Guide for creating a new undergraduate program record in Kuali

(for undergraduate studies proposers)

Regardless if the new record in Kuali is deemed a new program or a major modification by the Academic Quality Enhancement Office team, if a new record is needed in Kuali Curriculum Management (CM) to display as a new Undergraduate Studies Academic Calendar page, the first step is to select the + New Program & Plan button. The alternative - if the base of the program is similar to an existing record - is to use the Duplicate feature and modify the copied content. This guide will walk a proposer through a blank form and the processes needed to fill in some of the content.

Note: This guide will cover the creation of a new degree/major; some of the content will also be applicable  in creating records for smaller undergraduate credentials that are less complex.

Tips before proceeding:

  1. Save: You can save and exit the draft and come back to edit again as many times as needed. This work will not likely be completed in one sitting.
  2. Help buttons: Use the links in the help buttons (blue question marks) within the system to gain insights and additional tips on suggested content for a particular field.
  3. Layout template: The academic calendar has been structured in a similar way across all undergraduate credentials and we would like to keep that uniformity and consistency moving forward.
    • If a new degree only has the one major, all degree requirements and major requirements will be placed on the single record.
      • Sample combined degree and major requirements: H-Global Business and Digital Arts
      • Sample degree + major requirements: Degree Reqs (Math) + H-Statistics
    • If a new major is being created for an existing degree, the new record will house the major requirements and link back to the degree requirements.
    • If several new majors are being created under a new degree being created, the degree and major requirements are meant to be split on separate records, with the major requirements linking back to the shared degree requirements.
  4. Jira tickets: If this is for a brand new degree and area of study, several updates to the back end databases of Kuali will likely be needed and the earlier this is done via Jira tickets, the better, and may include requests for:
    • .
    • .
    • .

The Office of the Registrar can assist with questions regarding new curriculum and implementing it in Kuali CM. Contact the Editor, Undergraduate Calendar for assistance.

If using the "+ New" button (vs the Duplicate feature), once a new draft is open, all the fields will be blank.

Section: Effective Date and Career

  • Career: Select Undergraduate.
  • Effective Term and Year: Must be a Fall date. Review the Important! information message within the form for other details, as well as the current Effective Dates chart for guidance.

Section: Proposal Details

  • Proposal Type: Select New.
  • Quality Assurance Designation: Leave this field blank > the Academic Quality Enhancement Office will populate this field during the first step of the workflow.
  • Go through the other required questions (designated with a red asterisk). The more information that is provided, the better the proposal document will be.
  • Consultations (Departmental): Provide detailed consultation information.
  • Supporting Documentation: For new programs (e.g., new Bachelor's degree), this is where the volumes (if they exist) can be attached for any undergraduate- and faculty-level committees.

Section: General Program/Plan Information

  • Faculty: Type the main faculty that will own the program; if shared, this should be Vice-President Academic.
  • Academic Unit: Select from the pre-populated list based on the choice made in the Faculty field.
  • Field of Study: For new programs, a new Field of Study may need to be created. This is the grouping that will display in the Calendar under Programs & Plans (expand/collapse area). If the desired grouping does not already exist, a is needed for the Office of the Registrar to add it to the database.
    • The Field of Study should match the plan name for majors (as well as minors, diplomas, and certificates).
    • For specializations: Those are grouped with the major in question (i.e., the Field of Study will match the major plan name, not the specialization name).
    • For options: Those are grouped by faculty of ownership and there are specific Fields of Study for those, such as "Options: Faculty of Science"; a new Field of Study is unlikely required.
  • Faculty [Calendar Display]: For new credentials, a new combination may need to be created if it is interdisciplinary in nature and more than one faculty/institution will be collaborating together. This grouping displays on the Calendar page, at the bottom. If the desired combination does not already exist, it simply means it's a first for campus and a is needed for the Office of the Registrar to add it to the database.
  • Undergraduate Credential Type: Select the desired credential type from the pull-down menu. Before making a selection, review the layout template details at the top of this page.
    • Select Major if the page is for a solo major or a combination of Degree Requirements + major on the same page.
    • Select Degree Requirements if the page is to house degree requirements only, and separate major plan pages will be created.
    • For other types of credentials, make the appropriate choice (e.g., Minor for a minor).
  • Program Type: Select the desired choice (e.g, Honours).
  • Degree: Select the Degree from the list. If the new program includes the creation of a new degree name (i.e., Bachelor of X), a is needed for the Office of the Registrar to add it to the database.
    • Important! If a new Degree option needs to be added, we also need to ask the vendor to update the form so that the Degree choice updates some of the visibility of other fields. This request should be made before courses are added to any type of course lists to avoid the need for rework.
  • Program/Plan Name: This is the name of the credential (e.g., major and degree) that will appear in the Calendar. Consistency is important and the Office of the Registrar will verify it is correct. You can use existing examples within Kuali as a reference.

Section: Admissions

  • Admissions Entry Point: Make the appropriate selection.
  • Choose to add additional requirement information in the appropriate box while following guidelines. This is not advertising space. You can review existing texts to get a sense of what can/should go in this section, if anything at all.

Section: Requirements Information

  • Invalid Combinations: Indicate if the new program has any specific invalid combinations with it that are not covered by the overarching rules found on the Invalid Credentials Combination regulations page. If applicable, make sure any invalid combinations are discussed in the Proposal Details section.
  • Average Requirement: Indicate, using the standard wording and formatting, what the average requirements are. Look up examples in Kuali CM.
  • Graduation Requirements: A bullet list of high-level requirements.
    • Keep as brief as possible.
    • Do not repeat what will be in the course lists, average requirements, or additional constraints.
    • It is the appropriate place to describe milestones, placements, and other non-standard requirements that cannot be captured within the course lists.
  • Co-operative Education Program Requirements:
    • For degree/major combination pages: This is where PD/co-op requirements are spelled out, including sequence charts.
    • For solo major pages: Add link to shared degree requirement pages using standard wording (use other records in Kuali CM as samples) and the correct internal linking process.
  • Course Requirement lists: Field options will display depending on the choice made in the Degree field. This is why it is critical the Degree field (and progressive disclosure) is updated before you start creating this content.
    • Course Requirements (units): Auto-calculation of units based on courses listed; the list of pre-programmed rules available to be used is more limited.
    • Course Requirements (no units): No auto-calculation of units based on courses listed; more pre-programmed rules are available to be used.
    • Required Courses (Term by Term): Used only by degrees that are required to progress termly.
      • Important: If a new degree is being created and students are going to go through a term-by-term progression (vs by level), this needs to be communicated to the Office of the Registrar in the Jira ticket asking for the new degree.
    • Course Lists: To be used for additional lists aside from the default "Required Courses".
    • Note: Courses must exist or be in Under Review state in order to be added to any course requirement list. The order of operation matters.
  • Are there cross-listed courses listed in requirements: Answer the series of questions.
  • Additional Constraints: A place to briefly describe any additional required information about the courses/requirements that couldn't be explained in the requirement lists. Format = numbered list.
  • Notes: A place to add links to departmental websites (e.g., advisors, course sequencing). Format = bullet list.

Section: Specializations

  • Specializations for this Major: Make the appropriate selection.
    • Yes - Required (separate record): This means that another record for the specialization will be created/already exists and the student must take at least one.
    • Yes - Required (built on this record): This means that the specialization will be built on this same Kuali CM record, and in Quest, the plan 10 will be a combination of the major and the specialization.
    • Yes - Optional: This means that another record for the specialization will be created/already exists and the student can choose to take one, but doesn't have to.
    • No: There are no specializations.
  • Specialization Details: Using standard wording, describe what the students can do regarding the specializations (this will be visible in the Calendar). Do not list the specialization names in this field.
  • Specializations List: Add the names of all the specializations in alpha order. Follow the instructions and help. The specializations must exist or be in Under Review state and have a CM Program Code in order to be added to the list. The order of operations matters.
    • If the specializations are being created simultaneously, you may have to submit the plan record to the workflow temporarily (and withdraw it after the specialization/major is added to the applicable field). If this is the case, reach out to the Academic Quality Enhancement Office to let them know that the plans are not yet ready for review.

Note: If specializations are being created simultaneously, depending on the choice made, a specialization record (for each specialization) will also need to be built in Kuali CM, and the specializations and majors linked by the Specializations List field (on the major page proposal) and the Specialization is available for students in the following majors field (on the specialization page proposal).

Submission of the new program

If the Academic Quality Enhancement (AQuE) Office has deemed the proposal a "major modification: create a brand new program", a slightly modified workflow is required.

  • Once the new program has received faculty council approval, the sponsoring faculty's approvers will push the Kuali proposal to the Senate Undergraduate Council (SUC) Curriculum Subcommittee workflow step. The faculty will also notify the AQuE Office of the approval and where the Kuali proposal is in the workflow.
  • Then, the AQuE Office will submit the proposal, with an appropriate Kuali agenda page, to the SUC Curriculum Subcommittee on behalf of the faculty once all the applicable new program steps (e.g., volume documentation, site visit, etc.) are completed.
    • The Secretariat will not accept a direct submission of such a proposal from the faculty without receiving an approval from the AQuE Office.
    • The AQuE Office will also be responsible for creating required PDF files for the SUC Curriculum Subcommittee e-vote and submission to SUC, as well as archiving the SUC Curriculum Subcommittee agenda page.

In all other major modification categorizations, the regular workflow applies.