Key to Course Descriptions

Course Designations

Each course is identified by a title, subject, and number: e.g., Introduction to Sociology is Sociology 131 and would appear in the curriculum as SO131.

The first digit indicates the course level and the class or classes generally eligible to take the course:

000: noncredit January programs; priority to first-year students unless otherwise noted
100: priority to first-year students
200: open to sophomores and classes above
300: open to juniors and seniors
400: restricted to seniors

Permission of the instructor may be required to confirm enrollment in a course of a level normally not open to the student’s class.

Course Number Conventions

Certain course numbers or ranges are reserved for specific uses:

090           Internship
091, 291   Independent Study (January)
_97,_98    Special topic or one-time offering. The first digit identifies the level at which the course is offered.
483, 484   Honors Project
491, 492   Independent Study (fall or spring)

Prerequisites

Course descriptions include specific prerequisites when these are required. Permission of the instructor is required to enroll in any course for which the student has not satisfied a stated prerequisite.

Curriculum

Departments have the option to offer particular courses in either one or both semesters and/or January. Catalogue descriptions provide this information with bold-faced letters immediately following course numbers:

f:    course is offered in fall semester
j:    course is offered in January term
s:   course is offered in spring semester
[ ]:  course is not offered in current academic year

The curriculum for each semester, available on the Web, provides information about the time and place of classes as well as their final examination group numbers. Course enrollment limits and priorities for admission to courses are set by departments; this information is also included in the curriculum from which courses are selected.

Courses listed in the catalogue, as well as the curriculum, are subject to withdrawal at the discretion of the College administration. Departments reserve the right to limit enrollment in any course and to establish priorities for courses that might be over-enrolled.

Faculty on leave are listed at the end of the faculty list in this catalogue.

Area Requirements

Catalogue descriptions of courses that fulfill distribution area requirements include a bold-faced capital letter following the number of credit hours:

A:    Arts
H:    Historical Studies
L:    Literature
N:    Natural Science [for these courses designations of Lb (lab) and OptLb (optional lab) may also appear] 
Q:    Quantitative Reasoning
S:    Social Sciences

First-Year Writing (W1)

Courses that fulfill the first-year writing requirement are designated by a boldfaced W1.

Upper-Level Writing (W2, W3)

Certain upper-level, writing-intensive courses are designated with a boldfaced W2 or W3, although there is not an upper-level writing distribution requirement. W2 courses build on the W1 student learning outcomes and teach writing and research practices appropriate to a particular discipline or field of study. W3 courses provide practice in advanced writing and research and build on the goals and understandings for W1 and, normally, W2 courses.

Diversity (I,U)

Courses that fulfill the requirement in Diversity are designated by a bold-faced U or I. Courses designated with a U fulfill the requirement dealing with diversity issues within the United States; courses designated with an I fulfill the requirement dealing with diversity issues in a context other than the United States.

Credit Hours

Credit hours published are per term (semester or Jan Plan) and are indicated in each course description as well as in the curriculum. Some courses, listed for variable credit, provide an opportunity for students to earn additional credit by completing extra work as agreed upon with the instructor and when registered appropriately by the specified deadline.

With the exception of “topics” courses, seminars in which subject matter varies, applied music, and independent studies, courses may not be repeated for additional credit.

Critical Dates

Critical Dates, a schedule for each academic year, is issued by the registrar and includes deadlines for adding, dropping, and withdrawing from courses; for increasing or decreasing credit in variable-credit courses; and for declaration and revocation of the satisfactory/unsatisfactory option. It is available online.