What are curriculum forms?

Curriculum forms are intended to assist the college’s administrators, staff, and faculty who are responsible for designing new curriculum and submitting those proposals for approval. Curriculum forms consist of prompts directly required by regulation, legal opinion, and standards of good practice. The required forms, besides the course outline of record, provide documentation for internal and external auditing so as to demonstrate legal compliance and allow for tracking proposals as they navigate through the curriculum approval process.

Where are course outlines located?

All active course outlines are located at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin. The public outline is available for viewing at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/public. This link requires that you use your current login credentials for the college.

What is the purpose of a course outline?

The course outline of record is a document with defined legal standing and plays a central role in the curriculum of the California community colleges. Course outlines of record are also used as the basis for articulation agreements, providing a document with which to determine how community college courses will be counted upon transfer to baccalaureate granting institutions. Course outlines are reviewed as part of a college’s Program Review process, a process of central importance to accrediting agencies. For colleges to maintain their delegated authority to review and approve new and revised courses, they must certify that their local approval standards meet the comprehensive guidelines produced by the Chancellor’s Office. The quality described in a course outline of record is evidence of meeting these guidelines. The course outline of record plays a particularly important role in the California community colleges because it clearly lays out the expected content and learning objectives for a course for use by any faculty member who teaches the course. Course outlines provide a type of quality control since it is not uncommon for community college courses to be taught by several, and sometimes dozens, of faculty members. In order to ensure those core components are covered in all sections of a course, the California Community College System relies on the course outline of record to specify those elements that will be covered by all faculty who teach the course.

What are course outline templates used for?

A course outline template is used as a guideline to create a rough draft of your new course outline before you go to the website and create a draft outline.

How can I make a change to the course and catalog description in the course outline database?

You will need to go to the course outline database at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin from the adopted version of the course you would like to change you will create a draft version by clicking on the revise button on the bottom right-hand corner. Make the changes to the draft outline. Have your Dean and Department Head sign off on the outline. Once this is done you should contact your peer reviewer to let them know you have made changes to the course outline. Please let Monique Fernandez the Curriculum Database Specialist know of the change so that she can make the change in the PeopleSoft system and it will show up in the college catalog.

What is the process of developing a new course?

1. Fill out a New Course Supplemental Form and a New Course Impact Assessment Form. Don’t forget to have them signed off by your department head and dean.
2. Go to the curriculum database website https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin and create a new course outline for the new course. Don’t forget to have the course outline completely electronically signed off by your department head and dean.
3. After completing the paperwork and course outline you will send them to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop them off in the office of Academic Services.
4. Your new course will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
5. After your new course has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee it will then be put on the next Curriculum Committee Agenda for approval.
6. After the Curriculum Committee approves your new course, it then gets sent over to the Board of Trustees for their approval.
7. After the Board of Trustees has approved your new course you will then be able to offer your new course the following Fall according to the Curriculum Submission calendar.

What is the process for making a change to an existing course, such as repeatability, units, prerequisites, or course name change?

1. Fill out a Course Change Form. Don’t forget to have it completely signed off by your department head and dean.
2. Go to the curriculum database website at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin from the adopted version of the course you would like to change you will create a draft version by clicking on the Revise button. Then you can make the changes to the draft version of that course. Don’t forget to have the course outline electronically signed off by your department head and dean.
3. After you have completed the paperwork and course outline you will send them to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop them off in the office of Academic Services.
4. Your course change will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
5. After your course change has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee, it will then be put on the next Curriculum Committee Agenda for approval.
6. After the Curriculum Committee approves your course change it will then be available to be taught the following fall according to the Curriculum Submission calendar.
7. If the change involves renumbering the course, you must first consult Trevor Rodriguez, the Articulation Officer, to verify transferability, if this is your goal. Next, you must research the available course numbers, because previously used numbers cannot be reused. Then you must follow the steps listed above; in addition, your department chair and dean must compose a letter to Academic Services and the Course Evaluation Subcommittee, explaining the rationale for renumbering the course.

What is the process for creating an honors course?

1. Contact the Honors Coordinator to discuss the course. Also, obtain the support of your department chair and dean.
2. Fill out a New Course Supplemental Form and a New Course Impact Assessment Form. Don’t forget to have them completely signed off by your department head and dean. There is also an Honors Addendum Template Worksheet to guide you through the process.
3. Go to the curriculum database website at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin and create a new course outline for the new course. You must also have the Honors Addendum Tab filled out or your course will not be accepted. Don’t forget to have the course outline electronically signed off by your department head and dean.
4. After you have completed the paperwork and course outline you will send them to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop them off in the office of Academic Services.
5. Your new honors course will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
6. After your new honors course has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee it will then be put on the next Curriculum Committee Agenda for approval.
7. After the Curriculum Committee approves your new honors course it then gets sent to the Board of Trustees for their approval.
8. After the Board of Trustees has approved your new honors course, you will then be able to offer your new honors course the following fall according to the Curriculum Submission calendar.

What is the process for a distance learning course?

1. Consult with the Director of Distance Learning.
2. Fill out a Distance Learning Addendum. Don’t forget to have it completely signed off by your department head and dean.
3. After you have completed the paperwork you will send it to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop them off in the office of Academic Services.
4. Your Distance Learning Addendum will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
5. After your Distance Learning Addendum has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee it will then be put on the next Curriculum Committee Agenda for approval.
6. After the Curriculum Committee approves your Distance Learning Addendum, it will then be available to be taught the following semester.

What is the process for an experimental course?

1. Fill out a New Course Supplemental Experimental Course Form. Don’t forget to have it completely signed off by your department head and dean.
2. Go to the curriculum database website at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin and create a new course outline for the new course. Don’t forget to have the course outline electronically signed off by your department head and dean.
3. After you have completed the paperwork and course outline you will send them to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop them off in the office of Academic Services.
4. Your new experimental course will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
5. After your new course has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee, it will then be put on the next Curriculum Committee Agenda for approval.
6. After the Curriculum Committee approves your new course, it will be available to be taught the following semester. An experimental course can only be taught for two years, and then you must convert it to a regular course or inactivate it.

What is the process for including a material fee?

1. Fill out a Course Change Form. You will also need to fill out a Material Fees Template. Don’t forget to have them completely signed off by your department head and dean.
2. Go to the curriculum database website at http://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin and create a draft outline for the course you wish to make changes to. Then you can make the changes to the course outline for that course. Don’t forget to have the course outline completely electronically signed off by your department head and dean.
3. After you have completed the paperwork and course outline you will send them to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop them off in the office of Academic Services.
4. Your Material Fee will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
5. After your Material Fee has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee it will then be put on the next Curriculum Committee agenda for their approval.
6. After the Curriculum Committee approves your Material Fee, it is then sent to the Board of Trustees for their approval.
7. After the Board of Trustees has approved your Material Fee, you will be able to offer your Material Fee the following fall according to the Curriculum Submission calendar.

What is supplemental learning?

Supplemental learning is defined as assistance that is offered in learning labs or similar venues and is linked to a primary/parent course.

What is the process to add supplemental learning to an existing course?

1. The first step is to contact the full-time Instructional Specialist who is responsible for the Success Center in which the supplemental learning will take place. This contact provides an opportunity to confer about the guidelines and expectations relating to supplemental learning.
2. Complete the Supplemental Learning portion on the Course Change Form. Don’t forget to have it signed off by your department head, dean the appropriate SI specialist.
3. Go to the curriculum database website at https://courseoutline.lbcc.edu/admin and create a draft outline for the course you wish to add Supplemental Learning to. Then you can make the changes to the course outline for that course. You will need to fill out all Supplemental Learning parts of the outline. Don’t forget to have the course outline electronically signed off by your department head and dean.
4. After you have completed the paperwork and course outline you will send them to the Curriculum Database Specialist or drop off in the office of Academic Services.
5. Your course change for Supplemental Learning will then be put on a Course Evaluation Subcommittee Agenda for one of its meetings. You will be notified via email when your course will be reviewed.
6. After your course change for Supplemental Learning has been reviewed and approved by the Course Evaluation Subcommittee, it will then be sent over to the Curriculum Committee for their approval.
7. After the Curriculum Committee approves your course change for Supplemental Learning, it will then be available to be taught the following fall according to the Curriculum Submission calendar.

Which changes have to go to the Board of Trustees?

• New courses
• Material Fees (new and those that are increased)

Which changes do not have to go to the Board of Trustees for approval?

Prerequisites, Corequisites, Recommended Preparation, Supplemental Learning, Class Size Maximum, Grade Code, Catalog Number, Title, Subject, Units, and decreasing of the Material Fee.

How long does it take for a proposal to be fully approved and ready for implementation?

It takes a year for all proposals to be fully approved and ready for implementation, except for a Distance Learning course or New Experimental courses which take a semester to be ready for implementation.

How soon can I teach an approved course?

You can teach an approved course the following fall semester, if and only if, it has been approved by the Board of Trustees. If the course is a distance learning course or a new experimental course you can teach it the following semester.

How can I find more information on writing outcomes?

You can find information on how to write Student Learning Outcomes on the Course Curriculum Database.

What is the process to remove courses from the Curriculum guides once they are inactivated?

The most appropriate time to make this change is during our annual curriculum guide review cycle (December –February) if the courses will be inactivated effective that fall/spring. The department should be able to remove them from the curriculum guide during this cycle. Once the curriculum guides are printed in the catalog, then it would have to wait until the following year in order to have consistency with the online version of the curriculum guide. We usually also use the Curriculum Changes Report that the Curriculum Database Specialist provides us annually to see if these courses should be removed.