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Procedures: University Course Catalog Elements, Course Numbers, and Honors Designations
- Policy
- Procedures
Policy
University Course Catalog Elements
Course Numbers
Honors Course Designations
Procedures
Use these guidelines along with the policy details (listed in the above policy).
Cross-listing
The maintenance of cross-listed courses can be time-consuming, complex, and error-prone: cross-listing is not “resource-neutral.” The cross-listing of courses increases the complexity of scheduling classes and will add to staff workload. This should be taken into consideration when proposals for cross-listing are considered. Tangential or insubstantial connections between programs and interests should not be sufficient for cross-listing courses across subject listings.
- Before submitting the proposal, check with all cross-listed subjects to determine that the course number is available in all subjects. Lumen Courses will not allow a course that does not meet the course number use policy to be utilized.
If a cross-listed subject is being removed:
- This can be done with a “short form” where the only questions required relate to the cross-listing state of the course. No other changes may be made with a short form. See the How to De-cross-list your Subject from a Course KB.
- If other changes are needed to the course, one of the retaining subjects must complete the Lumen Courses proposal and provide a sample syllabus.
- If none of the subject owners will retain the course, discontinue the course. Any partner in the cross-listing can initiate the course discontinuation proposal.
Course Titles
Course titles may only be changed with the approval of governance via a course change proposal.
- Course Title: Must be 100 characters or less. This is the limitation in the Student Information System (SIS); Lumen Courses enforces that limit.
- Transcript Title: Must be 30 characters or less. This is the limitation in the Student Information System (SIS); Lumen Courses enforces that limit. The best practice is to utilize as many characters as possible, as this is what displays on the student transcript.
- Titles must be in English.
Catalog Number | Course Title |
---|---|
1 | Cooperative Education |
680 | Senior Honors Thesis |
681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
690 | Senior Thesis |
691 | Senior Thesis |
692 | Senior Thesis |
790 | Master's Research and Thesis |
990 | Research or Research and Thesis |
x99 or x98 | Directed or Independent Study |
Descriptions
When crafting the description, follow these rules:
- There is a 1000-character limit on the length of the description enforced in Lumen Courses.
- Complete sentences are not necessary.
- Courses are, by default, taught in English. If a course is taught in any language other than English and does not have the Foreign Language Attribute (FL1-5) may include "Taught in [language]."
- Do not include how the course will be taught, or the order in which content may be presented as this can change by term and instructor. This kind of information must be entered in Instructor Provided Content in the Student Information System when setting up the course in the Schedule of Classes.
- Do not say "This course will...", "Students will...", "We will..." or similar language in the course description.
- Descriptions must be in English.
Note, in limited situations:
- When using “Consent of Instructor,” information related to the enrollment of students in the course may be included as the last sentence in the course description. This must be enforced by the instructor admitting the students.
- If the course is available to graduate or professional students and the requisite is "graduate/professional standing," a sentence at the end of the description may include required background knowledge, where the requisite cannot be enforced because the coursework occurred as an undergraduate student (not all graduate students completed their undergraduate degree at UW-Madison). This must be formatted as: "Knowledge of (topic) required [such as (subject + catalog number)]." This may not include graduate-level courses, as that would fall under requisites.
Requisites
Governance Approval
Requisites are an element reviewed and approved at the subject level (department chair, FP&P 5.31), as the content experts are expected to know and articulate the appropriate level of preparation for a course. See the policy on Course Proposal Review Process - Purpose, Standards and Responsibilities for more information on subject/department responsibilities.
Requisites are important to enforce
Institutional research (Tableau viz, requires login and VPN) has shown that students who enroll in courses without the necessary preparation have higher rates of D, F and drop than students who are appropriately prepared. Enforcing requisites is a way to ensure that students are only enrolling in courses that they are prepared for. For students to make smart decisions about their education, they need clear, consistent information.
- D/F/DR rates are higher for students who don't have the course prerequisite; targeted minority students and first generation in college students are more likely to enroll in a course without having the necessary requisites.
- Overall, 8% of undergraduate course outcomes are D/F/Drop, this represents a large number of seats that do not result in students making progress toward degree.
Rules when building requisites
- Include all UW-Madison courses that may provide the academic preparation needed for the course. Include all equivalents and all cross-listings. Courses must be formatted utilizing the appropriate subject short description + catalog number (ex: MATH 221).
- If a specific GPA/grade is required in a course, include significant data to support that student needs that grade to succeed.
- Include placement exams. Advanced Placement and other third-party test scores are automatically configured if the course they equate to is used in the requisite.
- Include completion of general education.
- Include limitations on enrollment if there is significant overlap with another course (i.e., students may not enroll if they have credit for a different, highly similar course).
- Managing enrollment must be done at the section level.
- Consider the audience for the course (i.e.: class standing- junior standing, graduate/professional, etc. Students declared in a plan or subplan).
- If requisites are unenforceable in SIS, utilize ‘Consent of Instructor’.
Grading Basis
Grading Policies
Faculty Legislation II-103: Grading System policy
Policy on the Use of Pass/Fail Grading for Undergraduates
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grades (S/U) - Graduate Students
Pass/Fail Courses - Graduate Students
Course Numbers
Undergraduate and Special (NonDegree) Student Lapsed Incomplete Grades
Additional grading information in Guide
Grading Basis Options
Grading Basis | Explanation |
---|---|
A-F Grading | The most frequently used and includes the Pass/Fail (S/U) grading option where appropriate (A-F scale, Pass/Fail student option). |
Credit/No credit | CR/N grading is applicable only if the entire course is to be graded on this basis; individual sections within a course may not have CR/N grading if other sections are to be graded on a letter basis. This is not the same grading as Pass/Fail. Does not factor into GPA. |
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) | Traditionally available for graduate/professional audiences. Utilized when the mastery of the course is less gradient than A-F (i.e. internships where the student successfully showed up enough; when mastery of content is a line in the sand of yes vs no). |
DVM S/M/U | Available only on courses in the MED SC-V subject in the new Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum. Includes Satisfactory, Marginal, and Unsatisfactory. No other subjects are permitted to use this grading basis. |
School of Veterinary Medicine graded option | Available only for School of Veterinary Medicine courses |
First in 2 course sequence (Administrative only) | Utilized for courses such as 681/682 or 691/692 where both courses are tied together. Limited use. |
Information for Syllabi
- All grading standards must be explained in the syllabus.
- If grading is curved (typically with A-F grades), the cutoffs prior to applying the curve must be listed with an explanation to how the curve may revise the student's final grade. ie: if the A-F grading puts the majority in the class in a C grade, the curve may boost the entire class's grade to be higher (such as the top 20% get an A, next 10% get an AB, next 10% get a B...".
Credits (Variable Credit)
Consistent Course Information
- All aspects (title, number, description, designations, attributes, learning outcomes, etc.) of the course proposal apply to all offerings of the course regardless of how many credits are associated with a specific offering.
- All offerings of the course must comply with course numbering policy and have activities and learning outcomes that are appropriate to the course. (i.e., course number must correspond to the level of the course).
Course Learning Outcomes Requirements
- The course learning outcomes entered on the course proposal form are the ones that apply to all offerings of the course and additional outcomes may be included in the syllabus for the higher credit offerings.
Syllabus requirements
- The sample syllabus provided must reflect the maximum credit offering. For clarity it is fine to include all credit offerings.
- For variable credit courses, academic units must ensure that the additional credit(s) will not have an adverse effect on pedagogy and evaluation for students enrolled for the lower number of credits. For example, moving all discussion and enrichment to the additional credit(s) is not acceptable; every effort should be made to grade the work of students taking the lower number of credits in the context of their requirements, not those of the students taking the additional credit(s).
Credit Hour Policy
Topics Courses
A new course does not need to be taught as a topics course prior to being proposed and approved with a permanent course number. If a topic title will be a regular offering in the curriculum, it must be created as a new course.
Guidelines for Reviewing Topics Courses
The decision to offer particular topics should be part of the regular process for establishing the department/program schedule of courses and should involve conversation with, and planning by, the department faculty members.
On an annual basis, each school or college will be provided with a list of topics courses that were offered through subject listings in their departments showing the number of times each topic has been offered. It is the responsibility of the school or college and their departments to review this list and determine whether there are courses being offered as a topic that should be proposed as a stand-alone course with a permanent number. It is recommended that a limit of being offered three (3) times within a 5-year period should be considered the standard.
Course Learning Outcomes
Formatting requirements
- 400 characters or less per learning outcome (limitation due to software capabilities)
- Must be in English
- No special characters (accents, umlauts, ampersands, etc.). It is fine to use special characters etc. in the syllabus document.
- No formatting (bullets, dashes, paragraphs, etc.)
- Don’t include “Students will …” this assumed/implied.
Expectations
These learning outcomes are included in the proposal for a new course and may subsequently be updated through the course change proposal process. If a course is part of the requirements for a particular degree/major or certificate, one or more of the learning outcomes could relate to the program learning outcomes.
Guidelines
Course learning outcomes at the catalog level are an integral part of the course and all outcomes must be a part of all offerings of the course (regardless of modality, term, instructor, section, credits, etc.).
Learning outcomes are required for all course proposals, in support of our HLC Criteria for Accreditation. According to the UW-Madison Institutional Assessment Plan, “All courses offered at UW-Madison must have course syllabi with course objectives and student learning goals clearly articulated.”
Learning outcomes must:
- be clear, observable, and measurable
- reflect how students will be assessed through activities such as participation, assignments, exams, etc.
- typically relate to one or more program learning outcomes
- meet the formatting requirements (above).
In courses where graduate/professional and undergraduate students enroll, there must be at least one learning outcome distinct for graduate/professional students
Help for learning outcomes
- Watch a video about writing high quality learning outcomes.
Syllabus
- Goals and assessment can be explained in relation to the learning experiences in the syllabus.
- The established course learning outcomes must be included on the syllabus each time offered.
- The syllabus may always include more learning outcomes, but if they are supposed to apply to all sections they must be listed in Lumen Courses.
UW-Madison Course Learning Outcomes Policy
Guidelines, Roles, and Responsibilities
After the initial implementation of Lumen Programs, Student Learning Assessment (SLA) and Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research (DAPIR) offices received feedback that the learning outcomes process was confusing. SLA and DAPIR created a roles and responsibilities document for Lumen Courses. The Clarification of Guidelines and Roles for Learning Outcomes in Lumen Courses (pdf) document explains the basic principles for learning outcomes in Lumen Courses and the role of SLA and DAPIR.