UMBC UGC Procedures for Approving Proposals

• The appropriate request form(s) and supporting documents (if any) should be sent via email to Mrs. Tamara Brown <tbrown@umbc.edu>, the UGC Administrative Assistant. Forms should be submitted by the Chair or the Undergraduate Program Director of the department housing the course or program. In case the course or program is not housed in an academic department, then the program director or the head of the academic unit should make the submission. This is to ensure that the department's or academic unit's internal approval process has been followed.
• Within 10 business days or as soon as is practical after the receipt of the proposals, the proposals will be posted on the UGC web site. All department chairs, program chairs and administrative offices will be notified of the new postings by email.
• Objections to a posting must be made within two weeks of the posting date. Objections should be sent to Mrs. Tamara Brown <tbrown@umbc.edu>, the UGC Administrative Assistant.
• After deliberations, the UGC may vote to approve a request, deny a request, table a request pending further information or send the request to the Academic Planning and Budget Committee (APB) of the Faculty Senate (for those proposals that require new resources).
• Approval by the UGC is effective after its action has been presented to the Faculty Senate as an information item.

UGC Request Forms (Please note that these forms have been recently changed and updated)

• Proposals for new courses should use the UGC New Course Request form. (form and revised instructions.)
• Proposals to change an existing course should use the UGC Change in Existing Course form. (forms and instructions.)
• Proposals for a change in the requirements for an existing major, minor or certificate program should use the UGC Program Changes & Other Requests form. (form, instructions.)
• Proposals for new major or certificate programs should not be sent to the UGC directly. Establishment of new programs falls under the Provost's procedure for the approval of new academic programs: http://www.umbc.edu/provost/policies.html.
• All other requests should use the UGC Program Changes & Other Requests form. (form, instructions.)

The forms and instructions are in Microsoft Word format.

Applying for GEP Designation

• In order to gain a GEP designation for your course, there is an additional application process. Please visit http://www.umbc.edu/undergrad_ed/generaleducation.html to complete the GEP application process.

Checklist

• Are you using the latest UGC request form? Forms are available at
www.umbc.edu/ugc.
• Have you followed the instructions specific to that form?
• Do the changes involve any crosslisted courses? If so, consent of all departments and programs affected must be included in the proposal.
• Do the course descriptions include the prerequisites for the course? Note: all 300- and 400-level courses must have prerequisites or course preparation.
• Does the rationale provided for a new course or change in program requirements answer the questions in the instructions?
• Do changes in program requirements involve courses from other departments or programs? If so, letters of support from all departments and programs affected must be included in the proposal.
• Have the course descriptions and other text that will appear in the undergraduate catalog been proofread for grammatical correctness and clarity?