Course Approval Process

The uploaded syllabus must include, at minimum, the following information.

Basic Course Information Required:
NOTE: The submitted syllabus may use headings or spaces for section- or instructor-specific information and omit those details.

Course identifiers:

• Course prefix, number (include section number, where applicable), and title
• Class meeting time and place
• Instructor name
• Instructor contacts (office location, phone number, and e-mail address)
• Instructor office hours
• Required text / course materials (to be purchased or made available on Canvas)
• Course prerequisites (where applicable)
• Course description (from the undergraduate catalog)

General Education Program Information Required: 

NOTE: This information can be generated for you by completing a short form:

UNK General Education Syllabus Statement Generator – Fill out form

After submitting the form, you will receive an e-mail with a Word document consisting of the exact language needed, which is this:

Course: _______________ {prefix and number, e.g., MATH 102}

This course is in the UNK LOPERs General Education Program which helps students to develop core academic skills in collecting and using information, communications in speech and writing, and quantitative reasoning (LOPERs 1-4); to acquire broad knowledge in a variety of disciplines across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences (LOPERs 5-8); and to instill dispositions that prepare students to lead responsible and productive lives in a democratic, multicultural society (LOPERs 9-11).

Loper Category Learning Objectives and Performance Indicators:

{The generated Word document will contain the official learning objective and performance indicator descriptions for the appropriate LOPER category(ies).}

Course and University Policy Information Required:

NOTE: The submitted syllabus should include examples of the course policies that are required to be included in a syllabus, but it should indicate which of those are instructor-specific and which are common to all sections/instructors of the course.

• Course outline: include a tentative schedule of exams, major assignments, and events such as papers, projects, field trips, and presentations.
• Grading information: include both the components of the course grade and their weights, and the grading scale for course grades, specifying how many points or what percentage is required for each letter grade.
• Course policy / expectations: include attendance, class participation, late assignments, and conduct. Instructor policies on e-mail communications and use of technology in the classroom are recommended but not required.
• Academic integrity: include at least a reference or link to UNK’s Academic Integrity policy and state the instructor’s policy/penalties for academic dishonesty.
• The UNK Course Policies and Resources statements found at this webpage.

You may use this checklist to help make sure you have all the required components.  (NOTE: Departments no longer need to turn this in.)

• General Education Course Syllabus Checklist

The submitted form will be received by the Director of General Education (DGE), who will ensure that all required components of the application and syllabus are present and, if the application was not submitted by a department Chair, obtain approval from the appropriate Chair before proceeding further.

The DGE will send the application and syllabus to the General Education Council Course Review Subcommittee for consideration.

With approval from this subcommittee, the DGE will release the application and syllabus for campus comment and place course approval consideration on the next General Education Council meeting agenda.  Comments will be collected for at least one week.

Final course approval must be made through a vote from the entire General Education Council according to its standard voting rules in the General Education Council Bylaws.

During this process, the DGE, Course Review Subcommittee, and full Council can request clarifications and/or alterations in the proposal from the appropriate department or program.

The course approval process timeline from application submission to final course approval, assuming no major issues need to be addressed, is designed to be complete within four weeks.  For the 2026-27 academic year, these are the deadlines for each step in the approval process:

The General Education Council will evaluate proposals based on the following considerations:

• Does the proposal include all the required parts and information in sufficient detail for the Council to determine the course’s suitability for inclusion in the LOPERs Program?
• Is the course appropriate for new learners and non-majors?
• Is the course being proposed from an appropriate academic discipline for that LOPER category?
• Does the proposal establish that students who take the course will be able to achieve the applicable learning outcomes?
• Does the syllabus communicate to students the LOPER learning outcomes and performance indicators for the course, how they will be achieved, and how the course fits into the General Education Program as a whole?