Interim Guidelines for Review of Capstone Courses

Introduction
    This document offers interim guidelines for the review of Capstone General Education courses. Courses may be submitted following these guidelines through the May 15, 2001 deadline indicated below. In the areas of Advanced Skills and Service Learning capstones, additional information will be distributed as it becomes available, and course developers are urged to consult with their College representatives to the GEGC, the Chair of GEGC, or the General Education Implementation Coordinator in advance of submission.
    The new general education policy (Policy Statement 00-00) represents a fundamental change in this campus’s approach to general education. As a consequence, for many courses now in the general education program, past experience is less relevant to their suitability for general education credit than future practice.  Therefore, while initial approval of courses will require description of the course outcomes, explanation of the skills and attributes that will be developed in the course, and description of the approaches that will be used to develop skills and measure outcomes, course renewals will additionally require documentation that course goals are being met and, in the case of multi-section courses, that all sections are adhering to the standard course outline.

Steps in Approval Process
1.  The department prepares a course proposal as described below.

2. The proposal is reviewed by department and college curriculum committees. If the course is approved by department and college curriculum committees, the Dean of the college (or designee) forwards the request to the GEGC.

3. GEGC then will schedule the course for review. Proposals for Capstone courses will be accepted by the GEGC beginning March 1, 2000 and will be scheduled for the first available review date. However, because of heavy review commitments regarding lower division courses, courses may not be scheduled for review immediately. Therefore, the following timelines will be followed.

 (a) Existing Interdisciplinary Courses that are being submitted as Capstones: Submission of the course proposal to the GEGC by May 15, 2001 will guarantee that the course will remain on the General Education list as a Capstone until such time as its review is completed.
 (b) Existing General Education Courses that do not now have Interdisciplinary status but are seeking approval as a Capstone will retain their General Education status pending review provided they are submitted by the May 15, 2001 deadline. However, they will only receive Capstone status after review. Therefore, departments requesting such a change in status are urged to submit courses as soon as possible after March 1, 2000, and an effort will be made by GEGC to provide a timely review.
 (c) All courses new to general education seeking approval as Capstones may be submitted for consideration beginning March 1, 2000. Every effort will be made by GEGC to provide a timely review; however, these courses will not receive either General Education or Capstone status until after the review has occurred.

6. Note that at the time the course is submitted for approval, all curriculum changes to bring course description and prerequisite statements into compliance with the policy must have been made. All Capstone courses are required to have completion of the Foundation as well as one or more Explorations courses as prerequisites.

Before Submitting a Request for Capstone GE Approval
    Before developing a general education course proposal, the course developer should become familiar with the general education policy and its expectations. In reviewing course proposals, the GEGC will look for documentation of the ways in which the policy is being met as well as consider whether the course in question is appropriate to the category and level requested.
    The general education program at CSULB is organized as a hierarchy with three stages, Foundations, Explorations, and Capstone. Each of these stages has specific requirements regarding course numbers and prerequisites statements, as well as expectations regarding development of academic skills. The Capstone is described in section I.C
    Over the course of these three stages, students will also satisfy breadth requirements. These requirements are presented in outline in section I.B of the policy statement and are described in detail in section IV.  The requirements for human diversity courses are described in section VI of the policy statement. [At this time, revised guidelines for Global courses are not yet available. Until such guidelines are published, courses may be considered for “G” status based on the requirements of category D2.A in the previous policy (96-00.)]
    In serving the breadth requirement of the baccalaureate degree, GE courses must acquaint students with both the subject matter and the methodologies of the various discipline categories. Except when specifically noted in category criteria statements, courses in each category should explicitly demonstrate what sorts of questions are studied by those disciplines, what kinds of evidence are sought, and how evidence is interpreted and used. It is expected that, whenever it is appropriate, students will have the opportunity to work with original sources, either in the original language or in translation.
    General education courses should be designed to permit instructors to show students why those who work in the field find the subject matter interesting and valuable, how the subject matter is related to other fields, and why the subject matter has relevance for the student’s life and educational objectives.
    All GE Capstone courses must demonstrably encourage development of skills and attributes in accordance with the above policy. In particular, Policy Statement 00-00 states that:

Capstone general education courses shall be upper division. These courses will have the entire Foundation curriculum as prerequisite, along with one or more prerequisites from the Explorations stage. Upper division standing is also required. For consideration at this level, all courses must demonstrably develop advanced college skills, including synthesis and application of knowledge, analysis, critique, and research.

    (a) Inter- and multidisciplinary classes and linked classes. Policy Statement 00-00 defines interdisciplinary courses; course developers should familiarize themselves with this section before proposing such a course. All interdisciplinary courses must demonstrably develop advanced college skills as described above. Such courses may choose to focus on advanced skills in any area. However, all interdisciplinary courses must feature a substantial and sustained writing component, with sustained written work (a minimum of 500 words) assigned early in the semester (no later than the 5th week). “Substantial” writing implies that the cumulative total of sustained writing assignments must be at least 5000 words, as appropriate to the discipline. Students must receive feedback on their writing, either through a series of written assignments or through the opportunity to revise a piece of writing. Regular writing throughout the semester without feedback from the instructor or peers does not meet this test, nor is it acceptable to assign regular writing, such as a journal, that is only evaluated at the end of the semester. There should be at least one major assignment completed prior to the end of the semester requiring that the student demonstrate the ability to apply the advanced skills expected of the Capstone. (Provided it meets the above tests, this assignment may follow any format appropriate to the goals of the course and need not be a traditional term paper.)

    (b) Advanced Skills Capstones. Interdisciplinary capstones require that students demonstrate advanced writing skills, as well as allowing opportunities for students to develop advanced college skills such as synthesis and application of knowledge, analysis, critique, and research. By contrast, advanced skills capstones have as their major focus the development of one or more important skills, and the application of these skills to the particular content or disciplinary focus of the course. The particular skill(s) identified in the course may be an extension of one of the Foundation areas, or may represent skills not identified as part of the Foundation, including technology and information retrieval skills at an advanced level. However, in all cases, such courses must assume Foundation-level mastery as a starting point, and must go beyond those expectations.
    Since these courses are designed to develop particular skills, students must have frequent opportunities to demonstrate competence and receive feedback. There should be at least one major assignment requiring synthesis or critical analysis of content appropriate to the course; the format of this assignment will depend on the goals of the course and the nature of skills being developed.
    Course developers who plan to propose advanced skills classes for Capstone status are encouraged to submit a prospectus for the proposed course as soon as practical to the Chair of GEGC (Dr. Lowell Eliason in the 1999-2000 academic year) or the General Education Implementation Coordinator.

 (c) Service Learning Capstones. Service learning integrates learning in a particular discipline with application through community service. The service contributes to learning when the student is able to reflect on the service activities and connect them to the ideas contained in the course. The student provides beneficial services to the community and in turn benefits from the practical experience.
 The features of a Service Learning Capstone are under discussion, and these guidelines may be updated. However, individuals with ideas for such a course are encouraged to begin development. Course developers are urged to contact the Community Service Learning Center, for advice and ideas.
The following characteristics of a Service Learning Capstone have been tentatively identified.
    (1) Clearly defined academic content that is appropriate for general education. For a three unit class a minimum of 15 hours of class meeting time (or equivalent) during the semester is expected, with a more typical format including 30 to 40 hours of “seat time” or equivalent.
    (2) A service component that is integrated into the course throughout the semester. A one-time activity or activities that are unconnected to the academic goals of the course would not meet this test.
    (3) A requirement in the course for regular critical reflection (ideally both written and oral) on the community service to date and how it connects to the course content.
    (4) Opportunities for discussion and feedback with the instructor, supervisor, and peers, including the possibility of informal oral presentations in class.
    (5) At least one major assignment, demonstrating advanced college skills and integrating the course content with issues related to the service. This may take any form appropriate to the class, but should contain a written component. This assignment should be submitted before the end of the semester to allow an opportunity for feedback by the instructor and/or service supervisor.
    Activities 3, 4, and 5 may  overlap, depending on the structure of the courses, and are not intended to be mutually exclusive.

Restrictions on all General Education Courses.
    Certain course components and strategies are inherently undesirable for effective development of skills. If a course relies heavily on such approaches, the developer of the course will have the burden of proof in demonstrating that adequate skill development is occurring. Undesirable practices include excessive reliance on Scantron examinations, excessive reliance on rote memorization, the use of writing assignments that do not include opportunities for students to receive constructive criticism and feedback in a timely, constructive manner (e. g. 2-3 weeks), and other practices that do not allow students to demonstrate the skills they have acquired.
    All courses must conform to all relevant University policies. Course descriptions may not include statements prohibiting recourse for documented, unavoidable circumstances.

 Materials Which Must Accompany Initial Requests for GE Approval
1. “GE” Form: “Request for Approval of a Course for General Education Capstone Credit.” Must be signed by the Department chair, College Curriculum Committee Chair, and Dean of the College  (or designee). If the course is listed in more than one college, both colleges must submit a form. For existing courses, a photocopy of the current catalog description must be included. If the course is a new course or has been changed (including prerequisite statement) since publication of the most recent catalog, a copy of the signed curriculum form (form CF) must be included. Other information will include the general education categories requested, the type of Capstone requested, and the offering history over the last three years. (Note that GE policy asks for departments to show cause why a course should not be dropped from the program if it has not been offered in the past two years; courses that have not been offered for three years will be dropped automatically.)

2. Standard Course Outline. This document governs the individual syllabi for all instructors in a course. It contains:
......Official catalog description of the course
......List of measurable course objectives and outcomes
......Outline of subject matter to be covered (which may be thematic or sequential)
......Modes of instruction
......Extent and nature of the use of technology
......Instructional requirements for all faculty teaching the course, which will typically include
• specification of text(s)
• mandatory assignments
• types of exams and other demonstrations of competence
• approximate percentage of course grade to be assigned to various course requirements.
 Other bibliographic resources, such as additional texts, monographs, journals, periodicals, government publications, or other sources from which course content may be drawn or readings may be assigned.
3. Supporting documents. These will include:

a. Each syllabus for the last two semesters in which the course was offered (if only one section was offered each semester), or all the syllabi for the most recent semester of offering, in the case of a multi-section course. Syllabi should follow the guidelines in the Faculty Handbook. In the case of courses with large numbers of sections, the department should consult with the chair of GEGC for alternate arrangements.  New courses should provide a sample syllabus.
b. Sample examination questions, term paper topics, course projects, homework, or other assignments or activities, as appropriate, that demonstrate how course outcomes are measured. If the course has multiple instructors, representative questions from several instructors should be included. If the above material is described in the syllabi or course outline, it need not be repeated here.
c. Information on course components which are designed to develop Capstone skills. This must include discussion of instructional strategies designed to advance skills as well as methods used to measure skills. This narrative should explicitly state which skills are being developed, and why they should be considered as “advanced college skills.”
d. Aspects of the course that make it appropriate for the Capstone category requested. Refer to the section “Before Submitting a Request for GE Approval ” for detailed information on each of the types of Capstones.
e. Discussion of other aspects relevant to the particular course. These might include:

(1) whether the course is offered as part of an organized learning community program;
(2) if the class is offered in multiple sections, practices that exist to ensure conformity to the standard course outline and uniformity of standards;
(3) if film or other audio-visual materials are used in the course, indication of amount of class time devoted to such materials and the relationship between viewing/listening and the academic activity of the course. In addition, provide information as to why the class requires in-class viewing/listening rather than out-of-class preparation time.

a.  Additional documentation regarding course standards, skill development, and student outcomes, such as anonymous examples of student work demonstrating attainment of course objectives, results of student surveys or interviews, or other materials as appropriate.
b.  Supporting documentation related to section 3 (d) above.

GEGC/PEP 11/99