School-Specific Curricular Approval Procedures

  • Any changes must be approved either by the Undergraduate or Graduate Policy Committees.
  • For more information about Cox-specific approval procedures, contact Bill Dillon.

  • A proposal is submitted to the Curriculum Committee;
  • The committee reviews and, if agreed, presents the proposal to the faculty for a vote;
  • If the faculty vote to accept the change, it is submitted to the EPC (if necessary) or implemented and updated in our catalog/website.

  • New Majors/Minors:
    • approval by the department
    • approval by Lyle faculty
    • proposal submission to EPC

  • Track specializations:
    • approval by the academic department
    • approval of Lyle faculty
    • (not submitted to EPC because they do not result in separate degrees.)

  • Program discontinuance:
    • approval by the department
    • notification to the Dean鈥檚 office
    • Information item to Lyle Faculty
    • Dean鈥檚 office submits corresponding letter to EPC

  • New Degree Programs, Majors, and Minors must be approved by the Meadows Academic Policies Committee.
  • Substantive Changes in Degree Programs, Majors, and Minors must be approved by the Meadows Academic Policies Committee.
  • Discontinuation of Degree Programs, Majors, and Minors must be approved by the Meadows Academic Policies Committee.
  • For more information about Meadows curriculum approval processes, contact Gretchen Smith, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

  1. New courses are proposed by Perkins faculty to their various divisions using a template found in the Perkins Faculty Handbook. We have four divisions titled: I. The Biblical Witness, II. The Heritage of the Christian Witness in Its Religious and Cultural Context, III. The Interpretation of the Christian Witness, IV. The Witness of the Church and Its Ministry. Members of the division vet the proposal offering suggestions for improvement, edits, suggested readings, etc. After the vetting process division members vote approval or not. Since the vetting process can be extensive and done on a consensus basis new course proposals are always approved. However, there have been instances where the professor submitting the proposal realizes that s/he needs to withdraw their proposal to address the problems division members have identified.

  2. Upon approval by members of the division the chair of the division places the proposal on the Perkins Faculty meeting agenda for approval by the faculty. Faculty members receive the new course proposal approximately six days before the meeting for review. The division chairperson presents the item as a seconded motion to the Perkins faculty. S/he and/or the author of the proposal will respond to questions. The faculty vote on the new course proposal.

  3. Upon approval of the new course it is passed on to the Perkins Registrar for processing into the course database.

Contact us at assessment@smu.edu to request updates to this page.