ONLINE COURSE REQUEST SYSTEM:

INSTRUCTIONS AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Course Requestwebsite, also called Course Request program or theCourse Request system, is the online system that Trinity College of Arts & Sciences uses to document, track, organize, and process additions and changes to undergraduate and graduate courses. This online system replaced manually processed paper forms previously used to perform these functions.

Departments use this program to complete individual Course Request forms, also called course requests, to add, drop, submit one-time Special Topics course offerings, or make changes to courses, and therefore make changes to their curriculum, according to departmental needs.

ACCESSING THE COURSE REQUEST PROGRAM

The Course Request website URL is as follows:


The site is also accessible via the link highlighted in yellow below on the TCAS Course Requests webpage:

To access the Course Request site, navigate to courserequest.trinity.duke.edu, and then login with your Duke net ID and password.

NOTE: If you are unable to access the Course Request system, please contact for assistance. When emailing, please include the full first and last name(s), Duke Net ID(s), departmental role information (title such as DUSA, DUS, staff, etc.), and Duke Email address or addresses for the individual or individuals who need access to the system.

NAVIGATING THE COURSE REQUEST SYSTEM


Once logged in, first, select the appropriate school, based on the course level for the course(s) to be added or changed in the system:


Once you have selected the appropriate school, you will see your departmental homepage:

The top of the website has a colored banner. The color of this banner varies according to the school selected:

  • Undergraduate level courses (catalog number 1 – 499) will have a (navy banner)
  • Graduate/Advanced Undergraduate level courses (catalog number 500 – 699) will have a gold banner
  • Graduate level courses (catalog number 700 - 999) will have a green banner


The main navigation bar allows you to navigate the Course Request system. It is located directly under the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences or The Graduate School colored banner:

The navigation bar provides access to your homepage (the “home” button) as well as links to Add, Change, Drop, and Special Topics forms, and the option to ‘Select a School.’


Key to the Main Navigation Bar:

Home button / Click to return to the main departmental home page at any time.
Add button / Click to start a new Course Request for a new course, to be added to the course catalog.This should be used for creating new permanent additions to the catalog.
NOTE: Do not use this form for semester-specific, one-time offered Special Topics courses. The Add form is only used to create a new, generic (aka “shell”) Special Topics course when it does not already exist for the department. See the Special Topics section below for further information.
Change button / Click to start a request to change various aspects of a course that already exists in the course catalog. These course requests are to be used for permanent changes to permanent/regular courses.
NOTE: Do not use this form for semester-specific Special Topics offerings – the Add form is only used to create a new, generic (aka “shell”) Special Topics course when these do not already exist for the department. See the Special Topics section below for further information.
Drop button / Click to create a course request used to deactivate a course that already exists in the course catalog from departmental curricula.
Special Topics button / Use this form to generate a new course request for a one-time (semester-specific) Special Topics course topic offering. This form is also used to make changes to Special Topics offerings once already processed.
NOTE: The generic “shell” Special Topics course must exist in the catalog for the BEFORE this form can be used. For example, BASKETWEAVING 190 must exist before the department can offer a topic in BASKETWEAVING 190 for a specific semester. Do not use this form to create the generic/shell Special Topics form – use the Add form to get the generic class created first.
Select a School
drop-down button / Click to select or change the level of school for courses within the site.

ADDING, CHANGING, AND DROPPING COURSES

IMPORTANT:At any point while working on a course request, click the ‘Save/Update’ button at the bottom of the request form to make you save information entered. The first time a user clicks “save/update,” the site generates a new Request ID number. Please take note of this number and keep it for departmental records to save time in the future. When contacting the Office of Curriculum and Course Development at for assistance, make sure to include the course request ID numbers so we can assist you as quickly as possible.

The website does NOT save Information typed into course requests automatically. Make sure to ‘Save/Update’ before leaving the page if it is not ready to be submitted. SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN.If you don’t save the course request before the page times out, then you will lose any entered information.

TO ADD A NEW COURSE:

Remember: Use the Add request forms for making permanent additions to the course catalog. ***Don‘t use the Add button for one-semester Special Topics course offerings.***

IMPORTANT: When requesting course catalog numbers for new courses, the DUS/DGS needs to request catalog numbers that have not been used for 4 years, preferably 5, and are therefore available for use. If departments are not sure whether or not a number is available, please contact .

  • Click on the Add button in the main navigation bar to create a new course request.
  • Complete all the required fields on the Add Request form, making sure you enter a future effective date from the drop-down menu and capitalize the course’s short title. NOTE: Links to complete, specific criteria for Modes of Inquiry and Areas of Knowledge curricular codes is listed on the webpages to which links provided on the form. When requesting curricular codes, please make sure to fill in detailed, comprehensive justifications that will help the Courses Committee understand the rationale for the code(s) desired. Ambiguous or unclear curricular code justification statements, especially those missing key explanations for how codes are integral to the course design, can result in denial rulings. ***This can affect students’ graduations!***
  • Enter Additional Course Information (expanded course description, course goals/objectives, course texts/materials, general course requirements, and assessment information/grading basis), if applicable. This information helps the Courses Committee when reviewing requests. Users provide this information one of two ways – 1) on their course request forms, or by 2) emailing a syllabus containing the same information departments/users opt to enter course information on the form as well as emailing syllabi – this is acceptable. Please include the Course Request ID number when emailing syllabi.
  • Enter any additional information in the Remarks section that will help the Courses Committee when reviewing the request.
  • Once all the course information is present, save the course request in the system, then click the Submit to Departmentbutton at the bottom of the form.
  • The site will generate a Department/Program Review section at the bottom of the course request form oncesubmitted to your department. The DUS/DGS completes this Department/Program Review section, answering:
  • Which entity within the department or program reviewed the course proposal.
  • Rationale for offering the course.
  • How often it will be offered over the next four to six years.
  • Any overlap issues.
  • After completing this step, contact the directors of any cross-listed departments or programs by clicking on Notify Directors at the bottom of the course request form to get their approval. This action will send an email to all the directors. After signing, directors need to be sure to click Save/Update to save their changes.

NOTE: In addition to providing a netID signature, any DUS or DGS agreeing to hard crosslist needs to add a course number to the ‘Crosslistings’ section of the form. Refer to the “Notes for Cross-listed Courses” section at the end of this document.

  • The primary department can click Submit to Courses Committeeor Submit to Graduate Schoolonce all the course information has been completed and director netID signatures obtained.

At this point, the status will change from ‘Department’ to ‘Submitted to Courses Committee’ and departments will no longer be able to make changes to the form. If you realize changes need to be made, contact .

The Courses Committee will review your request and approve or deny it in the system as quickly as possible. Graduate level courses and Advanced Undergrad/Graduate level courses require approval of the Graduate School in addition to Courses Committee review.

Once the requests are Approved, they will progress through the Registrar stages of status processing. Once a request is Registrar Processed, the course will be added to the courses catalog.

CHANGE / DROP / SPECIAL TOPICS FORMS:

For Change, Drop, and Special Topicscourse request forms, first:

  • Click on the applicable form (Change/Drop/Special Topics) in the main navigation bar, making sure to select the appropriate school level (Undergraduate, Graduate/Advanced Undergraduate, or Graduate).
  • Sort the coursesshown in search results by clicking on one of the column headings, or searching from the drop-down menu by either course ID, catalog number, short title or description. You can further narrow your search by selecting from the subject drop down menu.
  • The triangle/exclamation point symbol in the far right column of listed courses in search results indicates that department is not the primary owner. By hovering over the symbol, you will be able to see which department owns the course. Only primary departments can initiate course requests. Crosslisted departments or programs need to contact the primary department to request changes.The Office of Curriculum and Course Development cannot initiate course requests on request from secondary departments – only the primary department can create & submit them.
  • Click on the Course ID for the course to be changed, dropped, or for which a Special Topics offering will be submitted, to create a new course request form. The existing course information will appear at the top portion of the new course request.

TO CHANGE AN EXISTING COURSE:

  • Click on the Change button on the main navigation bar, and locate the desired course using the steps above.
  • Click the boxes in the new Change request form to select desired changes. Make sure to clickonly the boxes next to the changes necessary. Checking and unchecking boxes can create site errors!

NOTE: To change ownership of a course, click on the box to change the crosslistings. Enter a rationale for changing ownership in the Remarks section. Make sure to explain for the Registrar what is to occur with the remaining crosslistings, if applicable. Example: “Changing ownership of course from NEURSCI to PSYCH. Other crosslistings with BIOLOGY and HISTORY to remain.”IMPORTANT: If requesting to add curricular codes, make sure to select a maximum of two Areas of Knowledge codes and/or up to three Modes of Inquiry codes. The site will allow you to check more than twoAoK codes or three MoI codes due to is programming. If the course already has the maximum allowable codes, make sure to remove one if adding another. If removing/changing codes, please provide detailed information justifying the change to the course structure for the Courses Committee to review.

  • Enter a future effective datefor the course, and all required information for desired changes.
  • Save/Update the form. Next, click the Submit to Departmentbutton at the bottom of the request. Take note of the course request ID number for future use.
  • The site then generates a Department/Program Review section at the bottom of the request form.Click on Notify Directors to send an email notification to each director who needs to provide a signature.
  • The primary department/program DUS and/or DGS must indicate which entity reviewed the change, and then sign with their netID as their signature.
  • Once all directors have signed the request, the primary department’s director (or a person in an auxiliary role within that department or program) can click Submit to Courses Committeeor Submit to Graduate School.
  • All cross-listed department or program directors need to provide their netID signature and then click Save/Update. See “Notes for Cross-listed Courses” at the end of these instructions.

At this point, the status will change from ‘Department’ to ‘Submitted to Courses Committee’ and you will no longer be able to make changes to the form. If you realize changes need to be made, contact .

The Courses Committee will review your request and approve or deny it in the system. Graduate level courses and Advanced Undergrad/Graduate level courses require approval of the Graduate School in addition to the Committee review.

Once the requests are Approved, they will progress through the Registrar stages of status processing. Once a request is Registrar Processed in the system, it has completed processing in the Course Request program.

TO DROP A COURSE:

  • Click on the Drop button on the main navigation bar.
  • Search for the course to be dropped/deactivated by using the search bar as described above. Click on the desired course in the results shown.
  • Enter all the required information on the Drop course request form, including a future effective date and the reason for dropping the course.
  • Click Save/Update to save the form. Once ready for departmental/DUS and/or DGS review, Submit to Departmentbutton at the bottom of the form. The request will now be in ‘Department’ status.
  • A Department/Program Review section will be generated. Follow the same procedures to Notify Directorsand submit the request as described above.
  • IMPORTANT: Make sure that you are NOT requesting to drop a course in which students are currently enrolled. This is not permissible per Registrar/Duke policy. Contact the Registrar’s office at for assistance.

At this point, the status will change from ‘Department’ to ‘Submitted to Courses Committee’ and you will no longer be able to make changes to the form. If you realize changes need to be made, contact .

The Courses Committee will review your request and approve or deny it in the system. Graduate level courses and Advanced Undergrad/Graduate level courses require approval of the Graduate School in addition to the Committee review.

SPECIAL TOPICS COURSES:

IMPORTANT SPECIAL TOPICS INFORMATION AND POLICIES TO KNOW:

  • Special Topics courses are different from regular courses.
  • Courses offered under the Special Topics course numbers (n90) are coursesof which individual topic courses are offeredon a one-time basis. First Year Seminars, with course numbers of 89S and in some cases, 90S, are also treated as Special Topics courses.
  • Before departments can submit a Special Topics course request for a topic offering (one-time topic title for a given upcoming semester), a generic (also called “shell”) Special Topics course must exist in the course catalog. For example – before BIOLOGY can offer a topic title of BIOLOGY 190S, BIOLOGY 190S must exist. The generic/shell Special Topics course must be added via an Add form. Semester-specific offerings are requested subsequently using the Special Topics forms.
  • Curricular codes approved by the Courses Committee are effective ONLY for the requested semester.Even if a topic has been taught previously, departments need to submit a course request form for curricular codes, etc. to have them considered for approval. Example: If BIOLOGY 190S has a topic title of “HOT TOPICS IN BIOLOGY” offered in Fall 2016, with an NS code approved, the NS code is applicable only for Fall 2016. BIOLOGY could offer “HOT TOPICS IN BIOLOGY” again in the following semester, but they would need to submit another course request for a Special Topics form. On the 2nd request, the ns code must be requested in order to be applied to the topic course. If it is not, it will not carry the code. MISSING CURRUCULAR CODES AFFECT STUDENTS’ GRADUATION!Please do not take it for granted that a Special Topics offering will carry a code. Contact or with questions WELL IN ADVANCE of course request deadlines so the Office of Courses/Curriculum Development and the Registrar can help to make sure students aren’t impacted by departments’ mistakes or omissions.
  • Departments and programs should avoid offering the same topic more than once. If a particular topic is offered twice with considerable student demand, the department or program should turn it into a permanent course, which would mean submitting an Add Request.
  • Should departments need to make a change to the permanent catalog listing (generic/shell course), you will need to use a Course Change Form (see instructions above), which will affect all future iterations of the Special Topics course. Remember, though, the catalog listing for Special Topics needs to be very generic. The title should always include “Topics” and the description should be very basic, such as “Topics vary each semester.”
  • If departments need to request changes to a Special Topics offering after it has been approved/processed, they need to submit another NEW Special Topics form. Please note the previously approved course request ID number for the Committee to reference in the Remarks section of the additional course request.

TO SUBMIT A SPECIAL TOPICS REQUEST: