Course Proposals

Yale College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Courses are proposed and offered by departments through a suite of online applications by CourseLeaf. CourseLeaf/CIM is used for proposing new courses and editing existing course information such as the title or course description (see CourseLeaf CIM Instructions). 

The Guidelines for Yale College Course Proposals can help you create a successful course proposal. Understanding the lifecycle of a course as outlined in the diagram below and in A Course from Beginning to End may also be useful.

All classes in FAS should use standard meeting patterns.

Professional Schools

Some professional schools have their own process for proposing and offering courses, although several professional schools do use CIM.

 Contact your professional school registrar for more information.

How to Create a New Course Proposal

Every school that uses CourseLeaf CIM has it’s own course proposal form. Some, like the Yale College course proposal form, is longer than other school forms.

A brief tutorial follows, for more complete information, particularly for Yale College forms, see Creating New Course Proposals in the Registrar’s Handbook.

  1. Log in to CIM.
  2. Click “Propose New Course.”
  3. Select the school and the effective term from the dropdown options at the top of the form. The course proposal for the indicated school opens.
  4. All fields outlined in red require information.
  5. Most fields are self-explanatory, but there are tips within the blue question marks next to the name of the information in question.
  6. Once the form has been completed, click “Start Workflow” at the bottom.

You can also click “Save Changes” and return later to complete the form. Remember the title so you can use the Search box at the CIM landing page.

How to Revise Existing Course Record

There is no need to update the course proposal if there is a new syllabus or a new instructor. The new syllabus should be uploaded to the Canvas site once the course is offered and the new instructor should be entered in WEN. Note that changing the instructor’s name in CIM does not change it in WEN or YCS.

For Yale College course changes only:

  • Some changes require review by the Course of Study Committee; specifically, a format change (ex. seminar to lecture), a credit value change, or the addition of a graduate number or distributional designation.
  • Title and course description changes do not require CSC approval but they do go through workflow.
To Submit a Course Revision

1. Log in to CIM.

2. Use the Search button to search for the course you want to revise. 

3. Open the correct course proposal and click on Edit Course to open the editing window.

4. Update fields as needed

5. Click “Start Workflow” at the bottom of the editing window.

Course Proposal Workflow

Yale College Courses from Concept to Student Enrollment