Q1. What do I submit to the Curriculum Office?

Q2. Who do I contact for assistance on how to revise my course outline?

Q3. When will my course be reviewed and do I have to attend the meeting?

Q4. My course was approved, but there were technical cleanup/recommended/required changes, what does this mean, and when do I have to get these changes done?

Q5. The Curriculum Committee only asked for a few technical clean-ups, can the Curriculum Office do them for me?

Q6. What are the definitions of lecture, lecture-laboratory, and laboratory classes?

Q7. How do I determine the number of hours I would need for my course?

Q8. What is the Curriculum Committe guideline for course numbering?

Q9. How do I get a new number for a course I am developing?

Q10. How do I change a number for an existing course?

Q11. How do I change a course title?

Q12. What if my course is not approved for articulation with a UC or CSU?

Q13. What effective date do I put for my course?

Q14. How do I get an "other business" item on the curriculum agenda?

Q15. What if I have a curriculum-related complaint?

Q16. Why do I have to fill out requisite/advisory forms every time I do a five-year review?

Q17. The list says my course is up for review, but the previous effective date on the course outline is within five years. Why?

Q18. If I don't have any changes do I still have to go through the process?

Q19. I am not technologically savvy with computers and ECMS would be too much of a problem to learn in order for me to input changes to my course outline/create a new course outline. Can I just submit my course outline in Word like we used to do?

Q20. I am trying to get a piece of curriculum through my division but my Dean seems to be fighting me on it and won't sign-off on the necessary paperwork. What do I do?

Q21. How will Student Learning Outcomes (SLO's) be incorporated into the course outlines?

NOTE: If you have additional curriculum questions, please send an email to curriculum@fhda.edu.



Q1. What do I submit to the Curriculum Office?
ANSWER: Please visit the links below for submission instructions.
Submission instructions for a revised or new course
Submission instructions for a revised or new certificate or degree


Q2. Who do I contact for assistance on how to revise my course outline?
ANSWER: Contact your division curriculum representative, click here for a list.


Q3. When will my course be reviewed and do I have to attend the meeting?
ANSWER: Once the course and the paperwork are in order, the Curriculum Committee Secretary will inform you by email when your course will be up for review. YES, you have to be present in the meeting when your course is up for review; if you are not able to attend the meeting, you must ask your division curriculum representative to fill in for you. The Curriculum Committee will table your course if no one is available to present the course.

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Q4. My course was approved, but there were technical clean-up/recommended/required changes, what does this mean, and when do I have to get these changes done?
ANSWER: The Curriculum Committee classifies changes in 3 categories: technical clean-up, required, and recommended. You must do the technical clean-up and required changes. Recommended changes are at your discretion, you can choose to do or not do them. You have 2 WEEKS to revise your course outline and resubmit them to the Curriculum Office (Mary Clark), if you miss this deadline then you risk the possibility of losing the APPROVAL status for your course.


Q5. The Curriculum Committee only asked for a few technical clean-ups, can the Curriculum Office do them for me?
ANSWER: No. If the Curriculum Office does it for one person, the Curriculum Office will also have to do it for other Curriculum Writers, and this can add up to a lot of work when you consider the number of courses the Curriculum Committee reviews and approves each academic year.


Q6. What are the definitions of lecture, lecture-laboratory, and laboratory classes?
ANSWER: According to the Curriculum Development Guide:

• LECTURE = the whole class is uniformly engaged in the academic activity.
• LECTURE-LABORATORY = the whole class is uniformly engaged in an academic activity that integrates dissemination of information and guided, hands-on experience.
• LABORATORY = students work independently, with individual guidance from an instructor on a need or request basis (not uniformly).

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Q7. How do I determine the number of hours I would need for my course?
ANSWER: Depending on how your course is categorized, here is a guideline on how to determine the number of hours per week for your course:

• Lecture - 1 unit = 1 hour/week
• Lecture-laboratory - 1 unit = 2 hours/week
• Laboratory - 1 unit = 3 hours/week

Q8. What is the Curriculum Committee's guideline for course numbering?
ANSWER: According to the Curriculum Development Guide:

• 1 - 49: Courses numbered in this range indicate transferability to the UC system. However, this numbering cannot be assigned to new courses until the articulation agreement has been made with UC by the Articulation Officer. Therefore, check off UC transfer status on the Curriculum Proposal Cover Sheet, and use a number from 50-99. The Articulation Officer will notify you of the articulation status and work with you to designate a new number between 1-49 when approved.
• 50 - 99: Courses numbered in this range indicate transferability to the CSU system. If the course is transferable to both CSU and UC systems, then the course may be numbered in the 1-49 range.
• 100 - 199: Courses numbered in this range are non-transferable, but they are credit and degree applicable.
• 200 - 299: Courses numbered in this range are non-transferable, and non-degree applicable but they are credit courses.
• 500 - 599: Courses numbered in this range are non-transferable, non-credit, and non-degree applicable.

Q9. How do I get a new number for a course I am developing?
ANSWER: Contact the Curriculum/Catalog Coordinator, Mary Clark.

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Q10. How do I change a number for an existing course?
ANSWER: Submit a memo to the Curriculum Office with the division dean's signature.

Q11. How do I change a course title?
ANSWER: Submit a memo to the Curriculum Office with the division dean's signature.

Q12. What if my course is not approved for articulation with a UC or CSU?
ANSWER: Contact the Articulation Officer, Renee Augenstein, for assistance.

Q13. What effective date do I put for my course?
ANSWER: The effective date is the catalog year that your course revision or course creation will go into, for example if you update your course in Fall 2008, the effective date would be Fall 2009.

Q14. How do I get an "other business" item on the curriculum agenda?
ANSWER: Contact the Curriculum Committee Co-Chair.

Q15. What if I have a curriculum-related complaint?
ANSWER: Contact the Curriculum Committee Co-Chair.

Q16. Why do I have to fill out requisite/advisory forms every time I do a five-year review?
ANSWER: Even if your course requisite/advisory did not change, the form might request additional information.

Q17. The list says my course is up for review, but the previous effective date on the course outline is within five years. Why?
ANSWER: The effective date on the course outline is the catalog year that carries your course revision. Courses are typically reviewed 1 year before the effective date, for example if my course effective date is Fall 2005, my course is due for review in Fall 2009 because it was reviewed and approved in Fall 2004.

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Q18. If I don't have any changes do I still have to go through the process?
ANSWER: Yes. You will have to complete the current, necessary curriculum forms (see FORM link on the left hand side) and access ECMS to change the effective date on your course outline, even if you have nothing else at all to change. NOTE: If you feel you have no changes whatsoever to your course outline after 5+ years, it is highly recommended that you contact your division curriculum representative, the Curriculum/GE Review Committee Curriculum Facilitator, or the Faculty Co-chair to the committee for advisement.

Q19. I am not technologically savvy with computers and ECMS would be too much of a problem to learn in order for me to input changes to my course outline/create a new course outline. Can I just submit my course outline in Word like we used to do?
ANSWER: No. The use of ECMS has been mandatory for all curriculum initiators since Fall 2007. Fortunately, the Curriculum Office does provide group and personal training for ECMS. Contact the Curriculum Office at ecmsadmin@fhda.edu for training dates and times.

Q20. I am trying to get a piece of curriculum through my division but my Dean seems to be fighting me on it and won't sign-off on the necessary paperwork. What do I do?
ANSWER:The Curriculum/GE Review Committee would sincerely hope that curriculum initiators are supported in their efforts to create innovative courses by their colleagues and division deans, however, we do realize that this issue rarely occurs. If your division dean refuses to sign-off on the necessary curriculum forms you may contact the Faculty Co-chair or the Administrative Co-chair to the Curriculum/GE Review Committee to help you best resolve the situation.

Q21. How will Student Learning Outcomes (SLO's) be incorporated into the course outlines?
ANSWER:Currently, the college is working on Core Competencies that will help to guide the creation of Student Learning Outcomes (SLO's). This is a separate process and will not be included in the course outlines. When SLO's are incorporated into the course outlines, the committee will inform all divisions and faculty. If you have any other questions regarding the implementation of SLO's, please contact Coleen Lee-Wheat (408-864-8744) or Jim Haynes (408-864-8954) or go to the SLO web site, www.deanza.edu/slo/.