Understanding the CIM Course Inventory Management form

Owned by Grace Popham (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jun 26, 2024 by Sarah Montes
4 min read

Curriculum-CIM

CIM is the Curriculum Inventory Management system where programs and courses are created, revised and submitted for approval. 

The system was implemented in Spring 2023 and was adopted by the university in the 2023-2024 academic year across Tulane’s undergraduate and graduate programs in order to ensure governance and assessment best practices are followed. ​

The system is designed to

  • track processes efficiently and accurately ​

  • generate workflows and automated notifications ​

  • promote process consistency  ​

  • house all course and program information ​

  • house curriculum reporting tool​

  • provide accountability and transparency in the development and approval of curriculum, both internally and externally 

CIM System Overview

  • Centralized forms, with cascading customization based on system ​

  • Customized & Dynamic Workflows (example below)​ 

Logging in

  1. Go to correct URL for ​

    1. https://nextcatalog.tulane.edu/courseadmin/

  2. Log in using your Tulane username and password​

    1. If you are unable to access the site, submit a Registrar Support Form, available on our website, to request access: Homepage | Tulane University - Office of the University Registrar  ​

  3. Logout: Close your browser. Remember to save your work or start workflow​

Curriculum Inventory Management

Course Inventory Management home screen where you can search for a course, edit a course or propose a new course, use quick searches drop down to only search for edited, added or inactive courses​

Search Courses

The Search function is literal (e.g. it is not like google).​

Ways to search:​

  • exact title of the course with the exact spacing ​

  • course code SOCI 1010​

  • subject code SOCI​

  • asterisk is wildcard * ​

  • you can use the *before or after* a word​

Courses Search Results

You can sort results by Course Code, Title, Workflow or Status (click the word to sort)​

'Workflow’ column displays which step the proposal is currently at for review ​

‘Status’ column indicates the type of change: Added, Edited, *Blank (course is at rest – no proposal cycling through workflow)​

An edited proposal shows Red and Green Markup that tracks edits and comments ​

Red indicates deletion; Green indicates change or new 

New Course Form

New Course button used to open a blank course form  ​

Propose from an Existing Course can be used if your new course is similar to an existing course​

New course form has all course outline  fields​

Add a New Course

  1. Click new course proposal button​

  2. IMPORTANT: Start at the top of form and work your way down​

  3. Subject area will pre-populate certain fields​

  4. Use Course Numbers in Use to find an unused catalog number​

  • Note: it is always preferable to use a new/unused catalog number. Contact the curriculum manager in the Office of the Registrar if you desire to re-use a course number that is inactive in the inventory. Course numbers can only be re-used after five years has passed.​

  1. Fields grayed out require no entry and are generally considered administrative.​

  • Note: The Registrar’s Curriculum Management team will complete these ADMIN-ONLY areas of the course proposal form on your behalf.​

  1. Mandatory fields are outlined in red​

  2. Save form by clicking ”Save Changes” at the bottom of the form to complete later​

  3. Submit to workflow when form complete​

Considerations

The Subject area is connected to School and Academic Department or Program​

The Subject area will prepopulate these fields based on the subject selected​

Submit a Registrar Support Ticket if you need a new subject area​

  • You can continue with the form, but some fields will not be available​

Not all red fields are required for a save but they are for workflow​

Edit Courses

Choose the course to edit​

Preview of the course displays​

Very basic formatting but has all of the course outline fields​

This is not the way the course description will appear in the catalog, from the perspective of font, etc. ​

Courseleaf/Curriculum Eco-System

EcoSystem: ​

  • All references of where the course is in another program or course ​

    • Programs that reference this course​

    • Other courses that reference this course as a prerequisite​

    • Course Descriptions that reference this course​

  • Banner SIS​

  • Catalog​

  • Note: Outside of CIM, but connected: ​

    • Courseleaf CLSS Scheduling​

    • Degree Works​

Edit Courses

  1. Select course to edit​

  2. Review eco-system to see potential impacts this course change may have on other programs or courses​

  3. Click on the edit button to begin change proposal​

  4. Select change type ​

  5. Start at top of form and work your way down​

  6. Save form to complete later​

  7. Submit to workflow when form complete​

Considerations & Reminders

Certain fields will prepopulate others​

Red fields are mandatory to start workflow but not to save​

Erroneously started workflow, submit Registrar Support Ticket to request roll back to you, ​

  • or contact Sarah Montes via teams or phone 504-314-2858​

Save changes prior to submitting to workflow to review work​

Red/Green Markup records the changes to the course ​

THANK YOU!​