[Plsfaculty] Prerequisites for Undergrad Courses

[Dennis T Ray]

Dear Colleagues,

 

The Curriculum Committee is looking at the Plant Sciences Curriculum, and
amongst other things feels we might want to rethink the prerequisites for
courses.   Attached is a file, and I apologize for its length, but I just
copied pages off of the university web site, so it is basically one course
per page, listing our undergraduate courses (through 400 level).  This is
what is listed on the UA website.  I also just copied the undergraduate
courses where Plant Sciences is the lead department for cross-listed
courses.  If you teach one of these courses, now is the time to make changes
in:

 

1.       The title; is there a more descriptive title for your course?

2.       Prerequisites; what prerequisites are really needed?  We should
only list what is really a prerequisite for the course information, not
every course we would like students to have taken before our course.  In the
new university system if a course is listed as a prerequisite, then a
student cannot register for the course unless the instructor gives
permission. How many times do you want to give permission? 

3.       Many of the prerequisites have just been moved forward
historically.  For instance, Pl S 130 and 240 are the same course.  They
were both listed so that students who had taken 130 before 240 was a course
would meet the prerequisite.  However, after a reasonable amount of time no
one removed 130 from the prerequisites.  This I will probably just do for
all courses, but this is the explanation for why a course is listed that is
no longer on the books.

4.       Prerequisites can be general rather than specific.  For instance,
you might want to require Pl S 240, or MCB 181R or equivalent course.  Or
something like "an introductory biology course." 

5.       Course description; does the description still fit your course?

6.       I did not list the 500 level equivalents for 400/500 level courses,
or any of the graduate level courses.  If you teach a 400/500 level course,
you might want to check the 500 level requirements to make sure that they
also fit.  For any course not listed in the attachment, and about which you
are curious, all courses can be found at
https://uaccess.schedule.arizona.edu/psp/uazsaprd2_1/UA_CATALOG/HRMS/c/ESTAB
LISH_COURSES.SSS_BROWSE_CATLG.GBL

 

Please send any changes to Angelica Loreto, aloreto at email.arizona.edu, and
copy me.  When all of this is done I will report it all to the Curriculum
Committee.

 

Dennis

_______________________________

Dennis T. Ray, Ph.D.

University Distinguished Professor

Bart Cardon Teaching Academy Fellow

Associate Director, School of Plant Sciences

Forbes Bldg., Rm. 303

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ 85721

 

520-621-7612 (teaching/research)

520-626-6967 (administrative)

520-621-7186 (fax)

 <mailto:dtray at email.arizona.edu> dtray at email.arizona.edu (email)

 

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