Submissions to the Committee on Curricula

Deadlines 2023-2024

Fall 2023

• Friday, September 1, 2023 at 5 pm
  • For consideration at September 8 curricula meeting and vote at the September 20 A&S meeting and September 22 GP&P meeting
• Friday, October 6, 2023 at 5 pm - All courses which need committee approval to run in Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 must be submitted by this date.
  • For consideration at the October 13 curricula meeting and vote at the October 25 A&S meeting and October 20 GP&P meeting 
• Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 5 pm
  • For consideration at the November 17 curricula meeting and vote at the November 29 A&S meeting and December 8 GP&P meeting 

Spring 2024

• Friday, January 5, 2024 at 5 PM
  • For consideration at the January 12 curricula meeting and vote at the January 24 A&S meeting and January 19 GP&P meeting
• A&S only: Friday, February 2, 2024 at 5 PM - All A&S courses which need committee approval to run in Fall 2024 must be submitted by this date. 
  • For consideration at the February 16 curricula meeting and vote at the March 6 A&S meeting
• GSAS only: Friday, February 23, 2024 at 5 PM - All GSAS courses which need committee approval to run in Fall 2024 must be submitted by this date. 
  • For consideration at the March 1 curricula meeting and vote at the March 8 GP&P meeting
• Friday, April 5, 2024 at 5 PM
  • For consideration at the April 12 curricula meeting and vote at the May 8 A&S meeting and first GP&P meeting of the fall

Forms and Documentation

The following forms may be filled in online and submitted electronically to the Curricula Committee. Exceptions to this process are linked appropriately below; the Change A&S foundation or distribution requirements form should be sent to the Academic Review Board, and the Cross-list a course form should be routed to the assistant registrar. 

Each person submitting a request will sign off digitally at the end of the submission confirming that they have consulted with and gained the approval of their department chair/program director.

Please review Guidelines and Procedures for Submitting Request to the Curricula Committee.

If you encounter any difficulties with the submission system, please contact committee chair David Proctor directly at currcomm@tufts.edu.

New courses (including those previously taught as Special Topics being given a permanent number) to be offered in spring 2024/fall 2024 should be approved by the faculty prior to registration. New courses submitted after the start of registration will be available for the term only if they are using a Special Topics course number.

Courses that are being renumbered, retitled, or new courses submitted using a number that is currently being used by another active course, must have been voted prior to the date departments submit their course offerings for the term (late January for fall semesters and early September for spring semesters).
*This new course information will be available on the Registrar's website of course offerings but, depending on the date voted, may not appear in the Course Offerings Booklet.

The Committee on Curricula accepts submissions at any time, but cannot guarantee that they will be reviewed in time for approval at the target A&S faculty meeting unless they are received by the deadline. When submitting large items such as new or greatly revised majors or minors, department-wide renumberings, or new courses that may stir debate, faculty are advised to consult the chair of the Committee on Curricula and to submit their proposals as early as possible to allow for additional consultation before presentation at an A&S meeting. In particular, proposers of new courses are advised to contact faculty who teach in related areas (in their own or other A&S or Engineering departments) to discuss the complementarity of proposed offerings to those currently established in the curriculum of any AS&E department. Results of such discussion should be briefly reported in the proposal rationale. Submissions to the committee generally fall into one of the following categories.

Require A&S vote:

• New courses, including those moving from Special Topics to independent status
• New programs (majors, minors, certificates, etc.)
• Minor changes to existing courses and programs
• Major changes to existing courses and programs
• Changes to A&S foundation or distribution requirements

Require CC vote only:

• Changes to existing courses that already have independent status
• Deletions of courses from a department's or a program's Bulletin listing (requested by chairs and program directors only)

Other actions:

• Requests to cross-list existing courses should be submitted directly to the assistant registrar. Once approved, course numbers should be included in the description of the proposal to the Committee on Curricula.
• Changing the A&S distribution, world civilization, or culture option classification of an existing course should be directed to the Academic Review Board. Should additional discussion be needed, the Committee on Curricula facilitates this activity, which often involves consultation with the Committee on Educational Policy as well as various deans. 

GSAS items in 2023-24: 

• All new course requests, course revisions, and course credit changes dealing with courses numbered 200 or above will now also be sent to AS Curricula for a review, while the final discussion and vote on these proposals will remain with GSAS Policy and Programs. This applies only to courses numbered 200 or above, no changes are implied for courses at the 100 level or below which continue to be the full responsibility of A&S Curricula. 

Add a New Course or Program

"New" courses and programs are those not currently listed in the official version of the Bulletin. All requests for new items must be approved by faculty vote.

Consult the Bulletin's section on areas of study for programs and departmental requirements, and follow the link on that page to view official course descriptions. Do not use departmental web sites to check for Bulletin listings, as they may contain temporary or non-Bulletin listings of special topics offerings.

Note that courses previously taught as special topics are still considered new if they do not have a unique, dedicated listing in the Bulletin. Any course whose existing Bulletin entry could potentially be shared with other versions (sections) of a special topics course must be submitted for consideration by the Committee on Curricula as new.

Change an Existing Course or Program

Submissions in this category involve changes to items already listed in the Bulletin. If the item does not already have a unique Bulletin entry, the request should be submitted as a new item. Changes that significantly alter the content or scope of an existing course or program require faculty approval, while the Committee on Curricula can approve minor changes without faculty vote.

As with new courses and programs, consult the Bulletin's section on areas of study for the latest requirements for programs and departments, and follow the link on that page for official course descriptions. Do not use departmental web sites to check for Bulletin listings, as they may contain temporary or non-Bulletin listings of special topics offerings.

Changes that require action by the Committee on Curricula include the following.

Changes to individual courses:

• Course title
• Course number
• Course description, wording, or content
• Course prerequisites
• Minor changes require a vote of the Committee on Curricula only; major changes require a vote of the faculty

Changes to programs (majors, minors, etc.):

• Program title
• Program requirements (for example, the list of courses that fulfill major or minor requirements)
• Program description

Changes that do not require action by the Committee on Curricula include the following.

• Changing the instructor listed in the course description. Instead, make such changes on the registrar's semi-annual request for department listings.
• Cross-listing a course with another department. Instead, submit such requests directly to the registrar. For convenience, the appropriate form is included among this committee's forms.
• Changing the A&S distribution, world civilization, or culture option classification of an existing course. Direct such requests to the Academic Review Board.

Delete a Course

Only department chairs and program directors can submit lists of courses their faculty have decided to remove from the Bulletin. All departments and programs should do this periodically to keep the Bulletin current and accurate. Although it does not act on such requests, the Committee on Curricula instead is a clearinghouse so the registrar can keep program listings and lists of required courses throughout the Bulletin up to date. The committee also reports deletions during its meeting with the A&S faculty.

Change A&S Foundation or Distribution Requirements

Changing the A&S distribution, world civilization, or culture option classification of an existing course should be directed to the Academic Review Board. If further discussion is needed, the following may occur: 

• A faculty member, group of faculty, dean, or committee may request a change, addition, or deletion to A&S foundation or distribution requirements. Such proposals usually involve consultation with a wide spectrum of groups on campus, including many who are not initially a part of the group submitting the proposal.
• The Committee on Curricula facilitates this activity, which often involves consultation with the Committee on Educational Policy as well as various deans. After these consultations the committee generally tries to reach a consensus and votes on such proposals, recommending them to the faculty for a vote of approval, sending them back for revision, or rejecting them and not sending them to the faculty for a vote.
• The Committee on Curricula is not the only avenue for such change, but if the change involves only A&S requirements, the committee is the logical organization to field the request. Proposals of this type have also been sent directly to deans or the Committee on Educational Policy for inclusion in the agenda of the A&S faculty meeting, so that the faculty can vote on them; but the Committee on Curricula is usually asked to review A&S issues first.

Other Actions

To initiate an action that falls outside the categories listed above, please contact the chair of the Committee on Curricula (currcomm@tufts.edu) for instructions.

Guidelines and Procedures for Submitting Requests

Please use the instructions in this downloadable form, which outlines the Guidelines and Procedures for Submitting Requests.