For up-to-date and detailed guidance on how to complete course and program proposal forms and for supporting documents, please visit: https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines. Guidance on preparing course outlines are available at Teaching & Learning Services.
Course Titles
Course Descriptions
Rationale
Administering Faculty for Courses and Programs
Choosing course numbers for creating new courses
Guideline on Course Levels
Hidden Prerequisites in Programs
Permission of Instructor; Requirement for background but not specific prerequisites
Double-Prefix Courses
Restrictions
Approval by Memo
Credits in Ph.D. Proposals
Course Outlines
Consultation Reports
Required Fees
Requires Teaching, Physical or Financial Resources
COURSE TITLES
- There are two fields for course titles in course proposal and revision forms. Course Title on Transcript: This will be the course title that will appear on the student's transcript (max 30 character), including abbreviations, punctuation and spaces. Any abbreviated words will be written in full in the Calendar title and on the web course catalog (see next item).
- Course Title to Appear in the Calendar: Optional, maximum 59 characters. This can only be an expansion of word (s) abbreviated in the Course Title on Transcript field (this allows for abbreviated words to be spelt in full). Words may not be added/deleted from the 30 character title.
Example:
Exptl. Methods in Org. Chem.
Experimental Methods in Organic Chemistry
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
- Descriptions should reflect course content only: teaching and grading methods, restrictions, etc. are maintained elsewhere. Descriptions should give a brief, concise, and clear idea of the course content and must be limited to 50 words. Avoid using “A study of the relationships…..” or “An in depth analysis of…” instead use “The relationships….” or “An analysis of….”.
RATIONALE
- The reason or explanation for new course or program proposals or for revisions to courses or programs. The rationale is not an expansion of the course description. Explain why the new course/new program/revision is required and how it relates to the overall offerings of your unit.
ADMINISTERING FACULTY FOR COURSES AND PROGRAMS
For undergraduate Science programs, the administering faculty is Science. For 100to 500-level courses, the administering faculty is Science.
The Faculty of Science also administers programs and 100to 500-level courses offered by the Departments of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology, and of Physiology. Thus, for these courses and programs, the administering faculty is Science and the offering faculty is Medicine.
The Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Office (GPSO) is the administering unit for 600and 700-level courses, and for graduate programs.
CHOOSING COURSE NUMBERS FOR CREATING NEW COURSES
- Numbers for new courses must not have been used in the last five years. To verify whether a course number has been used in the last five years, units should check on Banner for information effective September 2002 and onward.
Login to Banner by entering USERNAME, your personal password, and under 'DATABASE' enter Banner:
- Go to SCACRSE
- Enter the subject code
- Go to the Course field, and click on down arrow
- In the Existing Courses box, expand the box and scroll down to see your unit’s course numbers, to see the start and end dates of courses
For years prior to September 2002, contact the Faculty office, as this information is on the cumulative course table.
HIDDEN PREREQUISITES IN PROGRAMS
- To avoid upper level students being previously unaware of prerequisites for Required Courses, programs should not have 'hidden' prerequisites. Prerequisites for upper level Required Courses should be listed in the program description. Additionally, if students are required to choose among a very limited number of Complementary Courses, prerequisites for these courses should be indicated as part of the program. Where prerequisites are given by other units, these units should be consulted as appropriate.
PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR: REQUIREMENT FOR BACKGROUND BUT NOT SPECIFIC PREREQUISITES
- "Permission of Instructor" may be used in the prerequisite field on course proposal/revision forms, either with or without listing specific prerequisite courses. If no specific courses are listed, it is useful for advising purposes to give some indication of the background required, e.g., "Six credits of calculus courses and permission of instructor."
DOUBLE-PREFIX COURSES
- Double-prefix courses are courses given by two units. The two courses are identical, and the course number, title, description, credit weight, etc., must be the same. However, there are two subject codes, e.g., ANAT 205/EPSC 205, Astrobiology. In the example given, Anatomy & Cell Biology students would take ANAT 205, and Earth & Planetary Sciences students would take EPSC 205. See also Restrictions, below.
RESTRICTIONS
- Restrictions are designed to prevent students from taking for credit two or more courses that overlap substantially in content. Restrictions are always in place for Double-Prefix Courses. Another common use is in the case of a course renumbering. Also, many statistics courses have mutual restrictions applied. The standard format for a restriction is "Not open to students who have taken or are taking WXYZ 123."
APPROVAL BY MEMO
- In certain cases, a memo can be used for course/program changes, e.g., where a simple change affects a number of different programs, or where many similar changes are being submitted simultaneously, such as multiple course retirements. Check with the Faculty office to verify if a memo is appropriate.
CREDITS IN PH.D. PROPOSALS
- Ph.D. programs have "0" credit value. This "0" value should be indicated on the proposal/revision program form for Ph.D. programs. If courses have "0" credit weight, this should be indicated as well, rather than leaving a field blank.
COURSE OUTLINES
- Course outlines are required when submitting proposals for new or significantly modified courses to the Curriculum Committee. Course outlines should follow the Teaching and Learning Services template and include learning outcomes, a breakdown of marks for the course, and a reading list. Courses in Science normally require at least one midterm exam as well as a final exam, and often assignments are required. A small percentage of the final grade may come from class participation. If a larger percentage comes from class participation, it must be rigorously specified how this will be measured.
CONSULTATION REPORTS
- Where appropriate, consultation reports should be obtained, and included with submissions to the Academic Committee. Among other situations, consultation reports should be obtained when a proposed course could overlap with an existing course anywhere in the university; when a change to a course would have an effect on another unit's program; when students for a proposed course could potentially come from other units; and when one unit lists another unit's course as a prerequisite. Click here for the Consultation Form.
REQUIRED FEES
- For new courses, if additional course charges must be paid by students, the proposal should be submitted to the Fee Policy Committee as soon as possible. For example, field courses may require additional charges.
REQUIRED TEACHING, PHYSICAL OR FINANCIAL RESOURCES
- For new courses, if the course requires teaching, physical or financial resources not currently available, the proposal must be submitted to the Dean of your faculty before submission to the Academic Committee.