Add a New Course

Use the resources on this page to learn more about how to create a new course that is not currently listed in the UIC Academic Catalog with its own course number and title. Through the links below, you can review the approval process and procedures to add a course; download a Word version of the course request form; view related resources; review the deadlines associated with the process; and read examples of rationales for adding courses.

New or revised? Are you unsure about whether to revise an existing course or create a new course? If a student will be able to receive credit for both the existing course and the new course, you should create a new course with a new course number (regardless of whether the existing course will be dropped or remain active). If a student cannot receive credit for both versions of the course, simply revise the existing course.

Add a course Heading link

Approval Process Heading link

No form is required to initiate course requests, which are entered directly into the CRS system. The Word version of the course request form can be used to gather the required information, but it is not submitted to Academic Programs (AP). View instructions for each item on the form.

New courses must be approved by the offering unit (e.g., department, division) and the college, following procedures established by the college. Once those approvals have been entered into the CRS system, the request for the new course is automatically sent to Academic Programs (AP). AP can process some requests for new courses after they are submitted without further approvals, but many will require additional approvals. For example,

  • If the new course will be a General Education course, it must be approved by the General Education Council and Senate Committee on Educational Policy (and reported to the UIC Senate for information).
  • If the new course is a graduate course that is included in a proposal for a new or revised program, its processing may be delayed until the program proposal has been fully approved by the Graduate College Executive Committee and other appropriate levels of governance.
  • If the new course is an undergraduate or professional course that is included in a proposal for a new or revised program, its processing may be delayed until the program proposal has been fully approved by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy and other appropriate levels of governance.

After the course is processed by AP, no further approvals are required. View a flowchart of the entire approval process.

Note about cross-listed courses. If the course being added will be cross-listed, the cross-listing unit and college (if different than the controlling college) must sign off before the controlling college can approve the new course.

Procedures Heading link

  • After you log in to CRS, you will see the CRS production screen.
  • From this screen, choose “add a new course” from the menu.
  • You will then be presented with six pages of information to enter. Download a Word version of the course request form to gather the required information in advance. View detailed instructions for each item on the course request form.
  • Special instructions for new courses—related to temporary approval and general education—are briefly described below.
    • If you are requesting temporary approval for a course, indicate this on page 1 of the course request. A temporary new course receives approval for one term only. Temporary approval should only be used when final unit or college approval of a permanent course is pending or for courses offered on an experimental basis.
    • If you plan to request general education credit, you should indicate this in item #10 on the course request form and then complete the general education supplementary section of the course request (pp. 7-11). Read more about the General Education Program if you need more information to complete this section.
  • When you have entered all of the information, click “save and exit” and then navigate to the “approval/signoff” page from the main CRS menu to complete the course request.
  • You may begin a course request, save it, and then edit it later. Click on any button except “cancel” on the bottom of the page you are working on to save the data on that page. When you return in a subsequent session to complete the course request, click on “modify (update) a pending course.” After selecting this option, choose the appropriate course from the drop-down menu, click on “submit”, and you will be able to finish the course request. Edits can only be made until your college approves the course request.

Examples of Rationales for New Courses Heading link

  • This new course is being proposed as a requirement for the B.S. in Health Information Management, which is currently under revision. This course has been developed in response to new accreditation requirements.
  • This new elective course is being created by a new faculty member interested in the area of gender studies.
  • The content in this course has previously been offered informally to students seeking the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. The college would now like to formalize the content under a new course subject and number, thus allowing the course and grade to be displayed on the students’ transcripts.