Curriculum & Course Development

Department and program chairs utilize the Registrar's Office Chair's Guide for an overview of processes and procedures to guide the development and application of their courses and curricula.

The Committee on Instruction is charged with the oversight of each academic division’s curriculum. The Curricular Guidelines were developed by the Office of the Registrar, in consultation with the COI and associate deans, to provide assistance to departments and programs initiating curricular changes.

Departments and programs can refer to the procedures outlined by the COI to implement curriculum changes and forecast effects on current students.

DCARS is an online tool used to propose new courses and updates to existing courses in accordance with Dartmouth's governance structure. The DCARS Guide for Faculty and Administrator Users illustrates the processes to submit a new course or change to an existing course.

Departments and programs should complete the Instructions for New Course Proposals to request a new course or change an existing course. New course proposals should be forwarded to the appropriate divisional council for approval. If the proposal includes a request for any distributive and/or world culture designations, the divisional council will then forward the proposal to the COI for consideration of the categories noted on this form.