Faculty of Arts Curriculum Committee

Checklist for Undergraduate and Undergraduate Course Approvals

July 17, 2012

Allen Sens

This checklist is designed to increase the transparency of technical requirements for new course approvals in Arts, based on the requirements and practices of Senate.

  1. COURSE CREDIT VALUE
  1. Check creditfor consistent credit value throughout the proposal form and syllabus. Indicate the credit value of a course by a number (.5 increments are allowed) placed in parentheses after the course code and number and before the proposed course title. Example:

XXXX 452 (3) Spasmodic Modal Contortions

  1. Is the course offered for“x-x” (i.e., 3-6) credit or “x/x” (i.e., 3/6)credit? Courses with variable credit numbersseparated by a dash may be taken for any number of credits provided by the range between the first numeral and the second numeral (i.e., a “3-6” credit course could be offered for 3, 4, 5 or 6 credits). Courses with variable credit separated by a slashmay be offered for 3 or 6 credits AND/OR taken for up to 6 credits “worth” of the course (i.e., a student could take up to two versions of a 3/6 credit course for a total of 6 credits, and a student could take up to three versions of a 3/9 course for up to a total of 9 credits).
  2. IMPORTANT: courses offered for variable credit (i.e., 3/6 or 2-4) require a “c” or “d” designation outside the credit number parentheses. Example:

XXXX 453 (3/6)d Spasmodic Modal Contortions in Miniature

A “c” denotesthat a student (in consultation with the unit) can determine the course credit, while a “d” denotes that credit is determined entirely by the unit (“d” is the most common designate for variable credit courses).

  1. SESSION
  1. The effective session should be a future session, most commonly term 1 of the following academic year (this may be adjusted as the proposal moves through the approval process).
  2. CAT2 changes are always for a future session.
  1. COURSE TITLE AND COURSE NUMBER
  1. Course titles should be as short as possible, while still providing an accurate indication of the course topic.
  2. In general, course titles should not include subsidiary subject detail, to avoid having to make future calendarchanges to the title if thecontent of the course changes later. However, in cases where stimulating student interest in the course and providing a clear picture of the core subject matter is desired, subsidiary subject detail can be included. Example:

Economics of Intellectual Property: Patents, Drugs, and Rock n’ Roll

  1. Check to see if the proposed new course number is already in use, and remember to check the UBCO listings. Having courses with identical numbers but different content can cause troubles for students transferring between the two campuses.
  2. There is a five-year embargo on the re-use of any old course numbers once those courses are deleted/terminated by units. This is to avoid problems with the calculation of degree requirements for that generation of students going through their programs.
  1. COURSE DESCRIPTION
  1. 40 words is the calendar course description entry limit, although in practice there is an effort to keep descriptions even shorter.
  2. IMPORTANT:Graduate courses do not have course descriptions in the calendar and these are not required for graduate proposals: course titles are sufficient.
  3. The description should not repeat the course title (although it can repeat key words used in the title).
  4. The description should provide additional, more specific information about the course, type of material, and subject matter.
  5. Avoid the use of finite verbs.
  6. Avoid the use of “This course examines” or “Lecture course on” language.
  7. There is no need to identifythe mode of delivery (i.e., distance learning courses). In fact, this should be discouraged to allow flexibilityexcept where program level requirements dictate (i.e., seminar courses). Rationale statements and course outlines can and should include this information.
  8. Prerequisitesand/or equivalencies should be carefully identifiedbelow the course description (see Rationale Section below).
  9. Is the course NOT eligible for Credit/D/Fail Standing? (see Rationale Section below)
  1. TYPE OF ACTION
  1. Identifies Cat 1 or Cat 2 change.
  2. Make sure the type of action is clear (i.e., “new course”).
  1. RENUMBERING OF COURSES
  1. Typically, if course titles and descriptions do not change or change minimally, the renumbering of courses are CAT2 changes. If renumbering a course includes a significant change in the course title and a significant change in course subject matter, it is likely a CAT 1 change.
  2. When courses are being renumbered, watch for courses “jumping the line” between upper level and lower level courses. Courses that change from upper>lower level or lower>upper level are likely to be considered CAT 1 changes]. The rationale statement must include an explanation for the promotion of lower level courses to upper level, and vice versa.
  3. Check to see if the proposed new course number is already in use.
  4. Check if UBCO has the same course code and number already in use.
  5. There is a five-year embargo on course numbers being “recycled” after courses are deleted/terminated.
  1. RATIONALE STATEMENT
  1. The academic rationale for the course should be clearly stated. The hiring of a new instructor should not be the first or primary rationale stated for the creation of a new course.
  2. The rationale should clearly state why the course is being proposed. How will it contribute to the units’ curriculum? What will it offer to students that is not already offered?
  3. Rationales should not be cut and paste copies of the course description from the proposed calendar entry or the syllabus.
  1. PREREQUISITES, COREQUISITES, PRECLUSIONS, EQUIVALENCIES
  1. Indicate any prerequisites/corequisites for the proposed course.A prerequisite is a course students must have completed prior to registering for the proposed course. A corequisite is a course that students must take prior to or concurrently with the proposed course.
  2. For courses with prerequisites, there is no need to add language such as “or equivalent” or “or with permission of the instructor” as this is implied by the mere inclusion of prerequisites. Senate is trying to delete this kind of language from the calendar.
  3. Please note that there is a standard credit exclusion statement used in the UBC Calendar (older entries are being updated as changes are submitted; new entries are created using the standard phrase). The phrase “Precludes credit for…” has been changed to “Credit will be granted for only one of A or B.
  4. Indicate if a course is equivalent to (i.e., a duplicate of/cross-listed with) a course offered by another department.
  1. CREDIT/D/FAIL AND PASS/FAIL
  1. Is the course “Not available for Cr/D/F”? If so, indicate and provide a rationale in the “rationale” section of the two-column proposal form. All courses are available for Credit/D/Fail standing by default unless otherwise indicated.
  2. Is the course graded on a pass/fail? If so, indicate and provide a rationale in the two-column proposal form.A pass/fail course cannot be eligible for Cr/D/F.
  1. URL
  1. Present location in the calendar (this is needed for all program changes. For course changes, the subject code is sufficient).
  1. CONSULTATIONS
  1. IMPORTANT:While Senate language specifies that consultations must be conducted “as necessary” in practice proposals with less than three consultations from other units are frowned upon and additional consultations are often requested. As a result, in Arts at least threeconsultations with other units are required. Consistent with Senate requirements, separate library and budget consultations are also required.
  2. Consider who is being consulted: which departments might have faculty or students interested in the course? If faculty or students outside the Faculty of Arts might be interested in a course, consult with the relevant unit or units (i.e., if a course is about the history of forestry, provide a consultation from the Faculty of Forestry).
  3. Consultations are not about asking permission. They are a professional courtesy to units, colleagues, and students that may have an interest in the subject matter of new or revised courses.
  4. All proposals must include a consultations summary form. Please corroborate the list of approvals provided with the actual forms (i.e., make sure a department listed as approving a proposal has in fact approved it).
  5. If a unit is opposed to a proposal, provide documentation (i.e., an e-mail string) indicating how the opposition has been overcome through consensus or agreement (or not).
  6. Follow up if there is no support for the proposal from the library: provide documentation indicating how the opposition has been addressed to the satisfaction of the library.
  7. One library’s support is sufficient (consultations are useful for libraries, too!).
  8. A signed Dean’s budgetary form is required. If “additional budget” is required to support the proposed course, supporting documentation will be needed indicating how this budgetary need will be met by the Department or the Faculty.
  9. Check for signatures on consultation forms
  1. SYLLABUS
  1. A complete course syllabus must be provided. Do not provide unedited syllabi from previous years or syllabi previously used at other educational institutions.
  2. Course descriptions must be reasonably specific and expand on the calendar description to give students more details about the subject matter of the course.
  3. IMPORTANT:Learning objectives or similar language is required of all new course proposals and CAT 1 revisions to existing courses. Learning objectives should have their own section/subheading in the outline and be prefaced with language such as “By the end of this course, students will be able to:” or “In this course, students will:” followed by a numbered or lettered list or paragraph of learning objectives. Typically, no more than four or five key course learning objectives are required. Learning objectives should include both central content that students will learn and core learning activities/skill development activities students will gain in the course, such as presentation skills, group project activities, familiarity with statistical analysis tools, research/creative arts projects, community engagement, gallery exhibits, etc.
  4. A course schedule must be provided organized by lecture (typically for courses meeting once per week), by week (13 weeks total), or by weeks (2-3, 5-7, etc. totaling 13 weeks).
  5. Make sure the schedule is a 13-week or 39/26 sessions plan.
  6. Is the academic integrity and policies section accurate? For reference, see the suggested Arts Academic Integrity language available online, which can be used in whole or in part in the outline.
  7. Include a grade breakdown by assignment (does it add up to 100 percent?).
  8. Assignments should be briefly described (i.e., what is expected of the assignment) and linked to the courselearning objectives (i.e., if a learning objective is to improve student’s abilities to compose poetry, what assignments will advance this objective? This is especially important for graduate course proposals, where more content on assignment descriptions and evaluation criteria is expected.
  9. Watch for consistency between course objectives/descriptions and content/readings/topics.
  10. Watch for consistent use of terminology.
  11. Bibliographies should be short and in a consistent format: there is no need for large, multi-page bibliographies in course outlines submitted for approval.
  12. Copyright considerations: ensure that course materials are used in a manner consistent with copyright regulations.
  13. Two syllabi are needed for split undergraduate/graduate course proposals (one for the undergraduates, one for the graduates).