Effective: May 29, 2024

Policy Review Date: YEAR

Policy Executive: Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs

Responsible Office/Unit: Registrar

Policy Statement:

Applicability:

Content:

          Policy
          Appendix A – Definition of Curriculum Terms Procedure

(1) Certificate

A. Certificate programs are specialized career programs, often geared for admission to licensing or career entrance tests, that result in a certificate (Type A-D). Certificate programs may also be noncredit. (See CWUR 2-50-090 for certificate type definitions.)

(2) Cross-listed course

A. Course that may be offered by two or more programs or within the same program. Cross-listed courses must bear the identical course outcomes, description, credit, title, and numbering; only the prefix will be different. A statement must be added to the course description of cross-listed courses that applies the following structure, “[BUS XXX and [ENG XXX] are cross-listed courses; a student may not receive credit for both.” A cross-listed course is available under both departments’ course numbers with a shared cap..

(3) Curriculum

A. Refers to individual courses and degree programs offered by the university

(4) Degree

A. Title or rank awarded by a college or university to a student who has successfully completed a required course of study (e.g., associate’s or bachelor’s or master’s or specialist).

(5) Degree program

A. A set of educational requirements, identified jointly by the department or other degree-granting unit and the college or university, which leads to a degree. Associate of Arts program requirements involve a combination of general education courses and elective courses. Baccalaureate program requirements involve a combination of general education courses, courses in the major field of study, and elective courses. Graduate program requirements involve intensive study in the major field, preparation in the use and conduct of research, and/or a field or internship experience; professional programs generally prepare individuals for professional fields (e.g., law, medicine).

(6) Degree title

A. A full designation of the degree including level (e.g., associate, bachelor, master), type (e.g., arts, applied science, science, education, fine arts), and major (e.g., mathematics, music, history).

(7) Layered Course

A. A layered course is one that has different number designations undergraduate and graduate students at the 4XX/5XX levels taking the same course.

B. The 5XX level course must have additional learner outcomes and may have different course requirements.

1. Graduate students in graduate/undergraduate layered courses, must take the course at the 5XX level or higher. Such courses provide faculty the opportunity to augment course material with graduate-level content and outcomes in a way that meets the intellectual rigor graduate students need and enhances the teaching of upper-division undergraduates.
2. In all cases, distinctions expected between these corresponding levels typically focus on differences in content and assessment stemming from each program’s specific education objectives. In general these distinctions require a greater depth of student involvement and increased demands on student intellectual or creative capacities than would be expected at the lower level.

C. The distinctions must be clearly identified in the content and assessment methods outlined in each course syllabus, as well as new course proposal forms. Examples of potential content differences include, but are not limited to: additional readings or additional writing expectations, additional laboratory, field, performance or studio work. Examples of assessment distinctions include, but are not limited to: different grading scales and assessment of additional work.

D. A statement with the following structure must be added to the course description: “[MUS4XX] and [MUS5XX] are layered courses; a student may not receive credit for both.”

E. Both layered courses do not have to be offered at the same time.

(8) Major

A. The major forms the basis for granting of a baccalaureate degree. It is a coherent, in-depth degree program in a particular discipline or disciplines wherein the student will develop and demonstrate an increasing awareness of both the possibilities and the limits of the major program of study. Majors are designed to provide a mastery of the content, insights, skills and techniques appropriate to an undergraduate education in a particular body of knowledge. Majors will consist of courses that are often sequential, leading to advanced study in the discipline(s). A major will consist of a minimum of 45 credits. A 45 to 59 credit major requires completion of a minor and/or second major, in which case the total credits of the major and minor/2nd major must total at least 60 credits. (Refer to CWUP 5-50-020(3) for upper credit limit.)

(9) Minor

A. A minor is a coherent arrangement of courses in a particular discipline that provides an area that complements or supplements the student’s major. A minor will consist of a minimum of 20 credits and a maximum of 44 credits.

(10) New degree program

A. A proposed arrangement of courses which differ from any other offered by CWU in one or more of the degree title specifications (CWUP 5-50-020(17)). A program leading to a new degree (as defined above), even if constituted entirely of existing courses, requires review and approval.

(11) PADstone (CWU 184 General Education Program)

A. PADstone is a variable prefix/variable topic course requiring sub-title and sub-description (up to 35 words) approvals. 184 course offerings may not be required in any degree program under any prefix.

(12) Shared Core

A. A shared core is defined as a group of courses shared by all specializations within a major degree within a department/college. Shared cores consist of no fewer than 25 credits for an undergraduate program or 15 credits for a graduate program.

(13) Specialization

A. A specialization is a coherent, focused subfield within a degree program. A specialization can be distinguished from a new degree in that the full designation of the degree title – including level, type and major – does not change when a new specialization is added. The courses constituting the specialization must consist of no fewer than 20 credits for an undergraduate program or 15 credits for a graduate program.

B. Programs may offer options in satisfying core course requirements as long as they provide evidence that the options have equivalent student learner outcomes.

(14) Student Learning Outcomes

A. Statements of what a learner should be able to know or do, after the successful completion of a program and/or a course. Outcomes focus on the ends rather than means, describe product rather than process, and reflect terminal performance rather than course content. The outcomes are what the department wants each student to achieve each time the course is offered regardless of who the teacher may be. For assessment purposes, learning outcomes must be stated in observable or measurable terms.

(15) Variable Prefix

A. Variable prefix courses are identified by the CWU prefix and a single dedicated course number (e.g. CWU 184). Once a course is approved, the prefix may be replaced to represent the department/program offering the course. Only the prefix may change.

(16) Variable Topic

A. A variable topic course has a fixed prefix, number, title, description, number of credits, and learner outcomes and assessments (as approved). Discipline-specific content is overlaid, requiring a sub-title and sub-description.

B. FSCC will review sub-titles and sub-descriptions for General Education courses when proposed. All General Education course sub-titles and sub-descriptions will also be reviewed by the General Education Committee.

History: 

Responsibility: Faculty Senate; Authority: Provost/Executive VP for Academic Affairs; Reviewed/Endorsed by Provost’s Council 08/09/2016; 02/07/2018; 06/05/2018; 06/20/2023,0 3/26/24; Cabinet/UPAC; Review/Effective Date: 10/21/2016; 04/18/2018; 06/13/2018; 11/04/2020; 06/14/2023; 08/02/2023; 05/29/2024; Approved by: A. James Wohlpart, President
Reformatted and Assigned new Policy Number - Previous Policy CWUP 5-50-010, June 2025
Attached Procedure CWUR 2-50-010 as Appendix A, June 2025

Appendix A - Definition of Curriculum Terms

(1) The FSCC and the CWUP manual recognize only the following types of programs:

A. Majors

B. Specializations

C. Minors

D. Certificates (Type A-D)

E. Associate

F. Graduate course of study

(2) The following terms are not distinctions recognized or defined by the CWUP manual and such designations do not appear on diplomas; option, emphasis, concentration, endorsement, or track.