DDC Course Application Process

The Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee has the responsibility of reviewing all faculty requests for course approval into the Dearborn Discovery Core (DDC).

Faculty seeking to have a course approved for inclusion in the Dearborn Discovery Core should follow the appropriate process:

1. Existing courses requiring no curricular changes (e.g., changes to the course description, title, credit hours, etc.) may be submitted directly to the Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee using the CIM DDC Application Form.
2. New courses or existing courses requiring curricular changes must first complete the regular curriculum review and approval process within the faculty member's college. Once the course and any required changes have been approved, a DDC application may be submitted through CIM for consideration by the Dearborn Discovery Core Subcommittee.

The CIM DDC Application Form is used to request approval for a course within a specific DDC category (e.g., Writing and Communication, Quantitative Thinking and Problem Solving, Critical and Creative Thinking, etc.). Faculty should consult with their discipline/program colleagues when determining whether to propose a course for inclusion in the Dearborn Discovery Core and which DDC category is most appropriate.

A course approved for the Dearborn Discovery Core is valid for all future semesters unless that course is not offered within a two-year period or faculty fail to complete an assessment report when required to do so.

Frequently Asked Questions about the DDC and its application process

In April 2017, the DDC committee approved the following stipulation for courses in the Upper Level Writing category:

"Courses eligible for the Upper Level Writing Intensive category should have at least 50% of the graded work consist of writing assignments. Of those writing assignments, at least one assignment should require students to employ a writing process that includes revision (for example, drafts are peer reviewed and/or read and critiqued by instructor) with the expectation of producing a substantial, polished piece of writing."

The DDC committee recommends these best practices for faculty teaching Writing Intensive courses.