Instructions: Items 21-25

Enter the course subject and number of any course whose content is so closely related to this course that a student who completed such a course should not be able to obtain credit for this course.

If it applies, indicate the colleges, schools, majors, or other programs that will not award graduation credit for the course. Do not include groups of students who will not get graduation credit as a consequence of the course numbering system. For example, graduate students will not receive graduation credit for courses numbered 100 through 399.

If the course does not award graduation credit to any students, indicate this on the course request form. By definition, all developmental courses (001-099) will not award graduation credit to any students, so the box should always be checked for developmental courses.

Examples

• A new course, ECON 130, is being proposed. The content of ECON 130 significantly duplicates the content of ECON 120 and ECON 121. ECON 120 and ECON 121 are being retained. A note will appear in the course catalog listing for ECON 130 as “Credit is not given for ECON 130 if the student has credit in ECON 120 or ECON 121.”
• If some students will not receive graduation credit, a statement like the following will appear in the course catalog, “No graduation credit given for students enrolled in: Architecture and the Arts, Business Administration, or Engineering.”
• For developmental courses, the following statement will appear in the course catalog, “No graduation credit.”

Enter credit hour information in either the regular or differential category. Only enter credit hour information into the differential category if 400-level courses (and above) will award more credit hours to graduate/professional students enrolled in these courses. All credit hour values must be whole numbers (i.e., no fractions).

• Differential credit policy. Courses at the 400-level that enroll both undergraduate and graduate/professional students, and courses at the 500-level and above, may offer a differential of one additional credit hour between contact and credit hours for graduate/professional students. Departments, in consultation with their college, may propose courses that offer the credit differential to achieve additional learning objectives specific to their programs of study that involve an equivalent amount of work to that required for a credit hour, as defined in the Contact/Credit Hour Policy. Requests for courses offering differential credit between contact and credit hours must explain the requirements and rationale for the additional credit hour.

In the category chosen, indicate if the course will offer fixed or variable credit hours. Variable credit courses are generally used for topics and independent study courses. The amount of credit awarded generally depends either on the topic or on the student’s choice, after s/he consults with the instructor (as with independent study).

Indicate if the course can be repeated for credit. The ability to repeat a course is most often associated with variable credit courses, although it may be associated with fixed credit courses as well. In general, courses that are repeatable are topics, practica, or independent study courses.

Contact/Credit Hour Policy

In 2016 UIC approved an updated contact/credit hour policy to ensure that the University is in compliance with the federal definition of a credit hour. According to this definition, one credit hour is an amount of work, represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement, that reasonably approximates one 50-minute period of classroom or direct faculty instruction per week and a minimum of two 50-minute periods of out-of-class student work each week for 15 weeks or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time. If instruction is offered in different formats or through different modes, the expectation is that a credit hour will represent an equivalent amount of work to that described above.

Every 50-minute instructional hour is equivalent to one contact hour when expressing information in the Course Request System. Credit hours may be earned in several ways including the following:

1.  One 50-minute period of classroom or direct faculty instruction per week and a minimum of two 50-minute periods of out-of-class student work each week (for a total of 150 minutes per week) for 15 weeks or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time.
2.  Two 50-minute periods of laboratory/practice or similar activity per week and a minimum of two 50-minute periods of out-of-class student work each week (for a total of 200 minutes per week) for 15 weeks or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time.
3.  Three 50-minute periods of studio or similar activity per week for 15 weeks and a minimum of two 50-minute periods of out-of-class student work each week (for a total of 250 minutes per week) for 15 weeks or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time.
4.  At least an equivalent amount of work as described in #1 above for other academic activities as established by program faculty, which may incorporate online or other educational activities. Specifically, the number of hours that learners are expected to invest in order to achieve the course learning outcomes and which are verified by evidence of student achievement should be used to determine a credit hour value.

Based on this definition, a typical 3-hour undergraduate lecture/discussion course at UIC would meet for three 50-minute periods (150 minutes) each week for 15 weeks and would require a total of six 50-minute periods (300 minutes) of out-of-class student work per week over the course of the semester, for a course total of 6,750 minutes. Following the 15 weeks of instruction, an additional period may be scheduled for final examinations.

Related resources

• To help you calculate the total number of minutes required for a credit hour, view the sample contact-credit hour charts on pp. 7-10 of the policy proposal.
• For online courses, read this guide, which will help you design online courses at UIC and then determine the appropriate number of credit hours for the course.

• Read the contact/credit hour policy.
• Read the differential credit policy.

Indicate up to three types of instruction (defined below) that you will use when teaching the course as well as the associated weekly contact hours for each type of instruction. If the number of contact hours exceeds the number of credit hours, or the number of credit hours exceeds the number of contact hours, as compared to the contact/credit hour policy, briefly explain why this is the case.

Lecture-Discussion. Class sessions are devoted to lecture and to discussion or questions and answers.

Lecture. Class sessions are devoted to lecture which is substantially uninterrupted by discussion between faculty and students.

Discussion. Class time is devoted to discussion of ideas, recapitulation, testing, questions and answers, case presentation, role plays, problem-based and case-based learning, and may (but does not always) accompany a lecture or laboratory section. Allows for more personal contact between students and instructor, which allows for individual students to express opinions, present cases, advance ideas, or answer questions; enables immediate, individualized feedback between students and instructor and opportunities for student-to-student feedback.

Laboratory. Students are engaged in experiments or creative work; little or no time is devoted to demonstration or general discussion. Laboratory instruction is characterized by the use or need of special facilities and equipment, such as scientific or computer equipment.

Laboratory-Discussion. Instructor demonstrates and/or discusses problems; students engage in practical experiments.

Quiz. Class time is devoted to recapitulation, testing, questions and answers, and may accompany a lecture or laboratory section.

Practice. Is used for practice teaching sections, music ensemble courses, internships in business, government or other community agencies, or cooperative education program courses.

Clinical Practice. Used for clinical or practicum sections involving the supervision of students performing in patient care set in a hospital, clinic, or community agency facility.

Clinical Group Practice. Is used for clinical sections involving the close, direct supervision of students performing in patient care course work set in a hospital, clinical, or community agency facility. Characterized by guided faculty supervision provided to small groups of students.

Conference. Indicates that the instruction is on an individual and to-be-arranged basis, and is used for honors, thesis research, independent study, or research courses. In some cases, one or more sections may be lecture or laboratory, and other sections conference.

Studio. Students are engaged in independent creative work; very little or no time is devoted to demonstration or general discussion. Typically used in the arts and architecture.

All courses except those in the Doctor of Medicine program (explained below) will use standard letter grades or the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading mode.

Standard Letter Grades. Students receive one of the following grades: A=Excellent; B=Good; C=Average; D=Poor but passing; F=Failure; IN=Incomplete; DF=Grade deferred. This mode assumes a letter system that excludes Credit/No Credit and Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Mode. Students receive a grade of S=Satisfactory or U=Unsatisfactory only. If this grading mode is chosen, the following statement will appear in the course catalog, “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only.”

According to University policy, all developmental courses (001-099), will award an S/U grade rather than a standard letter grade. In addition, S/U grades are generally used in graduate thesis research courses, graduate courses given for zero credit (includes those numbered 593, 595, 597, 598, and 599), and other courses such as practica and seminars. For other courses, the S/U grading system should be requested only if the nature of the course would preclude assigning a letter grade for the course. A course must be approved as an S/U graded course if these grades are to be awarded. Examples of rationales for offering the S/U grade include the following:

• This is a thesis research/seminar/project research course; all such courses award a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade only. (Copy and paste this rationale for all courses numbered 593, 595, 597, 598, and 599).
• This is a seminar course in which students are graded on attendance and participation. An S/U grade is most appropriate.
• The course grade is based on whether or not the student meets the educational objectives of the field experience in an agency setting. Although periodically the instructor will evaluate the student’s performance directly and will assign a grade, the evaluations of agency supervisors will also be considered. The content of the course does not lend itself to a standard letter grade.

Credit/No Credit Mode. Students will be allowed to take this course on a credit/no credit basis, UNLESS they do not qualify for this option due to University or college policy. Eligibility will depend on students’ major and other coursework. Depending on college or school policy, students may elect to receive a standard letter grade or take the course for credit/no credit. For more information on the credit/no credit policy, see the UIC catalog and the relevant college-level policy.

Audit Mode. Allows registered visitors to attend a class. The privilege of attending classes as a visitor is granted on or after the first day of instruction only by the instructor of the class and the dean of the college concerned. Visitors are not permitted in laboratory, military, or physical education classes, nor are they permitted to write an examination for course credit or to participate in class activities.

Doctor of Medicine Grading Options. Special grades are given for courses in the Doctor of Medicine program. These grades are given only in courses with the following course subject codes: BMS, CLER, PRLC, and SPEC.

• Basic Medical Sciences (O, S, U, P, NG, IN)
• Clinical (O, ADV, PR, IN, U, DF, NG)
• Clinical M-3 Elective (PR, U)
• Specialty – Chicago (S, U)

• Read Grading Mode for Noncredit Courses policy.

This field is optional and the information will NOT be printed in the catalog. If your unit maps out how frequently certain courses will be offered, you can enter that information so there will be a record of it in the course request system.

Examples

• The course will be offered every year during the fall semester, but only on off-campus sites.
• For on-campus students, the course will be offered during the spring semester in odd years as well as every summer. The summer course will only be offered online.
• Check “variable terms of offering” if the course will not be offered according to a specific pattern.

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