A Primer on Course and Program Proposals

Put together a short course description (100 words maximum), a title (30 characters maximum), and a course outline that includes the learning objectives of the course, a sample timetable, information on how the course will be graded, and a list of relevant reading materials. For more details on what should be included in a course outline see https://www.mcgill.ca/tls/teaching/course-design/outline.

You will need to ensure that the proposed course does not overlap substantially with other courses offered by our Faculty or by any other Faculty at McGill. This requires a formal consultation process where you send a copy of your course outline normally to the Chair of Departments that you think might offer a related course. There is a form that they need to complete (see the appendix in any of the guidelines on preparing new course proposals https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines) and the consultations need to be included at the time you submit your request for approval of your course to the Faculty Academic Program Committee (FAPC).

You will also need to consider whether this new course should logically be added to any existing programs in the Faculty (or at McGill), either as a required course or as an addition to a list of complementary courses. Having your new course added to a program is a benefit as it draws the course to the attention of students who may be interested and as it enriches the program itself. Check the descriptions of the various programs and contact the Program Director or Coordinator to see if there is interest in including your proposed course. If so, the Program Director will need to complete a Program Revision Form and this should be submitted at the same time as your course proposal.

You will need to complete a NEW COURSE FORM found at https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines. This can be done through MINERVA. There are very detailed guidelines about how to answer each of the questions (same link as above), and I suggest that you take the time to understand what is being asked in each of the “boxes”. In the long run, this will definitely save you time!

You may be revising your own course, or you may be taking over a course that someone else has taught. Regardless, you first need to consider what components you are changing.
You may be making a change to the course description, the credit weight of the course, the title, the course number, content, or how the course is offered. A change done using the COURSE REVISION FORM on MINERVA.
If you are taking over a course from someone else or if you are substantially changing the course, it is possible that course may no longer be relevant to programs where it is required or complementary and/or that it may now be relevant to other programs. In that case, you need to discuss the revised content with any relevant Program Director or Coordinator.

Please take careful note of ALL programs that are affected by this change. If you search your course number from the main McGill website, it will take you to the course details AS WELL AS a list of all programs where your course is listed (right of screen).

You must submit Program Revision form(s) together with the course revision form if ALL of the following three conditions are met:
(1) the revision consists of changing the course number, credit weight, consolidating, splitting courses or retiring a course AND
(2) your existing course is listed in a program’s SPECIFIC list of courses [e.g., Required Courses or Complementary Courses] AND
(3) other revisions must be made to the program to compensate for your change.

If all of these apply, you MUST submit program revision form(s) concurrently with the course revision proposal.

If one or more of these do not apply, you must list all the affected programs within the Rationale section.

If only the title or description of a course changes, but the number and credit weight remain the same, a program revision proposal is not necessary. The Calendar Office will change the title in every program that lists the course.

There are several reasons to revise an existing program. Over time, content of courses changes. Some courses that were relevant to the program may no longer; new courses or revised courses may be important to include.

You will need to complete a PROGRAM REVISION FORM (https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines) and detailed guidelines for filling in the form are also available at this link. It is important to show a side-by-side comparison of the existing program and the new program so that it is very easy to see what is changing. It is easier to do this on the Word version of the form (than the PDF version) because you can use strike-through to mark deletions and bold face to indicate additions or changes. However, it is harder to use the Word form for things like the rationale for the change, given the way the Word version is constructed. SCTP suggests that you save the working Word file in the “Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)” version [if available] - this will give the file a “.doc” extension that is more user friendly and easier to work with.

Development of a new program requires considerable consultation with interested colleagues in order to determine a rationale for the new program, what the most appropriate curriculum content and organization should be, and to ensure that the proposed program is complementary to what is available both in the Faculty and in the broader University. It may also require development of new courses.

I recommend that the proposed curriculum be discussed informally with many people prior to the formal consultations that will be required. The informal feedback will be very helpful in ensuring the excellence of the proposal and in smoothing its path to approval.

You will need to submit a new PROGRAM PROPOSAL FORM (see https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines for form and detailed guidelines about how to fill it in) and you will also need to include formal consultations with other departments within the Faculty and in other relevant Faculties (consultation template included at the end of the guidelines at the above link). 3
If you are proposing a program that needs to receive approval from Quebec, there are several additional steps that are required and information is available at https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines.

If everything goes without a hitch and the timing of meetings works in your favor, your proposal may be approved within 2 months, but more likely it will take up between 4-6 months from the time you submit your proposal until it has received final approval. It can take longer for new programs. Approval of new programs that require a decision by Quebec can take 18 months to 2 years. In all cases, however, the more carefully the proposal is prepared, the more efficiently the approval process works.

Note:

1. The steps below are relevant for UNDERGRADUATE PROPOSALS and assume that no revisions are required at any step.
2. If revisions are required, the proposal will be returned to you, and then be returned to the committee that requested the change.
3. For GRADUATE COURSES AND PROGRAMS, a consultation from the Associate Dean (Graduate Affairs) is required before it is considered by FAPC . Also the program proposal goes to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies before it is considered by SCTP (after Step 5).
4. If there are financial implications of any sort (additional fees, need for additional resources), an analysis needs to be done by the Academic Management Office.
5. If your program involves partnership with other Faculties, it will need to be approved by the Academic Committee and the Faculty Council of each Faculty prior to going to SCTP.
6. Assuming your proposal is approved by FAPC, you will not be involved in moving the proposal through the rest of the steps.
7. Should you wish to be present when your proposal is being considered, you can request this from the secretary of the relevant committee.

Step 1: Preparation of the relevant form
Step 2: Obtaining formal consultations from other Departments
Step 3: Approval at a Departmental Meeting and signature of Department Chair or designate
Step 4: Submission to FAPC at least 10 days prior to the meeting (normally monthly meetings Sept-May). If the proposal is approved unanimously by FAPC it goes as a “starred” item to Faculty Council. Unless the “star” is removed in advance of the meeting, there is no discussion on the proposal. There is a straight “up” or “down” vote.
Step 5: Assuming approval by FAPC, the proposal goes automatically to Faculty Council (meets monthly Sept - May).
Step 6: Assuming approval by Faculty Council, the proposal goes automatically to the Subcommittee on Courses, Teaching and Programs (SCTP) (normally meets every 3 weeks Sept - May)
Step 7: Assuming approval by SCTP, the proposal is sent to Academic Program Committee (APC) either for information in the case of new course proposals, course revisions, and program revisions or for approval in the case of new programs. APC meets every 3 weeks Sept - May)
Step 8: Assuming approval by APC, proposals are sent to Senate for information only. Senate meets monthly.
Step 9: Once approved, Enrolment Services, Transcript Office, Course Timetable and the Calendar Office are notified.

Forms and Guidelines: https://www.mcgill.ca/sctp/guidelines
This link provides forms for new and revised courses, and for new and revised programs.
It also provides guidelines for completing each of these forms along with an example of a completed form. The guidelines are include a consultation form template.

Preparation of a Course Outline: https://www.mcgill.ca/tls/teaching/course-design/outline
Teaching and Learning Services provides very helpful workshops for designing new courses. Information is available at https://www.mcgill.ca/tls/teaching/course-design/icdt. Highly recommended!

Guidelines for Undergraduate Course Level and Pre-requisites

Calendars: https://www.mcgill.ca/study/2023-2024/
This link provides both online access to all McGill calendars and PDF versions of the calendars. It also allows you to search by programs and courses, and to access the timetable.
If you want a quick way to find a course, you can also type the course number (eg PARA 410) into the search engine on the home page of the McGill website. This takes you directly to the course description and also to the list of programs where the course is listed.

List of FAES Program Directors and Coordinators
Available at www.mcgill.ca/macdonald/about/associate-deans/associate-dean-academic/program-directors-specialization-coordinators-and-domain-mentors

List of FAES Program Advisors
https://www.mcgill.ca/macdonald/studentinfo/advising

Contacts:
Joanne Ten Eyck, Secretary to FAPC joanne.teneyck [at] mcgill.ca; 514-398-8677
Joanne can answer questions about process within FAES. She can let you know deadlines for submission of material and has many answers to general questions.

Alice Cherestes, Chair FAES FAPC alice.cherestes [at] mcgill.ca; 514-398-7980
I am happy to discuss proposals at any stage and will do my best to provide helpful advice.

Cindy Smith, Secretary to SCTP cindy.smith [at] mcgill.ca; 514-398-2624
If Joanne or I can’t answer your questions, we will refer you to Cindy. She has years of experience.

Julie Degans, Secretary to APC julie.degans [at] mcgill.ca; 514-398-2985
Julie will be helpful for any program that is likely to require approval by Quebec.

Real del Degan, Academic Management Office real.deldegan [at] mcgill.ca; 514-398-2988
Real can answer questions about any financial implications associated with your proposal.