Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
Option 1:
Access SDBOR > Administration > Academic and Student Affairs > Academic Affairs Guidelines. The Academic Affairs Guidelines includes guidelines and forms for the following items:
- Courses and Curriculum
- Programs and Curriculum
- Fees and Tuition
- Program Review and Accreditation
- Course Instruction and Delivery
- Faculty Affairs
- Dual Credit, Credit by Exam and Placement
- General Education
- Articulation and Cooperative Agreements
- Miscellaneous
Option 2:
Access the Curriculum Development and Review Handbook - Curriculum Forms to access SDSU and SDBOR curriculum forms.
Minor modifications, deletions, and x9x course requests of undergraduate curriculum are reviewed and approved by the Vice Provost. All graduate curriculum requests will be approved by the Director of the Graduate School and Vice Provost. The process may take approximately two weeks until updated in the system. Effective dates are based on the request type. Some are enacted immediately; others follow semester or academic year. These types of changes require only internal (to SDSU) review and approval.
New Course Requests, Substantive Program Modifications, etc. must be reviewed by campus Academic Affairs Committee > Faculty Senate > Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs > Academic Affairs Council System > SDBOR. The average processing time is four months. Effective dates are based on the type of request. These types of requests require both internal and external review and approval.
Requests need to be received by the Academic Affairs office no later than four weeks prior to an upcoming meeting. Refer to the Curriculum Processing Calendar for key meeting dates and deadlines.
Substantive curriculum modifications need to be submitted in time to process through Graduate Council, Academic Affairs Committee and Faculty Senate before the May AAC System meeting. Requests would be presented to the SDBOR in June. (Note: Meeting dates are subject to change.)
Following college level approvals, the College Dean or Associate Dean will email to the curriculum coordinator the approved SDBOR curriculum form(s) along with any required consultation form(s). Only electronics copies of the curriculum forms, from the Dean’s office (with typed signatures), will be accepted.
Save all courses requests with the prefix, number and title of the courses plus type of course request as the name of the document.
Save all program requests with the name of the program and degree plus the type of request as the name of the document.
Examples:
- DANC 240 Multicultural Dance Activities (MCM)
- Consumer Affairs (BS) – Consumer Sciences Management Specialization (SPM)
Course FAQs
Minor Course Modifications can be submitted any time. However, depending on the time during the current term, the change may need to be held until the following term if students are registering for courses.
Example:
- Are credits affected? Will the name or number of the course change?
The Banner Course Inventory Report. Contact the Curriculum and Catalog Coordinator for further assistance. The course number assigned needs to be unique and not currently used within the course database at any SDBOR institution.
The Banner Course Inventory Report includes details on the course location and other SDBOR universities authorized to offer the course.
Access academic catalogs for BHSU, DSU, NSU, SDSM&T, and USD:
A “Unique” course to another university can be added to courses offered at SDSU by completing the Authority to Offer an Existing Common Course form. This form is used for both “Common” and “Unique” courses.
Go to the SDBOR > Administration > Academic and Student Affairs > Academic Affairs Guidelines > 5. Course Instruction and Delivery > 5.4 Instructional Methods Table and Definitions
The purpose of the table is to provide the basis for a systematic, qualitative identification and labeling of all courses taught at public higher education institutions in South Dakota. It is essential that the elements of this listing be both mutually exclusive and exhaustive. Except in the case of composite courses, each course shall have one and only one instructional method in the electronic catalog. In instances of linked courses, both instructional methods should be indicated.
Submit a Revised Course Request – Common or Unique.
Each course section is assigned a schedule type or delivery method code that indicates the primary method by which instruction is delivered to the student. Separate course sections must be created if a course has one group of students receiving instruction primarily through one type of delivery method and another group of students receiving instruction through another type of delivery method. For example, one section for students primarily receiving instruction face-to-face and another section for students primarily receiving instruction over the Internet.
Submit an email request to the Curriculum and Catalog Coordinator with the course details and delivery methods. Reference the Delivery Method Code Guidelines for the correct codes.
Submit a New Prefix Request form. Any curricular change proposals that involve the creation of a new prefix for courses that represent a discipline/program unique to a single institution should address the issues driving the proposal. Requests for a new prefix must include a minimum of six (6) courses attached to the prefix request. Courses using x9x numbering are excluded from this requirement. Those prefixes that drop below the required six course threshold shall be eliminated or merged with existing prefixes at the institution. Consult the Approved Course Prefix List in Academic Affairs Guidelines for information about existing courses and prefixes.
Contact the Registrar’s office to create or modify any course sections.
Program FAQs
The SDBOR staff maintains an interactive table that summarizes the current status of all known program proposals currently in some stage of formal development in the South Dakota university system. The SDBOR Proposed Program Tracker includes current Intent to Plan, New Program, New Site, New Certificate, New Minor, and New Specialization proposals and their status within the approval process.
Using a variety of available parameters, the list can easily be filtered to show recent progress, show new listings, stage in the review process, notes, and so on. Data is updated by SDBOR staff on a regular basis. It is recommended to utilize Chrome, Firefox, or Safari to view the site.
Programs listed as “new” are those appearing on the list for the first time at a system Academic Affairs Council (AAC) meeting (program proposals should appear on this list at least one AAC meeting prior to their appearance on an AAC agenda).
The University must submit a request to the SDBOR staff to include any potential programs to the program tracking dashboard. This request shall include a brief justification for the program, preliminary alignment to institutional mission, and any evidence that the program does not duplicate existing programming within the Regental system (or that the duplication is justified). The SDBOR Executive Director grants formal approval to move forward with the proposed request and for posting on the AAC program tracking dashboard. The Dean or Associate Dean of the College should submit the request to the Office of Academic Affairs.
Program modifications will go into effect for the following academic year. Example: 2024-2025 Academic Year
If courses are being changed in a program and these changes will not affect the credit distribution in the primary areas of a program (i.e. System General Education Requirements, College Requirements, Major Requirements, Supporting Coursework or Electives) the request is submitted on a Minor Program Modification form. When the proposed changes in program courses result in changes to credit distribution, then submit the request on the Substantive Program Modification form.
Example:
The program requirements for SGR #4 required the students to complete HIST 111. The program wants to change the request to allow students to select any course from the SGR #4 list. This type of modification could be completed on a Minor Program Modification form.
New program requests will require two steps in the approval process:
1. Request to add the program to the SDBOR's Summary of Pending and In-Progress Requests. The SDBOR staff maintains an interactive table that summarizes the current status of all known program proposals currently in some stage of formal development in the South Dakota university system. The SDBOR Proposed Program Tracker/Summary of Pending and In-Progress Requests includes current Intent to Plan, New Program, New Site, New Certificate, and New Specialization proposals and their status within the approval process. The university must submit a request to the SDBOR staff to include any potential programs to the program tracking dashboard. The Dean or Associate Dean of the College should submit the request to the Office of Academic Affairs.
The request for a new program proposal shall include:
- University Catalog Working Description. Provide the working program description that may appear in the university catalog. What is the general nature/purpose of the proposed program? Please include a brief (1-2 sentence) description of the academic field in this program.
- How does the program fit with the Institutional Mission, etc? Describe how the program fits with the institutional mission, strategic plan, existing institutional program array, and academic priorities in less than 250 words.
- Program Need. Describe the need for the program. Specifically, how the program meets current student, state, and workforce demands in less than 250 words. (Please cite sources.)
- New Resources. Describe any significant new resources (financial, staff, facility, new curricula) needed to launch and sustain the program in less than 250 words.
- Opportunities for Collaboration. Describe any efforts or opportunities you have identified for collaboration either within the institution, system or other institutions, private partner (e.g., articulation, course-sharing, research collaboration) in less than 250 words.
- Similar Programs Being Offered? Is this program or a similar program being offered at any of the six Regental universities? If yes, please describe the need for another program in less than 250 words.
The request for a new site proposal shall include:
- Justification for the program and proposed site(s)? What is the general nature/purpose of the program? Please include a brief (1-2 sentence) description of the academic field in this program.
- How does the program fit with the Institutional Mission, etc? Describe how the program fits with the institutional mission, strategic plan, existing institutional program array, and academic priorities in less than 250 words.
- Program Need. Describe the need for the program and proposed sites. Specifically, how the program meets current student, state, and workforce demands in less than 250 words. (Please cite sources.)
- New Resources. Describe any significant new resources (financial, staff, facility, new curricula) needed to launch and sustain the program in less than 250 words.
- Opportunities for Collaboration. Describe any efforts or opportunities you have identified for collaboration either within the institution, system or other institutions, private partner (e.g., articulation, course-sharing, research collaboration) in less than 250 words.
- Similar Programs Being Offered? Is this program or a similar program being offered at any of the six Regental universities? If yes, please describe the need for another program in less than 250 words.
The SDBOR Executive Director grants formal approval to move forward with the proposed request and for posting on the SDBOR's program tracking dashboard.
2. Route the required SDBOR and SDSU curriculum request forms for campus and system level approvals. The SDBOR Executive Director grants formal approval to move forward with the proposed request and for posting on the Academic Affairs Council program tracking dashboard. Program proposals should appear on the pending programs list at least one system Academic Affairs Council meeting prior to their appearance on a system level agenda.