CRCS: Submit a Proposal to Add a Course in Curriculum

The Curriculum Review and Consultation System is designed to manage the submission of course and program proposals as well as facilitate the approval process electronically.

This article describes how to create and submit a proposal to add a new Penn State course.

Access the Curriculum Review and Consultation System

To access the Curriculum Review and Consultation System:

1. Visit the CRCS home page.
2. Click the Log On button.
3. If you are not already logged on to a Penn State service using WebAccess, the WebAccess form will display. Enter your Penn State Access Account user ID (e.g., xyz123) and password.
4. Click the Login button. The Home screen will display.

Submit a Proposal to Add a Course

To submit a proposal to add a course, from the Home screen:

1. In the top left menu, under Proposals, select Create Proposal. The Create Proposal screen will display.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   Select Proposals, then Create Proposal.
2. From the Degree Level drop-down menu, select whether the proposed course is Graduate or Undergraduate.
3. From the Proposal Type drop-down menu, select COURSE.
4. From the Action drop-down menu, select ADD.
5. From the College with Curricular Responsibility drop-down menu, select the applicable college.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   For Proposal Type, select Course, and for Action, select Add.
6. Click Next. The Proposal Initiator, Submitter and Curricular College Responsibility Form will display.
7. In the Principal Faculty Member(s) section under Name and User ID, enter the faculty member's user ID or name; as you begin to type, a list of suggestions from the Penn State directory will pop up, from which you can select.
   
   NOTE: To edit the name, under Action, click the pencil (edit) icon, make any necessary edit, then click Update.
8. From the College drop-down menu, select the faculty member's college.
9. If more than one person should be indicated as a principal faculty member, to the left under Action, click the Insert button to display a new row. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for that person.
10. In the Form Submitters section, by default, the Name and User ID and College information corresponds with the person who is currently logged on. It is important to mention that this information should always be representative of a faculty member; however, a staff member may complete the online forms on behalf of the faculty member.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Enter the name and college of the principal faculty member and form submitter (if different).
11. Click Next. The Course Designation screen will display.
12. For the proposed course, enter the Course Abbreviation, Course Number, and Course Title.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
    Enter the course abbreviation, number, and title.
13. Click Next. The Course Location History screen will display.
14. Review the onscreen message. Because this is a proposal to add a new course, the message will state "No Campus Offerings Were Found." If this were a proposal to change or drop a course, the past four years of campus offerings would be listed.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
    Review the onscreen message.
15. Click Next. The Course Information screen will display.
16. Scroll down to the Credits section and complete the fields detailing the proposed new course.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
    Complete the fields detailing the proposed course.
17. Enter an Abbreviated Title of 18 characters or fewer for the proposed course.
18. From the Learning Attributes drop-down menu, select whether the proposed course is a General Education course. Select the check box of any applicable Additional Designations.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Check the box to select any applicable Additional Designation.
    
    The following information is required:
    
    • Minimum and Maximum Credits
    • Repeatable (yes or no)
    • Total Maximum Credits (this field displays only if "yes" is selected for the Repeatable setting)
    • Short Description of 20 words or fewer
    • Effective Semester
    • Effective Year
    • Does This Course Have a Travel Component (yes or no)
19. Click Next. The Additional Course Information screen will display.
20. You may find it helpful to click the plus (+) icon next to Icon Legend and Page Help to display an explanation of the icons.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
    Click the plus (+) icon to display the Icon Legend and Page Help.
21. On this screen, indicate any cross-listed, prerequisite, and/or concurrent courses pertaining to the proposed new course, as follows.
    
    1. Beneath the applicable Cross-Listed Courses, Prerequisite Courses, or Concurrent Courses subheading, click the book icon to insert a course.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Click the book icon.
    2. In the form that appears, enter the Abbreviation and Number of the course. In the case of a cross-listed course, from the drop-down menu, select the College.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Enter the course abbreviation and number, and for a cross-listed course, indicate the college.
    3. If you are finished inserting courses, select the Save link; if you wish to insert another course, select the Save; Add More link.
    4. If you have inserted more than one prerequisite or concurrent course, from the Connector drop-down menu, select (AND) or (OR), as applicable.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Select the applicable connector.
    5. For multiple prerequisite or concurrent courses, to specify a logical grouping such as "students must take course X AND [course Y OR course Z]," to begin and end a grouping, click the puzzle piece icon to insert a group connector. From the drop-down menu that appears, select Begin Group, End Group, AND, or OR.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Click the puzzle piece icon to insert a group connector.
       
       In the following example of prerequisite courses, students will need to have taken ENGL 15 and either ENGL 201 or ENGL 263.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
        
       Example of designated prerequisite courses with a grouping.
22. Click Next. The Course Outline screen will display.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Enter the course outline, listing of major topics, and long course description.
23. In fields 1 through 3, enter:
    
    • A brief outline or overview of the course content
    • A listing of the major topics to be covered with an approximate length of time allotted for their discussion
    • A long course description, up to 400 words. This description will be made available to students through the online Bulletin and Schedule of Courses. It must encompass all course sections at all locations over a period of time and therefore must focus on the common and durable aspects of the course.
24. Under item 4, indicate the faculty member(s) responsible for the development of the course. Enter the name or user ID of the person; as you begin to type, a list of suggestions from the Penn State directory will pop up, from which you can select. The person's data from the Penn State directory will appear and can be edited, if necessary.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Enter the faculty member(s) responsible for the development of the course.
25. If more than one faculty member is responsible, click the Add New Faculty Member button and repeat step 24 for that person.
26. Click Next. The Course Justification screen will display.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
    Complete the course justification fields.
27. In fields 1 through 8, enter:
    
    • Instructional, Educational, and Course Objectives
    • Evaluation Methods
    • Relationship/Linkage of Course to Other Courses
    • Relationship of Course to Major, Option, Minor, or General Education
    • A description of any Special Facilities
    • Frequency of Offering and Enrollment
28. If you selected General Education Learning Attributes in step 18, you will now need to complete the general education requirements.
    
    1. First, identify the alignment with the general education objectives. You must select 2-3 but no more than 4 objectives.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Select the appropriate check boxes per alignment with general education objectives.
    2. Next, answer the questions pertaining to how the course will align with the general education requirements.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Answer the questions on how the course will align with general education requirements.
    3. Next, under General Education Designations, make the appropriate selection from the Course Listing drop-down menu.
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       Select from the Course Listing drop-down menu.
    4. Select either the Domain(s) or Foundations that the course provides.
    5. Click Next.
29. You will now be required to select the criteria that the selected domain or foundation adheres to and provide evidence on what components of the course will help the students achieve the criteria.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Select the appropriate criteria.
30. If any Additional Designations were selected in step 18, you will now be requested to enter evidence that the course supports the requirements. Each requirement will have its own instructions.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Enter information on the requirements in the text box provided.
31. Click Next. The Review by Required Signatories screen will display.
32. Specify the Head of Department, College Representative, and Dean of the College, if not automatically filled in. In the Name or User ID field for each, enter the name or user ID of the person; as you begin to type, a list of suggestions from the Penn State directory will pop up, from which you can select. Then press the Tab key to automatically fill in the Name field.
    
    NOTE: The College Representative and Dean of the College are automatically filled in by the system; however, if there has been a change since the system was populated with this data, you can edit the information.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
    Specify the Head of Department, College Representative, and Dean of the College.
33. Click Next. The Consultation Request screen will display.
34. You can now send the proposal out for review. There are two different types of review:
    
    • Consultation: Consultation groups may have been created for the college pertaining to the proposed course. Those groups from whom coordination is required by the college are grayed out and cannot be unchecked. To initiate a consultation, check the box for any additional pertinent consultation group besides those already checked, then click the Submit Request For Consultation button.
      
      NOTE: By default, the request will be sent to all members of the group; however, you can optionally deselect the check box next to a name so that person will not receive a request.
      
      NOTE: If the proposal is for an undergraduate course, each party included in the Essential/Formal Consultation will be given two weeks to respond. A group/individual consultant is assumed to concur if no response is received within that time. No time limit is imposed in the case of a graduate, law, or medical course.
    • Actual approval process: The Send To Your College Proposal Administrator button is only available once all parties included in the Consultation have responded to the proposal. (The faculty submitter and any staff person to whom CRCS rights have been granted to initiate the proposal will receive an email when this has been achieved.) Once you click the Send To Your College Proposal Administrator button, you will not be able to further edit the proposal.
     
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Check the box next to the consultation group you wish to review the proposal, then click Submit Request For Consultation. Alternatively, if you are ready, click Send To Your College Proposal Administrator.

NOTE: Once the approval process has started, you will not be able to edit the information in the proposal. The information will be protected until it has been noted that a change is necessary. If you would like to make a change or reset the status of the proposal, you may contact the Faculty Senate at 814-865-5788 and a CRCS administrator will be able to help you.

Some email programs may place the automated email into a recipient's "Junk" folder. If your proposal has not been reviewed by a particular individual you may want to notify them yourself that a review is necessary.