Proposal Guidelines and Samples

All new courses should be created via the Curriculum/Course Management System (CMS). When creating a course, please be sure to include a course syllabus that includes the following information:

• Title of the course
• Course objectives and expanded course description
• Acknowledgement if the course carries Diversity, GE, or Writing II credits
• Course-level learning outcomes
• Weekly schedule that includes topics, readings, and assignment deadlines
• Course assignments that include an overview and page length
• Grading structure information
• Additional reading list
• For courses requesting online delivery, additional documentation must be submitted (See the Request for Distance Education Course Approval section)

Recommended components to include in the syllabus are:

• Resources for Student Well-being, Social Belonging, and Academic Success
• Academic integrity statement
• Accommodations & Accessibility
• Specific office hours
• Update COVID protocols (if included)
• Land acknowledgement
• Note on Title IX

Instructions for creating a course via the CMS

Create a course (not multiple listed)

• Course Creation Instructions

Create a new multiple-listed course group

• Multiple-listed Course Creation Instructions

All courses should be revised via the Curriculum/Course Management System (CMS). When revising a course, please upload a course syllabus that includes the following information:

• Title of the course
• Course objectives and expanded course description
• Acknowledgement if the course carries Diversity, GE, or Writing II credits
• Course-level learning outcomes
• Weekly schedule that includes topics, readings, and assignment deadlines
• Course assignments that include an overview and page length
• Grading structure information
• Additional reading list
• For courses requesting online delivery, additional documentation must be submitted (See the Request for Distance Education Course Approval section)

Recommended components to include in the syllabus are:

• Resources for Student Well-being, Social Belonging, and Academic Success
• Academic integrity statement
• Accommodations & Accessibility
• Specific office hours
• Update COVID protocols (if included)
• Land acknowledgement
• Note on Title IX

Instructions for revising a course via the CMS

• Multiple-listed Course Revision Instructions
• Course Revision instructions

All courses should be deleted via the Course/Curriculum Management System (CMS).

If deleting a multiple-listed course, please communicate with the involved departments. They will either need to revise their course to remove the multiple listing or the deletion for the courses will need to be done at the same time.

Please note the new policy for online and hybrid courses, effective Winter 2024. 

Under the new Undergraduate Distance Education Policy, UgC authorizes the College and School FECs to approve distance courses for existing undergraduate programs. This includes courses in the following modalities:

• Online Asynchronous
• Online Synchronous
• Hybrid Online
• Mixed Enrollment

All online courses in the College will be reviewed by the College FEC at one of the scheduled meetings.

For details, please consult the full policy and Distance Course Information Sheet. To revise or create an online course, please follow the steps for creating/revising a course. The additional documentation should be added to the attachments section of the course in the CMS. These documents consist of:

• A Department Chair memo that includes a rationale, faculty vote, and effective term
• A course syllabus
• A completed Approved-for-Distance Course Information Sheet, with responses to supplemental questions
• A formal assessment of the course or a letter of support from a campus instructional design unit, e.g., Online Teaching & Learning (OTL), the Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences (CEILS), or similar
• For courses requiring technological resources not currently available to all UCLA instructors, the department should obtain a letter from the appropriate teaching or administrative unit confirming that these resources will be available

For online courses, see the UCLA Undergraduate Council Distance Education Policy for information on online course approval. The UCLA Teaching & Learning Center has created materials to guide faculty in developing online courses. When designing a course, it may be helpful to reference this TLC Online Course Review Checklist that Instructional Designers use when reviewing courses and writing letters of support.

Departments wishing to offer distance courses must submit proposals to their respective Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) for approval.

NOTE: Courses previously granted temporary FEC approval under the 2021 Undergraduate Fully Online Course Approval Policy must be re-approved under the new policy after the initial 3-year/3-offering period expires. It is the department’s responsibility to track online courses and request FEC approval.

NOTE: Online courses granted permanent approval by the Undergraduate Council under the 2021 policy, and courses approved prior to 2021, do not require re-approval.

Request for Distance Education Course Approval (Summer Only)

If your department wishes to offer remote versions of existing courses on a temporary basis during the Summer, please submit a request using the College FEC link below. You will be asked to upload a list of fully remote courses you plan to offer using the PDF file linked on each request form (also available for download). If you have multiple subject areas, please submit a separate request for each subject area.

College FEC Submission Link

The requests must include attestations certifying and explaining how the requested courses will meet the same high standards of educational experience with regard to contact hours, exam administration, and overall academic integrity.

All delegated approvals by an FEC are subject to review and rescission by the Undergraduate Council. 

Revisions to majors should be submitted to the Course and Curriculum Management System (CMS) at curriculum.registrar.ucla.edu. Please have the following information to upload to the proposal.

• Memo from the department or Faculty Advisory Committee that includes:
  • Rationale for the revisions – Please see guiding questions. (Please remember to spell out any acronyms)
  • Requested effective term – Please note that FEC is unable to approve changes retroactively or for the current term.
    • Proposals need to specify an effective date of at least one term following the submission to the College FEC (e.g., Spring term effective date for a proposal submitted in the Winter term). Please be advised that proposals that are received by the proposal deadline for the penultimate or final FEC meeting of the academic year may not be approved for the requested effective date of the same academic year depending on the time needed for revisions, if any, or the delegated authority for the action which may rest with the Undergraduate Council and possibly other approval bodies. 
  • A record of the faculty vote approving these changes – Please provide the date of the meeting and the record of the vote, including the number of eligible voters. If the vote was taken online, please indicate the voting period as well as the record of the vote.
  • Example faculty vote:
    • Topic for vote:
      YES: #
      NO: #
      ABSTAIN: #

• Make the requested changes in the CMS. Please email Blake Livesay with any questions.

• Additional Documents
  • A memo from the relevant academic dean is required if the revisions include a change to the name of the major or any significant changes that have resource implications. 
  • If your proposal includes the addition or deletion of courses from other departments or programs, the College FEC requires a memo from affected departments/programs consenting to the requested changes.
  • The College FEC may request that the department obtain an academic resource memo from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget (ABP).
    • To obtain an ABP resource memo, please contact Director of Financial Analysis and Decision Support, Rebecca Lee-Garcia, for your request.

Revisions to minors should be submitted to the Course and Curriculum Management System (CMS) at curriculum.registrar.ucla.edu. Please have the following information to upload to the proposal.

• Memo from the department or Faculty Advisory Committee that includes:
  • Rationale for the revisions – Please see guiding questions. (Please remember to spell out any acronyms)
  • Requested effective term – Please note that FEC is unable to approve changes retroactively or for the current term.
    • Proposals need to specify an effective date of at least one term following the submission to the College FEC (e.g., Spring term effective date for a proposal submitted in the Winter term). Please be advised that proposals that are received by the proposal deadline for the penultimate or final FEC meeting of the academic year may not be approved for the requested effective date of the same academic year depending on the time needed for revisions, if any, or the delegated authority for the action which may rest with the Undergraduate Council and possibly other approval bodies. 
  • A record of the faculty vote approving these changes – Please provide the date of the meeting and the record of the vote, including the number of eligible voters. If the vote was taken online, please indicate the voting period as well as the record of the vote.
  • Example faculty vote:
    • Topic for vote:
      YES: #
      NO: #
      ABSTAIN: #

• Make the requested changes in the CMS. Please email Blake Livesay with any questions.

• Additional Documents
  • A memo from the relevant academic dean is required if the revisions include a change to the name of the minor or any significant changes that have resource implications. 
  • If your proposal includes the addition or deletion of courses from other departments or programs, the College FEC requires a memo from affected departments/programs consenting to the requested changes.
  • The College FEC may request that the department obtain an academic resource memo from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget (ABP).
    • To obtain an ABP resource memo, please contact Director of Financial Analysis and Decision Support, Rebecca Lee-Garcia, for your request.

New major proposals should be submitted to the Course and Curriculum Management System (CMS). Please have the following information to upload to the proposal.

All proposals must include a memo addressed to the Chair of the College Faculty Executive Committee that outlines the following:

• Goals of the major and a brief summary including the rationale and need for the major (please see guiding questions above). (Please remember to spell out any acronyms)
• A record of the faculty vote, including number of eligible voters
  • If a new departmental major, must include the date and record of the full faculty vote
  • If a new IDP major, must include the date and record of the Faculty Advisory Committee vote
    • Example faculty vote:
      • Topic for vote:
        YES: #
        NO: #
        ABSTAIN: #
• Requested effective date of the major. Please note that FEC is unable to approve changes retroactively or for the current term.
  • Proposals need to specify an effective date of at least one term following the submission to the College FEC (e.g., Spring term effective date for a proposal submitted in the Winter term). Please be advised that proposals that are received by the proposal deadline for the penultimate or final FEC meeting of the academic year may not be approved for the requested effective date of the same academic year depending on the time needed for revisions, if any, or the delegated authority for the action which may rest with the Undergraduate Council and possibly other approval bodies.

For a full explanation of the required components, please refer to the UCLA Compendium. Please use the Undergraduate Program Proposal Template for your submission.

New minor proposals should be submitted to the Course and Curriculum Management System (CMS). Please have the following information to upload to the proposal.

• Goals of the minor and a brief summary including the rationale and need for the minor (please see guiding questions above). (Please remember to spell out any acronyms)
• A record of the faculty vote, including number of eligible voters
  • If a new departmental minor, must include the date and record of the full faculty vote
  • If a new free-standing minor, must include the date and record of the Faculty Advisory Committee vote
    • Example faculty vote:
      • Topic for vote:
        YES: #
        NO: #
        ABSTAIN: #
• Requested effective date of the minor. Please note that FEC is unable to approve changes retroactively or for the current term.
  • Proposals need to specify an effective date of at least one term following the submission to the College FEC (e.g., Spring term effective date for a proposal submitted in the Winter term). Please be advised that proposals that are received by the proposal deadline for the penultimate or final FEC meeting of the academic year may not be approved for the requested effective date of the same academic year depending on the time needed for revisions, if any, or the delegated authority for the action which may rest with the Undergraduate Council and possibly other approval bodies.

For a full explanation of the required components, please refer to the UCLA Compendium. Please use the Undergraduate Program Proposal Template for your submission.

Baccalaureate degree granting programs can apply either for Capstone Major Certification (all students completing the major are required to complete a capstone experience) or Capstone Program Certification (at least 60% of students completing the major have an opportunity to complete a capstone experience). Regardless of which option is selected, the application and certification processes are the same. Documentation and revisions should be done via the Course and Curriculum Management System (CMS) and should include the following:

1. The Capstone Information Form – this is a fillable Word document.
2. A cover letter that details the faculty involvement in reviewing and endorsing the application, including the vote to pursue certification. (Please remember to spell out any acronyms.

The Faculty Executive Committee reviews the application and adds their letter of endorsement to the Undergraduate Council. The Undergraduate Council’s Curriculum Committee then conducts the certification review and recommends to the Undergraduate Council either approval or request for additional information. Finally, the Chair of Undergraduate Council communicates the review results to the department or program.

For more information on the Capstone Initiative, please visit the UCLA Capstone Initiative Website.