Below is an outline of the format to follow when preparing course proposals for approval through the curriculum process at KU.

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY
KUTZTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA


DEPARTMENT OF (complete for your department) ______________
COLLEGE OF (complete for your college) _____________________

Suggested Course Prefix(es) and Number Level: _____________
(indicate level followed by XX [Example: MAT 3XX] or you may suggest a number [Example: Suggested Number 315])

I. Course Description: Course Prefix, Number and Title

  • A succinct description of the course content must be written. This is what will appear in the University Catalog, so it should not be long. Avoid verbosity, but use complete sentences.
  • The number of semester hours of credit granted, clock hour , and prerequisites must be included at the end of the description. These may be placed on the same line following the end of the description or on the next line.
    (Example: 3 s.h. 3 c.h. Prerequisite: MAT 171)
  • Semester hours (s.h.) refers to the number of academic credits a student receives for the course. Clock hours or Contact Hours (c.h.) refers to the total number of hours per week the student spends in the classroom in contact with the professor.

II. Course Rationale:

  • The rationale should indicate the reason(s) for the development of the course and its inclusion in the curriculum and, where appropriate, the relationship of the proposed course to the other courses in the curriculum. Show why this course is important.

III. Course Objectives:

  • These objectives should be written in such a way as to reflect the desired outcomes from the course as observed in student behaviors (see Writing Course Objectives). Objectives must indicate demonstrable learning expected of the student for the successful completion of the course.

IV. Assessment:

  • Provide a list of the instruments that will be used to assess students' achievement of the course objectives. Be as complete as possible. (See Assessment for examples.)

V. Course Outline:

  • The course outline should provide sufficient detail so that course content can be determined from the outline.
  • Be consistent (numbering, lettering, upper and lower case, etc.) throughout the outline.
  • Use traditional outline format (using an alternating series of numbers and letters, indented accordingly, to indicate levels of importance).
  • Do not include any information that would "date" the syllabus as being for a particular semester or as being taught by a particular instructor.

VI. Instructional Resources:

  • A list of instructional resources supporting a proposed course must be provided with 50% or more of these resources being housed in the KU library.
  • When appropriate, resources should be as recent as possible.
  • Be consistent as you list the resources. For example, if you use APA Format, use it throughout.
  • If available, put the call number by the book. This is NOT required. However, it may be helpful to others in the future (UCC person who is checking your resources, a colleague in the future who is now teaching the course and seeking to revise it, etc.).
  • As with all resources, when listing electronic media, refer to the publication manual of the format you are using. For example, if you use APA Format, you will find how to list on-line information on pgs. 218-222 in the current manual (4th edition).

NOTE: Please use no smaller than a 10-point font (12-point preferred) and one inch margins. Also, please make back-to-back copies in order to save paper. Members of the University Curriculum Committee Executive Committee are available to answer questions or help you with this course formatting process. Phone the UCC office at 3-4675 or click HERE to e-mail the UCC Chairperson.