College-Wide Curriculum Committee Guidance

Checklist

The College-Wide Curriculum Committee finalized a helpful checklist to reference before submitting your course curricular actions into Course Inventory Management (CIM). 

When considering any course action, be sure to refer to the FIT Curriculum website. Keep current curricular deadlines in mind.

Before submitting any course action in Course Inventory Management (CIM), be sure to:

  • In consultation with your chair and department, review existing courses with similar subjects and student learning outcomes, identify concrete differences, and provide an academic rationale on the necessity of creating a new course or modifying an existing course. This applies to all courses, including Special Topics.
  • Identify the intended audience for the course.
  • Contact any department(s) affected by the proposed course of action.
  • Identify how the lecture/studio/lab hours are allocated and match the credit hours, eg. 1 credit = 2 studio hours per week; 1 credit = 1 lecture hour per week. For any questions, please consult with the Office for Curriculum.
  • Verify the total contact hours add up to the appropriate number (e.g. 3 credit lecture = 45 hrs). See also the official FIT policy on the Assignment of Credit Hours.
  • Verify that there are only 15 weeks of instruction (for a typical course).
  • Ensure there are 15 or fewer units.
  • Review student learning outcomes to follow Bloom's taxonomy; for more information, please contact the Center for Excellence in Teaching (CET). 
  • Verify that any suggested assignment(s) and/or evaluation methods are aligned with the student learning outcomes.
  • Review the grading percentage to make sure it adds up to 100%.
  • Ensure the course of study has been updated within the past five years for any course action.
  • Review and update the bibliography to include new literature within the past 5 years.
  • Add justifications for any General Education designations being sought. Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Committee Guidelines for LAS Courses of Study (COS).
  • Contact the coordinator(s) of any minor(s) you wish to propose for the course.
  • Consider what type of classroom or technology needs your course might have. For new technology requests, be sure to align with Hardware and Software Requests deadlines.
  • If this course will be included in a major or minor program, make sure the relevant program action is submitted at the same time as the course action.
  • Adhere to your school’s approval process.
  • Spell check the final document.
  • When ready to input/submit, ensure that the information in CIM exactly matches the information in the COS.

A downloadable, fillable version of this checklist can be found here:

General Framework: Introductory vs. Advanced Courses

Approved March 2024

Introductory-Level (100 & 200) and Advanced-Level (300, 400, 500, 600)
Introductory-level and advanced-level refer to the breadth and depth of the learning that takes place in a course.

Introductory-Level

  • foundational learning;
  • covers basic concepts and terminology.

Advanced-Level

  • involves higher and more complex levels of knowledge and understanding than introductory or foundational learning;
  • means that your student has attained a level of knowledge and understanding of a particular area or topic that goes beyond basic terminology and definitions and includes:
    • analysis
    • synthesis
    • evaluation of information related to a specific topic or area of learning.

Differences Between Introductory-Level and Advanced Level Studies

The Level of Theoretical and Application Skills Required

  • Introductory: usually covers the basic concepts, theories, and principles of a topic.
  • Advanced: requires analysis, synthesis and evaluation that involve higher levels of abstraction, increasing extensive knowledge, complex content, and greater methodological sophistication.

The Presumption of Prior Study

  • Introductory: usually prerequisite learning is not required beyond reading, writing and mathematical skills expected of a high school graduate.
  • Advanced: usually builds upon prerequisite knowledge, expanding upon fundamental concepts, theories, and principles.

The Nature of the Studies

  • Introductory: introductory studies, surveys, or technical foundations studies.
  • Advanced: more focused or specialized topics.

When the Studies are Usually Taken

  • Introductory: typically found in associate degree curricula or during the first (freshman) and second (sophomore) years of a bachelor’s degree — sometimes classified as lower division or lower level.
  • Advanced: typically found in the last two years of the bachelor’s degree, during the third (junior) and fourth (senior) years of a bachelor’s degree — sometimes classified as upper division or upper level.
  • Graduate: typically found in master’s programs.

Adapted from guidance written by SUNY Empire State.

Guidance on Numbering Courses

(see the attached Bloom’s Taxonomy for definition of terms in quotation marks)

100-Level Courses
These are typically introductory courses having no university-level prerequisites, often presenting basic concepts and terminology. Students in such courses are expected to operate largely at the “knowledge” and “comprehension” levels but should be provided opportunities to develop at the “application” and “analysis” levels.

Assumptions and Expectations:

  1. Students possess writing ability sufficient to compose definitions, paragraphs, or essays where appropriate;
  2. Students possess reading skills sufficient to comprehend college-level material in textbook and monograph form. Where specified, completion of remedial coursework should be a prerequisite. 

200-Level Courses
Such courses are at an intermediate level of difficulty, and sometimes survey a subfield within a discipline. They often have a prerequisite at the 100-level. Students taking such courses should solidify their abilities at the knowledge and comprehension levels and be provided ample opportunity to develop their application and analysis skills.

Assumptions: 

  1. Students possess general skills such as recognition, reading, appropriate quantitative skills, and varying degrees of fluency in writing and articulateness in expression;
  2. Students are acquainted with the basic language, terminology, or methodology of the subject itself;
  3. Students are, in that subject, at a stage of understanding where they can progress towards significant conclusions, experiments, and/or explorations.

Expectations:

  1. Students can proceed at a reasonable pace without difficulties in comprehension;
  2. Students can cope with assignments involving reading and comprehending a specified amount of material and/or preparing organized papers;
  3. Students will accomplish a substantial amount of work, for example: study a number of books or work through a comprehensive textbook, write a number of papers, or demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the material covered. 

300-Level and 400-Level Courses

Such courses are at an advanced-undergraduate level of difficulty, and are generally taken by majors, minors, and other students with a well-defined interest and demonstrated ability in a particular subject area.

While continuing to develop proficiency at the lower cognitive levels, 300-level courses are expected to provide students with the opportunity to operate at the “synthesis” and “evaluation” levels.

Assumptions: Students are at ease and comfortable in the field; they have acquired an adequate general knowledge in the area to pursue some study in-depth with the proper methodological tools. 

Expectations: 

  1. Students will have completed expository writing (EN 121/131) or the equivalent;
  2. Students have the ability to do research, or to obtain relevant information in the field through the proper use of libraries;
  3. Students are fluent in the language of the field so as to read and analyze relevant information;
  4. Students are able to combine the results of the research or the reading into cohesive statements;
  5. Students are able to produce substantial work such as a paper of "term-paper" length, or a creative or experimental project.

Courses at the 400-level operate mostly at the “synthesis” and “evaluation” levels. They are often of a seminar nature, with the students taking significant responsibility for the course agenda. In particular, courses which provide students with the opportunity to perform directed research are usually at the 400-level.

Assumptions:

  1. Students have completed a substantial amount of work on the 300-level.
  2. Students have the capacity to work independently under the guidance or supervision of an instructor.

Expectations: Students complete a research project, paper or other important creative project.

500-Level and 600-Level Courses 

Masters-level graduate courses numbered 500-600 require a bachelor’s degree and admission to a graduate program. 500-level courses are more rigorous than undergraduate courses. These courses require a higher level of critical thinking, necessitate considerably more intellectual rigor, and demand integration of information into frameworks of knowledge.

Assumptions: Graduate programs are specifically designed to enhance the student’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes in their chosen academic arenas and to prepare them to accept professional responsibilities. Success in graduate programs is based not only on completing the required course work but also on demonstrating competencies and attitudes appropriate to the profession.

Expectations: Students should:

  1. Be capable of sustained, independent inquiry and analysis;
  2. Have a mastery of writing skills in the format required by the discipline;
  3. Understand and carry out research at the master’s level;
  4. Possess a thorough understanding of the literature within the discipline;
  5. Possess the ability to communicate effectively on topics within the discipline of study.

Adapted from guidance written by SUNY Fredonia & Holy Cross.

Downloads

A downloadable version of Blooms Taxonomy can be found here:

A downloadable version of this guidance can be found here: