Curricular Processes 11.99.99.M0.01, provides details on the curricular approval process. The information listed below is for additional reference.

The December meetings of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC), Graduate and Professional Council (GPC) and Core Curriculum Council (CCC) are the deadlines for curricular items to be considered for the following academic year. Curricular proposals submitted through the approval process and fully approved will be effective the next academic year (Fall).
 
The Provost Office has specific deadlines for curricular proposals requiring submission to external entities (i.e, THECB, SACSCOC, etc.) such as those indicated below. Please contact Dr. Alicia Dorsey directly for those deadlines.
 

• New programs (degrees, certificates)        
  • New courses required for the new program
• Program name changes
• Requests for distance education which include program requirement changes
• Semester credit hour program changes (including certificates exceeding the SCH threshold for reporting)

The following timelines should also be considered when submitting curricular proposals

• Publication of catalogs - May
• Course Scheduling - Starts in December for Fall

For a schedule of meetings and deadlines, please visit the following websites:

• Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC)
• Graduate and Professional Council (GPC)
• Core Curriculum Council (CCC)
• Faculty Senate
• Office of the Provost (external deadlines)

All proposals for new or changed courses/academic programs must be submitted for approval through Texas A&M University’s curricular process. Proposal types include, but are not limited to:

• courses
• curricula
• degrees
• minors 
• certificates
• options, concentrations, tracks, emphases, etc.
• distance education

Following the President's signature, some proposals may also require external approval or notification to one or more of the following: Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), TAMUS Board of Regents, Texas Higher Education and Coordinating Board (THECB), and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

The Office of the Provost coordinates external reporting as required. 

Curricular proposals are initiated by originating departments or programs and submitted for approval/review through various levels (see example below).  Please reference University SAP 11.99.99.M0.01 for the defined process.
 

1. Department Head or Program Chair
2. College Curriculum Committee
3. College Dean
4. Curriculum Committees         
   • Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) and/or Graduate and Professional Council (GPC)
5. Faculty Senate
6. Office of the Provost
7. President

Submission of proposals is done through the Curricular Approval Request System (CARS) available through Howdy. Additional resources are available under Course Inventory Approvals and Program Inventory Approvals. 

The Curricular Approval Request System (CARS) is available through Howdy. Effective September 1, 2016, paper submission of curricular proposals will no longer be accepted through the curricular approval process.
 
Please visit our Training webpage for information regarding CARS training.

CARS Workflow Contacts

To provide changes to existing workflow paths, or submit new names of employees to obtain access, you must coordinate this change through your College Dean’s Office contact, as listed below.

Note: If your changes impact users in approving roles in Catalog (CAT), please make sure to update them as well. View the CAT college contacts here. 
                                                             

College	Contacts for College Workflow Updates	Email
Agriculture and Life Sciences	Jamie Norgaard	jnorgaard@tamu.edu
Architecture	Shelley Holliday	sholliday@tamu.edu
Arts and Sciences	Terri Pantuso	tpantuso@tamu.edu
Business	Leslie Seipp	lseipp@mays.tamu.edu
Dentistry	Kim Luttman	kluttman@tamu.edu
Education and Human Development	Melanie Robideau	mrobideau@tamu.edu
Engineering	Laura Olivarez	laura.olivarez@tamu.edu
Government and Public Service	Clay Bryan	cbryan@tamu.edu
Law	Faleca Dawson	fdawson@law.tamu.edu
Medicine	Johna Pettit-Wright - GR Erin Herbrich - PM	johna@tamu.edu erinherbrich@tamu.edu
Nursing	Todd Stricherz	stricherz@tamu.edu
Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts	Christine Bergeron	cbergeron@tamu.edu
Pharmacy	Maria Jaramillo-Gonzalez	maria-v-jaramillo@tamu.edu
Public Health	Casey Schumacher	cschumacher@tamu.edu
Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences	Ashley Seabury	agustafson@cvm.tamu.edu
Military Science	Georgia Hines	georgiah@tamu.edu
Undergraduate Studies	Georgia Hines	georgiah@tamu.edu
Galveston Campus	Donna Lang	langd@tamug.edu
Qatar Campus	Jon Buchanan	jon.buchanan@tamu.edu.
Faculty Senate	Jeannine Scambray	jscambray@tamu.edu
GPC	Mark Gleason	mark.gleason@tamu.edu
UCC	Jennifer Searles	jensearles@tamu.edu
CCC	Jacob Miller	jacobmiller@tamu.edu
W&C	Donna Pantel	dpantel@tamu.edu
Provost / President	Jennifer Searles	jensearles@tamu.edu

To view the status of a proposal and historical information, please refer to the Curricular Approval Request System (CARS). For historical information prior to August 2016 and the implementation of CARS, please contact Curricular Services at cars@tamu.edu or (979) 845-8201.

Depending on the type of proposal, the internal approval process may take approximately one month at each level – beginning with the initiating unit and ending with the President's signature.

A proposal requiring external approval/notification can take additional months after the internal process has been completed. Once external approval/notification has been granted, the Office of the Provost notifies the respective departments, colleges and Curricular Services.

CARS Purge Policy for Stale Proposals

The following types of proposals will be purged from CARS if there has been no activity for six months (180 days).
 

• New proposals saved but not submitted through workflow
• Edited proposals saved but not submitted through workflow
• Proposals which have been rolled back to the initiator

 
Purging will occur in December and June of each calendar year. A department wishing to reserve a proposal beyond six months must contact Curricular Services to ensure the proposal is not shredded.