This page was last updated September 3, 2026.
To be considered for inclusion in the 2027-2028 Academic Calendar, curriculum proposals must be submitted through the Curriculum Inventory Management System (CIM) by the end of the day on:
Please note that the Curriculum Coordinator may establish an alternate deadline based on the volume and complexity of submissions.
Before starting a proposal, it can be helpful to:
The Curriculum Inventory Management System (CIM) (pronounced "Kim") is Queen's online curriculum management and approval system and serves as the University's official curriculum record.
CIM is used to:
Undergraduate Chairs and Curriculum Leads serving as curriculum approvers may find the CIM Overview – Role: Approver (PDF) helpful for navigating CIM, reviewing proposals, and completing approval actions.
If you are unable to access CIM, please contact: asc.curriculum@queensu.ca.
The CIM Ecosystem is a built-in tool that displays where a course or Program/Plan is referenced across CIM and the Academic Calendar.
Reviewing the Ecosystem before submitting a proposal is strongly encouraged, as it can help identify related curriculum, Program/Plan, and Academic Calendar updates that may also be required.
The Ecosystem may display:
Use this process in CIM to submit a proposal for a new undergraduate course.
Resources:
Normally Required Supplemental Documentation:
Use this process in CIM to modify an existing undergraduate course. Common changes include course titles, descriptions, notes, requisites, grading basis, learning outcomes, learning hours, experiential learning, and other course details.
Note: Learning Outcomes are required when submitting changes to an existing course. If you are updating any course details, such as the title, description, requisites, or learning hours etc., please include learning outcomes with your submission. This helps complete course records and improves the accuracy of the Academic Calendar.
Resources:
Use this process in CIM to inactivate an undergraduate course that will no longer be offered. If the course is reintroduced in a future curriculum cycle, the reactivation process is generally treated similarly to a new course proposal.
Resources:
Use this process in CIM to modify the academic requirements of an existing degree plan or certificate. This may include updates to core, option, supporting, or additional requirements, as well as course lists, substitutions, sub-plans, and notes.
Resources:
A cross listed course is a single course offered under multiple course codes, either across different departments or within a single department (e.g., DRAM/MUSC in the DAN School of Drama and Music). All cross listed courses share the same instructor, course content, and learning outcomes. Credit will be awarded for only one of the cross listed course codes.
Example: HLTH 361/3.0 and INDG 361/3.0
Departments considering a new cross-listed course or changes to an existing cross-listed course are encouraged to consult the Curriculum Coordinator (asc.curriculum@queensu.ca) early in the proposal process.
Resources:
Normally Required Supplemental Documentation:
A Topics Course is an umbrella course used to offer specialized or emerging subjects that vary from term to term. Individual offerings are distinguished by unique topic titles and may be used to pilot potential new courses or provide opportunities to teach specialized content that is not part of the regular curriculum.
All Topics Courses include the following Calendar note:
Students may receive credit for multiple offerings of a Topics Course provided that each topic is substantially different in title and content.
Topic titles that have been offered multiple times may be good candidates for consideration as regular courses. As a general guideline, departments are encouraged to consider proposing a permanent course code once a topic has been offered three times.
Once a topic title has been established as a permanent course, that specific topic title is retired and may not be offered again. Future offerings of that content must be scheduled under the new permanent course code. The topic course (umbrella/shell course) remains available for other approved topic titles. In other words, topic titles can progress to permanent courses, but a topic title that has become a permanent course cannot later be offered again under the topic course.
Resource:
Note: The submission of topic titles is managed outside of CIM. Please send a completed Topic Title Submission Form to asc.curriculum@queensu.ca for review and processing when they arise.
A new offering of an existing course (also referred to as a course variant) allows an approved course to be offered in an additional delivery mode or location while maintaining the same academic content and learning outcomes. This process should be used when a course is being offered in a new format or location and does not create a new course.
Use this form to request a new:
Before submitting a request:
Resource:
Note: New offering requests are managed outside of CIM. If you wish to offer an existing course in a new way, please send a completed Request for a New Offering of an Existing Course Form to asc.curriculum@queensu.ca for review and processing.
For guidance on course design or the development of learning outcomes, please contact the Centre for Teaching and Learning directly at ctl@queensu.ca.
The fillable forms linked below are provided as optional worksheets for departments and schools to collect information from instructors before entering a proposal into CIM. They are intended for planning and data collection purposes only.
Departments considering:
should contact quqap@queensu.ca as early as possible in the planning process
For general curriculum inquiries, please contact: asc.curriculum@queensu.ca.
Curriculum Services Manager (Acting)
Contact Karen regarding:
Undergraduate Curriculum Coordinator & Academic Calendar Editor
Contact Allie regarding:
Can I submit directly to CIM?
Yes, provided you are the designated curriculum contact for your department or school.
I can't log into CIM.
CIM is case-sensitive. Please ensure your NetID is entered using lowercase letters only. If you continue to experience issues, contact asc.curriculum@queensu.ca.
Do I need to complete the worksheets first?
No. The worksheets are optional planning tools intended primarily for departments to collect information from instructors before entering proposals into CIM.
Are topic titles submitted through CIM?
No. Topic title requests are submitted using the Topic Title Submission Form and sent to asc.curriculum@queensu.ca.
Why should I not bundle proposals in CIM?
Bundling links related proposals together in CIM while maintaining separate approval workflows.
In most cases, proposals should be submitted individually. Bundling can create confusion for reviewers, make notifications less specific, and increase the likelihood that important details are overlooked.
What is the difference between an equivalency and an exclusion?
Both equivalencies and exclusions prevent students from receiving duplicate credit for similar course content, but they function differently.
An equivalency is typically used when an active course replaces a course that has been inactivated or is no longer offered. The courses are considered interchangeable for academic purposes, such as prerequisites and program requirements. Students may receive credit for only one of the courses, but an equivalency does not normally prevent registration. If a student enrols in the equivalent course, it is typically identified and processed as a repeat.
An exclusion is typically used when two or more active courses have significant overlap in content. The excluded courses are considered similar enough that students may receive credit for only one of the courses, or for a defined number of units across the exclusion group. A student who already holds credit in an excluded course will typically be prevented from enrolling in another course in the exclusion group through SOLUS.
I want to change the subject code, catalogue number, or unit value of an existing course. How can I do that?
In the Faculty of Arts and Science, changes to a course's subject code, catalogue number, level, or unit value (often referred to as recoding, renumbering, releveling, or reweighting) are typically treated as the creation of a new course, rather than a revision to an existing one.
To make this type of change, submit:
Please include the required supporting documents and explain in the rationale that the new course is replacing an existing course.
Because these changes often affect prerequisites, degree plans, and other curriculum records, departments are encouraged to consider the broader curriculum impact before submitting.
Please do not submit a Course Change request for these types of changes. Requests to change a course's code, level, or unit value by overlapping an existing course cannot be processed and will be returned with instructions to submit a New Course proposal and a Course Inactivation proposal instead.
