Curriculum Development and Review FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQ
Where are the curriculum forms located?
Access the Curriculum Development and Review Handbook – Curriculum Forms to access SDSU's and South Dakota Board of Regents' curriculum forms.
How long will it take the modification or addition to be effective?
Minor modifications, deletions and course requests with the x9x prefix of undergraduate curriculum are reviewed and approved by the vice provost. All graduate curriculum requests will be approved by the director of the graduate school and vice provost. The process may take approximately two weeks until updated in the system. Effective dates are based on the request type. Some are enacted immediately; others follow semester or academic year. These types of changes require only internal (to SDSU) review and approval.
New course requests, substantive program modifications, etc., must be reviewed by (in this order):
- Campus Academic Affairs Committee
- Faculty Senate
- Provost and vice president for academic affairs
- Academic Affairs Council System
- South Dakota Board of Regents
The average processing time is four months. Effective dates are based on the type of request. These types of requests require both internal and external review and approval.
When do changes need to be submitted to be included on the Graduate Council or Academic Affairs Committee agenda?
Requests need to be received by the Office of Academic Affairs no later than four weeks prior to an upcoming meeting. Refer to the curriculum processing calendar for key meeting dates and deadlines.
When do changes need to be submitted to be included in the next catalog?
Substantive curriculum modifications need to be submitted in time to process through Graduate Council, Academic Affairs Committee and Faculty Senate before the May Academic Affairs Council System meeting. Requests would be presented to the South Dakota Board of Regents in July.
Note: Meeting dates are subject to change. Refer to the curriculum processing calendar for key meeting dates and deadlines.
What forms should be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs curriculum coordinator?
Following college-level approvals, the college dean or associate dean will email to the curriculum coordinator the approved South Dakota Board of Regents curriculum form(s) along with any required consultation forms. Only electronic copies of the curriculum forms, from the dean’s office with typed signatures, will be accepted.
Do the curriculum forms need to be saved with specific names?
Save all courses requests with the prefix, number and title of the courses plus type of course request as the name of the document.
Save all program requests with the name of the program and degree plus the type of request as the name of the document.
- MCM = Minor Course Modification
- NCR = New Course Request
- AUTH = Authority to Offer an Existing Course
- RCR-C = Revised Course Request – Common
- RCR-U = Revised Course Request – Unique
- MPM = Minor Program Modification
- SPM = Substantive Program Modification
Examples:
- DANC 240 Multicultural Dance Activities (MCM)
- Electrical Engineering (B.S.) – Power Systems Engineering Specialization (SPM)
Course FAQ
When should minor course modifications be submitted?
Minor course modifications can be submitted any time. However, depending on the time during the current term, the change may need to be held until the following term if students are registering for courses.
Example:
- Are credits affected? Will the name or number of the course change?
How do I know which course numbers are available?
The shows course numbers. Contact the curriculum and catalog coordinator for further assistance. The course number assigned needs to be unique and not currently used within the course database at any South Dakota Board of Regents institution.
How do I know which universities offer the same course?
The includes details on the course location and other South Dakota Board of Regents universities authorized to offer the course.
Access academic catalogs for Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota Mines and the University of South Dakota:
If a course is “unique” in the course database but not “unique” to SDSU, does that mean we can't add it to our curriculum?
A “unique” course to another university can be added to courses offered at SDSU by completing the Authority to Offer an Existing Common Course form. This form is used for both “common” and “unique” courses.
How do I find and select an instructional method?
Instructional method classifications and definitions are established by the South Dakota Board of Regents. Refer to Academic Affairs Guideline , on the South Dakota Board of Regents policies website for complete details.
How do I update the instructional method for a course?
The process depends on whether the course is a common course or a unique course:
- Common courses: Submit a Revised Course Request – Common proposal to change the instructional method.
- Unique courses: Submit a Minor Course Modification proposal to update the instructional method.
For definitions and descriptions of instructional methods, refer to South Dakota Board of Regents Academic Affairs Guideline , on the South Dakota Board of Regents policies website.
What are the delivery method codes?
Each course section is assigned a schedule type or delivery method code that indicates the primary method by which instruction is delivered to the student. Separate course sections must be created if a course has one group of students receiving instruction primarily through one type of delivery method and another group of students receiving instruction through another type of delivery method. For example, one section for students primarily receiving instruction face-to-face and another section for students primarily receiving instruction online asynchronous.
How do I update the delivery method code on a course section?
Submit an email request to the curriculum and catalog coordinator with the course details and delivery methods. Reference the for the correct codes.
How does a department or school request a new course prefix?
Submit a New Prefix Request form. Any curricular change proposals that involve the creation of a new prefix for courses that represent a discipline or program unique to a single institution should address the issues driving the proposal.
Requests for a new prefix must include a minimum of six courses attached to the prefix request. Courses using x9x numbering are excluded from this requirement. Those prefixes that drop below the required six course threshold shall be eliminated or merged with existing prefixes at the institution.
Consult the in academic affairs guidelines for information about existing courses and prefixes.
How do we schedule the new course that was approved?
Contact the to create or modify any course sections.
Program FAQ
How do I find out what programs are being developed in the regental system?
The South Dakota Board of Regents staff maintains an interactive table that summarizes the current status of all known program proposals currently in some stage of formal development in the South Dakota university system. The South Dakota Board of Regents proposed program tracker includes current intent to plan, new program, new site, new certificate, new minor and new specialization proposals and their status within the approval process.
Using a variety of available parameters, the list can easily be filtered to show recent progress, show new listings, stage in the review process, notes and so on. Data is updated by South Dakota Board of Regents staff on a regular basis. It is recommended to utilize Chrome, Firefox or Safari to view the site.
Programs listed as “new” are those appearing on the list for the first time at a system Academic Affairs Council meeting (program proposals should appear on this list at least one meeting prior to their appearance on a council agenda).
The university must submit a request to the South Dakota Board of Regents staff to include any potential programs to the program tracking dashboard. This request shall include a brief justification for the program, preliminary alignment to institutional mission and any evidence that the program does not duplicate existing programming within the regental system (or that the duplication is justified). The South Dakota Board of Regents executive director grants formal approval to move forward with the proposed request and for posting on the Academic Affairs Council program tracking dashboard. The dean or associate dean of the college should submit the request to the Office of Academic Affairs.
What should the effective date be on a program modification form?
Program modifications will go into effect for the following academic year.
Example: 2027-2028 Academic Year
When do I fill out a minor program modification vs. a substantive program modification form?
If courses are being changed in a program and these changes will not affect the credit distribution in the primary areas of a program (e.g., system general education requirements, college requirements, major requirements, supporting coursework or electives) the request is submitted on a . When the proposed changes in program courses result in changes to credit distribution, then submit the request on the .
Example:
The program requirements for SGR No. 4 required the students to complete HIST 111. The program wants to change the request to allow students to select any course from the SGR No. 4 list. This type of modification could be completed on a .
How do I request a new major, minor, certificate or specialization?
New program requests will require two steps in the approval process:
1. Request to add the program to the South Dakota Board of Regents' Summary of Pending and In-Progress Requests.
The South Dakota Board of Regents staff maintains an interactive table that summarizes the current status of all known program proposals currently in some stage of formal development in the South Dakota university system. The South Dakota Board of Regents Proposed Program Tracker includes current New Program, New Site, New Certificate, New Minor and New Specialization proposals and their status within the approval process.
Using a variety of available parameters, the list can easily be filtered to show recent progress, show new listings, stage in the review process, notes and so on. Data is updated by South Dakota Board of Regents staff on a regular basis. It is recommended to utilize Chrome, Firefox or Safari to view the site.
Programs listed as “new” are those appearing on the list for the first time at a system Academic Affairs Council meeting (program proposals should appear on this list at least one Academic Affairs Council meeting prior to their appearance on a council agenda). The university must submit a request to the South Dakota Board of Regents staff to include any potential programs to the program tracking dashboard.
The shall include:
- A description of the proposed program and, if applicable, the proposed site(s), including the general nature and purpose of the program and a brief (one- to two-sentence) description of the academic field.
- An explanation of any exceptions to policy for the program being requested.
- A description of how the program and/or site aligns with the institutional mission, strategic plan, existing program array and academic priorities.
- A justification for the program and, if applicable, the proposed site(s), including how the proposal meets current student, state and workforce demands. (Please cite sources.)
- Anticipated enrollment projections for the first six fiscal years and a description of the methodology used to develop those estimates.
- A description of all new and existing resources (financial, personnel, facilities, curriculum, etc.) needed to launch and sustain the program and/or site.
- A description of any identified opportunities for collaboration within the institution, across the system, with other institutions or with private partners (e.g., articulation agreements, course sharing or research collaboration).
- Information on whether the program, or a similar program, is offered at any of the six regental universities and, if so, a justification for the proposed program and/or site.
- An explanation of the potential impact the proposed program and/or site will have on other programs at SDSU.
The South Dakota Board of Regents executive director grants formal approval to move forward with the proposed request and for posting on the Academic Affairs Council program tracking dashboard. The dean or associate dean of the college should submit the email request to the Office of Academic Affairs.
2. Route the required South Dakota Board of Regents and SDSU curriculum request forms for campus- and system-level approvals.
