This
policy has been recommended to the interim president by the provost and
formally adopted by the President on August 10, 2006
Definition of Directed
Directed readings courses allow in-depth
study of a particular subject by a student who is well into her or his major
and, in extraordinary circumstances, accommodate scheduling issues when no
other remedy is available.
Directed readings courses should not normally
be used as replacements for required courses or as a solution to routine
scheduling problems.
Purpose of Policy
The university is committed to
maintaining the highest level of academic quality and integrity in the
instructional process.
This policy is designed to bolster both
quality and academic integrity by ensuring that the academic quality of
directed readings courses is materially equivalent to the academic quality of other
courses, regardless of format or mode of delivery.
Eligibility
To be eligible to take a directed
readings course a student must be at junior level or above, and the course must
be taken for credit toward the student’s major or minor; exceptions may be
approved as follows:
Exceptions concerning junior standing or
higher, or concerning credit toward the student’s major or minor, must be
approved by the instructor and the offering department head/chair (or dean, if
the instructor serves as department head/chair or associate dean), and by the dean
of the college in which student is enrolled, if different from the offering
college.
A student must have the approval of
her/his dean and the provost to take more than 9 hours of directed readings
coursework for credit over the course of her/his degree program.
Approval to Teach
Course
A standard form available through the
Office of the Provost Web page will specify the necessary approvals and serve
as the vehicle for obtaining them. Except as permitted by deadline variations
within the “Registration and Scheduling” provisions of the university’s “Academic
Policies,” all necessary approvals must be obtained by the tenth class day of
the semester (or fifth class day of the summer semester) in order for the
course to be taken for credit toward a degree.
The form for course approval serves in
the nature of a contract in which the student and the instructor affirm their
understandings concerning:
a.
the objective of the course;
b.
the nature of the teaching-learning process and the proposed schedule of
meetings;
c.
the proposed work products; and
d. the criteria that will be used to
assess the work product and the grade options that will
be available.
p.2, Directed
Information on points a through d above
should be presented through a syllabus that is attached to the form for
approval.
Academic Standards
The documentation consisting of the
approval form and accompanying material must comply with the course description
approved by the University Curriculum Committee, and must reflect essentially the same standards of academic
quality expected of all courses regardless of format or mode of delivery.
An instructor wishing to offer directed
studies coursework to more than three students in any given semester must
receive written approval from the department head/chair (or dean, if the
instructor serves as department head/chair or associate dean) no later than the
tenth class day of the semester (fifth day of summer semester).
The instructor, department head/chair, and dean affirm through their signatures on the approval form that the amount and level of credit to be awarded for the course is materially equivalent to the amount and level of credit awarded for comparable course work, regardless of format or mode of delivery.