Develop a Course

A new course is defined as any course that does not currently exist as a permanent course. The procedures for developing a new course and the required approvals are defined in RIT Policy D01.0 (Policies for Curriculum Development), Section IIB (Course Proposals, New Courses).

Course proposals must be prepared using RIT’s Course Outline Form. This form is updated periodically, so please use this link to ensure that you are using the current form.

New required courses must be received by the Registrar’s on or before March 15th to be effective for the next academic year.

New elective courses must be received by the Registrar’s Office on or before October 15th for spring listing in SIS and by March 15th to be effective for fall and listed in SIS. 

Courses must have all relevant committee approvals before the October 15/March 15 due dates. Colleges may have their own internal deadlines to ensure that committee approvals at each level are completed prior to the university deadlines.

New courses must be submitted by the College Scheduling Officer using a Course Action Form after the course has been approved. A Course Action Form and Instructions can be found in the Restricted Forms section of the RIT Registrar’s website (login required).

RIT follows a semester system with fall and spring semesters consisting of a minimum of 14 weeks, with an additional week for exams. The exam period counts as an instructional week, so the number of instructional weeks is 15. Terms for certain academic programs (for example, accelerated schedules) have been adjusted but nonetheless adhere to the policy in terms of the amount of work required. Summer terms typically consist of 12 weeks of study and 3 days of final exams (i.e., 13 weeks) but also adhere to the policy in terms of meeting time and the amount of work required.

Review RIT’s Assignment of Credit Hours policy document, which complies with established MSCHE, federal and state requirements.

Courses should be numbered as follows:

RIT Policy D03.0 (Registration), Section III (Graduate Registration) provides the following guidance regarding cross-listed courses:

• No more than 1/3 of the courses in a master’s level degree program can be graduate courses that are cross listed with undergraduate courses.  Cross-listed studio courses do not count towards this limit. The Provost, in consultation with Graduate Council, may allow exceptions to this rule provided there is sufficient justification.
• If a graduate and undergraduate course is to be cross-listed, the undergraduate course must be at the 500 level and the graduate course must be at the 600 level. 
• Additional advanced level learning outcomes and educational experiences designed expressly for graduate students (content, instruction, and workload) are required in any graduate level course that is cross-listed with an undergraduate course. Graduate programs are expected to monitor the additional learning outcomes and educational experiences of cross-listed courses.

• General Education (Appendix A in Course Outline Form) – course must fulfill all of the following criteria:
  • Be in a subject that meets NYSED’s definition of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
  • Assess at least one General Education student learning outcome in communication.
  • Assess at least one General Education student learning outcome in critical thinking.
• Writing Intensive (Appendix B in Course Outline Form) – review the following:
  • RIT Policy D01.5 (University Writing Policy)
  • Guidance from RIT University Writing Committee 
• Honors (Appendix C in Course Outline Form)

If a course is a temporary offering (sometimes called a “special topic,” referring to courses without permanent course outlines), the following guidance applies:

• A “Special Topics” course is an educational experience offered for credit on an experimental or trial basis.
• A “Special Topics” course can only be offered 3 times before it must either be approved as a permanent course through the standard curricular review process, or discontinued.
• The course is proposed by an academic unit, then reviewed and approved by the College Curricular Committee. 
• “Special Topics” courses are considered temporary and cannot be required for any program.

RIT’s Office of Educational Effectiveness Assessment provides a variety of course-level resources to assist with establishing clear objectives and learning outcomes, aligning the learning outcomes to course activities, and designing assessments that provide evidence of student achievement.