Class Level Definitions

Preamble: We recognize that departments make distinctions among 100-, 200-, and 300-level classes more often on the basis of internal departmental course relationships than on the relative nature of these courses at an all-college level. The College has no set of specific guidelines to describe the relationships among these course levels. To address this problem and to guide the Curriculum Committee in assessing the appropriate level for classes, these guidelines are an attempt to provide a framework for instructors when designing classes and to lend consistency to the process.

100-level classes

• Content

1. 1. Students begin learning the "language" of a discipline (key concepts and terms) and acquiring a knowledge base.

• Skills

1. 1. Students begin building their abilities to:
      
      1. write, read, and think analytically and/or quantitatively; and
      2. explain, interpret, and solve problems.

• Process

1. 1. Faculty guidance structures student work.

200-level classes

• Content

1. 1. Deeper investigation of more narrowly defined content.
   2. Students engage a more focused area of knowledge in a deeper way and or develop their abilities and skills within the discipline.

• Skills

1. 1. Students continue developing their abilities to:
      
      1. write, read, and think analytically and quantitatively; and
      2. explain, interpret, and solve problems.

• Process

1. 1. Balance of faculty guidance and student independence.

300-level classes

• Content and skills

1. 1. Students integrate the skills and knowledge from earlier levels.
   2. Students deepen their knowledge of more abstract and challenging material.
   3. Students develop their ability to engage in advanced dialogue and recognize disciplinary assumptions.

• Process

1. 1. Students work independently with some faculty guidance.

 

Developed by the Committee on Academic Standards and Expectations (December 1998)
Revised by Committee on Educational Policy and Planning (February 1999)