Academic Approval Process

All changes or additions to the curriculum at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) follow the campus process outlined below. Curriculum changes may also require notification of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS COC), GSW’s accrediting agency; the Board of Regents; or the University System of Georgia’s General Education Council. This process can be time-consuming; depending on the change being proposed, official approval from GSW and any outside approvals may require up to 12 months or more. All individual proposing changes to academic programs should review GSW's Substantive Change Policy to determine whether their proposal should be reviewed to GSW's SACS-COC Liaison before submission to the appropriate committee for action.

If a department or a program wants a change to appear in the catalogue for the beginning of the academic year in August, the entire process must generally be completed by December of the previous year.

The Process

1. Course or curriculum change or addition originates with a faculty member in the Academic Program. (Complete required forms—Links to forms below).
2. Course or curriculum change or addition for any program that leads to Teacher Certification under the rules of Board of Regents and the Professional Standards Commission of Georgia must be approved by the Teacher Education Committee.
3. Graduate course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the Committee on Graduate Affairs. Course additions and changes are final when approved by committee, but most curriculum additions and changes must be approved by all levels of review.
4. Undergraduate course or curriculum change or addition must be approved by the Committee on Academic Affairs. Course additions and changes are final when approved by committee, but most curriculum additions and changes must be approved by all levels of review.
5. Curriculum change or addition must be approved by the GSW Faculty Senate.
6. Curriculum change or addition must be approved by the General Faculty
7. New academic degrees, majors, or changes to the name of degree programs must be submitted to the Board of Regents for approval, and additions to GSW’s core curriculum must be submitted to the University System of Georgia General Education Council.

• Academic Process Flow Charts

Academic Forms

The academic forms below are available in Word 2007; users should be able to save copies of these forms to their computers, title them appropriately, type in the required information, print forms, and then subsequently revise the forms as needed. Forms should be submitted to committees following the guidelines established by each committee. At least one signed hard copy of each form should be submitted for all required committees; after approvals are secured, programs should also submit electronic copies of the form(s) to the registrar.