EAC Curriculum Committee

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR CURRICULUM CHANGES

Topic:

Where do I start?

The SAC should consider and approve the proposed changes to an existing course or new courses and this approval needs to be secured before the course is submitted to the curriculum office.

Identify and access the forms that are necessary for each course – so that you know what questions need to be addressed. It is wise pt prepare responses to the questions before being preparing the submission. You will not be able to save a partially prepared submission to carry over to another work session. (see submission caveats)

Note that for course changes, there is a form that allows more than one kinds of change to be made to a single course. (Be advised that if every aspect of a course is changing, it may be more appropriate to submit it as a new course).

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What is the relationship between credits and contact hours, and how does one determine whether these credits should be lecture, lab or lec-lab?

The ideal way to approach this is to start by defining the outcomes, and then determine how much time “on average” students will take to achieve the outcomes. A credit in our system represents 30 hours of student learning. Then consider the format in which these outcomes will best be met (by lecture and study, or by application and practice in a laboratory, or by some combination of these. The relationship between hours and credits are different for the several different formats that we use, as described below (and the definitions of these formats, as given in the contract, are given in italics).

1 cr. of LECTURE= 10 contact hours of lecture (usually 1 hr/wk for 10 wks) assumes an additional 20 hrs of study (e.g. 2 hrs/wk for 10 wks)

Lecture: Classes where Faculty effort is primarily on activities such as preparation, grading and student evaluation, which occur outside of and in addition to, scheduled class hours. Class format is traditionally lecture, but Instructors may utilize discussion and other class activities to help students master conceptual materials. Student application of concepts is limited.

1 cr. of LEC/LAB = 20 hour of lecture (e.g. 2 hrs/wk for 10 wks) assumes an additional 10 hours of study.

Lecture/Lab: Classes where Faculty effort in preparation generally occurs outside of scheduled class hours and evaluation occurs both during and outside of scheduled class hours. Class format is a combination of Faculty lectures and demonstrations, guided student interactions and supervised student application of lectures.

1 cr. of LAB = 30 hours of lab (e.g. 3 hrs/wk for 10 wks), and assumes that the learning occurs in the lab itself.
(coop ed, clinicals and practica fall in this category as well, under the general category of Field Supervision)

Laboratory (Lab): Classes where Faculty effort is primarily during schedule class hours. Preparation generally occurs outside class hours, and evaluation of student work generally occurs during class yours. Class format is student s working independently with the Instructor available, and in the instruction area for assistance and supervision.

Field Supervision – The placement of students in a work experience activity on or off campus. A college supervisor visits the work site periodically, but the primary supervision is from the employer or other individual contracted to provide the experience

Thus, a 10 week course in which there are 3 hrs of lecture/week (3 cr.), 3 hrs of lab/wk (1 cr) and 2 hrs of lec lab (1 cr.) would be 5 credits. An assumption is made that the student will spend 7 hrs in study per week (6 for the lecture, 1 for the lec-lab), for a total of 15 hrs per week, or 150 hrs over the term. Since 1 cr = 30 hrs, this is equivalent to 5 cr.

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How does the teaching load differ for these formats?

While curriculum decisions are not generally made on the basis of load, it is part of the new course form, so here are numbers. Different Teaching Load Factors apply to the different formats, and these are also given in the contract. These are multiplied by the number of contact hours per week in the relevant areas.

Lecture .068
Lec/Lab .054
Lab .046
Field Supervision .038

Thus, a course with 3 hour of lecture/week (for 10 wks) and 2 hrs of lec lab and 5

So, there would be several different ways to achieve 3 credits:

Contact Hours Total Contact TLF
Lecture Lec/Lab Lab
3     3 0.204
2 2   4 0.244
2   3 5 0.274
1 4   5 0.284
1 2 3 6 0.314
  6   6 0.324
1   6 7 0.344
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Are there any rules about Course Descriptions?

The word-limit on course descriptions has been relaxed as we have moved towards more electronic publishing, but it is still wise to keep the description in the 50-word range. Descriptions should be as accurate as possible, as they are used by other institutions when determining whether to award credit for one of our courses. Links to Internet sites are not approved, because they can cause more problems than they solve.

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Can I set it up so that students can take this course more than once?

In most cases, a course can only be taken once for credit if a grade of C or better has been achieved. The system will allow for a course to be taken more than once for credit, or up to a specified "Max Credits" on a course. This needs to be stated at the outset, so that Banner can be set up correctly. It should also be written into the Description.

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What is the difference between a prerequisite, a co-requisite and concurrent enrollment?

Pre-requisite is a course that must be taken prior to registering for this course.

A course listed as prerequisite/concurrent must either be taken prior to or during the same term as the course.

A co-requisite must be taken during the same term as this course.

These three kinds of restriction are Banner-enforced. For this reason, it is not possible to use prerequisites such as: “computer literacy” or “good academic standing” In order for Banner to regulate who can enroll, more explicit instructions (test scores or courses completed) must be given.

Recommendations may be written into the course description, but will not be required by Banner for student registration. It is more informational, giving guidance to students. The recommendation can be more flexible in how it is worded. It is, however, wise to avoid calling something a “prerequisite” when it is listed in the Recommended line.

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What are the Course List Designations? What is the difference between General Education and transfer List A and List B?

The Gen Ed list shows the courses that can be used to satisfy the General Education requirements for the AAS, the AGS and the AS degrees. Inclusion on the Gen Ed list is based on questions that relate to the General Education Philosophy Statement (found in the Catalog, just before the list of Gen Ed courses)

The Transfer List includes those courses that can be applied to the Distribution Requirement in the AAOT degree. The AAOT degree requires one two-course sequence in each of the three distribution areas. Courses that may be used to satisfy this sequence requirement are on List A. Courses that can be used for the remaining distribution requirement are on List B

The criteria for a course being on the AAOT list are somewhat different from those used to assign courses to the Gen Ed list. (The AAOT requirements have to address statewide requirements, while the Gen Ed philosophy is a PCC thing). For this reason, there are two different Request Forms, one for Gen Ed and one for Transfer Lists.

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Can we have our courses listed under two or three Distribution Areas at the same time, so that students can choose to apply it to the category that they need most?

No. Sorry. With very few exceptions, the course will be placed in the distribution area applicable to the entire discipline. This is intended to ensure, as much as possible, that the student does have course work across a variety of distribution areas. It also makes it more clearly for students and advisors to evaluate a student’s progress towards his or her degree.

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What do I have to consider about similar courses in other areas/disciplines?

First, are there similar courses existing in other departments or disciplines at PCC.

It is not desirable to have several different courses covering exactly the same thing – a student taking both these courses would not be learning new material. Also, it could potentially put the different subject areas into a “bidding war” for students. While it is tempting to assume that no one would be teaching a similar course, it is much wiser to be proactive about it and make sure that this is the case, to avoid a surprise challenge at the committee meeting

The forms also ask about impact on other Department, Campus or SACs, on if so, you are asked to describe the potential impact. Again, it is tempting to assume that no other SACs care what you do, but that is not always the case. Even if the impact is a positive one, you need to think about the potential ramifications of your changes (let’s say you add or a prereq to a highly subscribed class – the SAC or department offering that prerequisite class should be made aware of it). Changing the credits on a class required for a particular program may have an impact on that program.

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What do we do if we identify an area of potential impact or overlap?

Contact the SAC chair for the other area, and discuss the course you are proposing. The forms have a field in which you are asked to describe any conversation that you have had with SAC chairs from other disciplines regarding duplication, contact overlap or enrollment impact. The more thoughtfully you address these concerns proactively, the more smoothly the approval process will proceed.

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What other forms are needed?

If you are requesting Gen Ed, or Transfer List, or Cultural Diversity Status, there is a form for each of those.

If the course is applying for Distance Learning Modality, there is a form for that as well.

Cost impact forms are required for new courses or courses changing in credits (except for the 3-4 credit conversion form.

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When (and why) do I need to submit a new CCOG?

A CCOG needs to be submitted with a New Course request, or with a request for an increase in credits (exclusive of 3 to4 credit conversions – for these, only updated outcomes, if appropriate, need to be included).

The reason that we require a CCOG for credit changes is so that the committee can appropriately evaluate the credits. We have suspended this for the 3-4 credit conversions, in lieu of a cogent explanation of how the course is changing, in order to give SACs the opportunity to get the increases approved, with the detailed CCOG to follow (receipt to the Curriculum office required before the new version of the course is offered).

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Will the CCOG be updated when our changes are approved?

Although the changes are put into Banner as soon as possible following approval (or by the designated implementation date) the CCOGs may not be updated right away. This is a much more complex and labor intensive task, and has not had as high a priority as getting they key changes into Banner so that the course can be offered when it is needed. We are attempting to address this electronically, but until that goes into production, SACs and Departments should make sure that updated versions of the CCOGs are distributed to faculty.

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Who should I put in as the Contact and Confirmation Person?

Generally it is either the instructor for the course or the SAC Chair, whoever is taking responsibility for the course approval process. This person will receive the submitted information back in its “finished” state, and the signature page. These need to be stapled together, and then the SAC Chair and the SAC Admin Support (Division Dean) sign on the signature page, and then the paperwork is sent to the Curriculum office. Once these pages are received, it is put on the agenda for the next meeting. Please note that the deadline published for each meeting refers to the receipt of these signed documents – not the original submission.

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Can I work on the submission, save it and come back to finish it up tomorrow?

Sadly, no. Once you hit the submit button, assuming all the required fields have been completed, the form will be sent as-is to the Curriculum Office. The form will be held, and a response sent back to you, along with the signature page. If you then go back and start over, this time creating a more complete version, and submit that, the Curriculum office will be holding two versions of this one course. It is not unlikely that confusion could result! Please prepare to complete the form in one session, and submit just once. Thank you!

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I submitted last week and have not gotten any reply.

While we are working on an automated response, currently the reply requires human intervention. It is our goal to have responses processed and returned (via e-mail) within 5 business days. Please be patient, but if you need to contact the Curriculum Office please feel free to do so.

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Who has to come to the Curriculum Committee meeting, and why?

A faculty member who is knowledgeable about the SACs intent for the course, and can address questions the committee might have. Very often there are questions, and if there is no one present to speak to the questions, further discussion is halted and the course will be reconsidered at the meeting the following month. Sometimes the committee recommends modifications, and these can only be accepted if the faculty representing the course feels comfortable speaking for the SAC. (If not, and if the committee feels the modifications are important, the course may be returned to the SAC for further consideration.

If it is truly impossible for a faculty member to attend, please contact the Curriculum office.

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