Curriculum review and approval is a continuous process that takes place throughout the academic year.
2025/2026 Deadline:
February 1, 2025 - Proposals at Provost Office Workflow Step in CIM.
Proposals must be at this step in workflow no later than this deadline to be reviewed for approval and inclusion in the 2025/2026 Academic Catalog.
The approval dashboard allows designated users to review, edit, rollback, comment or approve items submitted to workflow for approval. There is one approval dashboard for all CourseLeaf modules (CAT, CIM, CLSS). This means that pending items to be approved from all modules will appear in the approval dashboard workflow. The pending items are consolidated into lists based on role and can be viewed by selecting the specific role the user is approving on behalf of. Approvers can also use the link from the workflow email to access the approval dashboard and may bookmark the URL for quick access.
By default the Approval Dashboard will display all roles a user is assigned to across the modules (CAT, CIM, CLSS). Note the 'Filters Applied' line below the Roles drop down menu. Tip: remove filters to narrow the proposal display list if you have multiple roles displaying items in the list.
Approver & Reviewer Comments
Comments entered by reviewers or approvers will appear at the bottom of the form under the section 'Reviewer Comments' and include the username, time and date of the comment.
Note: Comments are viewable by all users in the system and are archived in the proposal history in CIM. Comments are not editable and cannot be deleted by a user once submitted. Only administrators can remove comments from a proposal, if this is necessary please submit a support request.
- Commenting as an Approver
To add comments to a proposal, navigate directly to the Approval Dashboard or use the link included in the automated email notification for the proposal. Select the applicable proposal to review and take action on in the dashboard.- Rollback Proposal with Comments: click the red 'Rollback' button, select rollback step to return proposal to, enter comments and click 'Rollback'.
- Approve Proposal with Comments: click the green 'Add Comment' button in the page review window to add/save comments. Then click the 'Approve' button to advance the proposal to the next workflow step.
- Add Comments, Approve Later: click the green 'Add Comment' button in the page review window to add/save comments. When done, click the X in the upper right corner of the proposal preview to close and come back later to approve.
- Commenting as a Reviewer (Non Approvers)
To add comments to a proposal, reviewers can navigate directly to the Approval Dashboard or use the link included in the automated email notification for the proposal. Select the applicable proposal to review in the Approval Dashboard, click the green 'Add Comment' button in the page review window to add/save comments. When done reviewing/commenting, click the X in the upper right corner of the proposal preview to close the proposal.
Admin Comments
Comments entered in this field are added by Office of the Registrar staff in CourseLeaf administrators roles. Admin comments will appear at the bottom of the form under the section 'Admin Comments' and include information about the action taken, user name, and date.
Once you have selected the appropriate proposal in the dashboard, you can review its contents in the Page Review window. Red/Green markup is used to track changes. Red strike-through text indicates deletions and green text indicates additions. One of four actions may be taken after reviewing the proposal. Reviewers can choose to approve, rollback, edit or leave the proposal for review later.
Approve the Proposal
Once you have completed your review of a proposal you can send it to the next step in the workflow by approving it. To approve a proposal, click the green Approve Button in the toolbar of the Page Review window. When the approval is complete an Approve message will appear in the Page Review window. The members of the next workflow step will receive an email notification informing them that the proposal is ready for their review.
Rollback the Proposal
Reviewers have the option to send a proposal back to a previous workflow step. Initiating a Rollback will require the proposal to go through all previously completed workflow steps again from the point in which you roll back the proposal. To initiate a rollback, click the red Rollback Button in the toolbar of the Page Review window. In the Rollback to field, select the workflow step you wish to send the proposal back to. In the Comment/Reason field, enter the reason why the proposal is being rolled back. Once you have selected the rollback step and entered your rollback reason, click the Rollback Button to complete the rollback. When the rollback is complete a Rollback Done message will appear in the Page Review window. The members of the workflow step you rolled the proposal back to will receive an email notification informing them of the need to review the proposal again. The notification will also include the comments/reasons you entered for the proposal rollback.
Edit the Proposal
Reviewers have the option to edit a proposal at a workflow step if necessary. If a proposal requires substantive edits, it is recommended the reviewer rollback the proposal to the initiator to complete the edits and the proposal be resubmitted to the approval workflow. Non-substantive edits (e.g. typos, grammar corrections) may be entered by a reviewer if necessary or rolled back to the initiator for editing. To edit a proposal in the approval workflow Page Review window, click the blue Edit Button to open the proposal. The course proposal will open in a new window. Add your comments and/or make the appropriate edits to the proposal. Once completed, click the Save Changes Button at the bottom of your screen to save your entries to the proposal. Note: Clicking the Save Changes Button will save all changes made but will not submit the proposal to the next step in the approval workflow. Users must Approve the proposal to move it to the next step in the approval workflow.
Leave the Proposal for Another Time
If you are still reviewing a proposal but are not ready to take an action, the proposal may be left for another time. You can select another page to review, or exit the Approval Dashboard. The proposal will remain in the system at your workflow step for you to take action at another time.
College level workflow role names are identified in CIM by a number code and follow the below role name format.
Example Role Name Format/Display:
- 01 Curricular Committee
- 01 DEAN (note: role applicable to CLSS proposals)
- 01 DEAN CIM (note: role applicable to CIM course/program proposals)
College Code Key
01 - COLSA/College of Life Sciences & Agriculture
02 - COLA/College of Liberal Arts
03 - CEPS/College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
04 - GRAD/Graduate School
05 - TSAS/Thompson School of Applied Science
06 - PAUL/Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics
09 - CHHS/College of Health & Human Services
10 - LAW/Franklin Pierce School of Law
11 - VPAA/Provost's Office
12 - CPS/College of Professional Studies (Manchester & Online Divisions)
