New course proposals
When planning a new course, please follow this process:
- Contact the Collections Librarian for Bundoora, or your Campus Librarian at all regional campuses, to informally discuss a new course while it is still in its planning stages, or to alert the Library to a course offered at a new campus.
- You should also contact your Subject Librarian early on, to discuss the resources and services required for new or changed units for such courses.
- Send the completed course proformas, e.g. "Proforma- proposal for course approval and accreditation" and "Proforma- proposal for an existing course to be approved for offer on another campus (including off shore)" to the University Librarian's secretary.
- The Library will then review the impact the new course will have on collections and services.
- The University Librarian will send a letter outlining the Library impact of the new course.
- The normal turnaround time for the Library to respond is 7 working days from receipt by the University Librarian's secretary.
- Under 2.2.3 of the course proforma add "Please refer to the attached letter from the University Librarian" and attach the letter from the University Librarian as an appendix to the document. Forward the completed document to your relevant Faculty committee(s).
About the Library and new course proposals
The key objectives of the University are to be an internationally acknowledged centre for teaching, training, scholarship and research and to prepare students for the various needs and challenges of work and society. The Library is aligned with these aims, and therefore seeks to ensure that students and staff of La Trobe University, wherever they are located, have access to information resources appropriate to their learning, teaching and/or research needs. This is usually accomplished through a mixture of physical collections and online access, complemented by document delivery and reciprocal arrangements with other libraries.
The development of new undergraduate, professional and postgraduate courses, both locally and off shore, provides significant opportunities for the University, but can also have significant lead times and budget implications for the Library. It requires careful planning and proactive ordering to develop the collection, so that resources and services are in place when students enrol.
Through the University Librarian's office, Library staff review all new course proposal proformas, to:
- assess if the print and audiovisual collection is adequate at the relevant campus(es), and if any specific areas need to be targeted for collection development
- provide an appropriate mix of resources which complement the learning styles of students and the requirements of teaching staff
- determine if and when new print or electronic journal subscriptions are required and plan to include these in the budgeting for the relevant year
- plan for the likely impact on electronic reserve, interlibrary loan and document delivery - both staffing and external charges
- determine if the electronic resources are available on the relevant campuses, or off campus, and have the appropriate licence and concurrent usage levels
- advise about Library opening hours, especially for summer or block mode delivery
- determine the information skills needs of the students in the course and how they are to be delivered.
Through this analysis, the University Librarian is able to respond officially via a letter to section 2.2.3 "Library Implications", of the new course proforma. The University Librarian's letter can then be attached to the proforma before it is forwarded to the relevant Faculty and University Academic Committees.
Contact your Campus Librarian, or the Collections Librarian, if you have any questions.