Curriculum and Academic Planning

The undergraduate course catalog includes key information such as the academic calendars, degree requirements, and academic regulations, as well as the courses and requirements for each program in the College. Department chairs need to ensure that the all the information included for her or his department is accurate and up-to-date.

The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) includes one faculty member from each department, and its current membership—in addition to the meeting schedule, materials, and procedures—can be found at the Curriculum website. The department chair oversees the election of the department’s representative for the UCC and also ensures that the representative keeps the department updated on important items.

It is important for the chair to be informed about enrollment trends, student demand, and the overall quality of department courses. The chair can request enrollment data by contacting the Office of the Registrar at registrar@sandiego.edu.

The purposes of program assessment include increasing student awareness of their learning; providing more effective academic advising; developing a framework for faculty discussions of course and program goals and design; implementing a systematic method for departmental planning and improvement; contributing to the evaluation of institutional effectiveness; and providing evidence for external accreditors.

The chair oversees assessment activities in the department. The College Assessment webpage has useful information for program assessment, including contact information for the College A-Team, the current assessment plan from each department, and resources and grant opportunities for assessment projects.

New chairs should be as familiar as possible with the department’s internal procedures for creating the schedule. Some departments have outlined protocols, while others may rely more on informal practices. In either case, the chair seeks to prepare the schedule with fairness and equity and to effectively balance student needs, program needs, and faculty preferences as well as the department’s participation in the Core Curriculum, Honors Program and LLC/TLCs.

The Dean’s Office informs department chairs of the deadline for submitting the class schedule each semester. The schedule is prepared and submitted approximately one year in advance (for example, the schedule for Fall 2018 is submitted at the end of the Fall 2017 semester). The Dean’s Office provides materials to assist in the schedule preparation.

Example Memo and Scheduling Instructions

The actual submission of the class schedule to the Dean’s Office is done through the Academic Scheduler Tool. Please read the Academic Scheduler User Guide before using the tool for the first time. 

Occasionally, the Dean's Office will contact a chair and ask that a new section of a course be opened to accommodate student enrollment/demand. If a new section is to be opened for any reason, Dean's Office approval must be sought and an Instructional Reserve form submitted.

• Instructional Reserve Request

The on-campus class schedules for the intersession and summer terms are managed by the Summer and Intersession Office. This office contacts department chairs directly, and requests the department’s class schedule for the given term.

Chairs can review the department’s past schedules for these terms and determine how they are integrated with the semester schedules with regard to student demand. The protocol for teaching in the summer or intersession should be clearly defined in each department with a fair and equitable rotation of course assignments and schedules.

For Study Abroad programs during intersession and/or summer, see the section below.

The class schedule is accessible to students and the University community on or around March 1 (for Fall semester) and October 1 (for Spring semester) each year; student registration typically begins on or around April 1 (Fall semester) and November 1 (Spring semester) each year. The chair should pay attention to enrollment trends during registration and make adjustments as necessary working with the academic scheduler in the Dean's Office. Some departments may be able to use the "pre-enrollment" process if they qualify. Click here for more information. In rare cases, additional sections may be added if there is high student demand. Contact the associate dean for undergraduate studies if this occurs. 

Course transfers

As department chair you may receive transfer evaluation forms for courses offered in study abroad programs that may potentially transfer to USD as equivalents of courses in your department's curriculum. These courses should be evaluated with the same expectations and rigor that you would use to evaluate any petition for transfer of credit. In addition to the course syllabus, you may request additional information from the International Center about the institution and program, including the CVs of the faculty who teach them. 

If a study abroad course is not equivalent to one in your program, a student can seek core credit through the Core Curriculum Committee. 

Curricular integration

Chairs should be familiar with departmental policies related to study abroad. For example, the number of units and courses that can be taken abroad that can apply to your major, and study abroad courses that have been approved by your department. 

Faculty participation

Faculty participation in USD study-abroad programs may take several forms:

• teaching a class in a larger program (e.g. Second-Year Experience in Intersession)
• directing and leading a faculty-led program in Intersession or Summer
• teaching in a semester-long program
• creating a new program

All new courses and course changes must be submitted through the Course Inventory Management (CIM) tool, which is found in MySanDiego. After opening CIM, click on “Propose New Course” or "Edit Course" in order to see all the information that is required for a course submission, including any Core Curriculum areas for which the course will apply as well as other course attributes. Prior to submission, the course must be approved by the department, and the departmental vote is included in the application. Once submitted through CIM, the course application is routed to the appropriate Associate Dean. A new course designed to fulfill one or more Core requirements must first be approved by the College’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. Once approved, the application is then forwarded to the Core Curriculum Committee.

Changes to academic major and minors must be submitted through the online Catalog Program Submission (CAT) system, which is accessed through the MySanDiego Teach/Advise page. After opening CAT, locate the program using the search window and click the “Edit Program” button to make changes. Prior to submission, the revised program must be approved by the department; the departmental vote is required in the application. After being submitted through CAT, the program record is routed to the department chair for approval, then to the appropriate Associate Dean. All proposed program revisions are reviewed by the College’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and then by the Academic Assembly.

The Core Curriculum constitutes a vital part of the liberal arts education at USD, and it is important to provide a wide offering of courses for students. If your department has courses that are approved for the Core Curriculum, they should be offered on a regular basis.

The Curriculum website provides important information on the core requirements. In order to submit a course for one or more areas of the Core Curriculum, please see the section above on “Course Inventory Management (CIM) – Course Proposals” and then follow the instructions.

Chair responsibilities pertaining to the Core Curriculum

• Oversee your department’s submission of revised or new courses for core credit.
• Consider planning courses for new or unique areas of the core: advanced integration, DISJ, first year integration.
• Review the course schedule for core attributes for courses in your department.
• Ensure all instructors in your department who teach courses with core attributes understand the particular core learning outcomes for the course and implement appropriate assignments prompting students to demonstrate their competency for those learning outcomes.

Through the Learning Communities students will be introduced to the integrated nature of learning. Courses in the LLC program will satisfy a core requirement, unless a specific course is given an exception to this requirement. Spring LLC courses will satisfy first-year integration. 

The Transfer Learning Community (TLC) program is offered in both the fall and spring semesters to ensure that all transfer students entering USD will be introduced to integration and the core curriculum. TLC courses will be selected with attention to the disparate courses that transfer students have completed before arriving at USD. TLC courses should satisfy previously unmet graduation requirements for each student. 

Individual faculty apply to participate in the program. Chairs should work with the associate dean for undergraduate studies to schedule LLC and TLC courses. Faculty are compensated for participation in the LLC and TLC programs with 1.5 credits (or equivalent stipend) for each semester they participate. Faculty who participate should be familiar with the core curriculum requirements and other advising details.

The online undergraduate and graduate course catalogs can be found at catalogs.sandiego.edu. Each catalog is published on April 1 and covers the following academic year (September 1 through August 31). In order to meet this publication date, all curricular approvals for the forthcoming catalog must be completed by March 1. A preview of the course catalog for the following academic year is available at nextcatalog.sandiego.edu. Department chairs should review nextcatalog in late February to ensure that the curriculum for their department is correct and includes any changes approved for the following academic year.