Body
University Policy
Title
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Policy on Authorized Courses, Standard Course Numbering, and Modes of Instruction
Introduction
Purpose
This policy applies to all academic courses officially recognized by the University in all colleges and schools. These credit courses are applicable to authorized degrees and credentials awarded by the University and maintained by the Office of the University Registrar. The Faculty Council’s Educational Policy Committee exercises oversight of this policy.
Policy
Authorized Courses
The Office of the University Registrar maintains all officially approved academic courses and the official listing in the University’s course catalog. All courses authorized for credit towards a degree or credential must first be approved by the appropriate academic body of UNC-Chapel Hill colleges and schools and meet the University’s definition of a credit hour. Although procedures for approving courses initially vary within academic bodies, every course request and approval requires faculty oversight. Faculty members assigned to course approval roles should have the authority and ability to ensure courses successfully complete internal approval processes and meet the applicable standards of the academic program and the University. Each academic body, such as professional schools and College of Arts and Sciences departments, curricula, and units, is responsible for appointing course request submitters and approvers for final submission to the Office of the University Registrar. Course approvers submitting courses to the Office of the University Registrar are typically a department chair or dean depending on the academic structure of the academic program. Additional guidelines on the course approval submission process are available from the Office of the University Registrar.
All approved courses and requests to revise or inactivate courses must be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar following the defined processes before final authorization, posting in the University’s course catalog, and availability to students for registration.
All course listings in the catalog will contain the following information:
- Course Subject Code (e.g., ENGL)
- Course Number (e.g., ENGL 23)
- Course Title ( Abbreviated title e.g., INTRO TO FICTION )
- Course Description (50 word max)
- Course Semester Credit Hours (e.g., 3)
- Course Grading Basis
- Course Repeatability (e.g., repeatable within term for 6 hours)
- Applicable Course Cross-listings
- Applicable General Education requirement/s fulfilled by the course
Standard Course Numbering
All authorized academic courses must be numbered according to guidelines established by the University. A course number should not be re-assigned to another course having a different content until at least five years after the previous course was taught. Alphabetic course-number suffixes are limited to one and included in the listing below. More than one suffix and hyphenated course numbers are incompatible with the student information system. The Office of the University Registrar also maintains course section-numbering guidelines for internal purposes.
For courses in the Undergraduate and Graduate academic careers starting in Fall 2006, the numbers assigned to courses are normally categorized as follows:
- 000-009 Reserved for University Registrar
- 050-089 First-Year Seminars
- 009-399 Undergraduate Level Courses (Graduate students may enroll but will not earn academic credit)
- 100-189 Introductory Undergraduate Courses **
- 190, 290, 390 Undergraduate Special Topics Courses
- 193, 293, 393 Undergraduate Internships and Practica
- 195, 295, 395 Undergraduate Research Courses
- 196, 296, 396 Undergraduate Independent Study/Reading Courses
- 400-699 Courses for advanced undergraduates and graduate students
- 490, 590, 690 Undergraduate/Graduate Special Topics Courses
- 493, 593, 693 Undergraduate/Graduate Internships and Practica
- 495, 595, 695 Undergraduate/Graduate Research Courses
- 496, 596, 696 Undergraduate/Graduate Independent Study/Reading Courses
- 691H, 692H, 693H, 694H Senior (Undergraduate) Honors Thesis
- 697, 698 Capstone Courses (Undergraduate)
- 700-899 Graduate-level courses (Undergraduates may enroll with permission from department)
- 900-999 Graduate-level courses for graduate students only
- 799 Graduate Experimental Offering
- 890-899 Graduate Special Topic
- 900-991 Graduate Research
- 992, 993 Master’s Thesis
- 994 Doctoral Dissertation
- 995-999 Reserved for University Registrar
** Foreign Language Courses should be numbered in this manner:
- Beginning level – 101,102 and 401, 402
- Intermediate level – 203, 204 and 403, 404
- Graduate foreign language requirement – 601, 602 and 603, 604
For courses in the Undergraduate and Graduate academic careers starting in Fall 2006, the following suffixes may be used:
- H – Honors course or course for advanced students
- L – Credit-bearing laboratory course
- I – Interdisciplinary course
[The standard course number used prior to 2006 is available from the Office of the University Registrar. The numbering schemes may vary by academic unit and may change over time.]
Modes of Instruction
All classes authorized for academic credit must be assigned an approved instructional mode prior to student registration. Class meetings are to be scheduled accordingly and within defined credit-hour standards. The following lists the available modes of instruction and provides a brief description of each instructional format. These descriptions are an overview and provide the minimal requirements for each mode. Individual classes may have unique characteristics or variations within these modes. Class modes other than the mode originally approved for the course may require additional levels of approval to determine appropriateness of the instruction format within the context of the corresponding academic programs. All class instruction delivered in a remote or online format is expected to be delivered with technology supported by the University and to comply with related policies and procedures.
In-Person (IP)
- Instruction is offered in-person, and student in-person attendance is required.
- Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled on-campus class meetings and exam times, including the final exam, in person throughout the term or semester.
- In some classes or under special conditions, minimal content and/or class meetings (less than 25%) may be delivered in a remote/online format to supplement the majority of in-person instructional time.
- Specific dates for regularly scheduled in-person meetings must be defined and available to students in the University’s student information system prior to the start of classes for the term or semester.
In-Person & Remote Hybrid (IR)
- Instruction is offered in both in-person and remote/online formats, and student attendance is required both in-person and online.
- Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled class meetings and exam times, including the final exam, throughout the term or semester.
- Classes will have both in-person and remote/online meetings regularly scheduled at specific dates and times, with over half the class meetings scheduled as in-person. The exact amount of in-person and synchronous remote/online regularly scheduled instruction varies by class.
- In addition to the majority of in-person instruction, significant content (25-49%) will be delivered in a remote/online format. This includes synchronous and/or asynchronous meetings.
Specific dates for regularly scheduled in-person and synchronous remote/online meetings must be defined and available to students in the University’s student information system prior to the start of classes for the term or semester.
Remote Mostly Online & In-Person Hybrid (RM)
- Instruction is offered both remote/online (asynchronous and/or synchronous) and in-person formats, and student attendance is required both online and in-person.
- Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled class meetings and exam times, including the final exam, throughout the term or semester.
- Classes will have both remote/online (asynchronous and/or synchronous) and in-person meetings regularly scheduled at specific dates and times, with over half the scheduled class meetings being in a remote/online format. The exact amount of remote/online and in-person regularly scheduled instruction varies by class.
- In addition to the majority of remote/online instruction, significant content (up to 49%) will be delivered at in-person meetings.
- Specific dates for regularly scheduled synchronous remote/online and in-person meetings must be defined and available to students in the University’s student information system prior to the start of classes for the term or semester.
Remote Asynchronous (RA)
- Instruction is offered in a remote/online format.
- Students are not required to attend class sessions on specific dates and times. All course content will be available in a remote/online format, either on demand or within specified time windows.
- All class sessions, activities, and/or exams, including the final exam, will be asynchronous and self-paced within defined timeframes; students will be expected to meet deadlines throughout the term or semester in which the class is offered.
- Any in-person or synchronous remote/online class meetings will be optional.
Remote Synchronous (RS)
- Instruction is offered in a remote/online format, and student attendance is required online.
- Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled remote/online class meetings and exam times, including the final exam, throughout the term or semester.
- All class instruction will be remote/online. No in-person attendance will be required.
- In some classes or under special conditions, minimal content and/or class meetings (less than 25%) may be delivered remotely/online in an asynchronous format to supplement the majority of synchronous instructional time.
- Specific dates for regularly scheduled synchronous remote/online meetings must be defined and available to students in the University’s student information system prior to the start of classes for the term or semester.
Important Dates
Effective Date:
Additions/Revisions: Content from the previous University Policy Memorandoms #4 Standard Course and Section Numbering, #11 Authorized Courses, and #31 Instructional Modes.