2023-2024 Catalog Editing Process

Below is an outline of deadlines and editing processes for building the 2023-2024 University Catalog.

Deadlines:

For academic departments: (e.g. Economics or History, etc.) Review your pages by Friday, February 17, in preparation of fall registration (important deadline). Changes will be accepted after this date; however, a final review should be made by June 15. If an academic department has substantive changes to make to a major/minor or a course, these should be submitted to C&D as soon as possible.

For administrative departments: (e.g. University Facilities or Student Affairs, etc.) Review your pages and make initial changes by Friday, February 17; however, you may submit updates as late as June 15. If the new incoming first-year students are reviewing your pages, updates should be submitted earlier in the spring.

Academic departments work on C&D proposals for changes to majors/minors and new courses with the goal to have all changes approved by C&D in January and the faculty in February.

~ Friday, January 20: The draft version of the 2023-2024 university catalog is posted to catalog.wlu.edu for review (be sure to choose 2023-2024 University Catalog [UNDER REVIEW]). 

~ Monday, January 23: Editors are sent an e-mail with links to catalog pages and instructions.

~ Tuesday, January 24: Deadline to submit to C&D any final new courses or curricular changes to majors and minors. Also, submit courses to delete from the catalog to C&D in advance of the February faculty meeting.

~ Friday, February 17: This is the initial deadline, especially critical for academic departments and programs, for submitting edits to the catalog pages in order to have materials ready for the Fall 2023 registration in late March/early April. Administrative offices can turn in changes past this date, but the earlier in the spring the better.

~ Beyond February 17: Changes submitted later in the term will still appear in the final catalog as long as they are approved by the late-May faculty meeting or, for general text changes (listing of faculty and new hires, administrative information), provided to us before the end of June.

~ By June 15: All academic and administrative departments are asked to take a final review of the 2023-2024 catalog to be sure that faculty hires, changes in rank, and other course and curriculum changes approved during winter and spring have been incorporated.

~ July 15, 2023: Snap-shot of the 2023-2024 catalog is taken for the record and for printed copies.

Who Edits What?

An email will be sent to each primary academic or administrative editor around Monday, January 23, identifying the sections they need to review. Please review any text for which you have responsibility. Also, you may use the catalog editors spreadsheet to filter on your name and see the portions for which you are responsible.

Academic Departments and Programs: How to review your majors/minors and courses

Start with the lists of links noted in the email or spreadsheet and thoroughly review the following:

    1. Proof your department or program page - review faculty listings
    2. Review the requirements of each major and minor, and
    3. Review the specific courses listed within the department or program.  This is the opportunity to update course information - prerequisites or non-substantive changes to the catalog description, and who is teaching the course.

Changes approved by C&D through the year should be accurately reflected in policies, major and minor requirements, and course descriptions. However, this is the opportunity to proof all previous edits and submit corrections if something appears wrong or appears to be missed. It happens!

How to Submit your Edits

Changes should be submitted directly to the University Registrar's Office in one of the formats bulleted below. For academic programs, changes approved by actions of the faculty have been transferred into the text by the Univ Reg staff for your confirmation. Non-substantive changes (e.g., term and year offered, prerequisites, minor changes to course descriptions, faculty teaching the course) may be submitted directly to the University Registrar's office in one of the formats bulleted below. Substantive changes must be approved by C&D.

When reviewing your section, you may click the Print-Friendly Page link at the top-right of the catalog webpage. Academic programs may also 'Expand All Courses' on the Print-Friendly Page to review course descriptions. Then you may submit your edits in one of the following ways:

  • PREFERRED METHOD: copy and paste your 'print-friendly' catalog sections into a Word document and make your changes using "Review," "Track Changes," or simply highlight to show strike-outs and insertions so we may see what changes have been made. Highlighting only precisely where the changes are to be made is important so that we know what to change. Otherwise, edits will be missed. For best copy and paste results, open your catalog in Chrome or Firefox (Safari for Mac users). For course descriptions, from your department's page, click the printer icon "Print-Friendly Page" and then click "Expand all Courses" link, then copy and paste into Word. Again, in Word, turn on "Review" and "Track Changes" so all edits are clearly visible (otherwise we don't know what to change), or
  • Type up and email your edits directly to registrar@wlu.edu

Caution: When working in the 2023-2024 catalog, it may navigate back to the default 2022-2023 catalog, so be sure you are always in the right catalog!

    Questions?

    Feel free to correct the list or the catalog information by replying to this message or directly to registrar@wlu.edu and let us know if you have any questions. Or you may contact Allan Lockett directly.