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USC Curriculum Coordination Office

Review Process

  1. Department

    • Submit all program, minor and course proposals via the Curriculum Management System (CMS). The routing is as follows: the Department Curriculum Coordinator (DCC), or Faculty Proposer, submits the proposal and guides it through its routing to: Chair, Affected Deans (if any) and Curriculum Dean, making sure that each party knows that the proposal is ready for his or her review. The DCC, or Faculty Proposer, is responsible for making sure that any required documentation (catalogue copy for programs and minors; syllabi for courses) and approvals are attached to the proposal. If the Curriculum Dean approves, s/he will route the proposal on to CCO Review.

      Remember, all new programs must be routed to the Provost. If the Provost approves, he will forward the proposal to the Curriculum Coordination Office (CCO). A visual representation of the process is found on the second page of the CMS Quick Guide and Routing Chart. The names of the current dean designees are found in the Dean Designee List.

      Please refer to the OSP and DRC: Instructions and Forms page for specific instructions on how to submit OSP and DRC proposals.

    • Give proposals ample time for review. Affected department deans may not respond as quickly as you would like. Review by CCO and by subcommittee may each take up to 10 working days, with additional time required if the subcommittee and department must meet. The Curriculum Submission Timeline is a good reference for submitting proposals on time to be published in the printed and online university catalogue and in the Schedule of Classes.

    • Keep track of proposals via CMS. Generally, the Department Curriculum Coordinator (DCC), or Faculty Proposer, who initiated the proposal is responsible for tracking the progress of the various proposals via CMS.

      For Off-Campus Studies proposals, the CCO will acknowledge the receipt of off-campus study programs to the dean and the faculty and staff contacts via email. Departments that submit proposals to their deans and do not receive acknowledgement in a timely fashion are asked to check the status with their deans before checking with the CCO.

  2. Curriculum Coordination Office (CCO)

    Proposals for any changes in curriculum which will be reflected in the printed and online Catalogue or in the Schedule of Classes are sent to the Curriculum Coordination Office (CCO), where proposals are reviewed for technical elements (i.e., do units and contact hours follow established guidelines; does the title on the syllabus match the title on CMS; does grading add up to 100%, etc.). Proposals are either returned to the department for further clarification, or forwarded to subcommittee review.

    The CCO may take up to 10 working days to review a proposal once it has arrived in the CCO Review Folder of CMS.

  3. Subcommittee Review

    Subcommittee chairs (plus one additional subcommittee member for programs and minors) review proposals for content. If questions arise, the CCO coordinates a dialogue between the two parties, and if necessary, schedules a subcommittee meeting, with a department representative invited. Again, the subcommittee may take up to 10 working days to review, with additional time required if the subcommittee must meet.

  4. University Committee on Curriculum (UCOC) Review

    Proposals approved by subcommittee are then reviewed by the overall University Committee on Curriculum (UCOC), which typically meets on the first Wednesday of every month between October and May. The 2012- 2013 UCOC meetings will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the following days:

    1. October 3
    2. November 7
    3. December 5
    4. January 16
    5. February 6
    6. March 6
    7. April 3
    8. May 1

    UCOC either accepts the subcommittee's findings or recommends further discussion of the proposal.

  5. Provost's Approval

    The UCOC's findings are recorded in that month's UCOC minutes. Those minutes and the related subcommittee reports are forwarded to the Registrar and to the Provost for final approval.

    Once approved, the school's or department's program, minor or course may be advertised for the posted term of implementation. UCOC minutes are posted on this website. Approvals of the various proposals can be checked on CMS. "APPROVED," along with the date of approval, will appear under the "Current Status" of all approved proposals. If your proposal is still in a review folder, you may investigate internally by reviewing comments made by the department, CCO and subcommittee, or you can call the CCO at ext. 01162 for clarification.

    A special note for online programs from the Provost's Office:

    USC degree programs offered through the online modality may require accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Failure to complete this process can damage the University's accreditation status. For more information concerning all new online programs, or existing programs being converted to the online modality, please contact USC's Accreditation Liaison Officer, Associate Provost Robin Romans (rromans@usc.edu).

    For more detailed information on the curriculum review process, please refer to the Curriculum Handbook.