Committee on Educational Policy (CEP)

Course ManagementGuidelines

NEW COURSE PROPOSALS

□Due to CEP by April 1 (Summer), June 1 (Fall), October 1 (Winter/Spring) – the CEP subcommittee does not review courses in the summer. Exceptions will be granted to address emergency issues, such as last minute staffing changes due to an unexpected personal or medical emergency or similar issue.

□New course proposals must include the following documentation:

  1. New Course Proposal Form (CEP website) All new course proposals must be submitted one week prior to the meeting date for preferred review. CEP reserves the right to place new course proposals on the following month’s agenda if not received within this timeframe.
  2. CEP requires all new courses use the approvedCEP General Syllabus Template
  3. All Winter Course/Travel Syllabi should follow the CEP format – use CEP Travel Syllabi Template and include Travel Policy, have students review and sign Student Travel Checklist and Guidelines (See CEP Forms Website Page).
  4. Letter of endorsement from the department/ program chair or (in case of ID courses multiple chairs)
  5. List of affiliated faculty members.
  6. Anyone listed on course proposal must be approved to teach by Office of Faculty Affairs (all must have a designated appointment)
  7. Course description with specific directions around registration, if different from syllabi (for my.harvard)
  8. Travel course syllabi should be reviewed by department on an annual basis and resubmitted to CEP by November 1(more detail below on travel courses and independent research travel)

□New courses either receive “pending” approval (requires more information)or granted “conditional” approval for 1 year. Conditional approval may be extended for one year if the course is not evaluated or receives a student course evaluation rating of less than 3.9.

□“Formal” course approval is given to courses that received conditional approval for previous year, with course ratings higher than 3.9 and with more than 5 students enrolled.

□Newly approved syllabi will be sent by CEP to the Curriculum Center to start the process for course materials copyright approvals and review of affordability. Faculty/instructors should submit reading lists to the Curriculum Center at least 4-6 weeks before the start of the term/semester. Please refer to the Curriculum Center Reading List Submission Timeline.

□Faculty/instructors should reach out to Learning Designers team for classroom support and teaching strategies.

COURSE OFFERINGS

□Annual course offering period is October-December for the following academic year

  • Inactive courses -should be reviewed by the department annually for re-offering during course offering period. Requests for a one-year extension of a temporary cancelled course(s) may be requested.
  • Inactive courses – courses that are inactive for more than 2 years will be reviewed by CEP and may require permanent cancelation.
  • Permanently cancelled – 3 years of inactivity or more

□Confirm seating reserves and program/ degrees required within each course

COURSE CHANGES

□All changes must be made on a Course Change Form (CEP website)

□None of the following changes can be made after the first day of Registration: a. prerequisites, b. time of course, or c. proposing a brand new course. Any of these changes would require approval by Registrar’s office and CEP.

□After the first day of registration there should be no new courses proposed.

□The following changes need to go first to:

CEP by April 1 or the next available meeting
(prior to registration) / Registrar’s Office
Reactivating a temporarily cancelled course with substantial changes and/or new instructor(i.e. different title, course description, significant changes to content) / Slightly modified course title change/course description
Change of in-person to online course (mode of delivery) / Change of enrollment limit (should go to CEP if limit is significantly reduced)
Addition of/change to travel requirements (field trip) / Cross-listing of a course
Major revisions to course (change in credit hours, changing from one term to two terms with a change in credit hours) / Changing from one term to two terms with no change in credit hours
Course category / Changes in Faculty for categories 1, 2 and 3
Emergency Cancellation

COURSE CANCELLATION

□All canceled courses require that a Course Cancellation Form(CEP website) be completed and submitted to the Registrar’s Office and CEP.

□When completing an inactive/ permanently cancelled course form include:

  1. Signed course cancellation form with reason for cancellation
  2. Plan and propos methods for how learning requirements will be met for the Category 1/2/3 course that is being removed.
  3. Communication plan to faculty, students, administrations
  4. Submit the cancellation form to CEP and the Registrar’s Office for review and approval

□Determination of Course Category

Each Harvard Chan course has a specific department(s)/program designation based on the following categories:

  • Category 1: a school-wide core requirement for masters or doctoral programs (i.e., identified courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, social and behavioral sciences, health services administration).
  • Category 2: a required course for students in one or more HSPH degree programs and/or concentrations(both departmental and interdepartmental courses).
  • Category 3: an essential course to the mission of the department, but designated as one of several options for fulfilling required credits within a discipline or program area. Intended to be taught on a regular basis to ensure student access regardless of the availability of a specific faculty member.
  • Category 4: an elective, not required course, that provides students with access to new knowledge or skills generated by faculty interest; provided only as long as the faculty member chooses to offer it.
  • Departments/programs propose and justify the designation and CEP reviews and approves the list of courses that qualify for each category.

□Please see above regarding temporarily cancelling courses and annual review process.

COURSE EVALUATIONS

□CEP high and low letters to faculty are sent annually following the timeline below:

Winter Courses—Letters are sent late February

Spring Courses—Letters are sent in late June

Summer Courses—Letters are sent in September

Fall Courses—Letters are sent in late January

□High Rating is an overall rating of 4.5 or higher (on a five-point scale.) Instructors of courses that receive a high rating are sent a letter of congratulations from the chair of the CEP, and department chairs are notified of the course’s high rating.

Low Rating is an overall rating of 3.9 or lower (on a five-point scale.) Consistent poor course performance (as evidenced by student evaluations, peer review, and/or other means of course review) is subject to CEP oversight.

□The results of the previous year’s online course evaluations and the exit survey are compiled into department education reports that are distributed by the Office of Education to department chairs in the fall.

WINTER/PRACTICE/INDEPENENT RESEARCH TRAVEL COURSES

Completed Before Departure

□Field Study Checklist (if applicable)– (completed and signed by faculty)

□Students should review and sign Harvard Chan Student Travel Guidelines and Checklist for practice, field immersion and winter travel courses.

□Students traveling internationally should be strongly encouraged to attend a school-wide Global Support Services orientation, obtain a visa, receive required vaccinations as noted on the CDC website, register travel in the Harvard Travel Registry and complete required travel waiver and release form (as decided by programs/departments) in order to participate in Harvard sponsored (for credit, required or funded) travel.

□Students traveling domestically could complete the Domestic Travel Waiver form.

□The trip coordinator, the department or program administrator should compile and provide a list of all students traveling, the course number, and degree program to Leah Kane in the Office of Student Affairs prior to the period of travel.

For any CEP related questions, please contact Jennifer Betancourt at or 617.432.1804.

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