Modify a Course

The procedures for modifying an existing course and the required approvals are defined in RIT Policy D01.0 (Policies for Curriculum Development), Section II (Course Proposals), Item A (Minor Course Modifications) and Item B (Significant Course Modifications).

Update the existing Course Outline Form, with tracked changes that clearly identify the proposed changes to the existing course. If you do not have the most current version of the Course Outline Form for the course that you are updating, please contact the Office of the Vice Provost for assistance.

After the course changes have been approved (see required approvals in the section below), the College Scheduling Officer must submit a Course Action Form and the updated Course Outline Form to the Registrar’s Office. A Course Action Form and Instructions can be found in the Restricted Forms section of the RIT Registrar’s website (login required).

All course modifications must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by the College Scheduling Officer after the modifications have been approved. Examples of course modifications include, but are not limited, to:

• Course Title
• Course Number
• Credit Hours / Contact Hours
• Description
• Pre-requisites
• Special Designations
• Term Offered
• Enrollment Size

Please refer to RIT Policy D01.0 (Policies for Curriculum Development), Section II (Course Proposals), Item A (Minor Course Modifications) and Item B (Significant Course Modifications) for guidance regarding types of course modifications and the required approvals for each.

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

Changes to 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.

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

Changes to required courses and elective courses must be noted on the program curriculum tables that are sent to the Office of the Vice Provost during the annual bulletin process. Minor course changes in a registered program do not normally require approval from NYSED.

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 masters 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.