The instructions below explain how to successfully complete the proposal form for a new course. This includes credit courses, credit common courses, and non-credit courses. If you want to edit an existing course, please follow the instructions for how to submit a proposal to change an existing course. If you want to drop a course, please follow the instructions for how to submit a proposal to drop a course.
Go to the CourseLeaf CIM Course Management dashboard at: https://psu-next.courseleaf.com/courseadmin/.
Log in with your Penn State user ID and password.
A dialog box will appear requesting that you complete your login to CourseLeaf. Click the circle icon in the dialog box to proceed to the CourseLeaf CIM Course Management dashboard.
Once logged in, you will see the CourseLeaf CIM Course Management dashboard. Click the Propose New Course button to open a new proposal form to propose a new course.
The course proposal form will open in a new browser window.
The CIM course proposal form is a large form with several fields, which are described below. Before starting on a new course proposal form, please read the following tips and guidelines to help you successfully navigate form features and requirements.
The CIM course proposal form is a dynamic form. The fields that appear on the form will change depending on your answers to certain questions. For example, if you select "Undergraduate" for the Academic Level, a new section for General Education designation will appear further down in the form. This section will not appear when any other academic level is selected.
Fields that are required are outlined in red. You cannot start workflow (i.e., begin the review and approval process) on your proposal until all required fields have been completed. You can, however, save changes to your incomplete proposal and return to complete and submit the form later.
Instructions for each question appear in italics above the question heading and field. Please read these instructions carefully before entering your information into the form.
You can save your changes to the proposal form at any time by clicking the Save Changes button at the bottom of your screen. This will save all changes made but will not submit the proposal to the approval workflow process. Saving changes allows you to come back to your proposal and finish editing at a later date.
Clicking the Cancel button will close the proposal without saving any changes made.
Once your proposal is finished and ready to begin the review process, click the Start Workflow button to submit the proposal to the approval workflow process.
Many of the CourseLeaf CIM course proposal form fields are the same for both undergraduate and graduate courses. The listing below displays all form fields for undergraduate courses. Instructions on graduate-specific form fields can be found on The Graduate School website.
From the dropdown menu, select the appropriate degree level of the new course (e.g., Undergraduate, Graduate, Dickinson Law, Penn State Law, Medicine, Physician Assistant, Non-Credit).
Enter a brief summary of the new course proposal. This summary will be included in the email notification to consultants and other reviewers to help them determine if it is necessary to review the full proposal.
Enter the name or user ID of the person responsible for developing the course. This person will serve as the primary faculty point of contact for the proposal throughout the review process. For Graduate level courses, this individual must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. Only one person can be designated as the Principal Faculty Member.
For best results when entering a name, type the faculty member's last name in the form field. As you begin to type, a list of suggestions from the Penn State directory will pop up, from which you can select. Once a name is selected, the person's email address will auto-populate in the Email field.
If other faculty members are responsible for the development of this course, select Yes.
If you select Yes, an additional Development Faculty Member(s) form field will appear for you to enter the name or user ID of the appropriate faculty member(s) who also are responsible for the development of this course.
For best results when entering a name, type the faculty member's last name in the form field. As you begin to type, a list of suggestions from the Penn State directory will pop up, from which you can select. Once a name is selected, the person's email address will auto-populate in the Email field.
To add another person, click the Green Plus Sign Button in the form field header to add a new row. Enter the name or user ID of that person.
To delete a row, click the Red X Button to the right of the row.
From the dropdown menu, select the course abbreviation.
If you are proposing a course with a brand-new course abbreviation, scroll down to the bottom of the dropdown menu and select NEW - New.
If you select NEW - New, two additional form fields will appear:
Enter the new course abbreviation.
Enter the reason(s) why a course abbreviation needs to be created for this course.
Enter the proposed course number.
If you enter a course number that is currently in use, you will receive the error message: Course code is not unique. If this occurs, please enter a different, unused course number. While you may continue filling out the proposal form and save it with the intention to return to complete it at a later time, you will not be able to submit the proposal to the approval workflow process until you have entered a course number that currently is not in use.
To assist in finding a course number that currently is not in use, click the Course Numbers in Use button. Please note, the Course Numbers in Use button only appears once you have selected a course abbreviation.
A new pop-up window will open with the full listing of all course numbers in use for the selected course abbreviation. Courses that currently are active appear in white rows with normal while courses that have been dropped appear in grey rows with italic text. You can click on any course to open its latest course proposal in the Curriculum Management System (CIM).
Enter the proposed course title. Please note, there are no character limits for this field.
Enter the proposed abbreviated title. The abbreviated title appears on the student's official transcript and should be as descriptive as possible. Please note, this field is limited to 30 characters.
Enter the minimum and maximum number of credits this course may be scheduled for each time it is scheduled.
For courses with a fixed number of credits, enter the same value in the Min Credits and Max Credits field (e.g., a 3-credit course should have "3" entered in both fields).
For courses with variable credits, enter the minimum number of credits the course may be scheduled for in the Min Credits field and the maximum number of credits the course may be scheduled for in the Max Credits field. (e.g., a 3-4 credit course should have "3" entered in the Min Credits field and "4" entered in the Max Credits field.)
Repeatable courses are those in which a student can enroll more than once for credit up to the specified number of total maximum credits for the course. Typically, these courses will appear in the LionPATH Course Catalog and Bulletin Course Descriptions with the maximum number of credits allowed following the number of credits for the course (e.g., 1.5 credits/maximum of 3). A course with a credit value of "2 credits/maximum of 8" can be taken four semesters for 2 credits each semester. A course with a credit value of "1-2 credits/maximum of 2 credits" can be taken one semester for 2 credits or two semesters for 1 credit each semester.
Most courses are not repeatable. This designation is typically used for courses such as independent study, research courses, music ensembles, etc. Please note, this designation is not referring to the ability of a student to repeat the course in an attempt to earn a higher grade.
If the course is repeatable, select Yes.
If you select Yes, two additional form fields will appear:
Enter the maximum number of credits allowed for the course.
Select Yes if a student may enroll in multiple sections or offerings of the same repeatable course at the same time. Select No if a student may only enroll in one section or offering.
If you select Yes, one additional form field will appear:
Provide a description of what the travel entails.
Enter the course description (maximum 400 words), which will be published in the online University Bulletins and the Schedule of Courses. Encompassing all course sections at all locations over a period of time and, this single description should focus on the common and durable aspects of the course.
Please note, non-credit courses are not published in the online University Bulletins.
To indicate the method of evaluation used for the course, click one of the checkboxes from the following three choices:
If this course should count toward fulfilling Act 48 continuing education requirements, select Yes.
More information about Act 48 reporting can be found on the Office of the University Registrar website.
Enter any additional information about the course proposal not covered in the form fields above. Additional notes can be added to this field as the proposal moves through the review process.
Upload supporting documentation related to the course as needed. Writing Across the Curriculum and General Education courses require the attachment of a syllabus.
To upload an attachment, click the green Attach File Button.
A File Upload window will open. In the window, navigate to the location of the document to upload on your computer, select the document and click the Open Button.
The selected document will appear in the Files to be Uploaded box.
To complete the file upload, click the Save Changes Button.
The uploaded file now appears in the Uploaded Files box.
To add additional files, repeat the Attach File and Save Changes process. Please note, multiple files can be added to the Files to be Uploaded box before saving changes.
To remove a file, click the red Remove link next to the file to be removed.
Once you have completed the course proposal form, click the green Start Workflow Button at the bottom of your screen to begin the review process. The proposal will be sent to the first step in the approved workflow.
Note: You cannot start workflow on your proposal until all required fields have been completed.
You will be returned to the main CourseLeaf CIM Course Management dashboard, with a preview of your proposal and the workflow for the course drop proposal.
The automated approval process in CIM is called the workflow. Once you click the green Start Workflow Button, your proposal will begin this approval process.
The required workflow steps are defined by each academic college. As reviewers in each step approve the proposal it will move to the next step of the workflow. As the proposal moves to the next workflow step, the appropriate user(s) will be notified via an automated email that the new course proposal is ready to be reviewed, edited, approved, or rejected.
You can log in to the CourseLeaf CIM Course Management dashboard at any time to see where your proposal is in the workflow process. Once you have located your proposal in the dashboard, the preview will include the full list of workflow steps the proposal must complete. The current workflow step for the proposal will be in bold orange text. Completed workflow steps will be in bold green text.
At any point in the approval process a reviewer might have questions about the proposal. You will have the opportunity to address these questions and/or provide additional information about your proposal at various steps throughout the workflow. You cannot directly edit your proposal until it returns to you in the workflow process. You will be notified via email when the proposal has reached the workflow step for you to review and address reviewer feedback.
A reviewer may also choose to rollback the proposal to a previous step in the workflow. In this case, the proposal will need to repeat the workflow steps from the point the proposal was rolled back to.
More information about proposal review can be found in the Workflow Management User Guide section.
Once the proposal has been fully reviewed and approved, the last step of the workflow (PeopleSoft) is an automated sync process to add the course to the LionPATH Course Catalog. Some course data, such as enforced prerequisite information, will be manually added by the Office of the University Registrar once the course is added to LionPATH. The effective semester for the course will be determined by the Office of the Faculty Senate based on the timing of the final approval.
Note: The LionPATH sync process does not add the course to the LionPATH Schedule of Classes or schedule course offerings of the course. It only adds the course to the LionPATH Course Catalog. Class Scheduling is a separate process managed by the Office of the University Registrar each semester. For questions about class scheduling, please contact your unit's designated class scheduler(s).
Once the proposal has completed the approval process, the proposer will receive an automated email message notifying you of the proposal approval.
