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New Course Proposals & Course Revision
The Faculty has charged the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee (CEP) with the review of all new courses (including substantial revisions of existing courses). Once a course has been reviewed by CEP, its recommendations are then brought to the Faculty for a vote at a faculty meeting. In order to carry out its charge, CEP established a New Course Subcommittee (NCS).
New Course Guidelines - Revised (11-11-05)
Who approves new courses?
All new courses are approved by the faculty. New courses, though, are first approved by the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee after a review by the New Course Subcommittee.
What constitutes a new course?
A new course is one that has never previously been taught at Bowdoin. As long as a course description from a catalogue can be produced and that course was not approved for a limited duration, that course can be reintroduced into the curriculum without another approval.
What about course revisions?
Significant revisions of courses are approved by CEP and are included in the faculty meeting packet as an information item. The NCS reviews all proposed revisions before approval by CEP. Significant revisions to courses include (a) sufficient change in the content of the course such that the course could be repeated for credit ; (b) changes in prerequisites that are more, rather than less, restrictive; (c) changes in enrollment restrictions (majors only, seniors only, etc.) that are more, rather than less, restrictive; (d) changes in numbering; (e) changes in credit value; (f) changes in distribution requirement designations.
Who submits courses for approval?
New courses are submitted for approval by the academic department or interdisciplinary program―not by individual faculty members. The CEP expects that a department or program committee has had some degree of discussion about a new course being introduced into the curriculum. The signature of the chair or director is required on all proposals (email acknowledgment is sufficient). Proposals for revisions of courses are also submitted for approval by the academic department or interdisciplinary program.
What is a cross-listed course?
A cross-listed course is one that is listed in more than one department or program. A proposal for a new cross-listed course must be signed by both department chairs or program directors. Some programs do not list courses. Check with the registrar for the most current information.
When should consultation occur with other departments/programs about proposed courses?
If a proposed course appears to touch in important ways on another discipline or program than that of the offering department, the chair of the new course subcommittee will invite the proposer of the course to inform the related department and to discuss with it the proposed new course. Similar conversations should occur when courses that are cross-listed or required in another major are withdrawn from the curriculum.
What are the criteria for approving requests for exceptions to the faculty guidelines on course enrollment limits?
Requests for exceptions to the faculty guidelines on course enrollment limits are made for a wide variety of reasons. The NCS and CEP must always judge whether the requests are reasonable and appropriate. In the past, exceptions have been approved for the following types of reasons: (a) limited lab or studio space; (b) limited space in vans for field trips; (c) experimental course; (d) multiple sectioning of courses accompanied by a different use of faculty resources in the department;
Are there guidelines for using an enrollment restriction--that is, for restricting the level of student able to enter a course or of requiring permission of the instructor before enrolling?
First years only is the restriction appropriately used for first-year seminars. There is precedent for sub-100 and 100-level courses to use a restriction for first years or sophomores only, particularly when there is history of such courses being highly enrolled. There is also precedent for 300-level courses to be restricted to majors only; the capstone course in a major is often restricted to senior majors only. These precedents only mean that previous requests for such restrictions have been viewed as reasonable and appropriate. The NCS and CEP must base decisions on current issues and enrollment patterns.
The permission of instructor only restriction is allowed only under exceptional circumstances. An instructor must have a very good reason to need to select students outside of the usual mechanisms of course prerequisites and enrollment preferences and restrictions.
What about enrollment preferences?
Since enrollment preferences do not generally restrict students' access to courses, they do not need to be approved by the NCS and CEP. Departments use enrollment preferences to manage enrollments and ensure fair access to courses.
A Few Words About Course Descriptions
Since course descriptions appear in the College Catalogue publication, they need to follow certain style conventions. You might want to incorporate these as you write your descriptions. Course descriptions should begin with a succinct, descriptive partial sentence. This may be either a noun or verb phrase. [Examples: "A study of the interaction of economic variables."; "An examination of women's voices in American history."; "Focuses on the subjective experience of illness."] The catalogue editors will eliminate such introductory language as: "This course is intended to"; "In this course we will study"; etc. The remainder of the course description may be noun or verb phrases or complete sentences. Course descriptions should be stated in the third person singular. Please avoid using "we." While different disciplines and course levels may require more or less description, every effort should be made to keep course descriptions brief. As a guideline, edited course descriptions should not exceed 60-70 words. The description may be edited to save space. If you have further questions about course descriptions, please contact, Sue Danforth in the Office of Communications.
Questions about the new course proposal process should be addressed to Jan Brackett or Janet Dana in the Office of the Registrar.