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Guidelines for Determining Course Levels

Suggestions for the differentiation between lower and upper level undergraduate courses are as follows:

Lower-level courses comprise all 1000-level courses and all 2000-level courses Upper-level courses comprise all 3000-level courses and all 4000-level courses

0000 Level Course Designation - Remedial courses; Placement determined by ACT scores or University-wide testing of entering students.

1000 Level Course Designation - Courses with no prerequisites (unless the second course is a yearlong sequence such as General Biology I and II), survey
courses, courses defining basic concepts or presenting the terminology of a discipline.

Assumptions:

1. Students possess writing ability sufficient to compose definitions, paragraphs, or essays where appropriate; and
2. Possess reading skills sufficient to comprehend college-level material in textbook and article form.

Expectations:

1. Where specified, completion of remedial course work should be a prerequisite.

2000 Level Course Designation - Courses of intermediate college-level difficulty; courses with 1000-level course(s) as pre-requisite(s); or survey courses devoted to particular areas or fields within a discipline.

Assumptions:

  1. Students possess general skills such as recognition, reading, appropriate quantitative skills, and varying degrees of fluency in writing and articulateness in expression;
  2. Students are acquainted with the basic language, terminology, or methodology of the subject itself; and
  3. Students are, in that subject, at a stage of understanding where they can progress towards significant conclusions, experiments, and/or explorations.

 

Expectations:

  1. Students are able to proceed at a reasonable pace without difficulties in comprehension;
  2. Students manage assignments involving reading and comprehending a specified amount of material and/or preparing organized papers; and
  3. Students accomplish a substantial amount of work (examples: study a number of books or work through a comprehensive textbook, write a number of papers), or demonstrate an in- depth knowledge of the material covered.

 

3000 Level Course Designation - Courses of advanced difficulty or specificity taken by majors and upper level students. These are often considered to be courses in the major offered for students clearly interested and qualified in a subject.

 

Assumptions:

  1. Students are at ease and comfortable in the discipline area; and
  2. Students have acquired an adequate general knowledge in the area to pursue some study in depth with the proper methodological tools.

Expectations:

  1. Students have the ability to assess research, and to obtain relevant information in the field through the proper use of library resources;
  2. Students are fluent in the language of the field so as to read and analyze relevant information;
  3. Students are able to combine the results of the research or the reading into cohesive

    statements; and

  4. Students are able to produce substantial work that demonstrates practical application of knowledge.

 

4000 Level Course Designation - Advanced and/or highly specific upper-level courses, seminars, practicums, or internships for majors and upper-level students.

 

Assumptions:

  1. Students have completed a substantial amount of work on the 3000 level.
  2. Students have the capacity to work independently under the guidance or supervision of an instructor.
  3. Students display the ability to analyze research findings and apply to a project or problem and are able to present varying viewpoints.

Expectation:

Students complete research project or evidence-based paper, specific to a research question and fitting for the audience.

 

Graduate courses comprise of 5000, 6000 and 7000-level courses.

  1. Lower-level graduate courses comprise of 5000 and 6000-level courses.
  2. Upper-level graduate courses comprise of 7000-level courses.

Graduate degree programs are specifically designed to enhance the student's knowledge, skills, and attitudes in their chosen academic arenas and to prepare them to accept professional responsibilities. Success in the graduate program is based not only on completing the required course work but also on demonstrating competencies and attitudes appropriate to the profession.

A doctoral program involves a serious commitment of time and energy. Requirements for completion of the degree go far beyond completion of courses, examinations, and a doctoral project. Throughout the doctoral program, students are expected to immerse themselves in professional activities at the university and within the profession.

Graduate courses comprise of 5000, 6000 and 7000-level courses.

  1. Lower-level graduate courses comprise of 5000 and 6000-level courses.
  2. Upper-level graduate courses comprise of 7000-level courses.

Suggestions for the differentiation between graduate courses are as follows:

5000-6000 Level Course Designation - Courses at this level generally require a bachelor's degree and admission to a graduate program. These courses are more rigorous than undergraduate courses. These courses require a higher level of critical thinking, necessitate considerably more intellectual rigor, and demand integration of information into frameworks of knowledge.

Assumptions:

  1. Students are capable of independent inquiry and analysis;
  2. Students have mastery of writing skills in the format required by the discipline; and
  3. Students possess the ability to communicate effectively on topics within the discipline of study.

Expectations:

  1. Students critically appraise research at the master's level;
  2. Students develop a thorough knowledge of the literature within the discipline; and
  3. Students gather and process data, draw appropriate conclusions, and communicate those conclusions in a cogent manner.

7000 Level Course Designation - These courses are offered at the doctoral level. Students are enrolled in a doctoral degree program within the University.

Assumptions:

  1. Students have mastered the requirements necessary to enter a doctoral program.
  2. Students possess leadership qualities and the ability to work independently toward completing, not only rigorous coursework, but independent research leading to a doctoral level scholarly project.

Expectations:

  1. Students extend and contribute to theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field;
  2. Students engage in critical thinking, decision making, and independent judgment;
  3. Students design, conduct, evaluate, and disseminate research in the discipline for its applicability to the field; and
  4. Students accept individual responsibility and accountability for personal and professional growth.