Rev. 12-12-05
University Curriculum Committee
Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 0001 – 4999
(Faculty Senate Resolution #04–18, April 2004)
Note: Before completing this form, please read the accompanying instructions
carefully.
1. Course Prefix and Number:
ECON 4523
2. Date:
10/22/2006
3. Requested Action (check only one box):
X
New Course
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course
from #
to
#
4. Justification for new course or course revision or renumbering:
The Department of Economics wishes to institute reading
course offerings to strengthen the program for our
undergraduate students. A primary objective of the Department
is to develop economically educated citizens, able to apply their
specialized training in varied careers and across broad areas of
interest. Assessment of learning outcomes has indicated a
need for greater breadth of course offerings to meet this
objective, and to more fully serve the special interests of our
undergraduate students. Specifically, assessment of our
undergraduate program and existing course offerings leads to
the conclusion that offering reading courses would benefit our
students in the following ways:
 Provide a fuller range of economic topics than are
contained in present course offerings.
 Give interested students opportunity to engage in broader
or deeper application of principles and models learned in
regular course offerings, including organizing and
2
conducting basic economic research.
 Make available special topics tailored to students’
individual interests.
 Provide students an opportunity to work in depth with
individual faculty members.
 Allow students with unusual course scheduling problems a
means of completing degree requirements in a timely
manner (e.g., avoid students having to take an extra
semester to complete (say) one or two credits of
coursework required to complete their degree).
5. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
4523. Independent Study and Research in Economics (3)
(F,S,SS) P: Consent of instructor and dept chair. Extensive or
selected readings taken from modern economic research
monographs or in specialized areas of economics in which
student has taken one or more courses.
6. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
7. Undergraduate Catalog Page Number from current undergraduate catalog:
8. The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee must approve Writing Intensive
(WI) credit for all courses prior to their consideration by the UCC. If WI credit is
requested, has this course been approved for Writing Intensive (WI) credit?
Yes
No
X
If Yes, will all sections be Writing Intensive (yes/no)?
Yes
No
X
9. The Academic Standards Committee must approve General Education Credit
for all courses prior to their consideration by the UCC. If GE credit has been
approved by the ASC, then check the appropriate box (check only one):
English (EN)
Science (SC)
3
Humanities (HU)
Fine Arts (FA)
Health (HL)
10. Course Credit:
Lecture
Hours
Social Science (SO)
Mathematics (MA)
Exercise (EX)
Per
Term
Per
Lab
Weekly OR
Term
Per
Studio
Weekly OR
Term
Per
Practicum
Weekly OR
Term
Per
Internship
Weekly OR
Term
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
Weekly
OR
Credit
Hours
Credit
Hours
Credit
Hours
Credit
Hours
Credit
Hours
Total Credit Hours
s.h.
s.h.
s.h.
3
s.h.
1-3
12. Affected Degrees or Academic Programs:
Current
Degree(s)/Course(s)
Catalog Page
N/A
13.
s.h.
3
Independent study and research.
11. Anticipated yearly student enrollment:
s.h.
Changes in Degree Hours
Overlap or Duplication with Affected Units or Programs:
X
Not Applicable
Applicable (notification and responses from affected units are
attached)
14. Approval by the Council for Teacher Education (required for courses affecting
teacher education programs):
X Not Applicable
Applicable (CTE has given its approval.)
4
15.
Statements of Support:
X
Current staff is adequate
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
X
Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
X
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief
explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition of required
initial resources):
X
Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below,
give a brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
X
ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each
need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Remember to forward email approval from the director of ITCS to
UCC.
16. Syllabus – please insert course syllabus below. You must include (a) the
name of the textbook chosen for the course, (b) the course objectives, (c) the
course content outline, and (d) the course assignments and grading plan.
5
Example Syllabus – 3 s.h. Independent Study and Research in Economics
TOPIC:
To be determined by student & instructor, approved by department head.
Possible topics include: Antitrust policy; applied microeconomics; capital
finance markets; econometrics; economic growth and development;
economic history; economics of hazard mitigation; environmental and
natural resource economics; experimental economics; health economics;
industrial organization; international economics; labor economics; law and
economics; macroeconomic policy; money & banking and monetary policy;
poverty and inequality; public finance and public choice; real estate
economics; regional economic analysis; risk management.
Primary reading/study resources:
Readings and other study resources will be assigned as appropriate
to the specific topic and the student’s interest (e.g., relevant classic
and/or current texts; relevant topical articles from selected
economics and/or other appropriate journals; relevant empirical data
sources).
Course objectives: the students will
1. Select a research question relevant to the specific course topic
2. Identify and review economic theories and models relevant to the
research question and explain how they apply to the question
3. Identify empirical data resources relevant to the question and
explain how the data would be used in the models to address the
question
4. Compile relevant empirical data identified in (3), above, and
demonstrate their application in the theories and models identified in
(2), above
5. Submit a draft(s) of the economic analysis paper to the instructor
for review. The instructor will critique the manuscript and make
suggestions for revision, before the student can submit a final
comprehensive paper that satisfies objectives (1) through (4).
Course outline:
I.
Establish course expectations
II.
Independent study and discovery in support of the topic
a. Regular updates and interaction
III. Produce final paper
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Expectations:
The student is required to update the instructor on progress regularly
via e-mail, telephone, or scheduled meetings as deemed appropriate
by the instructor.
Grading:
Final grade in the class will be based on the quality of the regular
updates provided by the student as well as the final paper.
Grading Scale:
=>90
80-89
70-79
60-69
<60
A
B
C
D
F