Each class section (lecture, discussion, lab) is assigned an instructional mode in SIS. Please see the
campus definitions for the three types of modalities: in-person (P), hybrid (WC), and online (WO)
L&S departments must request permission to teach class sections in the online or hybrid format when they meet all of the following conditions:
- the course is designed for undergraduates
- the course is offered in fall or spring semester
- one or more sections of the course are hybrid or online
- the course has not yet been approved (or provisionally approved) by L&S to be offered in these modes
Rationale (Purpose)
The College of Letters & Science is the largest undergraduate college at UW-Madison and teaches over 80% of freshman and sophomore credits across the university. Given our strong teaching mission and the number of students we serve, L&S must actively support and enhance UW-Madison’s excellence as primarily a residential institution that offers a high-quality in-person experience for all undergraduates. This includes making sure that during the fall/spring semesters:
- the vast majority of the undergraduate courses we teach have substantive and significant regular face-to-face meeting times, both at the college and departmental level
- our undergraduates have access to in-person courses that meet their program and degree requirements
- our first and second-year students enroll primarily in class sections with substantial face-to-face meeting times
Online activities, materials and experiences are common in L&S courses as part of the many excellent methods our instructors use to engage and teach students. However, given UW-Madison’s identity as a residential experience, we must be strategic about offering courses that substitute a majority or more of in-person interactions with online activities. When L&S departments do teach undergraduate courses with online or hybrid sections, we want to ensure:
- they are created for specific pedagogical reasons that serve students, such as to use instructional capacities or support student learning in a way not possible through a face-to-face model.
- their design aligns with current practices in online education. L&S Foundational Criteria for Online & Hybrid Instruction provides a starting place for course design. they have been assigned by a department process an instructor who is qualified to teach online or hybrid courses
Summer offerings are exempt from this policy; there are no summer residential expectations and summer term enrollment is optional for most undergraduates.
