- Course Restrictions - There are times when the content of a course overlaps with another course offered at UCB to such a degree that students should not receive credit for taking both courses. As a result, credit is restricted. That is, credit is not given for both courses.
There are two ways that the credit should be restricted: 1) by credit restriction and/or; 2) by deficient grade removal rules. - Credit Restriction
To enter a credit restriction, click the “Add Credit Restriction” button. CMS will display the credit restriction rule, partially completed. You will need to select the course code and number from the form field boxes of the course you want to restrict against.
For example, if you are proposing History 100 and want to restrict against English 153, your sentence will need to read as: Students who have completed ENGLISH 153 will receive 0 units for HISTORY 100. In this example, the History department has determined that there is enough overlap in the course content between their own course and the English course that a student should not get credit for completing both courses.
Immediately underneath the rule, there is a checkbox to automatically create a reciprocal deficient grade removal rule based on the credit restriction. By default, the box will be check marked. Only uncheck the box if you do not want a reciprocal deficient grade removal rule created.
A reciprocal deficient grade removal rule is a counterpart to the credit restriction. That is, if the credit is restricted, then getting a passing grade in the other course would remove a failed grade from the first course. For example, if your credit restriction is: Students who have completed ENGLISH 153 will receive 0 units for HISTORY 100 then the reciprocal deficient grade removal rule would be: Students can remove a deficient grade in ENGLISH 153 by completing HISTORY 100. By stating that there is a credit relationship between the two courses, there is also often some relationship that would allow for the removal of a failed grade. See below for information on deficient grade removal rules.
Keep in mind that credit restriction rules should always be written for courses with the same root number (e.g., History 100, History N100, and History 100AC). There are some exceptions, such as in the case of special topics courses that use the same root number. Consult with Senate staff if you have questions about exceptional cases.
There are a couple of notes about credit restrictions to be aware of:
- Effective Fall 2016 the campus is no longer able to support “partial credit” restriction rules. If your course currently includes a partial credit restriction please remove it as soon as possible.
- CMS will automatically apply a “self-reflective” restriction rule. That is, if the course is not repeatable, a restriction will be in place to prevent a student from being able to get credit for the course more than once.
- CMS will only allow you to select course numbers from a pre-populated drop-down list. This list will include all active, pruned, and withdrawn courses. If you have a course number that is currently active and had been previously used with a withdrawn course, please be careful in selecting from the drop-down the correct course number. CMS will label the withdrawn number appropriately.
- From the selection list, you will also be able to select a new course that is being drafted. For example, if you are modifying a course to add a restriction of a new course, that new course must be at least saved as a draft proposal in CMS in order for the system to include it in the list of options. Please be sure to submit that drafted course at the same time you submit the course modification to ensure enforcement is accurate.
- For both credit restrictions and deficient grade removals rules, when you create a restriction in your own course that restricts against a course not within your department, CMS will send an automated message to the other department to notify them of the restriction. This automated email will be sent at the point when the proposal is saved in CMS, when you click “Save and Continue” at the bottom of the Restrictions proposal page.
So, for example, if you are in the Geography Department and you are modifying a Geography course that includes a restriction against an English course, then CMS will send an automated email to the English CMS course contacts to make them aware of the restriction. Ideally, before making changes in CMS, the two departments are in agreement that there is enough overlap in the content between the courses to warrant a restriction. This automated message serves as a formal notice to the other department and will also serve as a reminder to the other department that they will likely need to update their own course to include a similar restriction. In most cases, when a restriction is written in one course it should also be written in reverse in the other course.
- Effective Fall 2016 the campus is no longer able to support “partial credit” restriction rules. If your course currently includes a partial credit restriction please remove it as soon as possible.
- Deficient Grade Removal
Deficient grade removal rules are directives about what course(s) a student may use to replace a failed grade. For example, if a student fails History 100 most likely the student will replace the failed grade by passing the same course in a future semester. However, there may be other courses that the student could pass that would allow the student to replace the failed grade. Those other courses would need to be listed as part of a deficient grade removal rule in order for the student to use it.
To enter a deficient grade removal rule, click the “Add Deficient Grade Removal” button. CMS will display the deficient grade removal rule, partially completed. You will need to select the course code and number from the form field boxes of the course you want to allow to replace the grade. In most cases, the deficient grade removal rule will be automatically populated based on the selections in the credit restriction rule. However, you have the option to manually include additional deficient grade removal rules as needed.
For example, if you are proposing History 100 and want to create a deficient grade removal rule for English 153, your sentence will need to read as: Students can remove a deficient grade in HISTORY 100 by completing ENGLISH 153. In this example, the History department has determined that there is enough overlap in the course content between their own course and the English course that a student who has failed the History course could replace the failed grade with this English course.
Keep in mind that deficient grade removal rules should be written for similar courses with related course numbers (e.g., History 100, History N100, and History 100AC). There are some exceptions, such as in the case of special topics courses that use the same root number. Consult with Senate staff if you have questions about exceptional cases. - Repeatability – If a course may be taken more than one time for credit, check the repeatable box and indicate the conditions under which the course may be repeated. Usually, courses are repeatable only when the topic changes or with the consent of the instructor. In the cases of special topics courses (see more below) or practice-focused courses (e.g., music, dance, or similar studio-based courses) it is possible that the course may be repeated up to a certain number of times or for a maximum number of units.
There are four cases where a student may be permitted to enroll in the same course number multiple times within the same semester. These cases include when: a) the course may be repeated when the topic changes; b) the course may be repeated for credit without restriction; c) the course may be repeated for credit up to a total of X times; and d) when the course may be repeated up to a total of X units. If the department is offering multiple versions of the same course within the same semester and a student would be eligible to enroll in both versions at once be sure to checkmark this option. - Special Topics Course – If the course will be a special topics course, check this box. There are no particular requirements for special topics courses, but this field allows us to collect data about this type of course.
NOTE: All examples provided in this section are for demonstration purposes only and do not reflect academic advice.