COLLEGE OF THE SISKIYOUS

CURRICULUM HANDBOOK 2016

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COLLEGE OF THE SISKIYOUS MISSION STATEMENT College of the Siskiyous (COS) promotes learning and provides academic excellence for the students of Siskiyou County, the State of California, the nation and the world. COS provides accessible, flexible, affordable, and innovative education leading to associate degrees, certificates, college transfer, career and technical education, workforce training, and basic skills preparation.

VISION STATEMENT College of the Siskiyous is a proud member of the California Community College (CCC) system. Our vision is to be the first choice for higher education in the communities we serve and beyond. COS provides:

Rigorous and comprehensive transfer programs

General education programs

Technological literacy

Basic skills acquisition

Workforce training and certification

Career and technical education

Cultural and community enrichment We are the support team who increases student access, encourages success, and improves retention, persistence, and completion. VALUES

Integrity – Our decisions and actions reflect honesty, trust, and respect for all. Excellence – Our decisions and actions reflect our commitment to accountability, innovation, and learning.

Openness – Our decisions and actions reflect open-minded transparent dialogue.

INSTITUTIONAL GOALS

Goal #1: Promote and support educational goal completion for all students. Goal #2: Sustain institutional health and vitality to meet the needs of the community. Goal #3: Evaluate institutional effectiveness for continuous improvement.

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CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

MISSION STATEMENT

The purpose of the Curriculum Committee is to approve new and revised curriculum and academic policies to ensure compliance with Title 5 and California Education Code prior to submission to the District Governing Board for final approval. The Curriculum Committee is a sub-committee of the Academic Senate who, with advice from administration, reviews and recommends new andmodified curriculum to the Academic Senate and District Board of Trustees.

The curriculum is the major statement any institution makes about itself, about what it can contribute to the intellectual development of students, and about what it thinks is important in its teaching service to society. (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1979, p.180) The purpose of this handbook is to guide and assist faculty through the curriculum development and revision process. It explains the basis for the complexity of the curriculum process, how to navigate that process, and why difficult questions often have to be asked about curriculum. Title 5 §53200(b) states that the Academic Senate is an organization whose primary function is to make recommendations with respect to academic and professional matters. Section §53200(c) states that an “academic and professional matter” means the following policy development and implementation matters:

1. Curriculum including establishing prerequisites and placing courses within disciplines

2. Degree and certificate requirements 3. Grading policies 4. Educational program development 5. Standards and policies regarding student preparation and success 6. District and college governance structures, as related to faculty roles 7. Faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes, including self- study

and annual reports 8. Policies for faculty professional development activities 9. Processes for program review 10. Processes for institutional planning and budget development 11. Other academic and professional matters as mutually agreed upon between the

governing board and the academic senate.

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Of these matters, 1 through 5 relate to curriculum. The Curriculum Committee is a sub-committee of the Academic Senate and is a faculty committee who, with advice from administration, reviews and recommends new and modified curriculum to the Academic Senate and District Board of Trustees. Both the individual course outline of record and program outline are official documents with legal standing, which are read by those beyond the campus. The course outline of record forms the basis of the contract between the student, instructor, and institution. In addition, approved programs of study must be meaningful to students’ educational goals and the college commits to offer all the required elements at least every two years allowing students to complete programs in a timely manner. It is the Curriculum Committee’s responsibility to ensure that the institution follows all requirements and guidelines. Title 5 and Education Code are referenced throughout this manual. The complete and current text of all California Code of Regulations may be viewed at the California Office of Administration Law website at http://www.oal.com. The complete text of all California statutes, including the California Education Code, may be viewed at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.

Other resources that may be useful in curriculum development are: Academic Senate for California Community Colleges

The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide, 2008 http://asccc.org/node/175016

The Curriculum Committee: Role, Structure, Duties, and Standards of Good Practice, Fall 1996 http://www.asccc.org/node/174846

Ensuring the Appropriate Use of Educational Technology: An Update for Local Academic Senates ASCCC, 2008 http://www.asccc.org/node/175019

A Transfer Discussion Document Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates, 2006 http://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/reports/icas.transfer.0705.pdf

Good Practices for Course Approval Processes ASCCC, 1998 http://www.asccc.org/node/174850

Implementing Content Review for Communication and Computation Prerequisites, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Adopted Spring 2011 http://asccc.org/sites/default/files/Content-Review-Spring-2011.pdf

CCCCO Publications

California Community Colleges Taxonomy of Programs http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/BasicSkills/TopTax6_rev0909.pdf

Program and Course Approval Handbook Fourth Edition http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/ProgramCourseApproval/PCAH_Final_Jul y2012.pdf

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Implementing Title 5 and DSP&S Guidelines http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/SSSP/DSPS/Laws%20and%20Regulations/Ti tle%205%20Implementing%20Guidelines.pdf

Noncredit at a Glance CCCO, 2006 http://www.sbcc.edu/ce/files/noncredit-at-a- glance.pdf

Distance Education Guidelines, 2008 http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/DE/de_guidelines_ 081408.pdf

Distance Education Accessibility Guidelines, issued January 2011 http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/DE/2011DistanceEducationAccessibilityG uidelines%20FINAL.pdf

Credit Course Repetition Guidelines, 2012 http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/Credit/2013Files/CreditCourseRepetitionG uidelinesFinal070513.pdf

Minimum Qualifications Handbook, January 2012 http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/MinQuals/MinimumQualificationsHandboo k2012_2014.pdf

Policies for Prerequisites, Corequisites and Advisories on Recommended Preparation, 2011 http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/AA/Prerequisites/Prerequisites_Guidelines_55 003%20Final.pdf

TBA Legal Advisory, 2008 http://extranet.cccco.edu/Portals/1/Legal/Advisories/A08-02.pdf

Other Publications ACCJC Distance Education & Correspondence Education Manual, 2012

http://www.accjc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Guide-to-Evaluating-DE-and- CE_2012.pdf

Guiding Notes for General Education Course Reviewers, The California State University, January 2012 http://www.calstate.edu/app/documents/2013-January- GE-Reviewers-Guiding-Notes.pdf

IGETC Guidelines, 2012 http://icas- ca.org/Websites/icasca/images/IGETC_Standards_Final_version_1.4.pdf

ACCJC Accreditation Standards 2012 http://www.accjc.org/wp- content/uploads/2012/11/Accreditation-Standards_Edited-Nov-2012.pdf

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CHAPTER 1

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

COMMITTEE AND MEMBER RESPONSIBLITIES

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CURRICULUM COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS: The functions of the Curriculum Committee are as follows:

1. Review and recommend action on existing curricula 2. Review and recommend action on proposed curricula 3. Encourage and foster the development of new curricula 4. Request, consider, and respond to reports from various college groups whose

work bears directly on the curriculum 5. Disseminate curricular information and curricular recommendations to the

faculty, Academic Senate, administration, and to the Board of Trustees 6. Implement state-mandated regulations or policies that affect curriculum 7. Recommend associate degree requirements to the Academic Senate,

administration, and Board of Trustees 8. Recommend additions, deletions, and modifications in general education

patterns for the associate degree, the California State University General Education Breadth Requirements, and the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)

9. Review all curriculum proposals to ensure congruence with the college’s mission, need, quality, feasibility, and compliance with Title 5.

ORGANIZATION: As an academic and professional matter, the Academic Senate determines the composition of the Curriculum Committee. Members may be voting or non-voting. The five voting Faculty members are confirmed by the Academic Senate and serve for three years each. The Curriculum Chair is elected by the Curriculum Committee and serves for three years. Voting members:

Curriculum Committee Chair-Faculty Four Full-Time Tenure-Track Faculty

Non-voting members: Coding Reviewer Associate Dean, Instruction/Director, Athletics Articulation Officer Dean, Career & Technical Education Dean of Student Learning Vice President, Instruction Student Representative Curriculum Secretary

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RESPONSIBILITIES CURRICULUM CHAIR:

Mentors each new member of the curriculum committee to ensure the new

member understands the basics of reviewing course outlines, can complete a

technical review of all new course proposals, and understands all committee

procedures.

Ensures the creation of meeting agendas and minutes as well as be responsible for

providing the overall organization (includes reserving rooms, sending

announcements, etc.) for our weekly curriculum committee meetings.

Review all curriculum committee submissions before placing them on the weekly

agenda. In the event errors or discipline encroachment are evident, notify the

appropriate parties.

Acts as the final approval arbiter for all curriculum prior to its approval by the

Board’s designee.

Coaches, trains, and mentors all faculty in the methodologies and paradigms to be

used for all course, curriculum, and program submissions.

Act as the Senate’s liaison between all faculty and the college in any and all

matters pertaining to curriculum.

Reports monthly to the Senate-of-the-Whole on all matters pertaining to

curriculum.

Ensures that the curriculum committee web site is current and up to date and that

all meeting agendas and minutes are posted in a timely fashion.

Ensures that the Curriculum Committee approves all new and revised curriculum

and academic policies in compliance with Title 5 and California Education Code

prior to submission to the District Governing Board for final approval.

Is overall responsible for the technical review of each and every course,

curriculum, and program submission.

Is overall responsible for the general education review of each and every course,

curriculum, and program submission to determine if it should or should not be

included in the COSGE pattern.

Oversee the technical review of curriculum proposals, including course outlines,

pre-requisite/co-requisite/advisory validations, associate degree and certificate

applications, distance education requests, course changes, and advanced status

requests.

Ensure the accuracy of each approved curriculum committee document before

signing off on it.

Create a list of Curriculum Committee recommendations for approval by the

Academic Senate.

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Document and forward decisions to the curriculum committee program assistant

for final typing and signatures before submission to the Vice President of

Instruction.

Conduct periodic faculty workshops on completing forms and other curriculum

processes.

Regularly consult with the CTE Dean, the LAS Dean, and the Athletic Director on

curriculum development.

Create a new Curriculum Handbook and then be responsible for regularly updating

it.

Coordinate the consultation of all academic policies as it pertains to curriculum

between the faculty and administration.

Advertise and fill all Curriculum Committee vacancies

Generate annual schedules for regularly revising course outlines and programs for

each discipline, and submit a status report to the Senate-of-the-Whole

CURRICULUM COMMITTEE FACULTY MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Attend and fully participate in committee meetings 2. Serve as a consultant to members of his/her division during curriculum

development. Committee members may answer questions, provide information on curriculum policies and procedures, and prepare faculty to present their courses at curriculum meetings.

3. Inform and update their division about curriculum issues such as (but not limited to): a. Proper preparation of course outlines b. Prerequisite/co-requisite policies c. Curriculum Committee deadlines d. Developing Student Learning Outcomes

4. All members of the committee shall make decisions based on a college wide perspective.

5. It is expected that all members are prepared to make informed decisions. This will require members to, at a minimum: a. Read all the course/program outlines before the meeting; b. Stay current on Title V and Education Code requirements regarding

curriculum; c. Participate in required training (e.g. Stand Alone Certification); d. Participate in Technical Review meetings. e. Be knowledgeable about current curriculum policies, procedures, writing

standards, resources, forms, and deadline dates. 6. If a member misses more than 50% of the meetings in a single semester, it will

be assumed that they have tendered their resignation.

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CHAPTER 2

THE CURRICULUM PROCESS

PROPOSAL, SUBMISSION, AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES

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TRAINING The Curriculum Committee offers workshops on the curriculum process during each FLEX week. Faculty is encouraged to take advantage of these workshops to keep up to date on changes in the process. Additionally, individual FLEX sessions can be scheduled with either the Curriculum Chair or Faculty Technical Reviewer for help with specific curriculum issues. SCHEDULE The Curriculum Committee meets weekly during the fall and spring semesters. Emergency meetings may be held if required, and a quorum can be obtained. All meetings are public. CALENDAR In conjunction with the Academic Senate, a calendar of meetings and deadlines is published each spring. While the work of the committee continues throughout the academic year, certain deadlines have been established to allow the college to meet deadlines established by outside agencies. It is essential that Faculty authors refer to the calendar and adhere to a timeline, which will allow proposals to be submitted at the appropriate time. Course revisions: The Academic Senate has established a policy that requires every course to go through the revision process every three years. The deadline to reach the end of the audit process is the last Tuesday of November. Courses not meeting this deadline will not be offered in the spring semester, as per Academic Senate policy. Additionally, those courses will not be offered in any subsequent term until they complete the approval process. After each meeting Curriculum Committee submits a summary of its recommendations to the Academic Senate. After approval by the Academic Senate, the Curriculum Committee Summary is submitted to the Board of Trustees for final approval. A curriculum proposal may only submitted to the Chancellor’s Office after Board of Trustees approval. Consequently, Faculty writing curriculum must take into consideration the Curriculum Calendar, Academic Senate calendar, Board of Trustees schedules, and processing of work submitted to the Chancellor’s Office. It is recommended that Faculty consider a one-year timeline for new curriculum development and a six-month one for revised curriculum. Courses seeking articulation may have a longer

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timeline, as four year institutions have specific schedules for reviewing courses for articulation. WHAT MUST BE APPROVED BY THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE?

1. New and revised courses* 2. New and revised programs** 3. Deleted courses or programs 4. Changes course discipline 5. Changes in units/hours 6. Prerequisites, co-requisites, advisories (recommended preparation) 7. Distance learning addendums 8. Requests for courses to be included or removed as CSU-GE, IGETC, or GE for

the associate degree 9. Changes to the college’s associate degree graduation requirements. 10. Technical changes:

a. Correction of mistakes in CurricUNET b. Minor changes are made to the course outline such as changing a book,

adding more detail to the methods of instruction or assignments, modifying the methods of evaluation

c. Non-substantive changes required for C-ID approval d. Changing a prerequisite to recommended preparation. In this case

supporting data must be supplied to show that students can be successful in the course without the prerequisite.

* All revisions receive a full review of the course outline of record.

** New programs must first be approved via the program viability process.

AGENDA Agendas will be posted publically 72 hours before each meeting. Only items on the agenda will be discussed. Proposals will be placed on the agenda based on the nature of the proposal: Consent Agenda:

Technical changes Revised courses and programs, which have been recommended for the consent

agenda after Technical Review. Revised distance learning addendums or new distance learning addendums

added to revised courses. Revised prerequisites, co-requisites, and advisories

Full review:

New courses and programs Revised courses and programs not placed on the consent agenda New pre-requisites, co-requisites, or advisories Distance learning addendums added to new courses. Discussion items Policy and procedure issues

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Curriculum updates Committee reports Mandated training

COMMITTEE ACTIONS The Curriculum Committee may take various actions in response to agenda items:

Approve as submitted Approve with revisions Tabled pending revisions and/or further discussion Denial for major problems in design or compliance with state mandates

Authors may withdraw proposals at any time in the curriculum process prior to approval of the proposal.

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CHAPTER 3

STANDARDS AND CRITERIA

REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR CREDIT AND NONCREDIT COURSES, CREDIT AND NONCREDIT PROGRAMS

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OVERVIEW The work of Curriculum Committee is guided by statutory and regulatory criteria found in Title 5 and the state Education Code. These standards relate to:

Degree credit courses Non-degree credit courses Degree programs and certificates Non-credit courses Non-credit certificates

COURSES AND PROGRAMS Community colleges are authorized to offer different types of courses and programs. Courses may be categorized as credit, non-credit, or community education. Credit courses are further broken down into credit courses that apply to the associate degree and those that do not. Programs are divided into those for credit and those for non-credit. CRITERIA: The following criteria are used by the Chancellor’s Office to approve courses and programs. They are derived from a variety of sources, including statue, regulation, intersegmental agreements, transfer guidelines, accrediting recommendations, and standards of good practice in curriculum development. The Academic Senate endorses them. (Program and Course Approval Handbook, March 2012, pg. 17)

1. Appropriateness to Mission

a. The stated goals and objectives of the proposed program, or the objectives of the course, must be consistent with the mission of the community colleges as established by the Legislature in Education Code section 66010.4

b. Example: lower division GE preparation, lower division major preparation, and career technical education. Avocational or strictly recreational courses are no longer part of the mission of the CCC system.

c. Must provide systematic instruction in a body of content or skills whose mastery forms the basis of student achievement.

2. Need for the course a. Academic Master Plan b. Program Review c. Transfer applicability for major preparation or GE d. CTE need must be documented through labor market information in local

service area &/or employer survey. Additionally, a current job

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market analysis must show that jobs are available or that job enhancement justifies the proposed curriculum.

e. CTE programs must include a recommendation for approval from the appropriate Career Technical Education Regional Consortium.

3. Outline reflects quality a. Course – description, objectives, content, assignments, and

methods of evaluation are cohesive and enable a student to demonstrate they have met the objectives.

b. Program – the program has outcomes and is designed to enable students to meet those outcomes

4. Feasibility a. Course - the college has the resources to offer a course at the level of

quality described in the course outline. b. Program – college has the resources to realistically maintain the

program at the required level, including funding, faculty, and facilities. The college also commits to offering all the required courses for the program at least once every 2 years.

5. Compliance - the design of the program or course must not conflict with any law, statute, or regulation. Examples:

a. Repeatability b. Tutoring c. Open-entry, open-exit courses d. Prerequisite and enrollment limitations e. Nursing Practice Act

In addition to the criteria listed above for all courses, the course outline of record (COR) must show the following elements to be approved and classified as a degree credit course under Title 5. The course outline should contain sufficient information to permit the curriculum committee to correctly determine the correct category for the course. The committee will determine if the course should be recommended for approval and classified as either degree credit, non- degree credit, or noncredit under Title 5 of the California Administrative Code. Both the curriculum committee and Board of Trustees must approve degree credit courses. (Title 5, section 55002(a))

DEGREE CREDIT COURSE CRITERIA CRITERIA: A degree credit course must meet one of the following criteria specified in Title 5. Section 55062:

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A lower division course accepted toward the baccalaureate degree by the California State University or University of California or designed to be offered for transfer.

A course that applies to the major in CTE fields.

An English course not more than one level below the first transfer level composition course. Each student may count only one such course as credit toward the associates degree.

A credit course in English or mathematics taught in or on behalf of other departments and which, as determined by entrance skills at a level equivalent to those necessary for degree-applicable English and mathematics courses (such as BA 0959 – Business and Practical Math at College of the Siskiyous.)

STANDARDS: Title 5, section 55002(a) The curriculum committee approves degree-applicable credit courses based on the following standards:

Grading policy: based on uniform standards and demonstrates proficiency in the subject matter based on written communication, problem solving, and/or skills demonstrations, as appropriate to the course content, (Title 5, section 55023)

Units: granted based on a relationship of hours to units specified by the governing board in compliance with Title 5, section 55002.5, which requires a minimum of 48 hours of lecture, laboratory, out-of-class assignments, or other types of study for each unit of credit. The usual method of meeting this standard is that for each hour of lecture, two hours of homework are assigned. In the case of laboratory courses, the three hours are typically all in the laboratory. While Title 5 specifies the minimum hours required, the Chancellor’s Office has recommended recording the maximum hours needed, so 54 is the number used to calculate hours and units. The total number of expected work must be recorded in the course outline of record.

Intensity and rigor: the outline of course topics, course objectives, assignments, methods of evaluation, and reading must indicate that a college level of work is required. In addition, those course areas should demonstrate that students must study independently outside of class for at least two hours for every hour of lecture.

Prerequisites and co-requisites: must only be assigned if a student would be highly unlikely to receive a satisfactory grade without the prerequisite or co- requisite. The course outline of record must demonstrate the relationship between the prerequisite/co-requisite skills and those to be acquired in the target course. (Title 5, sections 55002(a)(2)(D), 55002(a)(2)(E),

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and 55003). Basic skills: a prerequisite or co-requisite in computation or

communication skills must be established if success in the course is dependent on those skills. (Title 5, section 55002(a)(2)(E).

Difficulty: course must incorporate critical thinking and an understanding of concepts at the college level. (Title 5, section 55002(a)(2)(F).

Level: learning skills and vocabulary must be at the college level. (Title 5, section 55002(a)(2)(G).

Course outline of record: COR must be maintained in the official college files and made available to each instructor. Additionally, the course outline must specify: unit value, contact hours for the course as a whole, recommended preparation, catalog description, objectives, content, examples of required reading and writing assignments, other outside assignments, instructional methodology, and methods of evaluation for determining whether the stated objectives have been met. (Title 5, section 55002(a)(3).

Conduct of the course: a qualified instructor must teach each section of the course. (Title 5, section 55002(a)(4). The Disciplines List established by the Academic Senate lists the recognized disciplines and the minimum qualifications to teach in that discipline.

Repetition: repeated enrollment for apportionment is only allowed in certain circumstances. (Title 5, sections 55040 and 55041)

In addition to determining if a course qualifies as a degree-credit course, the committee also determines if it should be approved as a transfer course and/or a general education course. TRANSFER COURSES: When deciding if a course qualifies as a transfer level course, the most basic consideration is whether or not a comparable course is offered as preparation for a major or as general education at the lower division at a UC or CSU. If the course meets either of those two criteria, then the next consideration is whether or not College of the Siskiyous needs this course to help students meet their educational goals. Consulting with counseling, local four-year schools, and the Articulation Officer will provide guidance in that area. Examine the C-ID descriptors to verify that the transfer course fits statewide patterns. http://www.c- id.net/descriptors.html GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES: General education requirements are a pattern of specific courses required of all students wishing to receive a degree from an accredited institution. The subject matter presented is in general education courses is designed to be general, broad, and introductory surveys rather than specialized, narrow, or advanced studies. There are three main general education patterns: associate degree general education, CSU general education-breath requirements, and Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) for CSU and UC. Each has specific requirements, which are listed in chapter 8, Supplemental

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Materials, of this manual. The curriculum committee must examine courses requesting general education status based on those criteria. In addition, general education courses proposed for CSU general education and/or IGETC must be approved for that designation prior to offering them at College of the Siskiyous. NON-DEGREE CREDIT COURSES

Non-degree applicable credit courses are pre-collegiate basic skills courses. The curriculum committee and the district governing board must approve them. (Title 5, section 55002(b)). The course outline of record must contain enough information so that curriculum committee can judge whether or not the course meets the standards of a degree credit, non- degree credit. or noncredit course under Title 5 of the California Administrative Code.

CRITERIA:

Non-degree applicable basic skills (reading, writing, computation, and English as a Second Language) courses (Cal. Code Regulations., tit.5, section 55000(j)).

Courses designed to prepare students to succeed in degree-applicable courses and which incorporate basic skills instruction throughout the curriculum. Grades are assigned in part on mastery of basic skills. Examples are college orientation, guidance courses, and courses within disciplines such as biology, history, or business.

Pre-collegiate career technical preparation courses that provide foundation skills for enrollment in degree-applicable CTE courses.

CTE courses for which meeting the standards for degree-applicable credit courses in unnecessary.

STANDARDS: Title 5, section 55002(b) 1. Grading policy: based on uniform standards and demonstrates proficiency in the

subject matter based on written communication, problem solving, and/or skills demonstrations, as appropriate to the course content, (Title 5, section 55023 and section 55002(b)(2)(A)).

2. Units: granted based on a relationship of hours to units specified by the governing board in compliance with Title 5, section 55002.5, which requires a minimum of 48 hours of lecture, laboratory, out-of-class assignments, or other types of study for each unit of credit. The usual method of meeting this standard is that for each hour of lecture, two hours of homework are assigned. In the case of laboratory courses, the three hours are typically all in the laboratory. While Title 5 specifies the minimum hours required, the Chancellor’s Office has recommended recording the maximum hours needed, so 54 is the number used to calculate hours and units. The total number of expected work must be recorded in the course outline of record. (Title 5, section 55002(b)(2)(B)).

3. Intensity: must provide instruction in critical thinking, prepare students to study independently, and prepare students to succeed in degree-applicable credit courses. (Title 5, section 55002(b)(2)(C)).

4. Prerequisites: may be applied as needed for student success in the same way as

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degree-applicable credit courses. The course outline of record must demonstrate the relationship between the prerequisite/co-requisite skills and those to be acquired in the target course. (Title 5, sections 55002(a)(2)(D), 55002(a)(2)(E), and 55003).

5. Level: learning skills and vocabulary are appropriate for a college level course.

6. Course: outline of record (COR): COR must be maintained in the official college files and made available to each instructor. Additionally, the course outline must

7. Specify: unit value, contact hours for the course as a whole, recommended preparation, catalog description, objectives, content, examples of required reading and writing assignments, other outside assignments, instructional methodology, and methods of evaluation for determining whether the stated objectives have been met. (Title 5, section 55002(b)(3).

8. Conduct of the course: a qualified instructor must teach each section of the course. (Title 5, section 55002(b)(4). The Disciplines List established by the Academic Senate lists the recognized disciplines and the minimum qualifications to teach in that discipline.

9. Repetition: repeated enrollment for apportionment is only allowed in certain circumstances. (Title 5, sections 55040 and 55041)

A final issue addressed by the Curriculum Committee is whether or not credit courses are stand-alone courses. STAND ALONE STATUS When a credit course is not part of an approved program it is classified as a stand-alone credit course. This means the course is not considered either a General Education course or a course required for a Chancellor’s Office approved program. A special topic course is one example of a stand-alone course. Colleges are authorized to approve stand-alone courses under certain circumstances. If 18 semester or 27 quarter units (or more) of stand-alone courses in the same T.O.P. code are linked together through prerequisites or co- requisites, then the college is required to create a program and submit it to the Chancellor’s Office. Finally, students are prohibited from using more than 18 semester or 27 quarter units to fulfill the requirements of an educational program. (Title 5, section 55100). Care should be exercised when considering developing a stand-alone course. All courses need to follow the current mandates of the community college system: basic skills, transfer, and CTE. The emphasis is on moving students through their educational program

NON-CREDIT COURSES Non-credit courses are authorized by Education Code, Section 84711(a), items 1 through 9. These courses may or may not be designed to prepare students for success in credit programs. Apportionment for these courses differs from credit courses. All non-credit courses must be submitted to the Chancellor’s Office for approval (Title 5, section 55100).

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CRITERIA:

Parenting Basic skills English as a Second Language (ESL)

Citizenship Short term vocational Substantial disabilities Short term vocational programs Older adults Family and consumer sciences Health and safety Workforce preparation

While all nine areas are allowable, the Chancellor’s Office has recommended for apportionment purposes that community colleges focus on basic skills, citizenship, and vocational courses. In addition, community colleges can claim apportionment for supervising tutoring and learning assistance subject to regulations under Title 5. STANDARDS:

Course treats subject matter and uses resource materials, teaching methods, and standards for attendance and achievement that the curriculum committee considers appropriate for the enrolled students. (Title 5, section 55002(c)(1)).

Course outline of record specifies the number of contact hours to complete the course, catalog description, objectives, content outline, methods of instruction, examples of assignments, and methods of evaluation to meet the stated objectives. (Title 5, section 55002(c)(2)).

Conduct: a qualified instructor teaches all sections. The minimum qualifications for non-credit courses differ from those for credit courses. Typically, a Bachelor’s degree is required. (Title 5, section 53412).

Repetition: not subject to repeatability limitations COMMUNITY EDUCATION The Board of Trustees must approve community education courses. However, Title 5 does not mandate that the curriculum committee review and approve community education courses. (Title 5, section55002(d)). PROGRAMS AND CERTIFICATES Title 5, section 55000(g) defines an educational program as “an organized sequence of courses leading to a defined objective, a degree, a certificate, a diploma, a license, or transfer to another institution of higher education.” Community colleges are authorized to award different types of degrees and certificates:

1. Credit:

a. Associate degrees - AA, AS, AA-T, AS-T

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b. Certificates of Achievement

c. Certificate of Specialization. 2. Non-credit:

a. Certificates of Completion b. Certificates of Competency

ASSOCIATE DEGREES Associate degree programs are composed of three parts: general education, a major or area of emphasis, and additional electives as necessary to bring the total number of units to at least 60 semester or 90 quarter units. 18 of the 60 units must be in the major or area of emphasis. A major may be defined by lower division requirements of a specific major at a University of California or California State University. A major may also be defined as a minimum of 18 units in a specific field or related fields of study. An area of emphasis is considered to be a broader group of courses. It might be as broad as “social sciences” or theme based such as “American Studies.” (Title 5, sections 55060- 55064, and SB 1440) The student learning outcomes and objectives from course work must support the student learning outcomes for the degree. All associate degrees must be approved by the Chancellor’s Office. There are four types of associate degrees in California:

Associate in Arts (AA) Associate in Science (AS) Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) Associate in Science for Transfer (AA-T)

The Chancellor’s Office supports the Academic Senate’s recommendation to classify associate degrees as follows (ASCCC Resolution 9.06, Spring 2008):

Associate in Science (AS or AS-T) must be used for and Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field and CTE programs

Associate in Arts (AA or AA-T) must be used for all other disciplines AA and AS CRITERIA: Title 5, sections 55061, 55062, and 55063 define the philosophy and type of course work appropriate to the associate degree. It is designed to lead students through learning experiences, which will develop their ability to think and communicate clearly, use mathematics, and understand modes of inquiry.

Colleges are given freedom to develop these degrees within the parameters established by the Education Code and Title 5. They must contain at least 18 semester or 27 units of work of general education. General education areas are defined as: natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, humanities, language and rationality. 18 semester or 27 quarter units must be in a major or area of emphasis. The remainder of the units comes from electives and/or specific local requirements. Colleges may exceed the 60 semester or 90 quarter unit minimum.

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AA-T and AS-T CRITERIA: The Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) was developed to create a seamless transfer process between the California State University System (CSU) and the California Community College System (CCC). These degrees are designed to work across the CSU system, so that students have more flexibility in their transfer decisions and priority admission for completing the ADT (Education Code 66747). ADT follow the same pattern as the associate degree, but also has specific criteria that must be followed.

General Education units are limited to 18 semester or 27 quarter units from IGETC or CSU General Education Breath Requirements. (Education Code 66746(a)).

No local requirements may be imposed (Education Code 66746). The degree may not exceed 60 semester or 90 quarter units except in special

circumstances (Education Code 66748). Local colleges must follow the Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) when

developing these degrees. The TMC is developed and approved through an intersegmental process involving the community colleges and the CSU system. http://www.c-id.net

Courses in the ADT must be approved through the Course Identification Number (C-ID) system if there is an approved descriptor for the course. http://www.c- id.net

PROGRAM PREREQUISITE CRITERIA: This pertains to an educational program that “is an organized sequence of courses leading to a defined objective, a degree, a certificate, a diploma, a license, or transfer to another institution of higher education.” (Title 5 §55000).

Determination about prerequisites and co-requisites shall be made on a course-by-course or program-to-program basis.

Programs cannot have a separate admission process; students are admitted to the college (open access) and enrolled in its courses and programs, although an application for such a program is permitted.

Identifying those who have met the prerequisites for the program creates the pool of students qualified to enroll in a program. If fewer seats are available for courses in the program than the number of qualified students in the pool, a non-evaluative process must be used to determine who will be in the classes.

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CTE CRITERIA: Career Technical Education programs prepare students for employment immediately after completing the program. There are certain special restrictions on CTE programs whether they are offered as an associate degree or a certificate.

Cannot be designed exclusively for individuals already employed by a particular employer or industry unless the college also allows other students to enroll or offers a parallel program that is open to all students (Title 5, section 51006).

Documentation of need includes labor market information and analysis, employer surveys, and advisory committee recommendations. (Education Code 78015).

Recommendation from the Career Technical Education Regional Consortium to avoid unnecessary duplication of training in the college’s service area (Title 5, section 55130(b)(8)(E).

Occupational programs must be reviewed every two years to show continued evidence of labor market demand and employment by its students (Education Code 78016).

All prerequisites, co-requisites, and advisories must also be reviewed every two years (Title 5, section 55003).

CREDIT CERTIFICATES

Certificate of achievement: is defined as any sequence of degree-applicable courses consisting of 18 or more semester units or 27 or more quarter units. A certificate of achievement is designed to represent the completion of learning experiences, which develop skill in CTE or general education. It may not be solely based on basic skills and/or ESL courses. Additionally, this certificate is considered an education program requiring Chancellor’s Office approval and may be placed on a student’s transcript (Title 5, section 55070).

Certificate of specialization: is the title give to all credit certificates at College of the Siskiyous that are less than 18 semester or 27 quarter units. Title 5 does not specify a name for these sorts of certificates, but it does prohibit using certain names (e.g. achievement, completion, competency). This certificate may only appear on a student’s transcript if it is 12 to fewer than 18 semester units and has been submitted to the Chancellor’s Office for approval. Credit certificates lower than 12 semester units may not appear on a student’s transcript. (Title 5, section 55070).

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NON-CREDIT CERTIFICATES Certificates of Completion: are awarded for a sequence of non-credit course work

leading to improved employability or job opportunities (Title 5, section 55151.) Certificates of Competency are awarded for non-credit course work that prepares

a student to progress in a career path or to take credit courses. It is based showing competency rather than taking a specific number of courses (Title 5, section 55151.)

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CHAPTER 4

CREATING A COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD

PURPOSE, COMPONENTS, AND GUIDELINES FOR CREATING A COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD

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PURPOSE OF THE COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD The Course Outline of Record (COR) is a required document for all credit and non-credit courses under Title 5. It must fully describe the course and its components, as well as meet the standards detailed in Title 5, section 55002, as well as other regulatory and accreditation standards. The COR is the primary way the community and other institutions are exposed to the scope and rigor of courses and programs. It plays an integral role in program evaluation and regional accreditation. The COR serves as the basis for articulation agreements and course identification number (C-ID) approval. It is the template for course syllabi to ensure consistency across all course sections. Finally, it is considered legal contract between the instructor, student, and college. The standards for the COR are the same whether the course is new or revised.

The following statements illustrate the importance of the COR:

ACCJC Standard IIA2c: High-quality instruction and appropriate breadth, depth, rigor, sequencing, time to completion, and synthesis of learning characterize all programs.

For colleges to maintain their delegated authority to review and approve new and revised courses, they must certify that their local approval standards meet the comprehensive guide- lines produced by the Chancellor’s Office. The quality described in a course outline of record is evidence of meeting these guidelines. The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide (ASCCC, 2008)

A course outline of record needs to be integrated. At the most fundamental level “integration” occurs when each element of the course outline of record reinforces the purpose of the other elements in the course outline. There should be an obvious relationship between the objectives of the course, the methods of instruction, the assignments, and the methods of evaluation used to promote and evaluate student mastery of those objectives. The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide (ASCCC, 2008)

It must be recognized that the purpose of the course outline goes beyond expressing the content of the course and the way it is taught. It is the document that is reviewed to meet accreditation requirements, intersegmental standards, and articulation needs. This broader audience outside the individual campus calls for expanded writing styles to meet the expectations of those groups. Experience has shown that certain methods of presentation are more effective than others in conveying the components of the course to meet those expectations. The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide (ASCCC, 2008)

Good practice dictates that the COR be specific enough to guide instructors in developing the course and those who will evaluate the course. At the same time, it must be general enough to provide instructors the freedom to employ his/her teaching style and expertise and to adapt to student learning

The following worksheet addresses core elements in the course outline of record. It illustrates a method of ensuring that a course is comprehensive and integrated. The most common reason courses are returned to the author is because the course outline or record lacks integration. The worksheet can be used for both new and modified courses. It is a planning document and not intended to represent a style sheet for writing SLOs, objectives, or content outlines. (Adapted from The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide (ASCCC, 2008) ENGINE SYSTEMS

Course SLO is overarching and matches course description: By the end of this course students will be able to:

Students will be able to succeed in this course by mastering the following COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of this course students will be able to

The course objectives are composed of the following CONTENT elements:

Students will master these objectives by the following METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:

Students will complete the following types or examples of homework or OUTSIDE ASSIGNMENTS

Students will be EVALUATED by:

Diagnose and evaluate most common fuel system problems safely

assess and determine the proper handling of fuels and combustible materials,

apply testing techniques and data to familiar and unfamiliar diagnosis scenarios.

proper tool usage,

characteristics of petroleum products,

technical reading,

interpolating data in diagnostic process charts and schematics.

laboratory simulators and test equipment,

demonstrations of fuel flammability,

conduct research on computer based repair and service information,

in-class practice exercises in diagnostic and analytical skills.

read assignments from the course primary textbook to become familiar with basic tools and common test equipment,

research National Fire Protection Agency combustible liquids data sheets to determine flash and flame points, and fire suppression techniques for selected fuel oils and solvents and write a 5 page paper comparing and contrasting different combustible liquids

complete responses in course workbooks.

Demonstrate diagnosing and evaluating fuel system problems

practical assessments where the student safely operates various test equipment and hand tools,

oral and practical assessments where the student safely handles various fuels and other hazardous materials,

written assessments in which the student completes research questionnaires

practical assessment in which the student successfully completes several diagnostic scenarios.

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COMPONENTS OF THE COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD Title 5, section 55002 specifies elements, which must be present in the course outline of record. In addition, the Chancellor’s Office also requires that CORs contain other elements. In addition, the college finds it useful to include other elements. The following is a summary of all required elements. RATIONALE: This component addresses the three of the five criteria required for all courses and programs: mission, need, and resources. Include a complete description of how the course fits with the mission of the college and department, the need for the course, and the availability of resources to offer it as described in the rest of the COR. Revised courses should state how SLO assessment findings guided the revision process. The other two required criteria, quality and compliance, will be judged based on the rest of the COR. COURSE TITLE, PREFIX, and NUMBER: The title should reflect the nature of the course, and at the same time, be succinct. This is an element required by the Chancellor’s Office. The prefix needs to follow the pattern established by the college for different groups of related courses. If this is a new course, consult with Academic Affairs to determine the correct prefix. Consideration needs to be given to sequencing within departmental offerings. It is helpful for students to have foundational courses listed with lower numbers than more advanced courses. If courses are related to one another in content, it is also helpful to reflect that in the numbering system. Finally, experience has shown that leaving room between course numbers for future additions allows departments more freedom when a major curriculum revision is needed. It is never a good idea to reuse course numbers if the new/revised course is

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substantially different from the old course. Reusing numbers creates confusion when students are seeking credit for courses. CREDIT STATUS: The Chancellor’s Office requires courses to be designated according to their credit status. The course number reflects the level, but does not entirely address this issue. There is a separate section in CurricuUNET to complete to fulfill this requirement. The following is a definition of the different choices in CurricUNET:

AA degree applicable – non-transferrable: a course that is present in an associate degree or certificate, or listed as an associate degree GE requirement but which is taught at a level less than a typical baccalaureate course.

AA degree applicable – transferrable: a course typically accepted to fulfill a lower division baccalaureate requirement by the CSU system.

College credit: a non-transferrable elective. Non-credit: a course that fits into one of the nine approved non-credit categories.

These courses pre-collegiate level courses. There is a special numbering system for non-credit courses.

DOUBLE CODING: Another consideration is whether or not the course should be listed in two different departments. While this is commonly called “cross-listing,” the actual term is “double coding.” Double coding” is appropriate if a course covers material common in more than one subject area.

1. The courses must have two separate but identical CORs 2. Faculty members must author the course in their area. 3. Double coded courses must “cross-listed in both disciplines or designate

interdisciplinary as the discipline for both courses. DISCIPLINE: Title 5 does not specify that the discipline be listed on the COR; however, it does specify that each course be taught by a qualified instructor. Listing the qualifications for instructors on the COR is the logical place to record this information. The appropriate discipline needs to come from the Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and Administrators in California Community Colleges published by the Chancellor’s Office http://www.asccc.org/sites/default/files/Minimum_Qualifications_Handbook_for_2

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012-2014_(MB2)_020212.pdf. The list is divided into two parts – those requiring a master’s degree and those that do not.

Overview and Principles of Effective Practices:

This assignment helps describe the course by classifying it in a discipline (e.g.,

History 103 is clearly a history course and would be assigned to the History

discipline) and also indicates what academic and occupational (if it is for a non-

master’s degree discipline) preparation is needed to teach the course. These

disciplines are those that appear in Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and

Administrators in the California Community Colleges, also known as the

“Disciplines List.” Generally, a course is assigned to a single discipline.

However, some courses are cross-listed, i.e. placed in two or more disciplines.

For example, a course on the Sociology of Aging may be appropriately assigned

to both the disciplines of sociology and psychology, meaning a faculty member

meeting the minimum qualifications of either discipline would be able to teach

the course. Some courses can also be listed in the Interdisciplinary discipline,

which is the combination of two or more disciplines---the faculty member

must meet the minimum qualifications of one of the disciplines listed for that

Interdisciplinary discipline and have preparation in each of the other

disciplines listed for the Interdisciplinary discipline. The Course Outline of

Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide (ASCCC, 2008)

Disciplines should not be confused with degrees or department names. Rather consider them a label describing expertise in specific areas. For example, the discipline of “Earth Science” is defined as: Master’s Degree in geology, geophysics, earth sciences, meteorology, oceanography, or paleontology OR bachelor’s degree in geology AND master’s degree in geography, physics, or geochemistry OR the equivalent. (Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and Administrators in California Community Colleges, 2012, pg. 19) Care needs to be taken when assigning disciplines to ensure qualified instructors teach students. Generally, the Faculty author is considered the content expert and therefore most qualified to determine the appropriate discipline. It is the curriculum committee’s responsibility to make the final decision. PROGRAM: The Chancellor’s Office requires that the COR indicate placement of courses in Chancellor’s Office approved programs. If the course is not part of a program, then it is considered a stand-alone course and requires separate approval by the curriculum committee. (CB24 – stand alone or in a program, AB1943)

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CLASS SIZE: This is a negotiated item not currently included in the COSFA contract. The ASCCC recommends that class size be listed in the COR, as it is part of the pedagogy of the course.

UNITS/HOURS: The academic unit is based on the hours a student spends learning, both inside and outside the classroom. This is called the “Total Student Learning Hours.” The units given for those hours are called “Academic Credit.” Title 5, section specifies that the minimum number of student work hours for one unit of credit is 48. It further specifies that colleges must award 2 units of credit for courses requiring 96 or more student work hours. It is common practice for this formula to be interpreted in the following manner:

1. Lecture: 1 hour of work/week in class and 2 hours/week outside of class over the entire semester = 1 unit

2. Laboratory: 3 hours of work/week in the laboratory over the entire semester = 1 unit (presumes no outside work for students)

In both cases the Total Student Learning Hours is used to calculate the unit value of academic credit. Since laboratory courses may actually require outside work, colleges may calculate the units awarded based on the lecture model. For example, 2 hours/week laboratory and 1 hour/week outside work (3 total student work hours) would equal 1 unit of credit. There is no prohibition against this practice. However, it must be used with caution, particularly in regard to transferable laboratory courses. In the natural sciences, it is standard university practice to base the number of units awarded only on the in-class hours. Any alteration of this relationship for such a course could jeopardize its acceptability for major or general education purposes at the four-year level. Since semester terms range from 16-18 in the community college system, the Chancellor’s Office has recommended that hours and units be based on 54 hours of total student work hours equals 1 unit of academic credit. This ensures the most accurate reporting of FTES. How those hours are actually scheduled and reported for apportionment is left up to the college as long as at least 48 hours of work is awarded 1 unit of credit. Course Outlines of Record must record the total hours required for each instructional category and the total student work hours. Hence the COR must record the lecture hours, lab hours, and outside work hours to calculate the correct number of academic units.

Formula: (Total Lec Hrs) + (Total Lab Hrs) + (Total Homework Hrs) = unit(s) 54 semester hours/unit Title 5 requires that units be rounded to the nearest 0.5, but colleges may elect to give credit for smaller increments.

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EXAMPLES:

Lecture only: 18 hours lecture + 36 hours homework = 54 total hours/54 = 1 unit Lab

only: 54 hours lab + 0 homework = 54 total hours/54 = 1 unit

Lecture/lab: 18 hours lecture + 36 hours homework + 54 hours lab = 108 total hours/54 = 2 units At College of the Siskiyous the COR reflects the total number of student learning hours and the associated units for an entire semester. The Curriculum Committee uses the hours and units listed to evaluate a COR. A 3 unit lecture course with two Learning Outcomes and six lines of content indicates a mismatch between total student learning hours and the construction of the course. That COR would be returned for clarification. Similarly, a 3 unit lecture course listing “papers and worksheets” does not give enough detail to explain the expected 108 outside hours of homework. That COR would be returned as well for clarification. CONDITIONS OF ENROLLMENT: Title 5, sections 55002(a)(2)(D), 55003(d), and 58106 Prerequisites, co-requisites, advisories: Title 5 states that if, after reviewing the course outline of record, the curriculum committee determines that a student would be highly unlikely to receive a satisfactory grade in that course unless the student has knowledge or skills not taught in that class, then prerequisites or co- requisites need to be established. Student success is the key element in determining if a prerequisite or co-requisite is required. Title 5 also charges the college with implementing these restrictions consistently. Proper enforcement means that:

1. Students are required to meet the conditions of enrollment in a course 2. Enrollment in the course is restricted to students who meet the prerequisites 3. Students are provided with procedures for challenging prerequisites 4. Procedures for established for periodically reviewing prerequisites and co-

requisites. Specifically, pre-collegiate skills in reading, written expression, or mathematics require the college to ensure that prerequisite and co-requisite policies do not have a disproportionate impact on groups of students in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, or disability.

Once a prerequisite/co-requisite has been adopted for a course, all students wishing to enroll in that course must meet those requirements. Prerequisites and co-requisites must be enforced consistently. Instructional and counseling faculty and/or other staff cannot waive course prerequisites. However, students may challenge prerequisites, co-requisites and limitations on enrollment when they can provide evidence of comparable knowledge or skills demonstrated through alternate coursework, portfolios of work

completed, work experience. The department chair handles the Prerequisite Challenge process.

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Other Limitations on enrollment: In addition to establishing prerequisites, co- requisites, and recommended preparation (advisories), Title 5, section 58106 establishes certain circumstances whereby the college may set limits on which students are eligible to enroll in a course. Auditions and team tryouts are common limitations on enrollment. Limitations should be fair, as objective as possible, and produce consistent evaluation results. Limitations are listed in the course outline of record at College of the Siskiyous. They must be evaluated periodically for disproportionate impact, so records must be kept for analysis. Enrollment is subject to limitation based on one or more of the following reasons:

1. Health and safety. 2. In cases of intercollegiate competition, honors courses, or public performance

courses, allocation of available seats to those students judged most qualified, and providing such courses are not core requirements for a major or a general education requirement for which there is no other course available.

3. One or more sections of a course are limited to a cohort of students when other sections of the same course are available for open enrollment. The Chancellor’s Office position is that at least 50% of the sections offered need to be open to all students in order to restrict some sections to cohorts.

4. Selection procedure is expressly authorized by statute (assessment tests.) All limitations on enrollment must be approved by the curriculum committee and reported to the Chancellor’s Office. In the spirit of open access, any restriction requires documented proof to justify that restriction. This proof is typically referred to as “scrutiny” and becomes part of the course outline of record by filling out the “requisite” form in CurricUNET. The following is a definition of the types restrictions:

1. Prerequisite: course or condition the student must complete prior to registration in order to be successful in the new course.

2. Co-requisite: course the student must take at the same time as another course in order to be successful in both.

3. Advisory/recommended preparation: a course or skill that would be helpful to the student, but which is not necessary for success in the course.

4. Audition: performance courses typically require an audition for placement in the correct role or performance group.

5. Cohort: colleges may restrict registration to specific groups of students. This may take the form of learning community or an honors program.

6. Regulatory restrictions: a law or governing agency restricts access to a course(s) or learning environment such as a clinical site.

7. Health and safety restrictions: requirements students must meet in order to be safe in the learning environment.

8. Assessment tests: tests to establish student skill level and which are used to give students assess to specific courses.

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Content review:

Content review is a process to determine the skills or knowledge needed for success in a given course. It also includes a determination of how that preparation is best obtained by students. The result of this process is a decision as to whether a student needs to acquire that preparation prior to enrolling in the class (prerequisite), while being enrolled in that class (co- requisite), or to strongly recommend that students acquire that preparation prior to enrollment (advisory). Advisory content review: A brief content review is used for advisories, because the recommendation is not binding. In a brief content review the SLO’s, objectives, and/or the content of the advisory course are compared to those of the target course to indicate how the advisory skills or knowledge will promote success in the target course. This is accomplished by filling out the requisite form in CurricUNET and completing the brief content review section. State which SLO’s, objectives, and/or the content from the recommended course will enhance performance in the target course, and how students’ success will be increased by having that preparation. Prerequisites, and in some cases co-requisites, require a more complete process, because they are binding restrictions. A full content review requires:

1. Involvement of faculty with appropriate expertise. When a prerequisite/co-requisite is outside of the target course discipline, faculty from both areas must consult during this process. List the names in the appropriate area on the requisite form.

2. Consideration of course objectives set by relevant department(s) (the curriculum review process should be done in a manner that is in accordance with accreditation standards);

3. Examination of detailed course syllabus and outline of record, tests, related instructional materials, course format, type and number of examinations, and grading criteria;

4. Specification of the body of knowledge and/or skills which are deemed necessary at entry and/or concurrent with enrollment;

5. Identification and review of the prerequisite or co-requisite which develops the body of knowledge and/or measures skills identified under “d.” Briefly summarize the findings in the “brief content review section” on the requisite form in CurricUNET.

6. Matching of the knowledge and skills in the targeted course (identified under d.) and those developed or measured by the prerequisite or co-requisite (i.e., the course or assessment identified under e.). This part is accomplished in the “content review” section in CurricUNET, and

7. Maintenance of documentation that the above steps were taken. Note the conclusions of the faculty conducting the content review

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at the end of the content review matching grid in CurriUNET. Completing the two forms will be considered documentation of the content review process.

Courses exempt from content review:

1. Required by statute or regulation; or

2. Part of a closely-related lecture-laboratory course pairing within a discipline; or required by four-year institutions; or

3. Baccalaureate institutions will not grant credit for a course unless it has the particular communication or computation skill prerequisite.

Content Review with Statistical Validation: In some cases of English and Math prerequisites it is necessary combine content review with statistical to establish the prerequisite or co-requisite. In these cases, data needs to be collected based on sound research practices to show that the prerequisite or co-requisite is appropriate. If the data shows that students are highly unlikely to succeed without the prerequisite/co-requisite, then the prerequisite/co-requisite is validated. If the data show otherwise, then faculty may not establish the prerequisite/co-requisite. Data must be collected in at least one of the following areas:

1. The extent to which students, those currently enrolled in the course or those who have completed it, believe the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite is necessary.

2. Comparison of the faculty members' appraisal of students' readiness for the course to whether students met the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite. The faculty appraisal could be done at any time in the semester that the college determined was appropriate and based on independent assignments, quizzes and exams, participation in class, or other indicators that the student was or was not ready to take the course.

3. Comparison of students' performance at any point in the course with completion of the proposed prerequisite or co-requisite.

4. Comparison of student performance in the course to their scores on assessment instruments in the manner required to validate an assessment instrument and cut scores for the course in question.

When data collection and analysis is required, Institutional Research will assist departments in conducting and/or obtaining data regarding student success relative to prerequisite requirements. Title 5 also allows the option of establishing English and Math prerequisites using content review with data collection alone. A special Prerequisite Subcommittee is formed each academic year to review proposals to initiate out of discipline prerequisites in English and/or Mathematics. The subcommittee meets once per year in the fall semester. Faculty wishing to initiate these types of prerequisites must complete a proposal form (available on the Curriculum Committee website) by the deadline specified on the Curriculum Committee Calendar.

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REPEATABILITY: Repeatability refers to situations in which a student who has received a satisfactory grade in a class may take it again for credit. Title 5, section 55041 only allows a course to be repeated if it: Must be repeated to meet major requirements at a CSU or UC to complete a bachelor’s degree. This means that the school states in their catalog that part of lower division preparation requires repeating a course or type of course. It does not mean that a CSU or UC allows students to take a course more than one time if the student wants to repeat the experience. Documentation of this requirement must be provided to the curriculum committee and must be retained by the District.

1. Intercollegiate athletics as defined in section 55000 2. Intercollegiate academic or vocational competition as defined by section 55000.

To qualify as repeatable, the course must require students to participate in officially recognized competitions. Examples are Model UN and speech competitions. Single competitions, or those created by the college, are not considered broad enough to meet these criteria.

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Catalog descriptions should be succinct but provide a global view of the course. Typically, they start with a verb (e.g. presents, introduces, explores). In the case of course in a prescribed sequence it is also allowable to use the format, “First in a series of three courses examining…” Descriptions average two to three sentences. Prerequisites and co-requisites will be automatically included, so those do not need to be mentioned. If field trips are required, that fact must be stated at the end of the description, “Field trips required.” Finally, any UC or CSU credit limitations must be stated. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: Student learning outcomes represent the overarching goals of a course. Consequently, ACCJC supports embedding SLOs in the course outline of record. Standards for SLOs at College of the Siskiyous are:

1. SLOs must be consistent with the catalog description 2. 1-2 SLOs per class. This facilitates the assessment cycle. 3. SLOs are stated in overarching, but measurable terms. Generally, this means

using higher order verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy. 4. SLOs are divided into lecture/lab if the course is a combined lecture and lab

course. 5. At times regional groups collaborate on curriculum to standardize it across the

state. Those groups may have different standards for SLOs. Past practice is to follow the standardized pattern as much as possible.

OBJECTIVES:

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The following is taken from The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide (ASCCC, 2008, pg. 24):

1. Objectives should be stated in terms of what students will be able to do. 2. Objectives should clearly connect to achievement of the course goals. 3. Objectives should be concise but complete: ten objectives might be too many;

one is not enough. 4. Objectives should use verbs showing active learning. 5. Theory, principles, and concepts must be adequately covered. Skills and

applications are used to reinforce and develop concepts. 6. Each objective should be broad in scope, not too detailed, narrow, or specific.

The course outline of record is required to be an integrated document. Consequently, the curriculum committee examines objectives to see if they:

1. Match the SLOs – essentially more detailed parts of the SLOs 2. Indicate the appropriate level of thinking skills. Degree applicable credit

courses must indicate critical thinking. 3. Match the content – there should be at least one objective for each major topic,

but one objective may cover more than one area of content.

4. Are divided into lecture/lab if the course is a combined lecture and lab course.

CONTENT: Best practices indicate that:

1. The content element contains a complete list of all topics to be taught in the course.

2. The list should be arranged by topic with sub-headings. 3. Content items should be subject based. 4. (The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide, ASCCC, 2008, pg.

28.) The curriculum committee will compare the content and objectives to see if there is a good match between them. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: The ASCCC provides the following recommendations:

1. The proposed learning environment is realistic to the needs of the learning experience.

2. The methods of instruction appropriately ensure that quality occurs in an equal and consistent manner irrespective of any delivery constraints.

3. Methods of instruction should be appropriate to the objectives. 4. Types or examples of methods of instruction are required. If all instructors agree,

the course outline may show just one teaching pattern. However, instructors have the freedom to choose how they will achieve course objectives. If other methods are used, options should be described fully.

5. The difficulty standard for degree-applicable credit courses requires that instruction

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elicit college-level effort, particularly in terms of critical thinking. (The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide, ASCCC, 2008, pg. 30)

CurricUNET lists common methods of instruction. If others are used, there is a box in which to list others. METHODS OF EVALUATION: Title 5, section 55002(a)(2)(A) requires that the COR contain the methods for assigning the grade for the course. The grade needs to be based on demonstrated proficiency in the subject matter. Title 5 does not require a comprehensive list of methods that may be used by all instructors. At College of the Siskiyous the policy is to list those methods that will be used by all instructors in order ensure consistency across all sections. Additional methods are permitted at the discretion of individual instructors. The methods of evaluation should match the course and give evidence that the SLOs and objectives can be measured using them. ASSIGNMENTS: Title 5 does not require a complete list of assignments. Rather, the COR must provide types or examples of assignments typical of the course. Articulating agreements often rest on the quality of assignments, so providing well developed examples is required as standard practice at College of the Siskiyous. The ASCCC recommends the “In all cases, the assignments should be presented in a manner that reflects both integration with the stated objectives and a likelihood that they will lead to students achieving those objectives.” (The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide, ASCCC, 2008, pg. 37) Title 5 does require that the grade be based on writing, problem solving, or skill demonstrations depending on the type of course. Additionally, examples of reading assignments are required if appropriate to the course. CurricUNET has fields for all those areas to be completed by course authors. The curriculum committee reviews this area to see if:

1. Assignments match stated methods of evaluation – if a case study is listed as a method of evaluation, it should be explained further in the assignments.

2. The writing, problem solving, or skill demonstrations fit the type of course 3. Sufficient detail is presented to show the intensity, difficulty, and level of the work

required of students BOOKS AND MATERIALS: Listing the books and other materials used in the course reflects the

intensity, difficulty, and level of the course. Additionally, the UC and CSU systems require that textbooks be no more than 5 years old. It is not necessary to update the COR every time instructors change a book. Those listed are considered examples not the precise book used in any given section. In some cases, the books used are classics and are not updated regularly. In those cases, use the “notes” area at the end of the CurricUNET COR to explain that issue. CurricUNET has fields in which to input all the essential information for texts. Open Educational Resources (OERs) may be used in place of a textbook. However, faculty should consult with the Articulation Officer to

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ensure that there will be no impact on the articulation of the status of the course. DISTANCE LEARNING ADDENDUM: Title 5 and accreditation standards all impact distance education. The face-to- face version of the course is considered the level to be achieved in a distance education format, and the distance learning addendum (DLA) is designed to allow authors to show how they will adapt a face-to-face course to the distance education. The curriculum committee must approve DLAs separately. The following is a summary of effective practices based on Title 5, section 55206: Distance Education requirements call for a separate review process to ensure that a course taught at a distance is taught to the course outline of record and to ensure quality through regular effective instructor-student contact. As the course outline of record is the basis for articulation, it is imperative that all sections of a given course achieve the same objectives regardless of instructional modality. Typically, this separate review is achieved through the use of a “distance education addendum.” (The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide, ASCCC 2008, page 60)

Following these guidelines, the curriculum committee examines the DLA for:

1. Sufficient detail to show how the face-to-face delivery is being modified to for distance education. This entails both content and assignments. For example, if the course is typically a lecture course, how will the lecture material be delivered to students? If students typically make in-class presentations, how students do this in the distance education format?

2. Instructor to student interaction is present and indicates that the instructor initiates that interaction rather than making students initiate it. Give specific examples of ways instructors interact with students. If a discussion board is used for interaction, give an example of how the discussion will be conducted.

3. Methods of evaluation match those in the face-to-face course. 4. Accessibility is addressed via 508 compliance.

In addition to the criteria listed above, the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges requires that the following additional information be

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contained on the Course Outline of Record for all Credit Courses. They will be completed in the Curriculum Office prior to sending the course to the Chancellor’s Office.

1. Taxonomy of Programs (TOP) code

2. Course Identification Number (assigned by the Chancellor’s Office)

3. Basic skills status

4. SAM code (occupational status)

5. Course classification code (CB11 – required by SB361 and AB1943)

6. Special class status (CB13 – for disabled students Title 5 §56029)

7. Prior to college level (CB21 – English/ESL courses prior to college level)

8. Funding agency category (CB23 – funding for course development was an Economic

Development Grant)

NEW AND REVISED CORs CurricuNET contains all the required elements for the COR faculty need to complete to

submit a proposal for consideration by the curriculum committee. New courses must

complete the entire COR. Revised courses only need to modify the appropriate sections

of the COR.

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CHAPTER 5

CURRICUNET

USER INSTRUCTIONS

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BEGINNING THE PROCESS College of the Siskiyous uses the CurricUNET online system to create and record curriculum. It is also where SLO assessments are stored. The website address is: http://www.curricunet.com/siskiyous/. The first screen is for public access of courses and programs and is typical for all institutions using the system. In order to gain access to the curriculum creation portion of the site, you must login using your CurricUNET login and password. If you do not have one, or have forgotten it, please contact the Coding Reviewer. As you begin using the system, there are a number of resources available. Training workshops are offered during FLEX. Individual help from the Curriculum Chair or Technical reviewers are also eligible for FLEX credit. The site itself has a number of hints in the “help” section, as well as a user guide. Finally, this handbook provides tips for using the site. ORGANIZATION OF THE SITE The left hand side of the site has menu options. It is divided into nine different sections with subsections. Navigation is easiest using the back arrow or clicking on the menu. There are certain universal conventions throughout the system:

1. Save = information is saved. Save regularly. 2. Finish = section is completed. This locks the information recorded and puts a “X”

in that section of the menu. 3. Unlock = unlock a section so that it can be revised. The “X” is removed from the

menu section. 4. “Pencil” icon = click to edit the course. 5. “Scissor” icon = delete proposal. 6. “WR” = a Word version of the course outline. This not an editable version of the

course. 7. Red indicates an active course or program. 8. Blue indicates an archived or “historical” course or program. 9. Black indicates a new proposal for a course or program.

PREFERENCES: Like many sites, CurricUNET provides a place to create a personal profile. This is where you will create and record your personal password. Only your name, email, username, and password fields need to be filled out. Notifications are ongoing and do not need adjustment. SEARCH: In this section users can search for courses, programs, and outcome assessments. Clicking on the category you want to search brings you to a

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screen with buttons and a drop down menu. Choose your categories to narrow your search. There is also a free text box or boxes. Mistakes typing create problems, so often it is easiest to skip that step and choose the correct item from the more general list generated by CurricUNET. BUILD: This section is the one most frequented by faculty, because it is where courses and programs are created or modified. Help is available within each section. Create a course: Clicking on “create a course” brings you to a screen to begin creating a course. Use the drop down menus and free text to complete it.

1. Click on “OK,” and you will have access to all parts of the course outline or record to complete. This screen also allows you to record a co-contributor to work on the course. As the primary author you can give your co-contributor access to all areas of the course or only certain areas.

2. Be sure to save your work as you move through the sections. When you are certain a section is complete, click on “finish.” An “X” will appear on that section on the menu helping you to remember which sections are completed.

3. Some sections do not become active unless they are needed to complete the outline. For example, the distance learning addendum is not activated unless “distance education” is chosen in the methods of instruction.

4. Many of the menu sections have explanations stored in the “help” option. 5. You can return to the course whenever you want by clicking on “Modify a

course” under the BUILD menu. This brings you to a screen where the proposals, have not yet been submitted can be accessed for editing.

6. Click on the “pencil” or edit icon to resume work on the proposal. 7. When the outline is completed, click on the “Submit” button on the left hand

side of the screen. If you do not see a “Submit” button, make sure that the cover screen under the course checklist is “finished” and checked off. This will send the proposal to the Dean for review.

8. You can track the proposal’s progress through the audit trail via the “My Proposals” link under the “Track” section.

Revising a course: Revising a course follows the same pattern as creating a course, except that not all the menu sections need to be completed. One difference is that you must choose the course to modify. The process for doing this is:

1. Click on “modify a course” under the main BUILD menu 2. On the next screen click on “course modification” 3. This brings you to a course search screen. Choose “active” courses, and use the

drop down menu to choose the discipline (department) for the course. You can also fill in the other information if you’re sure of it. Click “OK.”

4. The next screen is a list of your search results. Each course listed has command icons next to it. The legend on the right explains them. You want to click on the icon that looks like two pieces of paper on top of each other (course copy icon.)

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This copies the course for you so that you have a version to revise.

5. Once you click on the copy icon, you are directed to the “Course review proposal.” If the correct course is listed, click “OK.” This starts the revision process by providing you with access to the COR via the menu on the right hand side of the screen.

6. You can return to edit your course, multiple times via the “Modify course” area on the main page. Once you have submitted your proposal you no longer have editing access to it unless it is sent back to you from an approver requesting changes.

Archive course: This is the process of deleting a course. Click on “archive course” under the main BUILD menu. You will be taken to a course search screen where you can search for the course you would like to archive.

1. The next screen will display your search results. 2. Next click on the course copy icon (similar to revising a course) next to the course

you want to archive. This copies the course, so that it can be sent through the audit trail.

3. You will be asked to explain the rationale for deleting the course via a text box. 4. Click “OK” to finish the rationale. Then click on the “submit” button on the left

side of the screen to start the audit process. Create a program: This is the process of creating a new program. Click on “create a program” in the BUILD menu. This brings you to a screen where you designate the department, title, and type of program. Clicking “save” takes you to a screen with a menu on the right of the required elements to create a new program similar to those for courses. The unique part of this process is adding the courses and defining whether which are required or recommended.

1. Courses are added to the program outline by clicking on “Course Blocks Definitions” under the Degree/Certificate Checklist.

2. Insert a title for the course block (e.g. “Program Requirements, Recommended Electives,” etc.) in the Course Block Definition text box at the top of the screen.

3. If all of the courses in a particular block are required, you can leave the “Default” radio button selected and the system will automatically add in all of the units listed in the block in the total units required.

4. If you have a block of courses where students are only required to take a certain amount of units from multiple courses, select the radio button on the “Units (Specify Unit Range),” and then type in the units required below. For example, if a student needs to take a minimum of 6 units from a block of courses, type in “6 to 6” in the spaces under “Unit Range Courses”

5. Next click the “Add” button toward the bottom of the screen and the course block will be brought down toward the bottom of the screen. To add courses into the block you just created, click on the “Courses” button next to the newly created block.

6. On the next screen select the discipline you would like to add courses from in the drop down at the top of the screen. A new box with all the courses (active and

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proposals) will appear where you can select the course you would like to add into that block. The “Condition” pull down menu is used if you need to include an “and” or an “or” between the courses you are listing.

7. After you have selected the correct course, and condition as needed, click the “Add” button. The course will be populated at the bottom of the screen. Repeat this process for all of the courses that you would like to add to this block. When you are finished with the block, click on the “Done” button.

8. If you have additional course blocks you need to add, repeat the same process above.

You can return to work on the program proposal by clicking on “Modify a program”

under the BUILD menu.” This gives you a list of programs to edit. All of the screens under the Degree/Certificate Checklist must be “finished” and checked off for the Submit button to appear. When you are done, submit the program. Once you have submitted your program proposal you no longer have editing access to it unless it is sent back to you from an approver requesting changes. Modify a program: The process is similar to modifying a course. When you click on “modify a program” on the main page you are directed to a screen where you can choose and copy the program. Once you verify that it is the correct program by clicking “OK” on the “Program review proposal” screen, you will have access to editing the program Archive a program: Archiving a program is similar to archiving a course. Making requested changes to proposals: If a proposal is returned to you from one of the Technical Reviewers requesting changes, you will be notified through an email from system@governet.net. The requested changes will be included in the email message. To access a proposal that has been sent back to you, follow the steps below:

1. Click on “Modify a Course” under the BUILD menu and a list of your proposals will appear.

2. Click on the pencil icon next to the course that was sent back to you requesting changes and you will be taken back to the edit screens where you can make the requested changes.

3. After you have made the requested changes and saved/finished them, click on “CurricUNET Home”

4. To re-submit the proposal to the auditor who requested the changes, click on link titled "My Approvals" under TRACK on the left side of the page.

5. Select “Course Author” from the drop down box. Click "Next". 6. A list of approvals waiting for you will be displayed. 7. Click on the "Action" button next to the proposal (course or program) you want

to submit.

8. Enter any comments related to the approval (remember everyone can view

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your comments.) 9. Select the action you wish from the pull down menu at the bottom of the screen

and click save. The proposal will be submitted directly back to the auditor who requested the changes.

TRACK: This section is used to track the progress of proposals and approvals for those on the audit trail. My proposals: Clicking on “My Proposals” on the main page, directs you to a list of proposals you have submitted for review. There is a button to remove the proposal from consideration. There is also called “check status” that allows you to track the progress of the proposal through the audit trail. If you click on it, you will see notes from auditors and the current stage in the audit trail. The audit process takes around two weeks during the school year. You may contact your division representative if your proposal is at one stage for more than two weeks; however, summer should be considered an off period for Technical Reviewers.

All proposals: This section contains all the pending proposals in the system. They can be sorted via the drop down menu at the top. However, it is not possible to sort by the stage on the audit trail. RESOURCES: This area provides links to resources, which can help you develop curriculum.

This section of CurricUNET provides links to groups and information related to curriculum development.

1. ASSIST: allows faculty and students find information regarding transfer and majors at the UC and CSU systems.

2. COC Academic Senate: Link to the Academic Senate website, which provides a wealth of information about policies, committees, and faculty activities.

3. Curriculum Committee: This links the user to the committee site on the intranet. Agendas, meeting summaries, and suggestions for creating curriculum are available there.

4. Labor Statistics: This is a link to the California Employment Development Department and can help CTE programs document the need for the program.

5. State Chancellor’s Office: Link to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

6. State Chancellor’s Office Curriculum Inventory: Resource containing all approved courses and programs.

HELP: Links to a CurricUNET user guide and training videos.

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CurricUSEARCH:

This link allows you to search for courses at any school using CurricUNET. It is an easy way to

examine similar courses. Experience shows that starting with the advanced searches is most

productive. You must be logged in to access CurricUSEARCH. You can either log into the College

of the Siskiyous CurricUNET site first and then click on the CurricUSEARCH link, or go straight to

the CurricUSEARCH website and select “College of the Siskiyous” from the entity pull down

menu and then enter in the same username and password you use to log into the College of the

Siskiyous CurricUNET site.

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CHAPTER 6

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

STYLE AND BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES

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CURRICUNET STYLE SHEET

RATIONALE:

1. Revised courses require a brief description of the reason for the changes to the course. Please note the impact of SLO assessments on the proposed revisions, as well as a brief list of areas changed.

2. New courses require a more extensive description detailing the need for the new course. Is the course a Basic Skills, transfer, or career technical education course? How does if meet an identified educational need? Is it in the Academic Master Plan or department program review? Is there data supporting the need for the course? “It’s popular at other schools,” is not sufficient proof of need.

DESCRIPTION:

1. Start the description with a verb such as “provides, surveys, explores…” 2. Be concise. The description is an overview of the course not a detailed list of

activities. 3. Generally, the catalog description should not exceed three sentences; the

schedule should not exceed two sentences. SLO: The SLO(s) represent the overarching goal(s) of the course. At the same time every SLO must be measureable. Consequently, a high order, or critical thinking, verb must be used. Evaluate, analyze, design, develop, and appraise are common choices. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a useful tool when choosing the correct verb. A copy of this taxonomy can be found either in the menu bar under “Resources” in CurricUNET or at the end of this chapter. http://www.curricunet.com/siskiyous/index.cfm

Another consideration when writing an SLO is to check to see that the content, objectives, outline, and assignments show proof that it is possible to achieve the SLO. For example, if a SLO says, “At the end of this course the student will be able to demonstrate correct body mechanics,” then the objectives, content, and assignments need to address body mechanics. To simplify the assessment process, the Curriculum Committee and SLO Committee recommend that SLO’s be limited to 1-2 for lecture courses and 2-4 for lecture/lab classes.

OBJECTIVES: Objectives represent more detail than the SLO(s). Essentially they are steps toward achieving the SLO(s). Objectives need to be measureable. All credit courses need to indicate critical thinking. If a course is designed to be CSU/UC transferrable, the majority of the verbs need to represent critical thinking. If the course has both lecture and laboratory/clinical components, there must be objectives for both components Avoid vague verbs such as “understand, learn, or comprehend.” Choose verbs that represent what students actually do in the class. If students debate

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issues, then debate is a reasonable choice, However, if students actually analyze issues rather than debate them, then analyze would be more appropriate. Objectives differ from SLO’s in that objectives are more discreet skills than SLO’s. Typically, objectives represent individual parts of the SLO(s). While course objectives represent specific skills, they represent the terminal objectives rather than unit objectives. Therefore, lower level objectives such as “list,” or “identify” would not generally be found in the course objectives. Each course is individual in the number of objectives needed to adequately cover the course. Generally, at least one course objective is present to address each unit of study.

CONTENT: The content flows directly from the objectives and is the most detailed part of the course outline. An outside observer should be able to grasp the depth and rigor of the course from the outline. Use a standard outline format with main points and sub points. When the outline is completed, check to see that there is an objective for every main point and/or there is content for every objective. Depending on the course, a well-developed content area ranges from 1-3 pages. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: List the different types of instructional approaches used to teach the content of the course. This is considered a list of possible approaches, as opposed to required approaches. Therefore, consider the variety of approaches typical for the class when completing this section. The first section has check boxes for common methods of instruction. A text box where other methods can be listed follows that. CAUTION: do not simply check “lecture” to describe the didactic portion of a class. This implies that students have no active learning experiences in the class. Generally, “lecture” plus other active learning methods are checked off. “Lab” does not need to be explained further, but it is acceptable to use the text box to do so. METHODS OF EVALUATION: This section represents the types of work every section of the course will use to assign a

grade. Consequently, instructors are encouraged to use broad terms such as “exams, written assignments, …” Instructors are permitted to require more student work than is listed in this section, but they may not skip any of the types of work listed. For example, if a course lists 1) exams, and 2) oral presentations, an instructor may also add a research project. However, the instructor may not substitute the research project for the oral presentations. If the department has a policy about comprehensive exams, departmental exams, and/or passing levels, those details need to be stated here as well.

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There is a text box provided for these details as well as any method of evaluation not listed in the check off section. ASSIGNMENTS: The assignment section represents examples of assignments that would typically be found in the course. They are only examples. All sections are not required to have the same assignment. SLO’s should be assessed through the real work that is done during a course, so it should be possible to see how the SLO(s) would be assessed through the assignments listed in this section. Reading assignments: These can be stated briefly as “text readings, periodic journals, manuals.” Writing, problem solving, or performance assignments: More detail is required in this section. Often this section is scrutinized by 4 year universities for adequate academic rigor. At least two substantial examples are required, but more may be provided. The simplest way to provide the required detail is to use an actual assignment from the syllabus. However, it must be generic to serve as an example for the entire course, so do not include extraneous directions such as, “After you complete this assignment, submit it…” If the course is a lecture/lab combination, list assignments typical of each part of the class. EXAMPLE: SLO: Analyze safe and unsafe practices using the principles of body mechanics. Lecture assignment: Analyze the case study entitled “Why Did I Get Hurt?” applying the principles of good body mechanics. Write a 3-5 page paper explaining how the situation made if highly likely a someone would be injured and giving suggestions on how to improve the situation. Lab assignment: Using good body mechanics pick up and carry an object for 5 feet. Other: List examples of other types of assignments in this section. If the course has projects, give an example of a typical project students complete.

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DISTANCE LEARNING ADDENDUM You are required to complete a Distance Learning Addendum Supplemental any portion of the course is planned to be taught in a distance-learning format (e.g., but not limited to hybrid, online, teleconferencing, and virtual-reality based delivery). The Distance Learning Addendum (aka DLA) provides the Curriculum Committee with the information needed to ensure that the quality of the course remains intact via the alternative delivery method. It is also important to note that a DLA cannot be submitted to the Curriculum Committee as an isolated item; to approve a DLA, the committee must examine the entire course outline of record to evaluate the appropriateness of the DLA to meet the instructional needs of the course. As such, please make sure that the entire course outline is complete and current when proposing a new DLA or a modification to an existing DLA. A few items in the DLA bear special explanation. Section B asks how your department will adapt the methods of instruction used in the face-to-face mode of this course for the distance learning mode. For example, if you typically convey new material to students by lecturing, how will you do this in an online mode? If you typically ask students to make in-class presentations, how will students do so via teleconferencing? In other words, the Committee expects that your department is familiar with and has thought carefully about what tools are the most appropriate to convert the essential instructional components of this course to a distance learning mode. Section C asks how you will maintain regular, effective contact with the students, including how the instructor will initiate contact. In a face-to-face class, you interact with your students via class announcements, lectures, moderated discussions, question and answer periods, directed review sessions, to name but a few forms of interaction. How will you initiate similarly effective interaction with your students online? How will you ensure that students are regularly participating in class assignments? You should describe what your department has determined to be effective ways for students to benefit from a regular instructor presence in the course, both as a conveyor of specialized information and as a facilitator of student learning and engagement. Further, you should describe what your department has determined to be an appropriate regularity for initiating contact with students. For example, in order for the students to succeed in this course, do you need to read and respond to every discussion board posting within twenty-four hours? In sum, the Committee expects that your department has seriously considered and reached consensus on how and how often to initiate contact with students, as well as how to determine what makes a particular form of interaction effective for promoting student engagement. Section D asks you to describe how you will promote and monitor effective student-to-student contact. For example, if you typically ask students to engage

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in small-group work to analyze a document or prepare an experiment, how will you do this via teleconferencing? Will you create small-group forums in an online class? Will you require students to exchange emails each unit? To respond to two classmates’ discussion board postings? The Committee expects that your department is familiar with and has thought carefully about the value of student interaction to promote learning, how to promote such interaction, and how often it should be required. Section G asks how you will ensure that instruction is accessible to students with disabilities. This need arises from the District’s mission to make education accessible to all students who can benefit, as well as from legal requirements, commonly referred to as Section 508 compliance. Federal and state law as well as Chancellor’s Office legal opinions require that any instructional material that we assign to students in a distance learning class be accessible by students with disabilities. You should also be familiar with Distance Education: Access Guidelines for Students with Disabilities (http://www.htctu.fhda.edu/publications/guidelines/distance_ed/disted.htm). If you have questions about these guidelines, you should consult with the Access Coordinator in DSP&S. Moreover, the DLA helps ensure that the District is compliant with Title V regulations and Chancellor’s Office Guidelines on distance education. If you would like to review relevant system-wide guidelines, please see www.cccco.edu/divisions/esed/aa_ir/disted/disted_attachments/DEGuidelinesMa r2004.pdf. If you have questions about these guidelines, you should consult with the Dean, Distance Learning Programs and Training, who is responsible for ensuring compliance with District, state and federal codes, guidelines and policies relevant to distance learning. Finally, as with any change to your department’s curriculum, be sure to consult with your departmental colleagues and division dean about current department and division priorities and goals. At the same time, if you anticipate developing DLAs for multiple courses, you might suggest that this focus be reflected in your department’s program review. Further, you should be familiar with relevant District resources, listed on the Distance Learning website and the Online Instructor Resources page of the Intranet. It can often be helpful to look at DLAs that have been previously approved by the committee to get a sense of the level of detail required as well as specific areas to address in your answers to the questions on the form. While it is acceptable to model your DLA after others and/or borrow language from other DLAs, it is important to ensure that every sentence in the DLA applies to your particular discipline and course. Large scale copying and pasting of language from another DLA without serious scrutiny of the applicability of the DLA language to your course is not recommended.

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CURRICUNET DISTANCE EDUCATION STYLE SHEET Note: The “Distance Education” box must be checked off in the Methods of Instruction Screen to make the Distance Ed link active.

1. Indicate the type of distance education to be offered. It is recommended that if

the course is to offered 100% online, that faculty also request hybrid approval as well. This allows more flexibility with scheduling.

2. How will the methods of instruction used in the face-to-face mode of this course be adapted for the distance learning mode? Describe and give examples of online methods of instruction, which might include course management system discussion boards; instructor developed web lectures; converted Power Point presentations; digital video clips; graphics (digital charts, diagrams, photos, images, annotated screen shots); digital animations; web guests; online reference resources; chat; e-mail; publisher prepared online materials; course cartridge materials; CD/DVD support materials; instructor web site; online library requests; textbook supplements.

3. Working from the format of the face-to-face course, describe how the distance education course will duplicate the face-to-face experience. Give a specific example of a discussion board topic. Be sure to indicate on campus activities for hybrid sections.

Title 5 (55376) states that all approved courses offered as distance education shall include regular effective contact between instructor and students, through group and individual meetings, orientation and review sessions, supplemental seminar or study lesions, field trips, library workshops, telephone contact, correspondence, voice mail, e-mail, or other activities.? Describe how you will maintain regular effective contact with the students, including what will make this interaction effective.

It is key to show how the instructor is actively involved with students in order to offer a quality online course. Give examples of how the instructor will be an active participant in online discussions.

Describe how you will promote and monitor effective student-to-student contact.

Similarly, student-to-student contact must be maintained. Describe how students will be encouraged to interact with each other.

Describe and give examples of how student learning will be evaluated.

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KEY CURRICULUM COMMITTEE LINKS:

1. Curriculum Committee Web Page:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/#technicalreview

2. CurricUNET Videos: http://www.curricunet.com/siskiyous/videos.cfm

3. Technical Review Checklist:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/documents/technical_review_checkl

ist.pdf

4. Course Review Cycle:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/documents/course_review_cycle.pdf

5. COS GE Procedures:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/documents/GE_procedures.pdf

6. The Course Outline of Record – A Curriculum Reference Guide:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/documents/curriculum_reference_g

uide.pdf

7. Program and Course Approval Handbook:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/documents/Handbook_5thEd_BOGa

pproved.pdf

8. Good Practices for Course Approval Processes:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/committees/curriculum/documents/good_practices_course_

approval_processes.pdf

9. AP 4020 Program and Curriculum Development:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/procedures/academic/AP4020.pdf

10. AP 4022 Course Approval:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/procedures/academic/AP4022.pdf