Course and Program Approval From First Proposal to Catalog Entry
Kissflow takes a new course or degree program from a one-page proposal through eligibility validation, multi-level committee and dean approval, and a live status dashboard, so academic affairs can see every proposal in the pipeline instead of reconstructing where each one stands from separate email threads.
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A new course starts as a proposal and ends, months later, as a catalog line nobody remembers approving
A department wants to launch a new course, or a provost's office wants to approve a new minor. The proposal moves through curriculum committee, an academic senate subcommittee, and often a state or system-level review, each with its own eligibility standard and its own timeline. By the time it reaches the catalog, the reasoning behind approval, and the conditions attached to it, are scattered across meeting minutes nobody indexed.
The live version of this page reads as a template for submitting one proposal. It does not validate eligibility before a proposal reaches committee, does not show academic affairs where every proposal in the pipeline currently stands, and keeps no dashboard of what is stuck and where.
Kissflow rebuilds it as a working app: an eligibility check at intake, multi-level approval with notification and escalation at each stage, a full record and audit trail for every proposal, and a status dashboard for academic affairs to see the whole pipeline at once. Your catalog and SIS stay the system of record for the published program; Kissflow is where the proposal earns its place there.
What breaks when new course and program approval runs on email threads
No eligibility check before committee
A proposal missing required elements reaches committee anyway, wasting a review cycle on something that was never ready.
No pipeline visibility
Academic affairs cannot see how many proposals are in flight or which ones are stalled without asking each committee directly.
Escalation depends on someone remembering
A proposal that stalls at one committee has no automatic nudge to move it forward.
The catalog entry loses its justification
By the time a course appears in the catalog, the approval conditions attached to it are hard to trace back.
Six modules. Built for how a new course or program actually earns catalog approval.
Every module ships with default forms, routing, and dashboards. Configure each one to your institution's review levels in the visual builder.
Proposal intake and eligibility check
Validates that a submission has the required elements, learning outcomes, staffing plan, resource justification, before it reaches committee.
Multi-level committee and dean approval
Routes through curriculum committee, academic senate, and dean or provost sign-off in the sequence your governance requires.
Notification and escalation
Reviewers are notified at each stage, and a stalled proposal escalates automatically after a set number of days.
Record and audit trail
Every review decision and its rationale is tied to the specific proposal, searchable long after the meeting ends.
Status dashboard
Academic affairs sees every proposal in the pipeline, by stage, without asking each committee for an update.
Catalog entry handoff
An approved proposal moves into a tracked catalog entry request, keeping the approval and the published listing linked.
From request to system of record in four steps
Submit
A department submits a new course or program proposal with the eligibility elements the review requires.
Review
The intake check confirms required elements are present before the proposal reaches committee.
Approve
The proposal routes through curriculum committee, senate, and dean or provost sign-off, with escalation if a stage stalls.
Record
An approved proposal moves into the catalog entry workflow with its full review trail attached.
What changes when new course and program approval runs on Kissflow
| Process | Before Kissflow | On Kissflow |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal readiness | Incomplete proposals reach committee anyway | Eligibility is validated before committee review starts |
| Pipeline visibility | Academic affairs asks each committee for status | A single dashboard shows every proposal by stage |
| Stalled proposals | No prompt until someone follows up directly | Automatic escalation after a set number of days |
| Decision record | Scattered across meeting minutes | Tied to the proposal, searchable by course or program |
| Catalog linkage | Approval conditions get lost by publication | Catalog entry request carries the full approval trail |
| Reviewer notification | Manual reminders from committee staff | Automatic notification at every stage change |
Connects to your catalog system and SIS; Banner and Workday stay the system of record
Kissflow does not replace Banner, Workday, Ellucian, or your state or system-level program approval portal. It is the governed layer that manages the internal review before a proposal reaches those systems.
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Built for how a proposal actually becomes a catalog entry
Eligibility checked before committee time is spent
Incomplete proposals get flagged at intake instead of wasting a review cycle.
One dashboard for the whole pipeline
Academic affairs stops chasing status from each committee separately.
Live in weeks
Academic affairs configures intake, routing, and dashboards in the visual builder, without a systems project.
An ERP-adjacent approval layer
Your catalog and SIS stay the system of record for the published course or program. Kissflow holds the review trail behind it.
Escalation that does not wait for a nudge
A stalled proposal moves automatically instead of sitting until someone asks.
Approval and catalog entry stay linked
The conditions a committee attached to approval travel with the proposal into the catalog entry request.
Related apps
Curriculum Change and Approval Management System
The parallel path for modifying an existing course, rather than launching a new one.
Field Testing and Curriculum Adoption Management System
The pilot stage some institutions run before submitting a formal new-course proposal.
Inter-Department Academic Coordination Management System
Coordinates the cross-department work a new joint program or shared course often requires.
We help academic affairs offices see the whole approval pipeline in one place
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See what Kissflow can do for you
Talk to usGot questions? We're here to help.
Get SupportNo. Your catalog system and any state or system-level review portal stay the system of record for the official listing. Kissflow manages the internal proposal, eligibility check, and committee approval that happens before a proposal reaches those systems.
This app governs a brand-new course or program, from proposal through eligibility check and multi-level committee approval to catalog entry. Curriculum Change and Approval governs a modification to something already in the catalog, like a prerequisite or grading scale change, a lighter-weight process.
Required elements set by your institution, typically learning outcomes, a staffing plan, and a resource justification, are validated at intake so committees are not reviewing incomplete submissions.
Yes. A status dashboard shows every proposal by stage, so academic affairs does not need to ask each committee separately for an update.
Escalation rules move it to the next level or notify a designated backup after a set number of days, configurable per stage.
Yes. Intake eligibility rules, committee routing, and dashboards are configured in the visual builder, and the AI Builder can generate a starting workflow from a description of your review levels.
Yes. An approved proposal moves into a tracked catalog entry request, so the conditions attached to approval stay linked to the published listing.
Yes. Kissflow is certified to SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, and ISO/IEC 27001, supports HECVAT review, and role-based access keeps committee deliberation visible only to the reviewers involved.
