UC Berkeley Academic Senate

Department: fill out the course approval form, append syllabus if required, send or deliver to the Office of the Registrar (see Where to send forms, below).
Office of the Registrar staff: entry of data from course approval form into DB2 COURSE system, follow up with department staff if necessary, deliver forms to Academic Senate staff.
Academic Senate staff: review COURSE system data for accuracy, review forms and syllabi for completeness, contact department staff if more information is needed, prepare course proposals for review by COCI subcommittees.
COCI subcommittees (Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences): meet to review course proposals. If more information is needed, Academic Senate staff will contact department staff.
COCI: evaluates recommendations of subcommittees, officially approve courses.
Academic Senate staff: approves new courses and changes in COURSE system, and sends email notification to department staff.

Where to send forms

Send or deliver two copies of the course approval form to Dorothy Jones, Office of the Registrar, 124 Sproul Hall # 5404. Attach one copy of the syllabus or supporting materials.
Do not send course approval forms to the Academic Senate. They will be delayed while they are sent through campus mail to the Office of the Registrar.
After the forms have already been delivered to the Academic Senate, send any follow-up material that has been requested directly to Academic Senate staff.

Timing and deadlines

Course approval forms should be delivered to Dorothy Jones one month before the COCI meeting you expect the course to be reviewed at. Often a request will be reviewed more quickly, but one month is suggested in case of incomplete information or unforeseen delays.
Course approval forms are delivered to the Academic Senate one week before each COCI meeting. Academic Senate staff will do a preliminary review of the forms and syllabi to try to catch incorrect or missing information and may contact department staff at this time.
During the weekdays before the Friday COCI meetings, subcommittees meet in person to review courses (and variance requests). These meetings are set each semester according to the schedules of the individual members. If requested follow-up information is sent to the Academic Senate after the subcommittees have met, it is often too late for the course to be approved at the next COCI meeting, but will be presented to the subcommittee at the following meeting.
COCI meets on Fridays and votes on final approvals, based on recommendations of the subcommittees. If there is time, Academic Senate staff will make course approvals in the COURSE system that same afternoon. Otherwise, approvals will be made early the following week. After approvals are made, courses can be scheduled by departments.
The online Catalog is updated once a week, on Thursday evening. Therefore, approved new courses and changes to existing courses will appear in the online Catalog one week after a COCI meeting.
New courses and changes to existing courses must be approved before the beginning of instruction in the semester in which the course is to be taught.

Tracking

Log in to the COURSE system (DB2) to see the status of your course. If you need access to DB2, your department manager should contact IS&T to request it. On the Version Maintenance screen, you will see in the upper right corner the Status. Here are some possibilities for what you will see there.

Added by OR: The form has been received by the Office of the Registrar and the data has been entered. The form has not yet been delivered to the Academic Senate.
Reviewed by COCI Staff: The form has been delivered to the Academic Senate. Staff may or may not have reviewed it.
Course approved: the course (or change) is approved. See the line under it, which shows the date of the last change to verify it is what you expect.

Notification

Given the large volume of courses that COCI reviews for the campus, Academic Senate staff are unable to provide notification of approval of individual courses. After each COCI meeting and after course changes and approvals have been made, a group email will be sent to all course contacts. Department staff are then asked to check the status of their request on the COURSE system. Recently, the list of approved courses has been attached to the email message.
Academic Senate staff will contact the appropriate department staff by email if COCI requests further information about an individual course. It is the department’s responsibility to provide the requested information once notified.
Please keep Academic Senate staff informed about personnel changes in your department affecting course approval requests.

COCI meeting schedule – COCI usually meets every other week during the academic year. The meeting dates are posted on the website. Whether courses are reviewed during the summer depends on the schedules of the COCI members. Academic Senate staff will announce by email any summer review dates.

List of department codes – See here for a list of department codes. Please use these codes instead of the full department name when filling out the course approval form.

Department best practices - Some departments have offered to share best practices with the aim of increasing efficiency on campus. To make a request for a best practices topic or to make a contribution, please contact Academic Senate staff.

Student-facilitated 98/198 (DeCal) worksheet to calculate workload and unit value (from Sociology)
Tickler for tracking request submissions
An example of a fully developed syllabus can be found at the website of the Office of Educational Development (PDF: http://oed.berkeley.edu/docs/SyllabusComponents.pdf)

COCI workshop – Academic Senate staff hold a workshop annually for department staff to learn about the course approval process, what COCI does, how to submit variance requests, and how to use the COURSE system. Staff from the Office of the Registrar and other campus offices also participate. This year’s workshop will take place on August 12, 2009. Some handouts and materials from the workshop are available. Please contact Academic Senate staff to request these.

Forms / Charts

Course approval form (CAF) and (Cross-listed course approval form (CLCF) - These are the forms you will use to request a new course, a change to an existing course, or to withdraw a course. This new course approval form contains some help “bubbles,” question marks you can hover over with your mouse or click on to find basic instructions about how to fill out that section of the form. Web addresses in these bubbles are not active links, but you can copy and paste them into your browser.

Petition for final exam variances – Use this form to request a change to final exam group, an alternate form of final examination, or an exemption from holding a final exam. See more on final exam variances below.

Work hours chart – This chart shows the estimated total number of required hours of student work per week, according to unit value and term length. The number of work hours should be entered on the course approval form for any new course, change in unit value, or change in instructional format (class time), and should be reflected in the syllabus. Work hours are not required to be entered for any other changes.

Contact hours conversion chart for summer courses – Use this chart to determine the class contact time when you are creating an equivalent summer version of a fall or spring course. Equivalent summer versions must have total contact hours (over the course of the term) equal to or slightly greater than the contact hours during the fall or spring terms.

New Courses

What to fill out - For a new course, every section in the top half of the course approval form should be filled out, and the New course box should be checked. A complete syllabus should be attached. The appropriate chair or dean must sign the form. Make a copy to keep for department records, and send two copies of the form along with one copy of the syllabus or supporting materials to Dorothy Jones. It is recommended that departments keep a log of when forms are sent.

Syllabus - For every new course, or for any request to substantially change an existing course, a syllabus is required. COCI expects certain components to be included in every syllabus:

The requirements for the course (what students will be expected to do to pass the class), and the relative weight of each requirement toward the final grade (usually expressed as percentages)
Requirements for undergraduate courses must include a comprehensive final examination (unless a variance has been granted)
A chronological schedule of topics, usually in a week-by-week format
A list of required readings.

An example of a fully developed syllabus can be found at the website of the Office of Educational Development (PDF: http://oed.berkeley.edu/docs/SyllabusComponents.pdf).

Final exam - A final examination is required in all undergraduate courses unless an exemption has been granted (see Senate Regulation 772). The exam should be written when practicable, no more than three hours, and take place during the regularly scheduled final exam period. Any form of examination that does not meet these criteria, such as a final paper or project or a take-home exam, requires a variance, which must be approved by COCI. The final exam variance form is available by clicking here. Final exams may not be held before the start of the final examination period, nor are final papers allowed to be due before the final examination period has begun.

Special Types of Courses

Umbrella course – The umbrella “header” is not an actual course. It has a generic course description, unit value, and instructional format that apply to several individual courses listed under it, differentiated by suffix. For example, History 103 is an umbrella header called Problems in Interpretation in the Several Fields of History, but not an actual course. The actual courses are listed under 103, including 103A Ancient, 103B Europe, 103C England, etc. To create a new umbrella header for the first time, submit a course approval form and a sample syllabus representing a typical course that would be taught under the umbrella. It is best to submit both the umbrella and a course or courses under it at the same time. To create a new course under an umbrella header, submit a course approval form and syllabus as if creating a regular new course. Be sure to make clear in the Remarks section what you are intending to do. Umbrella courses cannot be cross-listed with other courses due to Catalog listing limitations.

Special topics course – These are similar to umbrella courses. Special topics courses, however, are actual courses themselves, without any suffixed courses underneath. The generic description and details apply to all offerings of the course. Each time a different topic is offered, the department publicizes the topic. The topics do not appear in the Catalog or on the students’ transcripts. Often, these courses are repeatable, as long as the topic is different.

Split-group/sequence course (e.g., 101A-101B) – A split-group or sequence course is a course in which the content is spread across two semesters. There are two course numbers that are intended to be taken in sequence.

Special studies courses

field study 97/197 – Field studies courses must receive approval by the department chair. Proposals are not sent to the Academic Senate.

group study 98/198 - Regulations allow directed group study courses to be facilitated by faculty or students. They must be approved by the department chair (or equivalent), and in the case of student-facilitated courses, by the instructor of record. A copy of the proposal must be submitted to the Committee on Courses of Instruction.
- Student-facilitated (98/198 and DeCal) course proposals should be submitted to COCI on the Special Studies Course Proposal Form available on the Special Studies website. The deadline for submission is one month before the end of instruction in the preceding semester (or summer), though department deadlines may be earlier. See the Handbook for additional information.

independent study) 99/199 – Independent study courses must be approved by the supervising instructor and the department chair. The consent of the student’s major advisor is also required for 199 courses. Proposals are not sent to the Academic Senate.

Cross-listed courses – Cross-listed courses are offered jointly by more than one department. The courses must have identical title, description, instructional format (class time), grading option, units, final exam status, and University and campus requirement status. Prerequisites may differ. Conversion to or dissolution of cross-listing requires COCI approval via a cross-listed course approval form. Each set of cross-listed courses must specify an administrating department; changing the administrating department requires submission of a cross-listed course approval form to COCI as well. With respect to the COURSE system, addition of a C prefix identifies a cross-listed course as a different course from the non-prefixed course. It is possible to keep active both a cross-listed version and a non-cross-listed version of a course. Senate Regulation 762 is inconsistent with cross-listing lower and upper division courses, and undergraduate and graduate courses. Room sharing may be allowed in some circumstances (see below). Also see the section on making changes to a cross-listed course, below.

Room share – COCI prefers that room shares be formalized as cross-listed courses whenever possible. If not possible, room sharing should only occur between courses that are equal in unit value, grading option, and instructional format (class time). In room shares between lower and upper division undergraduate courses, and undergraduate and graduate courses, the standards and requirements for each course must be clearly articulated in the syllabus. It is not necessary to receive COCI approval for room sharing as long as these guidelines are adhered to.

Online course – Online courses should be assigned either the instructional format WBL (web-based lecture) or WBD (web-based discussion). If these formats do not exactly describe the format of the course, choose the one that is closest. For online courses, supplementary questions are also required to be submitted along with the course approval form and syllabus.

Summer course (summer only or N) – To create a new course for summer only, or to change an existing summer-only course, use the regular course review process. Summer courses that are the equivalent of a fall or spring course will have the exact same course number. The N prefix is only used for summer courses that are different from the fall or spring term offering in some way. There could be a different number of units (usually fewer units for a shorter summer term), a different instructional format (such as an online version offered only in the summer or without discussion sections only in the summer). To create an N version or make changes to an N version, submit a course approval form in the usual way. The N version is considered a different course than the non-prefixed version. See below for instructions on how to create a summer offering that is equivalent to a fall or spring course that has already been approved.

One-time only course (special purpose) – For a one-time only course, created for a special purpose or taught by a visiting instructor, submit a course approval form in the usual way. The start term and end term should be the same. The course will automatically be withdrawn after the semester in which it is taught.

American Cultures course – These are courses that meet the Breadth Requirement in American Cultures, which is a campus-wide graduation requirement, as defined by Berkeley Division Regulation 300. American Cultures (AC) courses must be approved by the American Cultures Subcommittee (AmCult) and COCI. Submit a course syllabus and a cover letter from the instructor describing how the course meets the AC Requirement to the American Cultures Subcommittee staff at 320 Stephens Hall, # 5842. At the same time, submit two copies of the course approval form and a copy of the syllabus to Dorothy Jones as you would do for any new course. COCI will review the course after it receives notification that AmCult has approved the course to meet the AC requirement.

American Cultures instructors are strongly encouraged to contact the American Cultures Center Coordinator, Victoria Robinson at victoriarobbi@berkeley.edu or 642-2360, for assistance in AC course development.

For more detailed information on the American Cultures course approval process, please see the American Cultures Subcommittee procedures for creating and submitting an American Cultures course.

Instructions for Modifying a Course

Instructions for all changes or new courses
For ALL changes or new courses:
In addition to the specific instructions listed below, the following is required for any course change or new course. See additional required information for specific requests below.
1. Fill out the fields for Department (please use the Department Code, Course Number, Date Submitted, Effective Term (the semester the change will take effect; this must be a future term, not the current term), and Course Title.
2. In the Remarks box, explain why you are making this request. Provide any information that makes it easier for COCI to understand the reasons for the request.
3. Get your department chair or dean’s signature on the form.
4. Make a copy of the form to keep for your records. It is recommended to keep a log of course submissions so you can track their progress.
5. Send two copies of the form along with one copy of the syllabus or supporting materials to Dorothy Jones, 124 Sproul Hall # 5404.

Cross-listed courses - To make a change to a cross-listed course, use the Cross-Listed Course Approval Form. Changes to cross-listed courses have to be reviewed and approved by the chair of each participating department (all participating departments are listed at the end of the Catalog description). Refer to the instructions for the change you want to initiate and follow those steps.

Conversion to cross-listing - Conversion to cross-listing requires approval by COCI. This means you must submit a course approval form for review if you want to cross-list your course with another department. Use the Cross-Listed Course Approval Form. Even if the course you want to cross-list already exists as a stand-alone course, or if you are only adding a new participating department, when you create a cross-listed version of it, you are creating a new course that will have a C prefix. Make sure you list the administrating department, all participating departments (use the department code list), and all course numbers. The course numbers do not have to be the same among all the departments. If there is a non-cross listed version of the course that will still be active, this course should be listed in Courses that will Restrict Credit section (note: you should also submit a course approval form for that course, to restrict credit for the new cross-listed course). If the only version of this course that will be offered in the future is the cross-listed one, you should submit another CAF to withdraw the non-cross-listed version. In the Remarks section, explain your request. If the only change that is being made is to convert to cross-listing, note that. If any other changes are being made, check those boxes as well. Note that signatures from chairs of all participating departments are required.

Course title/transcript title - In addition to following the instructions for all changes, write the new course title in the Course Title field. Also fill in the Transcript Title, even if it is not changing. If the course title changes significantly, the transcript title will also likely change. Check the box that says Change course title. In the Remarks section, explain why the title is changing.

Course number - Verify that the course number you want to use is available. If the number has been used in the past for another course, see Reusing a course number below. In addition to following the instructions for all changes, in the “check as many as apply” section, mark the box that says: Change course number (from___to___; last term offered). Fill out the (from___to___) box: in “from” list the current course number; in “to” list the course number you are changing to. Note the last term it was offered or estimate if it has been a considerable time. In the Remarks box, explain why you are making this request. Complete a separate course approval form requesting withdrawal of the old (currently used) course number (see instructions for withdrawing a course). You cannot make the withdrawal request on this course approval form—you must submit a separate form for this. The two forms should be submitted at the same time to avoid confusion.

Grading option - In addition to following the instructions for all changes, in the Grading field, enter the type of credit students will receive. If the grading option is letter grade, the default for enrolling students will be letter grade. However, regulations give students the option to take courses on a P/NP or S/U basis. If the course must be taken for a letter grade for a degree requirement, you may indicate that in the course description, but you cannot prevent them from opting to take the course P/NP or S/U. If you write P/NP or S/U in this field, students will only be able to take the course P/NP or S/U. They will not be able to opt to receive a letter grade. See the COCI Handbook for the definition of IP (in progress, usually used for sequence courses). Also check the box that says Change grading option. In the Remarks section, explain why the grading option is being changed.

Unit value - In addition to following the instructions for all changes, in the Units field, enter the new number of units. You must also fill out the “Estimated Total Number of Required Hours of Student Work Per Week” column for each term length that is approved. If the course has variable units, enter a range of units and work hours for the lowest to highest possible unit values. Work hours are based on Senate Regulation 760 and can be determined according to the chart provided here. The number of work hours is an estimate of the time an average student will be expected to perform work for the class, including time in class as well as outside of class. This number should be reflected in the workload in the syllabus. Check the box that says change unit value. In the Remarks section, explain why the unit value is changing. Also address whether there is an accompanying change in instructional format (class time) or not and why.

Courses that will restrict credit - There are times when the content of a course overlaps with another course offered at UCB to such a degree that students shouldn’t receive full credit for taking both courses. As a result, credit is restricted: partial or no credit is given when students take both courses. Follow the instructions above for all changes, then fill out the box for Courses that will Restrict Credit. List the courses(s) that overlap and include a short statement explaining whether students will receive no credit or partial credit if they take both classes. For example, if students should get no credit for the course after completing the overlap course, write "no credit." If students should get some units for taking your course after the overlap, list the number of units they should receive. For example, “students will receive 2 units for Math 100 after taking Math 101.” Mark the box labeled Other, and in the Remarks section, note that you are changing the courses that will restrict credit.

Prerequisites - In addition to following the instructions for all changes, also fill out the field for Prerequisites with the new prerequisites. Make sure to verify that the requested prerequisites are different from the current prerequisites. Mark the box labeled Change Prerequisite. In the Remarks section, explain why the prerequisites are changing.

Instructional format (class time) - In addition to the instructions for all changes, in the Duration of Course column, check the box next to the term length for each term that the course is approved (or that you want to add). For terms shorter than 15 weeks, check Fall/Spring or Summer (these will usually be summer). In the Format column next to Duration of course, enter the number of hours per week that students will be required to meet, and the type of instruction. See chart (link) for a list of all instructional formats approved by COCI. List all instructional format types in this column. For example: 3 hrs LEC + 1 hr DIS per week. Also fill out the TIE code, which is related to instructional format, and which may remain the same or different after a change in instructional format (see TIE code below). You must also fill out the “Estimated Total Number of Required Hours of Student Work Per Week” column (or more than one column, if summer terms are being added). If the course has variable units, enter a range of work hours for the lowest to highest possible unit values. Work hours are based on Senate Regulation 760 and can be determined according to the chart provided here. The number of work hours is an estimate of the time an average student will be expected to perform work for the class, including time in class as well as outside of class. This number should be reflected in the workload in the syllabus. Check the box for Change instructional format. In the Remarks section, explain why the instructional format is being changed.

TIE code - Normally a TIE code will only be changed in conjunction with a change in instructional format. If this is the case, fill in the TIE code column with the new TIE code when you submit a request to change the instructional format. If you want to change the TIE code to correct an error, send an email message to Academic Senate staff and explain the reasons for the change. COCI approval is not required to correct errors in TIE code. A list of TIE codes and their definitions can be found here.

Course description - In addition to following the instructions for all changes, in the Course Description box, write the new course description. Check the box for Change course description. In the Remarks section, explain why the course description is changing. If the change is small, a new syllabus is not required. If the change in course description makes it seem that the course content will change substantially, a new syllabus should be appended.

Repeatable for credit - In addition to following the instructions for all changes, in the box in the lower right corner, mark the Course repeatable for credit? radio button Yes or No. In the Remarks section, explain why the change is being made. If the course will be repeatable, indicate the conditions of the repeat. Usually, courses are repeatable only when the topic changes or with consent of instructor.

Final exam status – Fill out all the fields under Course Information on the Petition for Final Exam Variances for any changes to the final exam status of a course. If you are requesting a final exam exemption, have the instructor answer the questions under Section I of the petition. If you are requesting that the final exam for a course be re-instated, fill out Section III of the petition. Have the petition signed by the instructor and department chair, then mail it to Academic Senate staff at 320 Stephens Hall # 5842.

Final exam group – Contact Susan Tonus to confirm that the needed classroom space is available for the final exam group change. Then fill out the Course Information section as well as Section II of the Petition for Final Exam Variances. Have the instructor and department chair sign the petition, then mail it to Academic Senate staff at 320 Stephens Hall # 5842.

Instructor name – send an email to Academic Senate staff indicating the department, course number, and instructor name(s) to be listed. This field can also be left blank or listed as “staff” to indicate that the instructor has not been set or varies.

Term (semester) offered – send an email to Academic Senate staff indicating the department, course number, and which term or terms the course will be offered (fall, spring, summer). If the course has any summer offerings, the summer notation must be selected or the course will not be able to be scheduled for summer. To add equivalent summer terms of ten, eight, or six weeks to a course that has already been approved for fall, see below (link).

Correct an error – send an email to Academic Senate staff. If it can be verified that there is a typo or a change that was requested and approved but mistakenly not made, the correction will be made immediately. If a change was supposed to have been requested but mistakenly was not, a new course approval form will need to be submitted.

Make the same change to several courses at the same time – In lieu of course approval forms for each course, a memo can suffice. Please include some explanatory comments about the changes and make sure the memo is signed by the appropriate dean or department chair. Each course number should be listed on a separate line. If there is any variation in the change to be made, please be very clear about each course.

Other Course Actions

Withdraw a course – If a course will not be offered again, it should be withdrawn so it will not appear in the Catalog and so that the number may be used again in the future. Once a course is withdrawn it cannot be taught again unless a request is made to restore it. To withdraw a course, submit a course approval form and check the Withdrawal of course box, and enter the term the course was last taught. You do not need to fill out all the information on the form, just the department, course number, and title. For a withdrawal, the effective term can be the current term. This means that this term will be the last time it can be offered. If you don’t know when it was last offered, check with Susan Tonus or look on the Offered, Instructor, Publish screen in COURSE (“consecutive terms not taught”).

Prune a course (remove from the Catalog) – Pruned courses are still active courses that can be scheduled and taught, but they do not appear in the Catalog. They are pruned in order to ensure that the Catalog shows an up to date and accurate representation of courses that are offered at Berkeley. Pruning is done in two ways. Courses are automatically pruned once they have not been taught for ten consecutive fall and spring terms. Courses can also be pruned by request. If a department knows that a course will not be offered for some time, they may request that the course be pruned. COCI has decided that in order for a course to be un-pruned and appear in the Catalog again, it must be scheduled and taught. Each spring, Academic Senate staff will send out two reports to departments regarding pruned courses. The first lists the courses that are currently pruned; the second lists courses that have not been taught in three or more calendar years (six terms) and will be pruned soon if they are not taught before the five year limit. You can check the status of a course by looking on the Offered, Instructor, Publish screen in COURSE (“consecutive terms not taught”).

Reuse a course number – Course numbers may not be reused for a certain period of time. This is to avoid confusion and to avoid the need for variances if students who have taken the old course want to take the new course. The time limitation is three years for undergraduate courses and five years for graduate courses. If the course has already been withdrawn for the required number of years, the number can be reused. If the course has not been withdrawn, it should be demonstrated that the course has not been taught within the three or five year time frame. You can find this information on the Offered, Instructor, Publish screen in COURSE (“consecutive terms not taught”) or by contacting Susan Tonus.

Restore a course that has been withdrawn – Submit a course approval form and in addition following to the instructions for all changes, check the box labeled Restoration of course. If the course is being resurrected with a different course number, fill in the previous course # field. Always fill in the last term offered field.

Add an equivalent summer version – To add equivalent summer terms of ten, eight, or six weeks to a course that has already been approved for fall, send an email to Karen Denton in the Office of the Registrar. Indicate the course number, the term you want to add, and the contact hours. The contact hours must be the same or greater than the total number of contact hours over the whole term (see chart for conversion). Term lengths of three weeks require COCI review; please submit a course approval form in the usual way.

Create a new code (new major, new subdepartment, etc.) – Once a new academic unit has been approved by the appropriate body (for majors, the executive committee of the college and the Academic Senate; for minors, the college; for graduate emphases, the college and the Graduate Council), COCI must approve the code used to designate the new unit on the COURSE system. The code can be a maximum of seven characters, including spaces. The department chair should write a letter to COCI proposing a code and explaining the need for the new code. This letter should be sent directly to Academic Senate staff by email or at 320 Stephens Hall # 5842.

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