CIM Access

I don't have access to CIM. What should I do?

Contact [email protected] to request for access to CIM. Include your ONID ID, academic unit and position. You should receive a response within 48 hours.

Liaisons

How many liaisons should I select in my proposal?

Per the Liaison Policy, at least three academic liaisons must be selected. For program proposals, at least two of the liaisons must be from outside the college of the originating unit. For  course proposals, at least one of the liaisons must be from outside the college or the originating unit. The remaining liaisons can be from within the college, but they must be outside the originating unit.

Who should I select as liaisons?

You should add any unit impacted by your request, such as those who offer similar courses or whose courses you use as prerequisites. For program proposals, add all units who offer required or elective courses in your program. Select the liaisons in the drop-down menu. The names of faculty who are pre-assigned to the liaison role in CIM can be found in the Liaisons List.

Can I add a specific faculty member as a liaison?

CIM does not allow manual entry of names so you cannot add a a specific faculty member to the liaison field. However, as originator, you can ask anyone to add their feedback to a proposal in CIM.

For courses: The person should go to https://nextcatalog.oregonstate.edu/courseadmin/ to search for the proposal and click the ‘Add Comment’ button to add their feedback.

For programs: The person should go to https://nextcatalog.oregonstate.edu/programadmin/ to search for the proposal and click the ‘Add Comment’ button to add their feedback.

If they do not have access to CIM, email [email protected] to request their access.

A reviewer has asked me to add a specific person or unit as a liaison, but the 7 Day Review step is over. What can I do?

The ‘Add Comment’ button stays on the proposal for the duration of the review process so you can reach out to the person or unit and ask them to add a comment to the proposal at any time. Once their comment has been added, you can resubmit your proposal. It is expected that you will give the liaison 7 calendar days to provide feedback. Emailing them to emphasize the importance of their feedback is recommended.

The assigned liaisons did not comment on my proposal during the 7 Day Review. Did the proposal reach them?

Liaisons are encouraged to give responses, but it is not required. A non-response from a liaison will be interpreted as the liaison having no issues with the proposal. The proposal will move forward in the curricular review process after the 7 calendar Day Review step is completed.

What is the originator’s responsibility for responding to liaison’s feedback?

Originators are expected to address all liaison feedback when the proposal returns to them. The best way to do so is by adding a comment to the proposal so subsequent reviewers can assess the originator’s responses. Originators can choose to email a specific liaison about the feedback, but eventually a summary of the email exchange between the originator and the liaison must be entered as a proposal comment in CIM for transparency purposes. The Curriculum Coordinator from the Curriculum Management office monitors the originator’s response to the liaisons’ feedback and reaches out to the originator in the absence of a response. Ultimately, the adequacy of the originator’s response to the liaison’s feedback is determined by the Faculty Senate Curriculum Council during their review step. 

Timeline

How long does it take for a proposal to be approved?

There is no specific timeline for curricular reviews. It depends on how quickly each reviewer acts on the proposal, the type and extent of changes being proposed, and the time of year. Originators should also account for the possibility of reviewers raising concerns about a proposal and rolling it back for correction or clarification. Proposals tend to stall in workflow during term break (e.g., Summer and Winter break) as committee meetings halt. For course proposals, additional review steps are required for slashlisted, graduate and Baccalaureate Core courses. Some program proposals require approval by external committees that meet only 5 or 6 times a year so proposals may be held up while they wait for the next meeting.

We recommend originators check the Syllabus Minimum Requirements and How to Write a Good Course Proposal (see CIM Support Materials) prior to submission of their proposal to help the timeliness of the review. Program proposals for extensions to new locations, renaming, or reorganizing involve more steps and originators should be prepared for a longer review and approval process.

When is the deadline to submit the proposal so that I can offer a new course or program?

New courses and programs become effective the first term following their approval for which the seventh week of the current term has not yet begun, unless the specified start date of the course/program is later than the subsequent term. For more details, please read the Catalog Year Policy.

My course change proposal has been approved. Can I implement the change immediately?

Course changes, program changes, and program terminations go into effect the following Catalog year. May 1 is the deadline for final approvals for proposals to change courses or to alter or terminate academic programs. Those changes approved after the May 1 deadline become effective the Catalog year following the upcoming Catalog year. For more details, please read the Catalog Year Policy.

Proposals

How do I find my draft proposal in CIM?

All saved draft proposals are accessible at https://nextcatalog.oregonstate.edu/courseadmin/ for courses and https://nextcatalog.oregonstate.edu/programadmin/ for programs. The search field is case sensitive and you should use an asterisk* as a wildcard. For instance, if you are searching for a botany course, Bot* will give you all courses that start with Bot; *Bot* will give you all courses that contain the word Bot in the title. If you still unable to find your draft proposal, check the ‘edited’ and ‘added’ options in the Quick Searches field.

How do I save a draft of my proposal?

Click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the form. We recommend you save your work frequently while you are editing to avoid losing work. As with any other software, CIM will detect inactivity and time you out of the system without notification. If this occurs, you can try reactivating your session by refreshing the CIM landing page using F5 on your keyboard.

Why does CIM allow other people edit my draft proposal?

Often proposals are collaborative and multiple people from a unit may want to work on it together. It also gives flexibility for someone to take the proposal over if the former originator leaves the unit or department. There is no trace of edits made to the proposal when it is still in edit mode. Once the proposal enters workflow, any edits and the name of the person who made the edits will be captured in CIM. We strongly encourage you to submit the draft proposal as soon as it is ready.

Why didn't I receive a notification that my proposal has been submitted successfully?

Once you click the ‘Submit’ button, the curricular review process starts. CIM will not send a notification to the originator confirming successful submission because the ‘In Workflow’ column on the right-hand side of the proposal confirms that the review process has begun. If Step 1 is bolded in orange text, you submitted successfully.

How do I check the status of my proposal?

Go to https://nextcatalog.oregonstate.edu/courseadmin/ for courses or https://nextcatalog.oregonstate.edu/programadmin/ for programs. Enter the course number or program name (using asterisk as wildcard) in the search box. You can check the status of your proposal at any time by referring to the ‘In Workflow’ column. CIM updates the workflow status in real time. Once a step has been successfully passed, it will show bolded in green.

Can a proposal have more than one primary originator?

A proposal can have multiple primary originators but the person who clicks the ‘Submit’ button will have their name appear in the workflow. They will receive the notification from CIM when their proposal has been rolled back or approved. They are responsible for addressing reviewer comments when a proposal is rolled back and they must also re-approve the proposal twice in workflow.

Why do I need to re-approve my own proposal in the workflow?

Originators must re-approve the proposal twice: once after the 14 Day Review and again before the proposal reaches the Faculty Senate committee steps. CIM will send a notification when a proposal requires action. Re-approving the proposal allows originators to check the reviewers’ comments and address them (if needed) as well as allows committees to roll a proposal back to the originators without restarting workflow from the beginning, saving valuable time in the review process.

I do not know the class schedule of my course yet. How should I indicate class meeting time in the syllabus?

Indicating class meeting time helps reviewers ensure that the credit number matches with the class contact hours per credit hour policy. Alternatively, you can put tentative class schedule (example: Lecture MWF 10:00-11:50 a.m.) or state the number of hours students will meet per week to make up for the total credit hours. In the Anticipated Scheduling field, you only need to estimate. The field is used for MyDegrees templates only. You are not tied to your selection and do not need to submit a change course proposal if you subsequently schedule the course in a different term.

I need to attach a supporting document to my proposal. How do I do that? The attach file button does not work and the instructions say “Contact CIM Help if you need to attach supporting documentation”.

The supporting documentation field can only be edited by CIM administrators. CIM administrators need to review the attachments to make sure they are appropriate, relevant, and in a format that our current operating system can open. The information reviewers need are generally covered by the specific  fields in the form but if you have a compelling reason to add an additional supporting document, send it to [email protected] with a justification.

My proposal has been approved. How do I get it scheduled?

CIM does not automatically schedule your course. If you want the course to be scheduled, work with your Department Scheduler to request a CRN.

I want to add a prerequisite or recommendation to my course. Do I need to submit a proposal?

Per the prerequisite policy, no prerequisites or corequisites may be deleted from or added to a course or section without an approved curriculum proposal. However, recommendations may be deleted without an approved curriculum proposal. Once deleted, they may not be reinstated without a curriculum proposal. Recommendations may only be added with an approved proposal.

My proposal to change a course name has been approved. Do I need to submit a program change proposal to reflect the course name change?

Once the course has been approved and is in Banner per the Catalog Year Policy, the course name change will be reflected in the program requirements. You do not need to submit a program proposal to update the course name in the program requirements.

Will my proposal qualify for an expedited review?

The expedited policy lists the types of proposals that qualify for an expedited review. If you feel that your course or program change warrants an exception to the policy, contact [email protected]. Exceptions to the policy are solely at the discretion of Curriculum Management and the Office of the Registrar.

I want to offer my course online through Ecampus. How do I do this?

For new courses, you can submit a new course proposal in CIM after you have obtained approval from Ecampus. Select ‘Online’ under Schedule Type and ‘Ecampus’ as location.

For existing courses where the Ecampus modality needs to be added, the process is initiated by Ecampus Scheduling. Contact Ecampus and they will submit a course proposal on your behalf.

For Reviewers

How do I know if there is a proposal pending my review?

You will receive a notification email from CIM when a proposal enters your queue for review. The first link in that email takes you to the CIM Approval page. We suggest that you bookmark that link for easier and more direct future access. If you did not receive a notification, check your email spam folder or contact [email protected].

Do the proposals in my queue have an expiration date for my review?

With the exception of the liaison step, which is limited to 7 calendar days, review steps do not have a time limit. This means the proposal will remain in your queue until you approve or roll it back.

Is it possible for someone else to approve a proposal on my behalf?

Only reviewers assigned to the role and super administrators can act on the proposal. CIM prevents anyone else from approving on a reviewer’s behalf.

On the CIM Approval screen, I can see a list of other reviewer roles that are not associated with my role. Is my role set up correctly?

Everyone who is an authorized reviewer is able to view pending proposals for other reviewers by clicking the ‘Your Role’ drop-drown menu. However, only the reviewer assigned to the proposal can take action on it.

I can't find my name in the ‘Your Role’ drop-down menu in the CIM Approval screen.

You should to look for your role instead of your name. Refer to the role assigned to you in the CIM notification email. For example: 03 College Committee Approver, 24 Curriculum Council College Rep, etc.

Why am I not able to find my role in the ‘Your Role’ drop-down menu?

When you do not see your role listed in the drop-down menu, there is no proposal currently pending your review. Once there is a proposal pending your review, your role will appear again in that dropdown menu.

Can I edit the proposal that I am reviewing?

The edit function should be used sparingly with the consent of the originator, for example, to correct a spelling error. In most cases it is more appropriate to roll the proposal back if you have concerns with the proposal.