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GCAC-215 - Common Course Numbers

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Academic Goal

The academic goal of this policy is to establish a uniform common course numbering system defining courses that are common across many graduate programs, including the creation of specialized courses that are offered on a limited or trial basis.

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Purpose

This policy defines the graduate common course numbers and special policies and procedures that apply to them.

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Scope

This policy applies to all graduate programs.

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Background

Policy Statement

  1. Common course numbers must first be established through the curricular review process.
    1. Once the specific common course number is approved, the course is available to be offered on a semester-by-semester basis by the graduate program.
    2. For courses 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, and 599, special titles may be requested by a graduate program for a given semester. A unit wishing to use a special title for a common course number submits the request to the Faculty Senate Curriculum Coordinator via the college dean’s office.
  2. The following are the established graduate common course numbers:
    1. 590. COLLOQUIUM (1-3) --Continuing seminars that consist of a series of individual lectures by faculty, students, or outside speakers.
    2. 594. RESEARCH TOPICS (1-18) --Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
    3. 595. INTERNSHIP (1-18) --Supervised, research-oriented, off-campus, nongroup instruction, including field experiences, practicums, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc. Prerequisite: prior approval of proposed assignment by instructor.
    4. 596. INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9) --Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
    5. 597, 598. SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9) --Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
      1. Special titled courses may be offered only two times. If the department wishes to continue to offer the course, it should be proposed as a permanent course.
    6. 599. FOREIGN STUDIES (1-12 per semester, maximum of 24) Courses offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
    7. 600, 610. THESIS RESEARCH
      1. Course numbers 600 (on campus) and 610 (off campus) are available for credit in thesis or dissertation research in all graduate major programs.
      2. No other course number may be used for thesis research work.
      3. In registering for thesis or dissertation research, a student uses the appropriate number (600 or 610) preceded by the abbreviation designating the major field.
      4. The bursar assesses charges for these courses at the current rate of tuition, according to the student’s status at the time of registration.
      5. Graduate Council has established limits on the total number of research credits that can be assigned quality grades in a student’s program (i.e., other than R): 6 credits for master’s candidates and 12 credits for doctoral candidates.
      6. Course numbers 600 and 610 may not always appear in the Schedule of Courses for each semester, but they are available for registration each semester.
    8. 601, 611. PH.D. DISSERTATION
      1. Course numbers 601 and 611, with associated special fees, are only available to Ph.D. degree candidates who have passed the comprehensive examination and met the two-semester residence requirement. They may be used for dissertation preparation work during its later stages, when the academic activity of the candidate consists partly (611) or solely (601) of work on the completion of research and writing of the dissertation.
      2. The student may register for 601 if engaged full-time in the preparation of a dissertation, or for 611 if engaged part-time in dissertation preparation. Registration under these numbers will maintain status as a full-time (601) or part-time (611) Ph.D. student during the interval that begins at the time the student passes the comprehensive examination and meets the two-semester residence requirement and ends at the time the doctoral committee accepts the thesis.
      3. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree do not receive grades for noncredit registrations (601 and 611).
      4. Course numbers 601 and 611 do not carry academic credit. They are entered on the academic transcript to indicate the registration and the nature of the candidate’s academic activity.
      5. Course numbers 601 and 611 may not always appear in the Schedule of Courses for each semester, but they are available for registration each semester.
    9. 602. SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE IN COLLEGE TEACHING
      1. Course number 602 may be offered by any graduate program in a department that also offers undergraduate courses. A graduate program with no counterpart undergraduate program may offer 602 when cooperative arrangements are made with an administrative unit that does not offer graduate degrees but that uses graduate assistants in its teaching.
      2. Course number 602 may be offered in any semester.
      3. Course number 602 will not be counted in fulfilling any specific credit requirement for an advanced degree.
      4. Course number 602 will be graded (A, B, C, D, F). The grade will appear on the student’s transcript.
      5. Course number 602 will not be used in calculating grade-point averages.
      6. Course number 602 will be offered only in those graduate programs that want to provide opportunity for supervised and graded teaching experience. Enrollment will be restricted to students for whom the major program is prepared to provide such experience.
      7. Course number 602 will be counted as a part of the student’s credit load unless the program specifies otherwise.
    10. 603. FOREIGN ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE (1–12)--Foreign study and/or research approved by the graduate program for students enrolled in a foreign university constituting progress toward the degree.
    11. 890. COLLOQUIUM (1-3)--Continuing, professionally oriented seminars that consist of a series of individual lectures by faculty, students, or outside speakers.
    12. 894. CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE (1-18)--Supervised, professionally oriented student activities that constitute the culminating experience for the program. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
    13. 895. INTERNSHIP (1-18)--Supervised, professionally oriented, off-campus, nongroup instruction, including field experiences, practicums, or internships. Written and oral critique of activity required. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc. Prerequisite: prior approval of proposed assignment by instructor.
    14. 896. INDIVIDUAL STUDIES (1-9)--Creative projects with a professional orientation, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
    15. 897, 898. SPECIAL TOPICS (1-9)--Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject with a professional orientation that may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.
      1. Special titled courses may be offered only two times. If the department wishes to continue to offer the course, it should be proposed as a permanent course.
    16. 899. FOREIGN STUDIES (1-12 per semester, maximum of 24) Courses with a professional orientation offered in foreign countries by individual or group instruction. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript. Multiple offerings may be accommodated by the use of suffixes A, B, etc.

Procedures

Revision History

Adapted from Graduate Bulletin, June 2018