Policy

Overview

The Lumen suite of tools provides UW-Madison with a transparent single source of truth related to courses and curriculum reviewed through a streamlined process via faculty shared governance.

1. Guide, the academic catalog of all curricular offerings, is a legal binding agreement with students that displays the requirements for completing awards. Guide publishes once a year, with two mid-cycle updates which allow changes for critical revisions to programs, and course updates. Non-governed content updates annually with the June publication. See the Lumen/Guide - Guide Content policy for more information.
2. Course proposals via Lumen Courses publish in Guide based on the effective date in the proposal and the timing related to publication and/or mid-cycle updates.
3. Lumen Programs and Structures proposals communicate changes to programs, policies, and/or school/college requirements to implementation teams (DARS/GSTS). Updates to programs publish in June (effective fall), except for limited situations where they may publish in October (effective spring) or January (effective summer). Updates to Lumen Structures only publish in June.
4. Credit by departmental exams and placement tests are reviewed and approved through Lumen Exams. Once approved, they're added to Guide with the next most appropriate publication.
5. Non-credit badges are reviewed and approved through Lumen Badges. These are not published in Guide.

Benefits of a single source of truth:

1. Data Integrity
   1. A fully integrated new system with a well-designed database will ensure the integrity and consistency of all academic program and policy information across multiple platforms and publications.
      
2. Efficiency
   
   1. When all information is stored in one well-defined database, it is easier for users to retrieve needed information. In addition, automatic workflow eliminates most of the manual steps involved in the current processes, making those processes more efficient and cost effective. Users can spend their time on more productive activities instead of on outdated, manual workflow processes, manual reentry of data, etc.
      
3. Meet Current User and Customer Expectations
   
   1. With the current changes in higher education, funding losses and available technology, a move to an integrated system would streamline many cumbersome operational processes and allow UW-‐ Madison to stay current in the higher education market.
      
4. Compliance with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
   
   1. The new integrated system will support clear, accurate, and consistent publication of program/course expectations and requirements to meet HLC accreditation criteria.
      
5. Provide Students with Consistent and Easy to Access Information
   
   1. Having one source of information would improve the student experience. Students would no longer need to consult with advisors, assistant deans etc. to learn about and/or verify standard academic policies and procedures. They would be provided with clear, reliable information about program requirements and campus resources. This may promote better planning and improve time to degree.
      
6. Align with Institutional Priorities
   
   1. The current strategic plan calls for the University of Wisconsin–Madison to be a model, public university in the 21st century. Having a well-‐ designed, efficient system for providing curricular and academic policy data and information will be central to achieving that goal. The university also endeavors to create the best possible environment in which our people can carry out their responsibilities to the university. Automating manual, repetitive tasks will allow faculty and staff to devote more of their time to higher value, creative and innovative tasks.
      

Historical Background on the Single Source of Truth (SST) - Rationale for SST