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Administrative Regulation Course Prerequisites, Corequisites, and Advisories on Recommended Preparation Course prerequisites,
corequisites, and advisories on recommended preparation, as defined below, may
be adopted when, in the judgment of the faculty of the College, the proposed
prerequisite, corequisite, or advisory on recommended preparation is
educationally necessary and statistically significant in predicting student
success in a course or program. I.
Definition of
Prerequisites, Corequisite, or Advisory on Recommended Preparation: A. Basic
Skills Prerequisite, Corequisites, or Advisories on Recommended Preparation:
A mandatory or advisory statement regarding the minimum skills in reading,
writing, oral communication, or mathematical computation that has been found to
predict student success in a course or program of study. B.
Student
Safety Prerequisite: A basic skills
prerequisite, corequisite, or advisory recommended by the appropriate faculty,
assures that the student possesses the necessary basic skills required to
safely participate in a course or program. This type of prerequisite,
coresquisite, or advisory must be validated with criteria (e.g., reading
levels) directly related to the student’s ability to “safely” participate in
assigned course activities. C.
Sequential
Course Prerequisite: The successful
completion (with presumed mastery of course content) of a specific course as a
requirement for eligibility to a more advanced course in the same, or a closely
related, discipline. II.
Definition of
Limitations on Enrollment: The
types of limitation on enrollment specified below may only be established
through the curriculum review process by the discipline or division faculty and
final approval by the Academic Affairs Committee. A.
Performance
Courses: Each college may establish
audition or try-out as a limitation on enrollment for courses that include
public performance or intercollegiate competition, such as (but not limited to)
band, orchestra, theater, competitive speech, chorus, journalism, dance and
intercollegiate athletics with the following provisions: 1. For any certificate or associate degree requirement that can be met by taking this course, there is another course or courses which satisfy the same requirement; and 2.
The college
includes in the course outline of record a list of each certificate or
associate degree requirement that the course meets, and also a list of the
other course or courses which meet the same requirement. 3.
Limitations on
enrollment established for performance courses shall be reviewed during program
review or at least every six years to determine whether the audition or try-out
process is having a disproportionate impact on any historically
under-represented group and, if so, a plan shall be adopted to seek to remedy
the disproportionate impact. If disproportionate impact has been found, the
limitation on enrollment may not be printed in subsequent catalogs or schedules
nor enforced in any subsequent term until such a plan has been endorsed by the
department and put into effect by the college administration. (See also Section
5502 (e) and 55512.) B.
Honors
Courses: A limitation on enrollment
for an honors course or an honors section f a course may be established if, in
addition to the review by the faculty in the discipline or division and by the
Academic Affairs Committee as provided above, there is another section or
another course or courses at the college which satisfy the same requirements.
If the limitation is for an honors course and not only for an honors section,
the college must also include in the course outline of record, a list of each
certificate or associate degree requirement that the course meets and of the
other course or courses which meet the same associate degree or certificate
requirement. C. Blocks of Courses or Sections: Blocks of courses or blocks of sections of courses are two or more courses or sections for which enrollment is limited in order to create a cohort of students. Such a limitation on enrollment may be established if, in addition to review by the faculty in the discipline or division and by the Academic Affairs Committee as provided above, there is another section or another course or courses which satisfy the same requirement. If the cohort is created through limitations on specific sections of courses, then the college must include in the course outline of record a list of each certificate or associate degree requirement that the course meets and of the other course or courses which satisfy the same associate degree or certificate requirement. III.
Criteria for
Prerequisites and Corequisites: A.
Basic Skill
Prerequisites and Corequisites: For
purposes of identifying and implementing the use of a basic skills
prerequisite, the following standards must be met: 1.
The basic skill
must be measurable, using two or more uncorrelated examination or assessment
strategies. 2.
The basic skill
must be judged by the faculty of the College to be educationally necessary for
a student’s success in the course or program. 3.
The must be a
correlation, as demonstrated by appropriate statistical analysis, between the
basic skill levels and student success in the course or program. B.
Safety
Prerequisites and Corequisites: For
purposes of identifying and implementing the use of a “basic skill” to assure
the student’s ability to “safely” participate in a program of study, the
following standards must be met: 1.
The basic skill
must be measurable, using two or more uncorrelated assessment techniques (e.g.
high school grades) or standardized basic skill tests. 2.
The basic skill
must be judged by a panel of appropriate faculty experts as necessary to assure
the student’s safe participation in the instructional program. The membership
of the panel will be as follows: a.
At least two
members representing the affected division (one of whom teaches the course);
and, b.
One member
experienced in the instruction or assessment of the basic skill to be used as a
prerequisite or corequisite (i.e., an instructor of Reading would assist in
determining the appropriate reading levels required for a student to safely
participate in a science lab). 3.
The basic skill
level required as a prerequisite or corequisite for the class or program will
be established in consultation with appropriate faculty members within the
division or discipline offering the class, with faculty who are “experts” in teaching
or assessing the “basic skill,” and with staff from the Office of Research and
Planning. C.
Sequential
Intra-Departmental Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: For purposes of identifying and validating
“sequential course” prerequisites and corequisites, the following content-review
standards will be used: 1. A sequential course prerequisite or corequisite may be established when there is a clear and educationally sound relationship between the knowledge, concepts, terms, or operational skills developed in one course and the successful completion of the “higher-level” course. 2.
In determining
when such a prerequisite or corequisite should be considered, faculty members
within the discipline shall recommend, based upon their professional expertise
and knowledge, the appropriate course(s) which will serve as a prerequisite or
corequisite for a higher-level course within the same or a closely related
discipline. 3.
Where a
sequential course prerequisite or corequisite is proposed for a newly-developed
course, or is proposed as a change in prerequisite or corequisite for an
existing course, the following documentation must be on file in the Office of
Research and Planning: a.
Departmental
minutes of discussion, b.
The record of
the vote and a determination of whether the course meets the academic standards
required for degree applicable courses, non-degree applicable courses,
non-credit courses, or community service respectively. The
record of this discussion should reflect exit and entry expectations for the
courses and a clear connection between the prerequisite or corequisite exit
competencies and the entry expectations for the course. D.
Inter-Departmental
Prerequisites and Corequisites: For purposes of identifying and validating
inter-departmental course prerequisites and corequisites, one of the following
validations must occur in addition to the content review described in Section C
(above): 1. At least three (3) U.C. and/or three (3) C.S.U. campuses reflect equivalent prerequisites or corequisites for the equivalent course. 2.
Statistical
research is conducted to validate the prerequisite or corequisite. a.
The
responsibility for the evaluation of course prerequisite and corequisite is
shared between the instructional division in which the course is taught and the
Office of Research and Planning. b.
No single
research design of methodology will be used in the process of validating course
prerequisites or corequisites. Rather, the Research and Planning staff will
work with instructional faculty to determine the appropriate strategy fodr
validating proposed prerequisites or corequisites. c.
For purposes of
statistical validation, a prerequisite or corequisite will be considered valid
when the student success rate is predicted at a level of 60% or higher. For
these purposes, student success is considered to be measured by a final grade
of “C” or better (or Credit) in the course in question. d.
In such cases as
when the College is conducting validation studies, the prerequisite or
corequisite may be established for a period of not more than two years during
which the research is being conducted and the final determination is made. E.
Program
Prerequisites: Any prerequisite
established or proposed for a program (i.e., nursing program) must be approved
as provided for a course prerequisite in regard to at least one course that is
required as part of the program. F. Recency and Measures of Readiness Prerequisites: For purposes of identifying and implementing the use of recency and other measures of readiness as prerequisites or corequisites, the following standards must be met: 1. Data are collected in one of the following areas: a) comparison of faculty appraisals of students’ readiness for the course; b) student appraisal of necessity of prerequisite or corequisite, students must have completed or be currently enrolled in the course being appraised: c) comparison of students’ performance at any point in the course with completion of the proposed prerequisite or corequisite; and, d) comparison of student performance in the course to their scores on assessment instruments. 2. A list of specific skills a student must possess in order to be ready to take the course is included in the course outline of record. IV. Criteria for Advisories on Recommended Preparation: When information is insufficient to establish a course prerequisite or corequisite, advisories on recommended preparation may be established as follows: A.
Basic Skills Advisories on Recommended
Preparation: Based on content review (including test review and performance
expectations), a department, in conjunction with appropriate English/ESL/Math
faculty, may establish expected B. Safety Advisories on Recommended Preparation: The individual student’s skill or capacity necessary for success in the course must be judged by a departmental faculty member or a medical professional. C. Sequential Advisories on Recommended Preparation: Based on a departmental content review, students may be advised on an order or sequence of course taking. D. The following documentation must be on file in the Office of Research and Planning: 1. Departmental minutes of discussion, 2. The record of the vote and a determination of whether the course meets the academic standards required for degree applicable courses, non-degree applicable courses, non-credit courses, or community service respectively. V. Program Review: A. Prerequisites, corequisites, and limitations on enrollment will be reviewed at least once every six years. This review will correspond with the College’s program review cycle. B. Advisories on Recommended Preparation will be reviewed for reaffirmation simultaneously with the College’s program review cycle. C. The following documentation must be on file in the Office of Research and Planning: 1. Departmental minutes of discussion, 2. The record of the vote and a determination of whether the course meets the academic standards required for degree applicable courses, non-degree applicable courses, non-credit courses, or community service respectively. VI. Implementing Prerequisites, Corequisites, and Limitations on Enrollment: A. In the event that a discipline or a division wishes to change a prerequisite, corequisite, or a limitation on enrollment, that discipline or division will follow the procedures outlined above and will forward the recommended change(s) to the Academic Affairs Committee for approval. B. The Academic Affairs Committee will evaluate for implementation requests for new or revised prerequisites, corequisites, and limitations on enrollment. A vote to approve will be required for implementation. C. Documentation of approved prerequisites, corequisites, and limitations on enrollment will be maintained in the Office of Research and Planning. VII. Implementing Advisories on Recommended Preparation: A. The Academic Affairs Committee must approve any and all advisories on recommended preparation before publication in campus materials. B. Documentation of approved advisories on recommended preparation will be maintained in the Office of Research and Planning. Adopted: 6/22/92 Revised: VIII. Ensuring
that all courses including those which serve as prerequisites or corequisites or which have prerequisites
or corequisites are taught in accord with the
course outline: A. Each instructor will address the
objectives specified in the course outline on file in the Office of
Instruction. By the end of the second
class meeting, the instructor will provide to all students a written copy of
the class overview. The class overview will include all of the information
identified by the headings, although that information need not be presented in
the format shown. The description
following each heading is to be taken only as an example of the information to
be given under that heading. B. Each instructor will provide the
evidence of compliance (examples: class overview, sample examinations, student
work) requested by the division chair or appropriate administrator or designee.
Failure either to teach in accordance with the current course outline or to
provide the requested evidence will be incorporated into the instructor’s
evaluation. C. A statement will be included in the
catalog stating that the student can expect to receive a copy of the Class
Overview by the end of the second class meeting. CCR Section
55201(b) Approved: Revised: CLASS OVERVIEW The class
overview will include all of the information identified by the headings,
although that information need not be presented in the format shown. The description following each heading is to
be taken only as an example of the information to be given under that heading. I. Rationale The reason for
offering the course should be stated. If
in doubt, check the official course outline. II. Prerequisite(s) The prerequisite(s)
can be copied from the catalog and official course outline. III. Course Objectives Students should understand what the
course aims to teach them. IV. Attendance/absence/tardiness policy Emergency
should be clearly defined (serious illness or death of close family member,
student’s illness corroborated by a physician, jury duty, earthquake, flood,
fire, etc.) Students should be informed
precisely of the results of too many unexcused absences or tardies. V. Grading method Student should
be informed of the teacher’s method for arriving at grades. VI. Exam makeup policy Students
should be told how many exams, if any, can be made up, how they are to be made
up and where. VII. Academic dishonesty policy Students
should be advised that VIII. Course materials Students
should be informed about the textbooks and other materials for the class and
told whether each is required or recommended. IX. Class requirements and instructor
expectations This section
states the instructor’s expectations for the class. It also explains special requirements
specific to the class, such as lab requirements, excursions, outside projects,
etc. X. Office hours and telephone number Full-time
faculty members should list their office location, office hours, and office
telephone number. Adjunct faculty
members should inform students how to reach them. XI. Schedule of assignments The schedule
of assignments should cover the contents of the formal course outline and
should reflect a tentative schedule of topics and assignments so students know
what is expected of them. Approved by
Academic Affairs on 10/25/95 & 11/29/96. Approved by
the Academic Senate on Approved by
Campus Executive on CCR Section
55201(b) |