6.4.1 General Course Info Page

  • Course Level - Courses numbered 1-199 are undergraduate level. Courses numbered 200+ are graduate level. For details on the course numbering system see the COCI Handbook 2.2: Classification of Courses or the Course Number Guide(link is external) on the Berkeley Academic Guide.

  • Department - You will be able to enter department/course codes for which you have been authorized. The full department name and the course code will appear, and you only need to select the department.

  • Course number – Enter the course number here. No more than five characters can be used to distinguish courses, including the use of prefixes and suffixes. CMS will verify that the course number you want to use is available (validation of the course number does not take place until the effective start term is selected). If you are changing a course number, the old (currently used) course number will be withdrawn automatically. In the Justification section, be sure to explain why the course number is changing.

    • Course number prefixes and suffixes - COCI has assigned the use of the following prefixes and suffixes for campus-wide designation:

      • C prefix designates a cross-listed course.
      • H prefix designates honors courses.
      • N prefix designates a Summer Session course that is not equivalent to a regular session course with the same number.
      • R prefix designates courses that meet the Reading and Composition Requirement.
      • W prefix designates courses that are offered online. (Through Sumer 2020, see COCI Handbook 2.5 for updated policy effective Fall 2020)
      • AC suffix designates that course meets the American Cultures Breadth Requirement.

        If the course being proposed falls in two or more of these designations please contact Senate staff about which prefix or suffix is prioritized. 

    • Reusing a course number - Note thatnumbers may not be reused for a certain period of time. The time limitation is three years for undergraduate courses and five years for graduate courses. 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.  CMS will check the selected course number against the desired effective state term to determine whether a number can be reused. If the course number is already active, you will receive the following error message in CMS: 

      "You cannot use this course number because it is attached to another course that is still active or has been recently taught. Course numbers can be reused if the course has not been taught for three years for an undergraduate course or five years for a graduate course. To reuse this course number, please submit a request to withdraw the current active course. Once this is approved, you may submit a request to create a new course with the withdrawn number."

  • Title- Write out the full course title. See the Style Guide for rules for course titles. If the title changes significantly, the transcript title will probably also need to change.

  • Abbreviated Transcript Title - CMS will automatically populate the transcript title field with the first 19 characters of the full course title. Be sure to edit as needed to make the transcript title clearly understandable as an abbreviation of the course title. See the Style Guide for suggestions for devising transcript titles. Please be mindful that due to the automatic populating feature, occasionally the system will generate an abbreviation that is inappropriate.

  • Instructor name – In the General Course Info section, Course Contacts can add or remove instructor names. Except in the case of American Cultures courses, COCI approval is not needed and this can be changed by the Course Contact for any future unscheduled term. See the Style Guide for rules for instructor names. This field can also be left blank or listed as “Staff” to indicate that the instructor has not been set or varies. Changes to the instructor for AC courses require review by the American Cultures Subcommittee. Please refer the Modifying an Approved AC Course / Instructor Change page for more information. 

  • Effective Start Term – Select the semester and year that is the first term that the course will be offered. If you select the current term, you will be required to provide a rationale. COCI does not normally approve requests after instruction has begun, unless exceptional circumstances apply. Contact Senate Staff for consultation in these cases.