Tips for the Course Proposal Form 

  • Cross-listing: Cross-listing requires the course to carry the prefix and number from another department or program. 100-level Connections courses may not be cross-listed.
  • Scheduling: Indicate the frequency with which the department anticipates that the course will be offered, and identify courses intended only for summer or otherwise planned for special scheduling. If a course is to be offered only once, please indicate the term.
  • Prerequisites: 100-level Connections courses may not have pre-requisites.
  • Course Number:  Please choose an unused course number in the 100s when you submit your course. Under some circumstances, the Curriculum Committee or ADO may need to modify that number. 
  • Grading: By vote of the Faculty, all 100-level Connections courses must employ Pass/Fail grading. Please select Pass/Fail grading on the course submission form.

 

About the Cover Letter

During the initial 2023-24 submission of Conn 1xx courses, a provisional approval process has been approved by the Curriculum Committee. For our provisional approval process, in lieu of a cover letter, we ask that you provide a course title and description, and briefly (in no more than 1-3 sentences) describe how your course will address key CONN 1xx guidelines. The Provisional Approval Form & Cover Sheet, along with Conn 1xx Module Library can be found here.

Later, when you submit your course for full approval with your syllabus, use this same form in lieu of a cover letter (though we recommend you update it to reflect the more fleshed out vision of the course you’ll have then, adding references to specific syllabus passages where appropriate).

No syllabus is required for provisional approval, just submit the Provisional Approval Form & Cover Sheet through the New Course Proposal Google form. We also encourage faculty to take advantage of our Module Library, and to reference it where appropriate in your responses (e.g. “My course will be using the microaggressions module to address this guideline”).

  • The Connections 1xx core rubric consists of “Learning Objectives” and “Guidelines.” As highlighted below in the excerpt from Section IV of the Curriculum Statement, the Curriculum Committee evaluates and approves Core courses based on their adherence to the Guidelines, not the Learning Objectives. The Curriculum Committee’s review of the proposed course is greatly facilitated if each Guideline from the relevant rubric is systematically addressed, and for final approval the Provisional Approval Form & Cover Sheet requires all guidelines be addressed.

    From Section IV of the Curriculum Statement:
    Each core rubric consists of two sections, "Guidelines" and "Learning Objectives." Faculty have developed the Guidelines section to achieve the particular Learning Objectives of the core rubric and, more broadly, the educational goals of the University. The Guidelines are intended to be used by faculty to develop core courses and by the Curriculum Committee to review core courses. The Learning Objectives are intended to provide a clear statement to students of what they can expect to learn from any given core area. Although the Learning Objectives will assist the faculty in developing Core courses and in meeting the spirit of the Core area, the Curriculum Committee will evaluate and approve Core courses based on their adherence to the Guidelines, not the Learning Objectives.

 

About the Syllabus

Note that a syllabus is optional in the provisional approval process, during the 2023-24 academic year. For the final submission, please submit a syllabus for the course that includes:

  • Clear enumeration of student learning outcomes
  • Statement that the course counts towards the Connections 1xx core requirement
  • Outline of content and schedule of coursework
  • Student requirements (reading, assignments, written work, projects, etc.), including brief descriptions of major assignments and projects.
  • Evaluation criteria and grading structure (as appropriate)
  • Bibliography
  • Required course material
  • Statement of policies regarding Academic Integrity (this statement is developed by the course proposer)
  • Required Syllabus Inserts

An incomplete syllabus may delay the course proposal review.  If a syllabus does not contain all of the items listed above, please provide a brief explanation in the cover letter.

 

EXCERPT FROM SECTION IV OF THE CURRICULUM STATEMENT

CONNECTIONS 1XX RUBRIC

Learning Objectives

As one of two foundational seminars in the Sound Connections curriculum, the Connections 100-level seminar welcomes students to the academic community at Puget Sound by integrating the introduction to the liberal arts with the development of skills for lifelong learning in diverse communities. Through the introduction to the liberal arts, students:

  1. Enrich their understanding of the course topic/theme/issue by exploring it from multiple disciplinary perspectives and developing appreciation for the distinct and complementary approaches inherent to different disciplines.
  2. Develop an understanding of the Puget Sound liberal arts curriculum, including its structure and ethos.
  3. Discover ways of identifying and pursuing academic interests. To develop skills for lifelong learning in diverse communities, students:
  4. Participate in collaborative learning and engagement that fosters community and cultivates a sense of belonging.
  5. Develop skills for learning in and contributing to a diverse community that aspires to be equitable and inclusive.
  6. Develop self-awareness regarding individually effective approaches to learning

Guidelines

The course's substantive theme provides context for an introduction to the multidisciplinarity of a liberal arts education and for the meaningful practice of skills for lifelong learning in diverse communities.  

To introduce students to the liberal arts, this course:

  • A. Explores meaningful examples of disciplinary and multidisciplinary inquiry grounded in the substantive theme of the course. 
  • B. Facilitates students’ exploration of their own Puget Sound curricular and co-curricular interests.
  • C. Includes a student-directed collective project or similar collaboration that relates to the substantive theme of the course.

To develop skills for lifelong learning in diverse communities, this course:

  • D. Integrates at least two activities supporting learning objectives 4-6 with the course theme.
  • E. Incorporates collaborative assignments that foster connection and develop communication skills between and among students.
  • F. Discusses self-care/wellness as a crucial element of an effective approach to learning.
  • G. Includes activities that facilitate practice of academic success skills [such as fostering resilience, managing stress, forming effective study habits, or managing time and distractions]
  • H. Integrates an iterative learning process in which students reflect on opportunities to try, redo, and reassess learning practices.

CORE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE

The faculty of the University of Puget Sound have designed the core curriculum to give undergraduates an integrated and demanding introduction to the life of the mind and to established methods of intellectual inquiry. The Puget Sound undergraduate's core experience begins with two first-year seminars that guide the student through an in-depth exploration of a focused area of interest and that sharpen the student's skills in constructing persuasive arguments. In the first three years of their Puget Sound college career, students also study five "Approaches to Knowing" - Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Science, and Social Science. These core areas develop the student's understanding of different disciplinary perspectives on society, culture, and the physical world, and explore both the strengths of those disciplinary approaches and their limitations. Connections, an upper-level integrative course, challenges the traditional boundaries of disciplines and examines the benefits and limits of interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge.

Further, in accordance with the stated educational goals of the University of Puget Sound, core curriculum requirements have been established: (a) to improve each student's grasp of the intellectual tools necessary for the understanding and communication of ideas; (b) to enable each student to understand herself or himself as a thinking person capable of making ethical and aesthetic choices; (c) to help each student comprehend the diversity of intellectual approaches to understanding human society and the physical world; and (d) to increase each student's awareness of his or her place in those broader contexts. Specific objectives of the core areas are described below.