We encourage faculty to propose courses that not only enrich our offerings but also provide students with fresh and innovative learning experiences. From foundational permanent courses, which form the backbone of our catalog and can be required for degree plans, to agile pop-up and Special Topic courses designed to infuse emerging industry trends and skills, our faculty have the flexibility to shape the educational landscape.
Honors courses foster academic rigor and critical inquiry in collaboration with the university's Honors College. Education Abroad courses provide immersive international experiences, exposing students to diverse cultures, languages and global perspectives. As faculty, your proposals contribute to the vibrancy and relevance of our curriculum, ensuring that we equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for success in the ever-evolving field of journalism and mass communications.
Proposal Deadlines
To ensure thorough consideration by the appropriate university committees, offices, and units, all course proposals must adhere to the specified deadlines outlined below.
| Date | Pop-Up | Special Topics | Honors Course | Ed Abroad Course | |
| Concept | Final Proposal | ||||
| Monday, July 15, 2024 | Winter 2025 | Winter 2025; Spring 2025 | Spring 2025 | ||
| Sunday, September 1, 2024 | Spring 2025 | AY 25-26 | Spring 2026 | Summer 2025 | |
| Wednesday, January 15, 2025 | Fall 2025 | Fall 2025 | Summer 2026 | Fall 2025 | |
| Tuesday, July 15, 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2026 | ||
| Monday, September 1, 2025 | Spring 2026 | AY 26-27 | Spring 2027 | Summer 2026 | |
| Thursday, January 15, 2026 | Summer 2026, Fall 2026 | Summer 2026, Fall 2026 | Summer 2027 | Fall 2026 | |
| Wednesday, July 15, 2026 | Spring 2027 | Fall 2027 | Spring 2027 | ||
| Tuesday, September 1, 2026 | Spring 2027 | AY 27-28 | Spring 2028 | Summer 2027 | |
| Friday, January 15, 2027 | Summer 2027, Fall 2027 | Summer 2027, Fall 2027 | Summer 2028 | Fall 2027 | |
| Thursday, July 15, 2027 | Spring 2028 | Fall 2028 | Spring 2028 | ||
| Wednesday, September 1, 2027 | Spring 2028 | AY 28-29 | Spring 2029 | Summer 2028 | |
| Saturday, January 15, 2028 | Summer 2028, Fall 2028 | Summer 2028, Fall 2028 | Summer 2029 | Fall 2028 | |
| Saturday, July 15, 2028 | Spring 2029 | Fall 2029 | Spring 2029 | ||
| Friday, September 1, 2028 | Spring 2029 | AY 29-30 | Spring 2030 | Summer 2029 | |
| Monday, January 15, 2029 | Summer 2029, Fall 2029 | Summer 2029, Fall 2029 | Summer 2030 | Fall 2029 | |
| Sunday, July 15, 2029 | Spring 2030 | Fall 2030 | Spring 2030 | ||
| Saturday, September 1, 2029 | Spring 2030 | AY 30-31 | Spring 2031 | Summer 2030 | |
Course Proposal Guidelines
| Pop-Up | Special Topics | Winter Session (2025 will be last winter session) | Honors | Ed Abroad | Permanent Class | |
| What is it? | A pop-up class is a one-credit-hour class offered outside the normal university semester calendar. | A special topics class is a three-credit-hour course offered during the regular academic semester on a topic not currently offered in the approved curriculum. | A winter session class is offered during an abbreviated session between the fall and spring semesters. Due to the limited time frame (three weeks), winter session classes are typically one-credit-hour pop-up classes. | Honors courses are three-credit hour courses offered during the regular 16-week semester. 100-level seminar courses are limited to students to honors students, 200 and 300 level courses are open to honors and non-honors students. | An Ed Abroad course is a credit-bearing class (between 1 and 3 credit hours) that travels internationally as part of the academic experience. | A course approved by the college faculty that has a permanent and unique course number. Permanent courses appear in the college catalog and can be either required or elective courses in the curriculum. |
| What are the goals of these courses? | Pop-up classes are intended to provide students the opportunity to learn about a trending topic, gain skills in emerging technology, or learn from renowned industry professionals. | Special Topics classes are intended to provide faculty with the opportunity to experiment with new courses that could be included in the regular curriculum or take advantage of timely circumstances. | Winter session classes should help students apply emerging skills and knowledge in a career-oriented context, prep for upper-level curricula or explore topics related to the Grand Challenges. | Honors courses offer rigorous coursework focused on challenging students via complex thinking and deep learning. Students are encouraged to push themselves beyond earning a good grade into authentic learning. Courses are offered at the 100, 200 and 300 levels. | Ed Abroad courses offer students the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture to enhance their understanding of media and communications in a global society. | The goals of permanent courses are to provide students with a necessary and up-to-date education that will provide them with a foundation for careers in journalism and mass communications. |
| How many times can a course be offered? | There is no limit to the number of times a pop-up can be offered. However, after three offerings, the CoJMC curriculum committee will evaluate the course and determine if it needs to be part of the regular curriculum. | A special topics course can be offered up to three times before it must be reviewed for regular status by the appropriate curriculum committee. | Winter session courses can be courses in the regular curriculum, which have no limit on offerings. They can also be pop-up and special topics courses that follow the limits for those course types. | There is no limit to the number of times a course can be offered. All honors courses are ACE-certified. The topics for 100-level honors seminars vary by semester and must meet the existing ACE learning outcomes. 200 and 300-level honors courses undergo the regular curriculum process to become permanent courses. | If the ed abroad course is offered as a special topics course, it can be offered up to three times before it must be reviewed by the curriculum committee for permanent status. If the course has permanent status, there is no limit to the number of times it can be offered. | There is no limit to the number of times a permanent course can be offered. |
| How long must a class be? | Pop-up classes can be scheduled in a variety of ways – over a weekend, three hours one day a week for five weeks, one hour a week for 15 weeks, etc. The format for scheduling the course is up to the instructor. However, the contact hours and expectations of student work must meet the university’s accrediting requirements = 15 contact hours, 45 student work hours outside class. | Special topics courses are scheduled during either the regular 16-week semester or the second 8-week/second 8-week session of the regular semester. Summer topics are scheduled during one of the regular summer sessions. Contact hours must meet university accrediting requirements for a three-credit hour course. | Winter session courses are scheduled over the course of the established winter session and must meet the university’s accrediting requirements of 15 contact hours and 45 student work hours outside class per credit hour. | The class is three credit hours offered during the regular 16-week semester. | Ed Abroad classes can be offered for 1 to 3 credit hours with variable schedules depending on the needs of the program. They can be offered during the academic year or summer (most common). | Permanent courses can be zero to six credit hours, are typically offered during a regular term - both academic year and summer and adhere to the university scheduling grid. |
| What is the payment? | Faculty or professionals teaching pop-up classes are paid $1,200 per pop-up. If the pop-up course is team-taught, the $1,200 will be divided equally among all the instructors. Regular faculty who teach a pop-up class are paid on overload. Pop-ups will no longer be counted as part of a faculty member’s regular load. | Special topics classes are counted as part of a regular faculty member's teaching load during the academic year. Lecturer/ts and external partners are paid the standard rate of $4,000 for a special topics course. Pay for summer session courses follows the standard college summer pay policy. If the course is team-taught, compensation will be divided equally among the instructors. | For one-credit-hour pop-up courses, all faculty will be paid a flat fee of $1,200 per credit hour on overload. For special topics or regular courses, all faculty are paid 2.8% of base salary per credit hour, up to a maximum of $8,000 for a 3-credit-hour course. Winter session courses are not counted in faculty load. | Honors classes are counted as part of a regular faculty member's teaching load during the academic year. Lecturer/ts and external partners are paid the standard rate of $4,000 for an honors course. Pay for summer session courses follows the standard college summer pay policy. If the course is team-taught, compensation will be divided equally among the instructors. | Ed Abroad courses are counted as part of a regular faculty member's teaching load during the academic year. Lecturers, lecturer/ts and external partners are paid the standard rate of $4,000 for an honors course. Pay for summer session courses follows the standard college summer pay policy. If the course is team-taught, compensation will be divided equally among the instructors. | Permanent are counted as part of a regular faculty member's teaching load during the academic year. Lecturer/ts and external partners are paid the standard rate of $4,000 for an honors course. Pay for summer session courses follows the standard college summer pay policy. If the course is team-taught, compensation will be divided equally among the instructors. |
| What are the proposal deadlines? | Pop-up proposals must be submitted by the date published by the college. | Special topic proposals must be submitted by the date published by the college. | Winter session proposals must be submitted by the date published by the college. | Honors course proposals must be submitted by the date published by the college. | Ed Abroad course proposals must be submitted by the date published by the college. | Permanent courses can be proposed at any time. |
| What are the syllabus requirements? | All classes must meet UNL and CoJMC accrediting requirements, which include a fully developed syllabus that includes all university and college-required elements. The CoJMC syllabus template is available here. | |||||
| Are student evaluations required? | Student evaluations are not conducted in pop-up classes. | Student evaluations are required and will be administered using the University’s student evaluation system, Evaluation Kit. | ||||
| What can be offered? | Pop-up courses must meet one of the three goals set for the course: Focus on a current industry trend Enhance skill in an emerging technology Be taught by a renowned professional with deep skill in a particular area | Faculty are free to propose any topic they feel would be timely or could lead to a regular course within the curriculum. | Winder session classes must meet one of the three goals set for the session: Apply emerging skills/knowledge in a career-oriented context Prep for upper-level courses in the curricula Explore topics related to the Grand Challenges | The goals of honors courses vary by level. Review the 100, 200 and 300 level goals. | Faculty are free to propose an ed abroad course on any topic that will enhance the curriculum. Travel locations are limited by federal law and university policy. | Faculty are free to propose a permanent course on any topic that will enhance our journalism and mass communications curriculum. |
| Who can propose a course? | Pop-up classes can be proposed by full-time or part-time faculty, alumni or professionals in the industry. | Special Topic classes can be proposed by full-time or part-time faculty, alumni or professionals in the industry. | Winter session courses can be proposed by full-time or part-time faculty. | Honors courses can be proposed by full-time or part-time faculty. | Ed Abroad courses can be proposed by full-time faculty. Team-taught courses can include part-time faculty, but the lead proposer must be a full-time faculty member in the college. | Permanent courses can be proposed by any full-time faculty member in the college. |
| Who evaluates proposals? | Pop-up proposals are reviewed and approved by the college’s course scheduling committee. All members receive copies of every proposal and have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments. | Special topic proposals are reviewed and approved by the college’s course scheduling committee. All members receive copies of every proposal and have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments. | Winter session proposals are reviewed and approved by the college’s course scheduling committee. All members receive copies of every proposal and have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments. | Honors course proposals are first reviewed by the college's course scheduling committee. Once approved by the committee, proposals are forwarded to the Honors College for final approval. If the Honors College approves the course, the Associate Dean for Academic Programs will connect the proposer with the Honors College to work through course details and required approvals. | The Ed Abroad pre-proposal is evaluated by the course scheduling committee. Once approved by the committee, the associate dean will notify the faculty member and Office of Education Abroad to proceed with a full proposal that includes a syllabus, detailed budget, travel itinerary, emergency plan, and any other documentation required by the Office of Education Abroad. The final proposal must be approved by the College Administration. | Permanent courses are approved by the relevant college curriculum committee(s), the college faculty and the UNL Undergraduate Curriculum and/or Grad Council as appropriate. |
| How are proposals evaluated? | Proposals are evaluated based on anticipated student demand, alignment with the pop-up program's goals, alignment or enhancement of the college’s curriculum, and the availability of resources. | Proposals are evaluated based on anticipated student demand, alignment or enhancement of the college’s curriculum and the availability of resources. | Proposals are evaluated based on anticipated student demand, alignment with the winter session goals, alignment or enhancement of the college’s curriculum, and the availability of resources. | Proposals are evaluated based on anticipated student demand, alignment with the goals of the honors college, enhancement of both the college and honors college's curriculum and the availability of resources. | Proposals are evaluated based on their alignment with the college's curriculum, student demand, resource availability, and the safety and security of the destination. | Proposals are evaluated by the faculty for both alignment with and enhancement of the college curriculum. |
| Is there a minimum enrollment? | There is no minimum enrollment for pop-up classes offered by invited external college partners. Pop-ups offered by college faculty, including lecturer and lecturer/t’s, must meet a minimum enrollment of eight (8) students one month before the first class date. If the enrollment minimum is not met, the course will be canceled, and students will be directed to other college course offerings. | Special topics courses follow the standard college enrollment policy and must have a minimum enrollment of 15 students by the end of priority registration for the term in which they will be offered. If the enrollment minimum is not met, the course will be canceled, and students will be redirected to other college course offerings. | Proposals to offer a one-credit-hour pop-up course during the winter session must meet a minimum enrollment of eight (8) students one month before the first class date. Special topics and regular courses follow the standard college enrollment policy and must have a minimum of 15 students by the end of fall priority registration. If the enrollment minimum is not met, the course will be canceled, and students will be redirected to other college course offerings. | Honors courses normally range between 20 and 30 students. | Minimum enrollments are determined by the cost of the experience and are set for each individual trip in consultation with the college and the Office of Education Abroad. | The minimum listed enrollment of a permanent course is 20 students (or the maximum capacity of the scheduled classroom if lower). The minimum enrollment of all courses is 15 in a given term to continue with the course offering. |