Courses: Discontinuation of Obsolete Courses Process

An annual review of course offering activity will be conducted by the Office of the Registrar (RO) and Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research (DAPIR), which includes identifying obsolete courses, allowing for retention or waiver requests, and deactivating courses if no action is taken, with updates to SIS. The procedural steps of this review are outlined below and subject to change as the process is put into effect.

Policy

Discontinuation of Obsolete Courses

Discontinuation of Obsolete Courses

Policy Number

UW-1007

Responsible Office

Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research

Type

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose

Courses that appear in the catalog and are no longer taught present a number of challenges. To comply with the Higher Learning Commission’s accreditation standards (Criterion 2), an institution must present “. . . itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public.” In doing so, the institution must ensure “. . . the accuracy of any representations it makes regarding academic offerings . . .”. Students and advisors expect courses in the catalog to be offered on a regular basis. A streamlined array of courses promotes efficiencies in the management of administrative and faculty workload. Courses that are not regularly taught likely require updates to course descriptions, course syllabi, requisites, etc. to bring them up to date with current scholarship.

Policy

  1. To more efficiently conduct the review of obsolete courses, Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research (DAPIR) and the Office of the Registrar collaborate each fall to identify courses that have not been taught in six or more years. Course discontinuation proposals for the identified courses will be initiated and sent via workflow to the appropriate academic units.
  2. Academic units that receive notification of an obsolete course they wish to continue offering will have the option to:
    1. Schedule the course, or
    2. Notify DAPIR that the course will be scheduled within the next three terms from the initial identification (spring, summer, or the following fall), or
    3. Appeal for an obsolete course waiver. A waiver allows for an additional academic year to schedule the course with enrollment (two years from the initial identification), and will be considered if the following is provided via a course change proposal:
      1. Rationale for why the course has not been taught in the past but will be soon; and
      2. The instructor(s) who will teach the course; and
      3. A plan for including the course in the academic unit’s course array where it will be used regularly in a meaningful way.
  3. Courses offered with enrollment of zero the past six years (fall, spring, and summer terms) will also be identified for discontinuation. The A2 session (courses taken on a UW–Madison study abroad program), third-party test credit, credit by exam, credit by portfolio review, and transfer credit equivalencies do not factor into the enrollment counts for the obsolete course process since enrollment in these usually represent off-campus enrollment for course equivalency purposes.
  4. Independent study courses (numbered x99, x98, x89, 681, 682, 691, 692) and those created specifically for study abroad equivalencies (the study abroad subject and those in other subjects that have a course attribute that identifies them as an equivalency-only course) will be excluded from this review.

Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources

External References

Approval Authority

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Policy Manager

Vice Provost for Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research

Contact

Associate Vice Provost for Academic Planning -- Michelle Young, MEYOUNG@WISC.EDU, (608) 262-2143

Effective Date

06-18-2018
Source: View policy UW-1007 in the UW-Madison Policy Library

 Procedures

Obsolete Course Process Overview

Simplified overview of the timing and actions required.

Simplified overview of the timing and actions required.

Timing

Action(s)

September

 Identify obsolete courses and deactivate those not scheduled or waived within the appropriate timeframe of previous year's obsolete course process.

Mid-September through early October

Notify School/College partners of the process launch and share course list. Department subject owners must submit the designated GoogleForm to retain course.

Early October through February

For courses not submitted via the GoogleForm, department subject owners must either schedule courses or proceed with deactivation. If neither step is completed by the GoogleDoc deadline, DAPIR will initiate the LUMEN deactivation form(s).

University Curriculum Committee (UCC) fall deadline for course changes meeting

Review and consider obsolete course waivers.

After UCC deadline meeting

DAPIR submits deactivation proposals for courses not completed or not flagged for summer/fall offering.

Flow Chart

Timeline

Course Identification

Per the Discontinuation of Obsolete Courses policy, courses slated for deactivation include any course that:

  1. has not been taught on campus (i.e., offered with enrollment) in at least six years,
  2. was created at least six years ago but were never taught, and/or
  3. has only been used for study abroad or transfer equivalency.

The following table defines the parameters of courses included/excluded in the list: 

Communication to Schools/Colleges

DAPIR sends the list of obsolete courses to school/college curriculum coordinators, asking them to inform their departments about the policy and process. The communication includes:

  1. The Discontinuation of Obsolete Courses policy.
  2. A list of obsolete courses.
  3. Instructions on how to submit the GoogleForm to request a waiver extension or plans to offer for courses identified as obsolete per the policy.
  4. Requirements and deadlines for scheduling a course within the next year if the department wishes to continue offering it.
  5. A timeline of key dates and deadlines for the obsolete course process.

Initiating the Discontinuation Process

If department subject owners do not submit a Google Form within the designated timeframe, DAPIR will submit individual Lumen course forms for each course listed as obsolete for the current Fall term. Each Lumen course proposal submission will include the following information:

  1. Reason for discontinuation
  2. Last term taught
  3. Last term offered (including enrollment data or use in study abroad/transfer equivalency)

Once submitted, Lumen will automatically send an email to the department chairs and department designees notifying them of a course discontinuation proposal in their subject(s). The email requests approval, or other action outlined in this KB.

Notes

 Approval, Scheduling, or Requesting a Waiver

If a course in any of the following scenarios has been offered with enrollment or GoogleForm submitted, the deactivation course proposal will not be submitted nor processed. The six-year clock will restart from the last term where there was enrollment.

Approving an Obsolete Course for Discontinuation

If the subject owners agree to discontinue a course, the subject approver must approve the discontinuation in Lumen. For cross-listed courses, subject owners must coordinate with each other to determine if there is interest in scheduling the course or submitting a GoogleForm.

For more details on approving courses, refer to the Lumen KB article.

To Access the Approval Pages (Before the Cross-Listed Step):

  1. Click the link provided in the email.
  2. Go to the Approve Pages site and select the appropriate subject from the drop-down menu.

If the Course is at the "CrosslistedSubjs" Step in the Workflow:

  1. Click the approval link provided in the email.
  2. Visit Lumen Courses, then search for the course by subject, catalog number, or course key (found at the bottom of the course form). For more information on finding course keys, refer to this Lumen KB article.
Notes
  • The approval workflow for courses discontinued through the obsolete course process is shorter than the standard workflow: department > cross-listed departments (if applicable) > Office of the Registrar (PeopleSoft step).
  • Programs using the discontinued course will receive an email from Lumen notifying them to remove the course from their curriculum. Please note, Lumen-generated emails are automatically sent, and replies are not monitored.

Scheduling a Course

If you plan to schedule the course within the next three terms (Spring, Summer, or the following Fall), complete the GoogleForm, select the course, and indicate which term you will offer it. If the course is not offered or has no enrollment, it will be administratively deactivated the following Fall (e.g., identified as obsolete in Fall 2020, slated to be offered, but not offered or with no enrollment in Fall 2021).

Requesting a Waiver

If the department will not offer the course in the upcoming Spring, Summer, or Fall terms but plans to teach it within two years from the initial identification, the following steps must be taken:

  1. Request a waiver by submitting an obsolete course change waiver proposal through the GoogleForm. DAPIR shreds the deactivation, initiates an obsolete course waiver, and provides instructions for the next steps in the approval process.
  2. Complete the course change proposal (obsolete course waiver request). The form includes additional questions related to the course not being taught in the past six years, which must be addressed.
  3. Update the course information, including the title, description, requisites, learning outcomes, and syllabus, along with any other required elements for the proposal.
  4. Submit the course proposal by the Fall course change deadline.

A waiver must be reviewed and approved by the subject approver, any cross-listed subjects, the school(s)/college(s), and UCC. If approved, the department must offer the course with enrollment within the allotted time frame to retain the course.

If approved, the Office of the Registrar will add the CACT ‘A’ value to the course, with an effective date of the following Fall term (e.g., Fall 2021 if approved in Spring 2021).

If the course is not taught with enrollment within the two-year window (starting from the term in which the course was initially identified through the obsolete course policy), it will be automatically inactivated without further notice.

No Response

For courses not submitted via the GoogleForm, departments must either schedule courses or proceed with deactivation. If neither step is completed by the February, DAPIR completes the deactivation.

No response is determined by any of the following:

  1. A course remains in workflow without approval from the department or cross-listed departments by the UCC Fall deadline meeting.
  2. A waiver has not been completed and reviewed by the UCC Fall deadline meeting. (Note: The waiver must be approved by the associated school/college(s), typically by the end of January.)
  3. An obsolete course discontinuation proposal is "rolled back" out of workflow.

If a course proposal is rolled back by the department approver, cross-listed subject(s), or school/college approver, DAPIR will re-submit the proposal to workflow.

Data Visualizations

You can track the status of a course in the obsolete course process using the Lumen Tools data viz.

Important notes:

  • The data visualization uses Lumen data, which refreshes daily. Any changes made during the day will not appear until the following day.
  • The data viz tracks proposals for deactivation that are in workflow, as well as obsolete course waivers (course change proposals).
  • Courses for which the subject has indicated plans to offer the course will not appear in this data visualization.

SIS CACT Attributes

SIS CACT Attribute Value Meaning

SIS CACT Attribute Value Meaning

Course Attribute

Course Attribute Value

Description

Formal Description

Effective Date Notes

CACT

A

Policy exemption granted

Obsolete Course Policy exemption appeal granted

Added with an effective date for the following Fall term.


Example: If the waiver is approved in March 2020, the course change will be effective Fall 2020.

CACT

AI

Course was not offered after appeal

Course inactivated because it was not offered after the approved appeal

Added with an effective date of the current term (same as deactivation term).


Example: If the waiver was approved for Fall 2020 and the course was not offered or had no enrollment, it will be inactivated for Fall 2021.

CACT

E

Course exempted from policy

Obsolete Course Policy exempts course inactivation

 

CACT

I

Course inactivated per policy

Course inactivated per Obsolete Course Policy

Added with an effective date of the current term (same as deactivation term).


Example: If the discontinuation proposal is approved in Fall 2020, the course will be inactivated effective Fall 2020.

CACT

O

Course will be offered

Course will be offered in next three terms

Added with an effective date for the Fall of the current academic year.

Example: If the course is identified through the policy in Fall 2020 and planned for Spring, Summer, or Fall 2021, a new row in SIS will be added with an effective date of Fall 2020.

CACT

OI

Course not offered

Course inactivated because it was not offered as planned

Added with an effective date of the current term (same as deactivation term).


Example: If the course was identified in Fall 2020 and not offered or had no enrollment, it will be inactivated for Fall 2021.

 

See Also


Keywords:
Obsolete, OCP, Discontinued, discontinue, waiver, course proposal, course discontinuation, GoogleForm, deactivation, SIS CACT, retention, scheduling, policy, exemption 
Doc ID:
96337
Owned by:
Abbie W. in Lumen and Guide
Created:
2019-12-02
Updated:
2025-08-18
Sites:
Lumen and Guide