Barnard College Barnard College
Teaching & Curriculum

Proposing or Changing a Course

Using Course Management

Instructors and Department Assistants/Administrators can log into Course Management. Once logged in, a user can choose to change an existing course or to propose a new course. Once submitted, these proposals will go to the Committee on Instruction (COI) through workflow and will be reviewed during the bi-monthly meetings. 

If you need assistance with determining which of the Foundations: Modes of Thinking best fits your course, view information on the Foundations Curriculum.  Please note that your course must be at least 3 credits  for it to qualify for General Education Requirements (GERs). For any points-related questions, please see the Columbia College and School of General Studies "Guidance on Course Points" page.

New Course Proposals

All new proposed courses must be submitted to the COI through Course Management (see above). If you have questions about using this system, please contact your department assistant or administrator. A syllabus must be attached to the online new course proposal form. Proposals must be submitted by Friday, September 27 for Spring 2020 courses and Friday, February 7 for Fall 2020 courses. Please contact the Office of the Provost (Saskia Hamilton shamilto@barnard.edu or LaShawn Keyser lkeyser@barnard.edu) with any questions.

Every course is required to have a syllabus. When crafting your syllabus, please refer to the COI's "Guidelines for Syllabi" for recommended style and content suggestions. The syllabus should contain the following information:

  • instructor's office hours and contact information
  • required readings, including reading lengths (in page numbers or ranges)
  • course requirements (e.g. exams, papers, book reviews) and relevant due dates
  • guidelines for assignments, including the degree to which collaboration is allowed
  • criteria for course grade
  • expectations regarding participation, which includes attendance
  • student learning outcomes
  • inclusion of the Honor Code; listing what constitutes plagiarism is recommended
  • inclusion of the Wellness Statement 
  • inclusion of the Center for Accessibility Resources & Disability Services Statement 
  • inclusion of the Affordable Access to Course Texts Statement


New courses recommended by the COI must be approved by a majority vote of the Faculty before they may be included scheduled. If you are proposing a 4000 level GU course, it will also need to be approved by the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences COI via the workflow in Course Management.

Other Curricular Changes

Any of the following changes in a course after it was approved by the Committee on Instruction and the Faculty must be resubmitted to the Committee on Instruction through Course Management:

  • student learning outcomes
  • course points or course type
  • number of class hours
  • department, subject area code, prefix, number, or course title
  • general education requirement (GER) designation
  • substantial alterations in course requirements

If a student reaches out to you to appeal a course for a general education requirement, direct the student to the Curriculum page under "How to Request a Course to Fulfill a GER."

If you would like to make a change to your major or minor, view the Change in Major/Minor form to submit to COI. 

If you would like to create a new major or minor, please contact the Vice Provost of Academic Programs, Saskia Hamilton.