Academics & Student Support

University policy states that students are expected to attend each class session unless they have valid reason for absence. Read the Boston University attendance policy.

BU has a policy in place to ensure that faculty, staff, students, and other members of the community do not infringe on copyrights. It is important that all faculty familiarize themselves with the Boston University copyright policy.

Disability & Access Services coordinates accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The DAS website has many helpful resources for faculty and staff on how to support students with documented disabilities appropriately. Students who are interested in accommodations should contact DAS directly. Faculty and staff should be aware of the following:

• Students who are eligible for accommodations during the semester should present a letter addressed to you, from DAS, during the first few weeks of the term or within two weeks of the date when their accommodations are granted.
• Students desiring exam accommodations must present their letters at least two weeks before the exam except in extraordinary circumstances.
• Students are not required to disclose to you the nature of their disabilities.

Any faculty or staff person who has questions or concerns can consult directly with DAS.

Boston University policy states that final examinations are given only during the scheduled examination period. Exams will still be held as scheduled in the event of a University closing, e.g., for inclement weather. Learn more about University exam policies.

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of a student’s education records. In compliance with FERPA, BU does not disclose personally identifiable information contained in student records, except as authorized by law. Faculty members of BU are required to understand the implications of this law. Learn more about FERPA or watch a training.

Massachusetts law and Boston University policy require faculty and staff to accommodate students who are absent due to religious observance and to provide them with a reasonable opportunity to make up an examination, study, or work requirement missed due to their religious observance, if such accommodation does not create an unreasonable burden. Please let the instructor know of any anticipated absences at the start of the semester.

For our policy on Withdrawal, Leave of Absence, and Reinstatement, see the BU Bulletin.

Used to change an existing degree, minor, or certificate program, including changes of instruction type, credits, and the dissolution of programs

Approval Flow: Program > Department > AAC > Faculty Assembly* > BU’s Provost’s Office and either the Undergraduate Academic Programs & Policies (UAPP) Committee or the Graduate Academic Programs and Policies (GAPP) Committee (depending on proposal)

The AAC will seek approval of the Faculty Assembly for all program dissolutions. Smaller, less significant changes will not require Faculty Assembly approval.

1. Proposer completes all required Change to an Existing Program Forms that are accessible through the Provost’s Curriculum Portal. These forms include:

• Academic Component
• Budget
  A proposer should make an appointment with BU Wheelock’s assistant dean of administration & finance if assistance is needed with completing the budget form. Changes to graduate programs require the budget form, while changes to undergraduate programs require a budget statement that can be submitted as a Word document, because undergraduate programs at BU are centralized. Consider costs associated with new or part-time faculty, field supervision, converting courses to online, increased enrollment over time, and other expenses.
• Degree Advice
• Global Activity Component (Submit only if the proposal has a global component)
• Distance Education Component (Submit only if the proposal has an online component)
• Cognate Letters
  Required if the proposed change has an impact on other courses or programs within or outside of the College. A cognate letter from a dean supporting the change of program or from another BU school or college in support of the change will strengthen the proposal. These are also important to obtain if the proposal is a dissolution that has an impact on another program within or outside of the College (such as a dual degree program that has had low or no enrollment over time).
• Syllabi (If the revision includes the addition of new courses or the substitution of new courses for existing ones, please submit the completed syllabi at the same time the full proposal is submitted so that AAC can consider the complete revision. This will expedite the review and approval process and allow Wheelock to submit materials to the Provost curriculum portal immediately following an AAC approval).

2. Proposer submits all required forms above to the program director for review by program faculty. If approved by the program,

3. Program director submits materials to the department chair for review by department faculty. If revisions are needed, revisions should be made promptly and resubmitted for review. If approved by the department,

4. Department chair submits all required forms as Word documents to the AAC by email at buwedaac@bu.edu. Attach and label documents carefully to an email. Please do not send a link to a Google drive of unlabeled documents. The Provost’s portal does not accept links to Google drives at this time, and it takes twice as long to download and relabel documents. Please note that the materials must be submitted one week before the AAC’s posted meeting dates. If revisions are needed, revisions should be made promptly and resubmitted for review. If approved by the AAC,

5.The associate dean for academic affairs uploads materials to the University’s Curriculum Portal for Provost Office review. The materials will be reviewed by the University’s Undergraduate Academic Programs & Policies (UAPP) Committee or the Graduate Academic Programs & Policies (GAPP) committee, depending on the level of the proposal and by both for combined degree proposals.
Note: The faculty fellow assigned to UAPP or GAPP may reach out to the proposer to seek additional information or revision. Faculty Fellows prepare materials for University review. Passage of your proposal by the College’s AAC does not guarantee university approval.

6. Proposer, the associate dean for academic affairs, or both will be asked to attend a hearing of the UAPP or GAPP Committee. The proposer will be asked to provide a brief overview of the proposal and to answer any questions or address any concerns the University Committee may have related to the proposal.

7. If the proposal is approved, the University will notify the associate dean for academic affairs, who will notify the proposer, department chair, AAC chair, and the director of Data & Enrollment Management so that the change can be implemented in BU’s registration systems and in the Bulletin.

Approval Flow: Program > Department > AAC > Faculty Assembly > BU’s Provost’s Office and either the Undergraduate Academic Programs and Policies (UAPP) Committee or the Graduate Academic Programs and Policies (GAPP) Committee (depending on program level) > BU Faculty Council

Note: Minors do not need University approval, but the University’s Undergraduate Academic Programs & Policies (UAPP) Committee needs to be notified that the new minor exists once it is approved by the AAC. It is important to share the information for accurate inclusion in the University’s Bulletin.

Initial Step: For new degrees, minors, and graduate certificate programs, preliminary discussions should be conducted with the associate dean for academic affairs. The ADAA will consult with the dean to determine if the proposal aligns with the College’s strategic plan and Guide Star and considers both market demand and budgetary implications.

When proposing a new master’s degree program, the proposer is required to submit a market analysis. The proposer may request a report through BU’s Burning Glass subscription or pay for an independent market analysis to be conducted through the proposer’s school or college.

Once given the go-ahead to proceed, the following steps should be followed:
1. Proposer completes all required New Program Forms that are accessible through the Provost’s Curriculum Portal. These forms include the following:

• Academic Component
• Budget
  A proposer may make an appointment with BU Wheelock’s assistant dean of finance & administration if in need of assistance with creating a detailed budget that is required for graduate programs. If proposing an undergraduate program, a proposer may submit a budget statement as a Word document, because undergraduate programs at BU are centralized. Consider costs associated with new or part-time faculty, field supervision, converting courses to online, increased enrollment over time, and other expenses.
• Degree Advice
• Library Impact Statement
  Must be sent to the Wheelock librarian at the Pickering Educational Resource Library. Pickering staff will complete the statement and return it to the proposer. (It is important to plan for library resources that reflect the new academic program being proposed.)
• Burning Glass Market & Competitor Analysis Request Form
• Global Activity Component (submit only if the proposal has a global component)
• Distance Education Component (submit only if the proposal has an online component)
• Cognate Letters
  Required if the program proposal has an impact or a potential impact on other programs within the College or University. Cognate letters are also important to obtain from the dean of the proposing college and from others in support of the proposal (including community stakeholders). If the proposal depends on courses offered by other BU schools or colleges, a cognate letter from those schools must be included, indicating that seats will be reserved for Wheelock students. The ADAA can assist the proposer in liaising with other administrators across the University to seek cognate letters and inquire about available seats.

2. Proposer submits completed forms in Word format (rather than PDF, for ease in editing and providing track changes) to the Program Director for review by program faculty. If revisions are needed, revisions should be made promptly and resubmitted for review. If approved by the program,3. Program director submits materials to the department chair for review by department faculty. If revisions are needed, revisions should be made promptly and resubmitted for review. If approved by the department,4. Department chair submits proposal and all required documents to the AAC by email at buwedaac@bu.edu. Note: The proposal and all accompanying materials must be submitted one week before the AAC’s posted meeting dates. If revisions are needed, revisions should be made promptly and resubmitted for review. If approved by the AAC,5. The AAC chair sends the proposal to the Faculty Assembly chair for inclusion in the next meeting for a vote. If approved by the Faculty Assembly,6. The associate dean for academic affairs submits the proposal and all related documents to the Provost’s Curriculum Portal on behalf of BU Wheelock.

Approval Flow: Program > Undergraduate Director > Department > AAC > BU General Education Committee (GEC)

Note: If the new course will be required in an existing degree program, then the proposer must also complete a Change to an Existing Degree proposal.

1. Proposer completes the Pre-Approval Form: Develop a New Course or Revise an Existing Oneto begin the process.

2. Proposer prepares a comprehensive course syllabus. Proposer reads and reviews the BU Hub resources carefully and includes the most updated syllabus statements. (Word documents are preferred for ease in providing required or suggested track changes.)

3. In Courseleaf, proposer completes the Course Proposal Form and uploads the course syllabus to Courseleaf.

Note: Proposer should click “SAVE.” Please do not click “SAVE AND SUBMIT” until the AAC approves the course.

4. Proposer downloads the Courseleaf Course Proposal Form as a PDF file and submits both the Courseleaf Course Proposal Form and the course syllabus to the program director for review by the program faculty. For new undergraduate courses for the new major, submit both files to the director of Undergraduate Program. If revisions are requested by the program or by the director of Undergraduate Program, they should be made promptly in Courseleafand on the syllabus. When approved, proceed to the next step.

5. Program director submits the Courseleaf Course Proposal Form and course syllabus to the department chair for review by the department. If revisions are requested by the department, they should be made promptly in Courseleaf and on the syllabus. When approved, proceed to the next step.

6. Department chair submits the Courseleaf Course Proposal Form and course syllabus to the AAC by email to buwedaac@bu.edu. If revisions are requested by the AAC, they should be made promptly in Courseleafand on the syllabus, and both documents should be resubmitted for final approval by the AAC. When approved, the proposer should upload the final clean version of the course syllabus to Courseleaf.

Approval Flow: Professional Development Proposer > Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA) > Provost’s Approval > Proposer’s submission of participants’ information > Generation of PDP certificates

1. Proposer completes Application for Professional Development Points (PDPs).

2. Proposer sends completed application with required attachments to the associate dean for academic affairs for pre-review and approval.

3. The ADAA reviews the application and seeks Provost-level approval on behalf of the proposer. If more information is needed or revisions are requested, the ADAA will seek revisions or additional information from the proposer.

4. When the final proposal is approved, and after the Professional Development program has occurred, the proposer sends a spreadsheet of participants’ names, emails, and hours of participation/attendance to the ADAA and the ADAA’s designated assistant.

5. The associate deans’ administrative coordinator and the ADAA (if there is significant volume) generates individual PDP certificates for each participant and sends them electronically to the participants and the proposer.

Note: Depending on the number of participants, the generation of certificates can take up to one week to process. Please plan accordingly.

Approval Flow: Program > Department > Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Please use this form to make the following types of changes:

• Change of course title
• Change in course number (Please consult with the Director of Data & Enrollment Management for appropriate course codes. The director will work with you to assign unused codes that match the level of the course). Do not submit a course with XXX to AAC.
• Change in course description
• Change in offering pattern
• Change in delivery type (in-person to online)
• Change in existing course to add hub units

Please keep this form in PDF format; (if passed on to several people for signatures and saved in formats other than PDF, the form will not be readable).

1. Proposer completes the Course Change Form 2022

2. Proposer submits the form to the program director for review by the program. If approved,

3. Program director submits the form to the department chair for review. If approved,

4. Department chair submits the form to the AAC by email: buwedaac@bu.edu. Note: The AAC does not need to review a course change. The AAC email address is used to promote a centralized way to collect all curricular changes. A course change may be submitted to the email at any time and does not need to be submitted a week in advance. If approved,

5. The associate dean for academic affairs will communicate the change to the director of Data & Enrollment Management/Registrar, who will update the change(s) to the University’s course inventory and Bulletin using the information provided on the form.

To be completed before developing a new course or revising an existing one.
Pre-Approval Form

To be completed after a new course or course revision is approved by the AAC.
Submit Approved Course Syllabus for Payment