, and summer terms) | Next year's catalog |
| April 1 | * Early deadline for any new course proposals or course credit changes that relate to new programs or program changes needing University approval prior to the start of the admissions cycle (Must accompany a New Program or Program Change submission) | Catalog after next year |
Note: Course changes that affect programs (e.g., new courses, credit changes) must be processed prior to processing the program changes.
Please contact the Curriculum Office with any questions, [email protected].
Proposing a New Course
Form: UMD New Course Proposal (link opens in a new tab; last updated June 2025)
Resource: UMD New Course Proposal Help Guide (link opens in a new tab; last updated June 2025)
Form: UMD Dual-listed Course Proposal - (link opens in a new tab; last updated June 2025)
- A faculty member or academic department completes the New Course Proposal to propose a new course. Use the Dual-Listed Course Proposal when proposing a dual-listed course pair - or when proposing one new course to pair with an existing course, to create a dual-listed course pair.
- After obtaining department approval, the completed form (and any applicable addendums, found below) should be routed to the appropriate college approval body (procedure varies by college; please refer to college dean's office or other college curriculum resources).
- After the college curriculum review process, proposals are routed by designated college staff to Academic Affairs for final review and approval.
Changing an Existing Course
- Faculty refer to the Department Guide to Course Changes - (link opens in a new tab; last updated February 2026) - for detailed guidelines about the type of changes that may be requested and the information necessary to provide to the college approval body for each type of change.
- After obtaining department approval, course change requests should be routed to the appropriate college approval body (procedure varies by college; please refer to college dean's office or other college curriculum resources).
- After the college curriculum review process, proposals are routed by designated college staff to Academic Affairs for final review and approval.
The following types of course changes can only become effective in a fall semester, due to their impact on published catalog requirements, sample plans, and APAS reports for the catalog year:
- course names
- course numbers*
- course credits
- course's Liberal Education category status
* NOTE: A department may not change the number for an existing course between undergraduate level (1xxx-4xxx) and graduate level (5xxx or above). A New Course Proposal is required in such instances.
See also Addenda (below)
See also Inactivating a Course (below)
Proposing a New Topic for an Existing Special Topics Course
Form: UMD Special Topics Title Proposal (link opens in a new tab; last updated June 2025)
- An academic department completes the Special Topics Title Proposal to propose a topic for an existing xx95 "umbrella" course. If the topics class will be delivered in an online or partially online format, then the Distance Learning Addendum (found below) is also required.
- After obtaining department approval, the completed form (and any applicable addendums, found below) should be routed to the appropriate college approval body (procedure varies by college; please refer to college dean's office or other college curriculum resources).
- After the college curriculum review process, proposals are routed by designated college staff to Academic Affairs for final review and approval.
A special topics class may be offered twice. The Special Topics Title Proposal form is not required to request the second offering of the class.
For the second offering, departments must supply the the following information to their college curriculum staff:
- Topic title
- Term that this topic was previously taught
- Faculty member who will be teaching the course
- The complete topic course description if it changed from the first offering of the topic title (4000-character limit)
- All of the desired prerequisites for this topic if they changed from the first offering of the topic title (not just additions/subtractions based on the umbrella course)
If a topic has already been taught twice under a Special Topics umbrella course, it should be proposed it as a separate course of its own, via a New Course Proposal.
Addenda
Form: UMD Distance Learning Addendum (link opens in a new tab; last updated April 2026)
Form: UMD Community Engaged Learning (CEL) Attribute Proposal Form (link opens in a new tab; last updated April 2026)
Resource: Community-Engaged Learning Policy (link opens in a new tab; last updated May 2019)
Form: UMD Graduate School Addendum (link opens in a new tab; last updated July 2025)
Form: UMD Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) Addendum (link opens in a new tab; last updated April 2026)
Inactivating a Course
- After obtaining department approval, requests should be routed to the appropriate college approval body (procedure varies by college; please refer to college dean's office or other college curriculum resources).
- After the college curriculum review process, proposals are routed by designated college staff to Academic Affairs for final review and approval.
- NOTE: courses that currently appear as a requirement or elective option in a program can only be inactivated with a fall effective date, concurrent with program changes to show its removal and/or replacement in the program.
Reactivating an Inactive Course
- After obtaining department approval, requests should be routed to the appropriate college approval body (procedure varies by college; please refer to college dean's office or other college curriculum resources).
- After the college curriculum review process, proposals are routed by designated college staff to Academic Affairs for final review and approval.
- For a course that has not been taught for 5 years or more: Courses that have not been taught for 5+ years require updated Student Learning Outcomes, as well as confirmation of all other course details. Please complete the New Course Proposal form (see earlier section) to collect this information, and submit that form through college's curriculum review process.
Seeking Liberal Education Course Approval
Details and forms for Liberal Education course proposals are available on the Liberal Education Course Proposal and Review Procedures webpage.
Course Designators
New course designators and changes to course designators require department, college, and campus approvals before such proposals can be submitted to the UMN Office of the Executive Vice President for review. Many administrative processes are impacted by changing a designator, and the Office of the Executive Vice President recognizes that in most cases a new designator is not needed (UM Course Designator guidance).
Inquiries about new course designators or changes to course designators at UMD should first be sent to the Academic Affairs Curriculum Office ([email protected]).
Questions?
Please email Nancy Hansen Burley or Lindsay Brown at [email protected], or call Nancy (218-726-7103) or Lindsay (218-726-6879).