Overview of Course Request System (CRS) Office of Programs and Academic Assessment (OPAA), UIC July, 2010 What is the Course Catalog? • All credit courses approved to be offered by the • • University – 5386 total approved courses Approved course inventory maintained at UIC by the Office of Programs and Academic Assessment A “course” consists of: – – – – Course subject (rubric) and number (Math 220) Course title (Calculus I) Credit hours (3 hours) Grading Modes (e.g., Letter grade awarded, e.g., “A”) What is the Course Catalog? Cont’d – Brief description of content – Purpose of course, course learning outcomes, assessment methods – Prerequisite (e.g., preparation required, e.g., coursework) – Type of instruction (lecture versus lab) and contact hours (will meet 3 hours each week) – Special notes and conditions about registration and credit – General Education Credit “Cross-Listed” Courses • 480 cross-lists at UIC • Single course listed under more than one course subject in course catalog – Example: African-American History is listed as AAST (African-American Studies) 100 and Hist (History) 100. African-American Studies controls, or has created the course content • One unit always “controls” and usually staffs the • course Student is assigned under course he/she registers for during registration process Where do courses come from? • An academic teaching unit sponsors a course • A course request may be: – A new course [does not currently exist] – A revised course [change in something, like course title or credit hours] – A course drop [request to remove from University records] Course Request System (CRS) • Electronic workflow system that manages the course approval process at UIC – – – – http://ossssql1.admin.uillinois.edu/crs/login.asp Gather information for academic review, student information for registration and publications (course schedule and catalog) Manages workflow to the Office of Programs and Academic Assessment (OPAA) Web-based (Explorer or Firefox) Implemented at UIC in August 2000 Course Approval Process Dept prepares course request Consulting Unit signoff, OR 14 day revew expires Has course Yes been routed for signoff? No Is course cross-listed? Cross-listing unit (dept and college, if different than controllling college) aprove course Yes No College Approval OPAA Review Graduate College Review Required? Yes Graduate College Review & Approval No Senate Commitee on Educational Policy/ Senate Review Required? No No Yes SCEP/Senate Review & Approval Board of Trustte/IBHE Approval required? Yes OPAA Approval Board of Trustees/ IBHE review & approval After approval by the OPAA, the following needs to take place: Approved Course Request All approving units notified of course approval Course info entered into Banner database Catalog Office notified, course entered into online/print catalog http://www.uic.edu/ucat/ courses/ Scheduling Office notified of course (if necessary) DARS Office notified of course information affecting DARS tables (where necessary) List of New, Dropped Revised Courses sent to Senate CRS and Banner Schedule • In general, CRS information is relevant whenever the course is offered • CRS information is used to build the Banner Schedule (Timetable) • Banner Schedule information applies to a particular section (term) offering CRS and Banner Schedule (cont’d) CRS Banner Schedule (sections) Subject/number, prerequisite, permanent cross-listing, grading mode, instruction type, General Education Credit, credit notes Title, Credit hours (1-4) Title (for topics courses only), credit hours (4 hour section of 1-4 hour course) Time, day, location, instructor Authorizations • Sign-offs, approvals & associated comments • • • • recorded in CRS Units decide who should have access Possible authorization levels: – Data entry only – Data entry with approval/sign-off – Data entry with surrogate approval/sign-off Colleges can perform tasks for their units Paper authorization forms are submitted to obtain access http://ossssql1.admin.uillinois.edu/oaa/CRSAuthorization Features of CRS • Check boxes, pull-down menus, and some free• form text Includes basic validations – Required fields must be entered – Logical data entry – Course rules • Automatic email notifications – Notifies users when…. • a course requires their review • a course has been approved by the campus Support for CRS • Over 270 CRS users across campus • Help available directly from system • Listserv to communicate with users • Training sessions held periodically • CRS User Manual http://ossssql1.admin.uillinois.edu/oaa/cont ent/files/CRSHelpManual.pdf CRS Training Site: http://ims4.vcaa.uic.edu/CRSTraining/login.asp