Resources for Course Development
New course proposals are entered into the Curriculog system for evaluation and approval. Before launching that process, we recommend that you:
- Determine with your chair/director or appropriate internal committee how the course will fit into the curricula of the department/program and general education. For example: Will the course count toward the major or minor?
- Consult with colleagues, either within or outside the department/program, to fine-tune and improve your course. Consider tapping various kinds of expertise through the campus resources.
Campus Resources
- Before fall classes, all first-year undergraduate students complete the online College Studies course, which lays the foundation for college-level scholarship (e.g., information literacy, citation practices, accessing library resources). You can build on this foundation or refer students back to the material (Swem videos) in your courses.
- Center for the Liberal Arts The Fellows and various CLA programs support faculty involved with all levels of COLL course development and innovation. You can browse the website for programs or connect with a CLA Fellow: knowledgeable faculty who are ready to brainstorm and collaborate.
- Twice yearly, the CLA offer, the three-day workshop Communication Concepts in COLL 100 and COLL 150. Pparticipants consider principles of communication, the goals of 100 and 150, example assignments and syllabi that have worked for other faculty, and ways to integrate the communications/writing components.
- The Writing & Communication Center website has practical information that's especially relevant to information literacy and teaching effective writing and other forms of communication. You can refer your students to the center for free, one-on-one consultations that emphasize the composing process.
- Swem Library Potentially useful for any course but especially for the information literacy and skills-building emphasis in COLL 100 and COLL 150. Librarians will work with you to design one or more sessions to meet the needs of your class.
- Workshops, seminars, and individual consultations through the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation can orient you to the diverse modes of teaching and learning, best practices, and how to integrate new technologies into your courses and assignments.
- Staff in the Reeder Media Center can help conceive audio and video assignments, and also help plan students' use of their extensive equipment. The center's bottom line: "If you need help, we'll make it happen somehow."
- The Office of Institutional Accreditation and Effectiveness is charged with assessing courses in the COLL curriculum.
