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PVC Curriculum Website: : COR Guidance Doc

COR Guidance Doc

COR GUIDANCE

Course Title:

  • Consider limiting the course title to 30 characters including spaces.  The 30-character title is what is seen by the student when they register and also what shows on the student’s transcript.  If the title is over 30 characters, the title has to be abbreviated by the Curriculum Specialist.  
  • If using abbreviations in a course title, only very well-known abbreviations should be included, such as “Intro” for Introduction.

Course Description:

  • The course description should be a summary of the course Content/Outline.
  • Include complete sentences.
  • There is no need to repeat the course title in the course description.
  • Field trips, required materials and any other expenses of the students should be included in the course description.
  • Please review the course description periodically so that it’s not outdated.  Consider writing the   course description so it is welcoming and free of jargon that students might not be familiar with.   (Students may register based solely on how the course title and course description sound). 
  • Enter Pass/No Pass if the course can be offered that way.

Submission Rationale:

  • You may leave this box blank when the course is new.
  • If you change any of these CB codes (the CB codes can be found listed on the COR):  CB 03, CB 04, CB 06, CB 07, CB 08, CB 09, CB 21 or CB 22, then select Substantial Change in the drop-down box.
  • Or, if the gist of the course has dramatically changed, then select Substantial Change.
  • If you don’t change any of the content associated with the above CB codes, or your course remains essentially the same, then your change is Non-Substantial. 

“Change” Box: 

  • In this box, please list every change that you’re making to the COR, including prior and current language to any title, pre-req, co-req or advisory changes in order that the TRC committee is aware of the changes and can review them.
  • Indicate which modalities the course is being offered (FTF, CE, DE).  
  • If your chosen textbook is over 5 years old, please indicate why in this box. 

Pre-reqs, Co-reqs and Advisories:

  • A pre-req is a course that MUST be taken by the student before the chosen course, and will stop the student from registering if they haven’t taken the pre-req for the course. 
  • An Advisory is only a suggestion of a course or other skills or suggestion, but does not prevent the student from registering for the course.
  • A Co-Req is simply a course that is taken at the same time as the listed course. 
  • The same course cannot be listed as both a pre-req and a co-req.
  • If there is an Advisory listed on the associated C-ID, that Advisory doesn’t need to be listed on the COR, unless you wish, only the pre-req and co-req listed on the C-ID Final Descriptor must be listed on the COR.

Methods of Instruction:

  • Please limit this box to instructional methods such as lecture, discussions, etc.  There are separate areas on the COR for Assignments and Evaluation Methods.

Assignments:

  • List examples of homework and other assignments here.  Per Title V, you need to list examples of Reading Assignments, Writing Assignments, Appropriate Assignments completed outside of class and Assignments that demonstrate critical thinking.   (Other Assignments if applicable).

Methods of Evaluation:

  • List quizzes, exams and finals here. (There may be some overlap between assignments and evaluation methods, such as homework or essays). 

Equipment:

  • Only list equipment that the student would need to supply.  Don’t list material the college supplies or has on hand.
  • If the course is offered in an Online modality, list services and equipment the student will need access to (such as a computer, Wi-Fi and the Internet and other productivity software).

Textbooks:

  • Textbooks can be representative texts (especially between 5-year updates).
  • If you wish to continue to use a textbook that is more than 5 years old, please also list another textbook that is newer when needed for articulation purposes, and explain in the “Change” box why the older text is being used.
  • Multiple textbooks are permitted.
  • When updating the COR, and continuing on with a newer edition, the COR should list the most current edition of the textbook. 
  • When selecting texts that will be used with incarcerated students, please select a text that is available in paperback format and list the ISBN that corresponds to the paperback version only.
  • Please consider the use of OER materials for both equity and success reasons, and as a cost-savings measure for students where there is no difference in quality. 

Lab Manuals:

  • Lab courses that articulate need to list a lab manual. 
  • Lab manuals that are self-authored currently do not need an associated URL.

Course Objectives: 

  • List course objectives here.  There’s no guidance as to how many to list. 
  • Check to see if there is a C-ID Final Descriptor listed for the course.   You must list the objectives listed on the C-ID on the COR in order for the course to articulate; however you may also include additional objectives not listed on the C-ID descriptor. 
  • Please check to see if there are any changes to the C-ID descriptor since you last updated your course (if there is a C-ID descriptor for your course).  

Student Learning Outcomes:

  • Three to five SLOs is a good guide, but more or less are possible depending on the course.
  • If new to SLOs, consider writing the SLO as if these words appeared before the actual SLO (you can always remove the wording after the SLO is complete, but it may help to focus the SLO):  “After completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to…”  and then list the pertinent SLO. 
  • Bloom’s Taxonomy (three resources are listed here) is a good resource for helpful action verbs, which should appear at the beginning of the SLO. 
    https://ctle.utah.edu/resources/pdfs/bloom-handout.pdf
    Bloom’s Taxonomy | Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University  https://www.utica.edu/academic/Assessment/new/Bloom%20tx%20revised%20combined.pdf
  • Check that SLOs can be assessed properly.
  • SLOs should be a cross-section of course content, not a one-to-one content mapping. 
  • SLOs versus Course Objectives:  While Course Objectives are about content and coverage, SLOs consider what students should be able to do with what they’ve learned by the end of the semester. 

Course Content Outline and Lab Outline:

  • If the course has both a lecture and a lab, both outlines should be completed.  To access the lab outline, check the box that reads “Lab Outline in this Course” located directly below the Course Outline.  This brings up a box in which you can enter the lab outline.  List hands-on activities in the lab outline.