Office of the Provost
Academic Regulation
CATEGORY: ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
SECTION: Academic Programs
SUBJECT: Course Structure
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 20, 2000 Revised
PAGE(S): 3
I. SCOPE
This policy establishes a system for course structuring, applicable to all courses offered at the University of Pittsburgh, and includes:
Cross-Listed Courses - Guidelines for the cross-listing of courses among schools/campuses of the University
Course Enrollment Restrictions - Restrictions on course enrollment and special enrollment counseling sections
Fractional Credit/Variable Courses - Restrictions on variable credit and fractional credit courses
Course Numbering - A system for course numbering, applicable to all courses offered at the University
Prerequisite/Corequisite Courses - Regulations on prerequisite and corequisite courses
Course Subtitles - Regulations on the use of course subtitles
Course Type - The categorization of courses by course type, the method of instruction used in delivering education programs to students
II. POLICY
Cross-Listed Courses
Cross-listed course sections must be offered at the same level (Lower Level Undergraduate, Upper Level Undergraduate, Master Level Graduate, Doctoral Level Graduate, First Professional Programs, Career Development Undergraduate, Career Development Graduate, and Non-Credit).
Exception: Courses that are cross-listed within the same department program course abbreviation within the Pittsburgh campus or a regional campus, may be cross-listed at different levels to accommodate faculty teaching loads and low enrollment.
Courses must be offered at the same time, in the same classroom, by the same instructor, and must be the same course type.
Course titles, credits, and grade options must be identical for all cross-listed course sections.
No more than three course sections may be cross-listed. This assumes one course section is the base or primary section and up to two subordinate sections may be cross-listed, with the program paying most or all of the instructor(s) salary as the primary course.
The appropriate dean(s) must approve all cross-listed course listings before they are added to the Course Inventory.
Course Enrollment Restrictions
Course enrollments may be restricted to:
- Two Schools
- Four program classifications of students enrolling in such courses
Requests for special enrollment counseling sections within a program will be limited to:
- Independent Study
- Directed Study
- Thesis/Dissertation
- Practicum
- Clinical Education
- Courses that require an interview, such as internships
Special enrollment counseling courses will be identified as an information item in the schedule of classes.
Fractional Credit/Variable Credit Courses
Courses offering variable credit sections must be of the following course types:
- Independent Study
- Practicum
- Internship
- Directed Study
- Thesis/Dissertation
- Clinical Education
Based on curriculum needs, departments may offer any course in 1/2 credit increments.
Course Numbering
The four position numeric course number identified below will be used consistently by the entire University:
- 0001 - 0999 or 7000 - 7999 : Lower Level Undergraduate (7000 - 7999 numbering system not used after term 97-3)
- 1000 - 1999 or 8000 - 8999: Upper Level Undergraduate (8000 - 8999 numbering system not used after term 97-3)
- 6000 - 6999: Career Development Undergraduate
- 5000 - 5999: First Professional Programs (Medicine, Dental Medicine and Law)
- 2000 - 2999: Master Level Graduate
- 3000 - 3999: Doctoral Level Graduate
- 4000 - 4999: Noncredit
- 9000 - 9999: Career Development Graduate
Prerequisite/Corequisite Courses
A department may associate with any course in the course inventory a maximum of four prerequisite courses.
A department may associate with any course in the course inventory only one corequisite course.
Course Subtitles
Only Independent Study and Directed Study course types may have subtitles as they pertain to the individual student's academic study.
Subtitles are limited to 32 characters.
Course Type
All courses offered by the University must be characterized by course type as defined in Table Number 12131 of the Data Element Dictionary.
An Internship must be categorized as either an Independent Study or a Practicum, depending on the teaching method and the instructional experience.
III. REFERENCE
Data Element Dictionary, Table 12131