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Step-by-Step Guide: Understanding Your Approval Timeline
TL;DR – How to figure it out fast.

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Submitting a curricular proposal in Kuali begins a structured, multi-level review process, and we know you’re eager to know when your item will be reviewed and approved. While timelines vary across colleges, this guide will help you understand where your proposal is in the process and when to expect its full approval.

Step-by-Step Guide: Understanding Your Approval Timeline

Step 1: Understand the approval path

All curricular proposals move through multiple levels of review. While this can vary slightly, most proposals follow this sequence:

1. Department-level review(s)
2. College Curriculum Committee
3. College Dean
4. Faculty Senate Curriculum Committees (Graduate Council, Curriculum & Standards, General Education)
5. Faculty Senate (courses are fully approved at this level)
6. University President (program modifications and new certificates, minors, and specializations are approved at this level)
7. Board of Trustees (new major and degree programs are approved at this level)

Each step depends on the successful approval at the previous level.

Step 2: Know the current proposal status

All who have access to Kuali have the ability to check on the status of every proposal currently under review. To find the current workflow status:

1. Open the proposal in Kuali.
   • Access it from your dashboard if you are the proposer, or
   • Search by name in the Proposals section, and use filters to refine results
2. Review the workflow status. At the top of the proposal page, the workflow status shows:
   • The current stage of approval
   • The users in the role of approving that step
3. Expand for full details. Click the expand option to the right of “Workflow Status” to view:
   • The completed approval steps, and
   • The remaining steps before final approval.

Step 3: Know the submission deadlines

Department, college, and Faculty Senate committees each have deadlines for including proposals on their meeting agendas. Faculty should consult with their department or college curriculum committees for specific deadlines at those levels of approval.

Each summer, submission deadlines are set for college deans to help ensure proposals are approved by the Faculty Senate on a predictable timeline.

Using the table below as an example: Proposals approved by College Deans by February 9 were scheduled for the late February/early March Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee meetings. If approved there, they were then presented to the Faculty Senate for approval at the March 12 meeting.

Spring 2026 Submission Deadlines and Expected Faculty Senate Approval Timeline

College Dean Submission Due Date	Graduate Council, Curriculum & Standards, and General Education Committee Meetings	Faculty Senate Meeting
February 9, 2026	GC: March 2, 2026 CASC: February 25, 2026 GEC: February 26, 2026	March 12, 2026
March 16, 2026	GC: April 6, 2026 CASC: April 2, 2026 GEC: April 1, 2026	April 16, 2026
April 6, 2026	GC: — CASC: April 23, 2026 GEC: April 22, 2026	May 7, 2026

The full AY 2025-2026 Curriculum Calendar can be found here.

Step 4: Factor in Revisions

Many proposals require revisions during the review process. The following meeting results can impact your approval timeline:

• Tabled: The committee needs additional information before making a decision. Once the requested information is provided, the proposal will be reviewed again at the next meeting.
• Contingently Approved: The proposal is approved pending minor revisions or clarifications. No additional committee review is required. Once the conditions are met, the proposal will move to the next step.
• Sent Back: The proposal requires substantial revisions. It must be updated and resubmitted, at which point it will re-enter the workflow from the beginning.

Step 5: Track Your Proposal Status

Proposal statuses can be tracked by logging into Kuali and expanding the workflow, or by searching for items that have been fully approved by the college in the Proposal Tracker.

Please note: The proposal tracker is updated manually by the Faculty Senate Office and is not automated. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, occasional errors may occur and are typically corrected after each Faculty Senate meeting. For the most up-to-date status, please check Kuali.

Step 6: Final Check

By the Monday prior to each monthly Faculty Senate meeting, the Faculty Senate Office distributes the Senate agenda to all faculty.
This agenda includes reports from the Graduate Council, Curriculum & Standards Committee, and General Education Committee, which are voted on during the meeting.

If your proposal has been approved by a committee but does not appear on the agenda, please contact the committee chair or the Faculty Senate Office. Reports are prepared manually, and with a high volume of proposals each month, occasional errors may occur. These are typically resolved quickly.

Course Proposals after the Senate Meeting

The integration between Kuali and PeopleSoft is not immediate, can take several days, and requires review by Enrollment Services to ensure all information migrated accurately. Please allow up to two weeks after the Senate Meeting for new courses and course modifications to appear in eCampus.

Program Proposals after the Senate Meeting

TL;DR

How to figure it out fast:

1. Open the proposal in Kuali
2. Look at the workflow status
3. Compare it to the current year’s approval timeline