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 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 Approved course inventory maintained at UIC by the Office of Programs and Academic Assessment A “course” consists of: 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 480 cross-lists at UIC Single course listed under more than one course subject in course catalog 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 One unit always “controls” and usually staffs the course Student is assigned under course he/she registers for during registration process Student is assigned under course he/she registers for during registration process

Where do courses come from? An academic teaching unit sponsors a course An academic teaching unit sponsors a course A course request may be: 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 Electronic workflow system that manages the course approval process at UIC –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

After approval by the OPAA, the following needs to take place:

CRS and Banner Schedule In general, CRS information is relevant whenever the course is offered In general, CRS information is relevant whenever the course is offered CRS information is used to build the Banner Schedule (Timetable) CRS information is used to build the Banner Schedule (Timetable) Banner Schedule information applies to a particular section (term) offering 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 Sign-offs, approvals & associated comments recorded in CRS Units decide who should have access Units decide who should have access Possible authorization levels: 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 Colleges can perform tasks for their units Paper authorization forms are submitted to obtain access Paper authorization forms are submitted to obtain access

Features of CRS Check boxes, pull-down menus, and some free- form text Check boxes, pull-down menus, and some free- form text Includes basic validations Includes basic validations –Required fields must be entered –Logical data entry –Course rules Automatic notifications Automatic notifications –Notifies users when…. a course requires their review a course requires their review a course has been approved by the campus a course has been approved by the campus

Support for CRS Over 270 CRS users across campus Over 270 CRS users across campus Help available directly from system Help available directly from system Listserv to communicate with users Listserv to communicate with users Training sessions held periodically Training sessions held periodically CRS User Manual CRS User Manual ent/files/CRSHelpManual.pdf

CRS Training Site: ims4.vcaa.uic.edu/CRSTraining/login.asp ims4.vcaa.uic.edu/CRSTraining/login.asp