Establishment and Approval of Special Studies Courses

Policy and Procedure for Special Studies Courses

In some semesters, the College offers special studies courses, of one to four credits, that are designed to give variety to the present curriculum and reflect current interests.

• Special Studies courses may be established for 1, 2, 3 or 4 credits and will have a course designation of 19X or 29X.
• The courses are entitled "Special Studies in (Departmental Name)". On the schedule and the transcript, the name of the specific topic would be included after the course title, e.g. Special Studies in Economics - Econometrics.
• Students may apply a maximum of 12 credit hours of Special Studies toward a degree. Special Studies topics which are later approved as separate courses in substantially the same form shall not be counted toward this limit.
• A Special Studies course may be offered once, or upon the approval of the Dean, twice. A Special Studies course may not compete with an existing college course of equal description or another Special Studies course.
• In departments that do not already have Special Studies courses, the provision for such courses may be established within each department by means of a Curriculum Committee proposal submitted through normal channels.
• To propose a specific Special Studies course, follow the procedures listed below: The steps must be completed before the publication deadline for the schedule for the semester in which the course is to be offered.
  • A faculty member wishing to offer a Special Studies course must submit a completed course outline to the Division Dean.
  • After approval by the Dean, the course outline is considered by the appropriate Cluster.
  • The Cluster will decide the appropriateness of the offering and recommend to the Dean the semester of offering.
  • The recommendations of the Cluster are forwarded by the Division Dean to the curriculum committee for approval.