Tips for the Course Proposal Form

  • Cross-listing: Cross-listing requires the course to carry the prefix and number from another department or program. Indicate any department or program in which the course is to be cross-listed, and specify the cross-listed department/program and number. Please provide a rationale for cross-listing the course. Courses are very rarely cross-listed.
  • Scheduling: Indicate the frequency with which the department anticipates that the course will be offered, and identify courses intended only for summer or otherwise planned for special scheduling. If a course is to be offered only once, please indicate the term.
  • Prerequisites: If “permission of the instructor” is required for students to enroll, enter this requirement as a prerequisite, and state specifically what academically germane criteria will be used to permit enrollment.
  • Course Number: The course number should reflect the level of students for whom the course has primarily been designed. This does not prevent either more advanced students or qualified lower-level students from enrolling.
  • Grading: It is assumed that the standard grading pattern will be employed in the course proposed: letter grade or Pass/Fail at the student’s option. If a mandatory Pass/Fail system will be used, full justification must be provided. In general, only such activities as clinical experience or student teaching, where letter grades are impractical, should employ mandatory Pass/Fail grading. If In-Progress (IP) is to be used, a full explanation must be provided. IP grading should be used only where completion of the course requirements is designed to extend beyond the end of the semester. It should not be used interchangeably with the Incomplete grade.

 

About the Cover Form

Cover Forms for all Cores are located in this Google Share Drive. 

In lieu of a narrative cover letter, the Curriculum Committee asks faculty to complete the appropriate Cover Form (a fillable PDF) which asks the submitter to address that Core requirement's specific guidelines. This should be submitted with the syllabus through the appropriate form (New Course or Course Change forms, depending on whether the course is new or the Core attribute is being requested for an existing course). 

Links to these forms and submission deadlines can be found on the Curriculum Committee's Guidelines & Forms page.

  • The cover form asks submitters to address how the course fulfills the rubric of the Experiential Learning core. If the course is also being submitted for consideration for a different Core category as well, please address those rubrics through a separate cover form.
  • Core rubrics consists of “Learning Objectives” and “Guidelines.” As highlighted below, the Curriculum Committee evaluates and approves Core courses based on their adherence to the Guidelines, not the Learning Objectives.

    From "University Core Requirements — Detailed" in the Undergraduate Programs and Degrees section of the University Bulletin:

    Each core rubric consists of two sections, “Learning Objectives” and “Guidelines.” Faculty have developed the Guidelines section to achieve the particular Learning Objectives of the core rubric and, more broadly, the university’s educational goals. The Guidelines are intended to be used by faculty to develop core courses and the Curriculum Committee to review core courses. The Learning Objectives are intended to provide a clear statement to students of what they can expect to learn from any given core area. Although the Learning Objectives will assist the faculty in developing Core courses and meeting the Core area’s spirit, the Curriculum Committee will evaluate and approve Core courses based on their adherence to the Guidelines, not the Learning Objectives.

About the Syllabus

Submit a syllabus for the course that includes:

  • Clear enumeration of student learning outcomes
  • Statement that the course counts towards the Experiential Learning requirement
  • Outline of content and schedule of coursework
  • Student requirements (reading, assignments, written work, projects, etc.), including brief descriptions of major assignments and projects
  • Evaluation criteria and grading structure (as appropriate)
  • Bibliography
  • Required course material
  • Statement of policies regarding Academic Integrity (this statement is developed by the course proposer)
  • Required Syllabus Inserts

An incomplete syllabus may delay the course proposal review.  If a syllabus does not contain all of the items listed above, please provide a brief explanation in the cover letter.

 

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING RUBRIC

Learning Objectives

Students satisfying the Experiential Learning requirement will

  • engage in direct experiences outside the traditional classroom, teaching laboratory, and teaching studio that allow them to integrate theory and practice in real-world contexts
  • reflect on how these direct experiences have shaped their academic growth and understanding of self, others, or the world
  • utilize flexible and sophisticated problem-solving skills to address unscripted problems

Guidelines

Courses that fulfill the Experiential Learning requirement

  • require students to spend at least 10 hours outside the traditional classroom, teaching laboratory, and teaching studio on course-related activities
  • require students to reflect in documented ways at appropriate intervals throughout the course
  • require students to apply ideas, theories, and skills to non-simulated, real-world situations
  • foster student agency through the independent navigation of ambiguous or indeterminate situations, requiring students to take initiative, make decisions, and learn from mistakes, successes, and consequences of decisions.
  • utilize experiential components of the course as central elements of overall course design and assessment of student performance

These courses may also fulfill other program or graduation requirements.