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Curriculum Committee

Course Cap Guidance2

The Curriculum Committee is tasked with deciding (equitably and fairly) whether a proposed course is allowed an exemption from the standard course caps. The following guidance outlines current practice.

Standard course caps:3

100-level courses: 28
200-level courses: 26
300-level courses: 18

Exemptions for lower course caps:

  1. Safety, equipment, or space considerations
    • a. Science labs (labs are typically capped at 16-20, although they often have larger lecture sections)
    • b. Studio space (e.g., arts/dance)
    • c. Technology Limitations (e.g., limited availability of equipment)
  2. Course-level considerations
    • a. Scribner Seminars (16)
    • b. 100-level Expository Writing courses (15-17)
    • c. Senior capstone courses (15)
  3. Pedagogy considerations
    • a. Writing Intensive courses (guidelines in the documentation below) (17)
    • b. Skill-intensive courses (such as language courses or music theory, some mathematics and statistics courses) (17-20)
    • c. Creative writing workshops (15)
    • d. Bridge Experience courses (20)
    • e. IGR or other non-standard pedagogies
    • f. One-credit add-ons (10-15)
    • g. Team teaching (1.25x cap rather than 2x cap)
  4. Other
    • a. Professional or accreditation requirements
  5. The Curriculum Committee does not allow exemptions for the following cases:
    • a. Honors Forum courses
    • b. Service learning courses

Exceptions that do not fall under these criteria must be approved on a case-by-case basis in consultation with DOF and CC.

Documents and history:

History of course cap policy guidance:

  1. Minutes of Department Chair/Program Directors Meeting, August 27, 2014, where DOF implementation of the following reports was discussed.
  2. 鈥淩esource Implications of Lower Course Caps: Preliminary Analysis鈥� (2013)
  3. 鈥淐ourse Cap Report by a joint subcommittee of CEPP, CC, and DOF鈥� (Spring 2012)
  4. 鈥淐urriculum Committee and CEPP Subcommittee on Course Caps Report鈥� (Spring 2009; superseded by Spring 2012 report and 2013 response)
  5. 鈥淐EPP-Curriculum Committee Statement on Maximum Caps鈥� (3/27/2000; superseded by 2009 report)

Other Documents:

  1. CEPP Proposal on Contact Hours Earned for Team-Taught Courses (5/15/2014, implemented Fall 2014 鈥� see item (1): minutes of DC/PD, 8/27/14)
  2. Curriculum Committee Guidelines for the Writing Requirement (n.d.)
  3. CEPP Motion: Plan for Improving Student Writing (3/20/2007)

___________________________________________________________________________

2 Approved by the Curriculum Committee on April 18, 2016.

3 The standard course caps reflect the DOF/VPAA implementation of the 2009 and 2013 recommendations.