Curricular Routing Document

Policy Approval Authority President
Responsible Division Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost
Responsible Officer(s) Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Contact Person Alicia Schattemen
Primary Audience Faculty
Status Active
Last Review Date 03-03-2025
Policy Category/Categories Faculty & Academics

Curricular Approval Procedures

Exceptions apply based on the type of changes being proposed. This affects the type of proposal being submitted but should not affect the routing of the proposal. For instance, if changing the number of a course that involves changing the content of the course enough that repeat benefits are lost, a new course proposal and delete course proposal may be needed instead of a change course proposal. Please consult your college administrator and/or curriculum@niu.edu if you have questions about which proposal to submit and what the routing would be.

New Proposals

The below routing chart indicates the routing needed for various new academic components, such as majors, courses, or subsections within majors. Additional information can be found on the Curriculum Approval Guide.

Key:

  • AASAP - Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee of the Board of Trustees
  • BoT - Board of Trustees
  • GC - Graduate Council
  • BC - Baccalaureate Council
  • UAP - University Assessment Panel
  • IBHE - Illinois Board of Higher Education

The approval process flows from left to right for each proposal or curricular change which is listed in the first column on the left.

Department College BC (undergrad) GC (grad) Provost Council of Deans UAP BoT/ AASAP President IBHE
Courses Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Degree Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Major Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Emphasis (undergrad) Specialization (grad) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Concentration Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Option Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Minor Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Certificate Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes
Department No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
College No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
Center/Institute No No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes

Notes:

  • IBHE Approval can take a considerable amount of time, has separate forms, and is independent of NIU's processes. Please contact curriculum@niu.edu about information regarding IBHE.
  • New certificates independent of an existing program ("standalone" certificates) need additional steps of approval. Certificates within a program do not need these additional steps.
  • Approval processes may fluctuate depending on specific dynamics of the proposal, such as a general education course needing to route through the GEC (General Education Committee). Please contact curriculum@niu.edu if you feel this may apply to your proposal.
  • Questions concerning resources should be resolved before an item is submitted to the university-level curricular.
  • All questions concerning issues of duplication should be raised and resolved, if possible, prior to submitting an item to the university-level curricular bodies.

Change Proposals

In general, any proposals attempting to change an existing page of the catalog that is under a program, or a course, is a "change proposal". Additional information can be found on the Curriculum Approval Guide. Proposals that would constitute under "Change Proposals":

  • Changing various aspects of a course, such as: changing the credit hour of a course, title of a course, description and prerequisites/corequisites.
  • Changing course numbers.
  • Changing title of programs.
  • Adding or deleting specializations, emphases, concentrations, or Any related subsection of a program also falls under this type of proposal.
  • Changing various aspects of a program, such as: requirements, various notes, elective options, and hours.
Department College BC (undergrad) GC (grad) Provost Council of Deans UAP BoT/ AASAP President IBHE
Courses Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Degree Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Major Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Emphasis (undergrad) Specialization (grad) Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Concentration Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Option Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Minor Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Certificate Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes
Department No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
College No No Yes Yes No No No No No
Center/Institute No No No Yes No No No Yes No

Notes:

  • Keep in mind that the new or deletion routing chart is the routing needed for adding or deletion specializations, emphases, options, or concentrations. For the purposes of the system, the “change proposal” form is needed, but the routing would follow whatever is most appropriate to what the change is requesting, such as deleting a specialization needing to follow “deletion proposal” routing.
  • Keep in mind that changing the names of programs involves the same process but needs Provost approval.
  • Changing an existing certificate to become a standalone certificate requires IBHE approval.

Deletion Proposals

The below routing chart indicates the routing needed for deletions of various academic components, such as majors, courses, or subsections within majors. Additional information can be found on the Curriculum Approval Guide.

Department College BC (undergrad) GC (grad) Provost Council of Deans UAP BoT/ AASAP President IBHE
Courses Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No
Degree Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Major Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Emphasis (undergrad) Specialization (grad) Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Concentration Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Option Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Minor Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Certificate Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Department No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No
College No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Center/Institute No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No

Contact Us

Policy Library
815-753-5560
policy-library@niu.edu 

Back to top