Courses

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Course Request System (CRS) Heading link

Creating, eliminating, or making any kind of change to an existing course is accomplished through the Course Request System (CRS). This includes changes to course title or number, prerequisites, credit hours, course format (e.g. “lecture-discussion”), course descriptions, etc. Requests for general education classification are also submitted through CRS.

Departments initiate a request by selecting the appropriate action in the main menu of CRS. Only the academic unit that controls a course can initiate a request to revise or drop it.

Once the department approves/submits a course request in CRS, a notification is sent to the college for review and approval. The college is only alerted upon submission; if the request is drafted but not approved by the department, the college may not be aware of it. If the course has any cross-listings, the request is routed to the cross-list departments before it goes to the college; the college cannot proceed without their approval on the CRS form.

LAS Student Academic Affairs will review the request and be in touch with any clarifying questions. Once they approve the course on behalf of the college, it is forwarded to the campus Office of Academic Programs (OAP) for processing in Banner.

Deadlines for departmental submissions:

  • Course changes effective fall semester: due December 1
  • Course changes effective spring semester: due August 15
  • Course changes effective summer: due October 15

OAP aims to process course changes before the start of registration for the effective term (that is, they aim to process course change effective in fall semester before fall registration begins in March), hence the early timeline.

Course change requests are typically processed first, before new and dropped courses. If you intend to offer a newly proposed course in the upcoming semester, inform LAS Student Academic Affairs. Occasionally, new courses may not be set up in Banner before the end of the standard pre-proof/scheduling process, in which case the unit may need to work with the scheduling office to add the course to the schedule late.

Submit well in advance of the deadline if:

  • The department is requesting to add general education categorization to a course. That requires a multi-step approval process.
  • The course is directly related to an academic program proposal (e.g., a new required course, etc.). These should be submitted at the same time as the proposal itself.
  • It is a new course, as clarifying questions are likely.

Use the “reason for the request” box to identify the specific changes you are making. Highlighting the revisions helps reviewers/processors understand how to prioritize the course and minimize the chance that any critical changes are overlooked on the forms.

  • Example: “Updating course description and prerequisites. Making the course repeatable for credit.”
  • Example: “Requesting general education designation for the Creative Arts category. Revising course learning outcomes, assessment methods, and major topics.”

Review the “pending” form before submitting/approving it. The pending view shows you the exact text that will appear in the catalog/schedule regarding prerequisites, course repetition, etc. Look those sections over and confirm they read as you intended. While editing a course request: hit “view” for a preview. After the course is saved: review the form in the “pending courses” queue. When approving the course: hit “view” before submitting.

Double check the effective date. CRS auto-fills the effective date, which reflects the current submission window. For example, if you initiate a CRS request in September, the pending request will automatically have a Summer effective date because the next CRS deadline is for Summer. If the change is actually intended for Fall, the date must be manually updated.

Formally approve/sign off on the course. Saving changes does not automatically submit the request, so be sure you have formally approved the request in CRS. The college cannot move it forward until the department (and cross-listed department(s), if relevant) have done so. If time is critical, you may consider sending a separate email to cross-listed departments to draw their attention to the request.

  • To revise a form previously approved by the department but not by LAS, ask the college to revoke department approval so you can re-submit when ready. If you revise a pending form already approved by the department, email LAS directly to explain the changes made; otherwise, LAS will be unaware of additional revisions.

Other Best Practices

Purge unneeded requests. If you decide not to move forward with a request, remove it from the system so it does not clog the “pending courses” queue. This is done under “Purge (remove) a pending course.” (This should be read as “purge a pending course request” – it does not impact the existing course, it simply deletes the pending request form from CRS.) Be aware that if you select “Modify an approved course,” a pending form may be automatically created.

If adding a course, confirm the course number is available. Previously used numbers can only be reused if more than six years have passed since the earlier course was dropped from the catalog. Eliminated courses can be found under “Old Courses” in CRS. If re-using a number, alert the college before creating the request in CRS; work needs to be done on the back end to make that number available.

Double check “type of course.” If the catalog does not list the course as a requirement or selective option for an academic program or as a general education course, it should be listed as “elective” only.

Flag priority courses. If you are revising or adding multiple courses, let LAS Student Academic Affairs know which of those courses you intend to offer in the upcoming term so they can be noted as higher priorities.

Heed the detailed guidance of the OAP, especially for the sections on course learning objectives and assessment methods.

Key Course Policies Heading link

Permanent and Temporary Cross-Lists Heading link

Rules applying to all cross-lists:

  • No more than three course subjects can be assigned to a single course (the controlling subject/number and one or two non-controlling).
  • Courses must be at the same level (i.e., two 300-level courses could be cross-listed but a 300-level could not be cross-listed with a 400-level).
  • Cross-listed courses may count toward applicable programs regardless of the subject code (rubric) under which the student registered.
  • The numbers would ideally be the same across all course subject codes (e.g., ENGL 125/LALS 125), but it is not strictly required.
  • Like any course change, requests for a cross-list must be initiated by the department that controls the course. They would be responsible for submitting the request through CRS.
  • When the controlling department makes a change to the course in the future, cross-listed departments will also have to approve the revision in CRS.
  • Only for topics courses. These are courses where the content varies so significantly between offerings that it is appropriate for the student to earn credit for the course more than once. In almost all cases, they are marked as “may be repeated for credit” in CRS/the catalog.
  • Requests are made individually for specific sections/CRNs and only apply for that semester.
  • The requesting department is responsible for completing the form and acquiring signatures of both departments (and the non-controlling college, if not LAS) before submitting the form to LAS.
  • LAS reviews these forms and advances them to the OAP. OAP works with Classroom Scheduling to process the request. In most cases, Scheduling will email the requester to confirm the process has concluded.

Deadline: Requests must be submitted before the start of the relevant semester; however, they are ideally made after the pre-proof scheduling process concludes but before registration begins.

Course Repetition & Banner-enforced Registration Restrictions Heading link

To request enforced prerequisite checking on a course, submit a CRS request listing “to request Banner-enforced prerequisite checking” in the General Reason for the Request. Be sure to verify that the listed prerequisite is correct; otherwise, update the prereq as needed on the CRS form and note that in the General Reason for the Request section.

If enforced prerequisite checking is set up on a course, Banner does not allow the student to register for a course unless they have completed or are currently taking the prerequisite(s). For students in the latter category (students completing the prereq course at the time of registration), the registrar pulls a report at the end of the semester to flag students who did not successfully complete the prereq and should therefore not move on to the next course. This list is sent to LAS Advising, who follow up with the students.

Unless enforced prerequisite checking is specifically requested and set up, the system will not prevent registration by students who lack the stated prerequisites. If students enroll without the prerequisite, they can be instructed to drop the course. In these cases, checking if a student has the prereq is typically a manual process. It is important students do not skip prerequisite courses; if they have to circle back to them in the future, that would be considered “backtracking” and they could lose credit.

Courses may not be repeated for credit unless it has specifically been marked as repeatable in CRS. This option appears in the Credit Hours section of the CRS form. If a course has been set up as repeatable, that will be stated in the course information in the course catalog (“may be repeated for credit”).

Students may only repeat topics courses for credit. These are courses where the content varies so significantly between offerings that it is appropriate for the student to earn credit for the course more than once.

Note that the system does not stop a student from registering for a non-repeatable course they already have credit for. It is the students’ responsibility to be aware of the courses for which they have credit. If they register for and complete a non-repeatable course for a second time, they will lose credit for one of the two enrollments, despite having completed both.

The “restrictions” section of the CRS form restricts registration for a course to a particular population of students, typically students in a particular major, college, or class level. Unlike prerequisites, these restrictions are automatically enforced (unless the course counts for general education). For example, if a course is restricted to the major in Applied Psychology, students who do not have that major code declared would not be able to register unless the department gives them an override.

Relatively few LAS courses have this kind of restriction. The same effect can often be achieved by prerequisites on advanced courses, or by requiring permission at the section level.

Academic program restrictions may only include programs at the same level. For example, a course could be restricted to students in certain colleges (e.g., LAS and CUPPA), OR only to students in specific degree programs (e.g. History and Art History), but could not mix and match between colleges and majors (e.g. College of LAS and the major in Art History).

General Education Classification Heading link

Requests that a course count toward a particular general education category are initiated through CRS. There is an approved set of “General Education Learning Outcomes” (GELOs) that define each of the six general education categories: Analyzing the Natural World, Exploring World Cultures, Understanding the Creative Arts, Understanding the Individual and Society, Understanding the Past, and Understanding US Society.

To be approved for one of these categories, the course information provided in CRS must make clear even to a non-specialist that the course will satisfy at least one of GELOs for the chosen category. Courses may be submitted for consideration toward one or two categories, though two are only approved if they are equally represented and reflected in the course information provided.

Maximizing the CRS form for gen ed requests (tips and suggestions compiled by the Office of Academic Programs and LAS Student Academic Affairs)

General education courses must meet the following criteria:

  1. Must be at the 100-level or 200-level.
  2. Inclusion of the course in the chosen general education category or categories must be justified. The categories include: Analyzing the Natural World, Exploring World Cultures, Understanding the Creative Arts, Understanding the Individual and Society, Understanding the Past, and Understanding U.S. Society.
  3. Must address at least one of the general education learning outcomes for a selected category.
  4. Must identify at least one assessment method for at least one general education learning outcome in a category that has been selected.
  5. Must provide evidence that the course includes at least one of the following: a laboratory; a substantial paper writing assignment appropriate for the subject matter (a minimum of one 5-7 page paper or two 2-3 page papers); assignments that include either problem sets or written data analysis.
  6. Must connect the course learning outcomes to the general education learning outcomes. Course outcomes must be observable and measurable and linked to appropriate assessment methods.

Source: Office of Academic Programs

 

  1. Submission – Department submits a course request in CRS, noting the specific request in the “General Reason for the Request” section (e.g., “To be considered for gen ed classification in the Understanding the Past category”)
  2. LAS Review – LAS Student Academic Affairs reviews the request in CRS and offers feedback informed by questions commonly raised by the LAS EPC.
  3. LAS Educational Policy Committee – LAS EPC reviews the CRS form and decides whether or not to endorse the request. If it is denied, the course is sent back to the department with specific feedback.
  4. OAP Review – Courses endorsed by the LAS EPC are forwarded to the UIC Office of Academic Programs, who offer another round of feedback informed by concerns commonly expressed by the Gen Ed Council.
  5. General Education Council (GEC) – GEC vets and votes on the request. The council is comprised of representatives of all the colleges with undergraduate programs. They may approve, deny, or approve contingent on a few tweaks.
  6. Senate Committee on Education Policy (SCEP) – The GEC is affiliated with SCEP, so all of their recommendations are brought to the larger subcommittee.
  7. Processing – Approved courses are processed and the catalog updated accordingly.

Steps 2-4 are coordinated by LAS Student Academic Affairs. Steps 5-7 are coordinated by the UIC Office of Academic Programs.

Be aware that the GEC has very specific expectations about what they want to see on the CRS form. Feedback on these requests tends to be fairly extensive in an effort to increase the chances that GEC will approve it on the first pass. 

Some courses speed through the process quickly, but others take multiple semesters. Allow ample time. Requests with a fall effective date would ideally be submitted in CRS at the beginning of the prior fall term, even though the standard deadline for fall course changes is not until Dec. 1.

Rounds of feedback can take time, and there is also the issue of waiting for scheduled meetings of the required review bodies. The LAS EPC usually meets 5-6 times each semester, and the Gen Ed Council typically has 3 or so meetings.

 

You can find detailed tips and suggestions for gen ed requests here. These notes are compiled by OAP and LAS SAA based on questions and discussions of the EPC and GEC and focus on the sections of the CRS form gen ed reviewers look most closely at. To condense those more comprehensive notes, the key questions departments should ask themselves before submitting a gen ed request in CRS include:

  • Can a non-specialist look at the provided course information (course description, course learning outcomes, major topics, sample readings, etc.) and clearly see how the GELO (and the requested gen ed category more generally) is covered in the course? If not:
    • Provide more details about the major topics, add a sample reading or two, tweak the wording of the learning objectives, etc.
    • Remove any selected GELOs that require readers to draw inferences or understand something about the discipline that does not explicitly appear on the page. Narrow to the one or two that are most apparent in the course information.
  • Does the General Education Justification section draw connections between course content/goals represented on the form and the selected GELO(s) to explain how the former accomplishes the latter?
  • Do the course learning outcomes (CLOs) particular to this course speak to the proposed gen ed category and align with the selected GELO(s)? Do they use measurable action verbs? (See Bloom’s taxonomy)
  • Do each of the course learning outcome assessment methods directly measure one of the Course Learning Outcomes? Is this clear by numbering the corresponding CLO/assessment method and using consistent language between the two? (Use the format outlined here.)
  • Do the course learning outcome assessment methods show evidence that the course includes at least one of the following components: (1) a laboratory, (2) a substantial paper or writing assignment appropriate for the subject matter (a minimum of one 5-7 page paper or two 2-3 page papers, in addition to essay examinations, that are due before the end of the term and returned to the student before final examinations), or (3) assignments that include either problem sets or written data analysis. Students should be given written feedback on the assignments during the course of the term.