Special Topics courses are designed to provide credit for special projects, workshops, and unique programs which are not listed as credit courses within a specific curriculum but contribute substantially to a student’s background, skills and knowledge. A total of nine credit hours may be taken in Special Topics courses toward a program’s degree requirements.
Examples of Special Topics courses include:
- Faculty-directed research assignments arranged through an instructor.
- Workshops or courses offered through the Center for Workforce Solutions and Entrepreneurship or by outside agencies.
- Courses offered on a trial basis or as a pilot before being submitted for new course development through the curriculum approval process.
Special Topics registration requires approval by the division dean and voluntary cooperation of the individual instructor who assumes responsibility for directing completion of the work.
Each subject offered at the College carries a Special Topics designation with 1950 (freshman level) or 2950 (sophomore level) as the numeric identifier in the course ID and is offered with variable credit from one to eight credit hours. The catalog course description for Special Topics is:
“Provides the opportunity to apply selected and current courses, seminars, directed individual study, and other quality educational experiences that contribute substantially to a student’s program of study. Prerequisite: Dean approval.”
Special Topics may be used to teach a class-size course which does not have a course number and title of its own. Such a course might be a pilot offering of a course planned for introduction in the future or it might by a subject of urgent current special interest to a particular group of students.
Special Topics may also be used to provide an opportunity for one or a few students to earn credit through directed independent study or through other quality educational experiences. The need to do so might be present when a student must learn certain material before graduating but appropriate courses are not offered or when subjects are of urgent current special interest to only one or a few students. Such Special Topics courses would be substituted for another course in the student’s curriculum.
Academic Quality
- Syllabus: Specific goals and performance objectives must be contained in a syllabus created for the course by the faculty member in advance for all Special Topics courses. The syllabus must be submitted along with a Course Development Approval Form (CDAF, located on the Curriculum drive) to the division dean, who upon approval forwards to Academic Council for consideration. The method of academic evaluation must similarly be prepared in advance and it must relate to the course goals and objectives. Students must be given a copy of the syllabus containing the goals, objectives, and method of evaluation.
- Quality: Special Topics courses constitute a special challenge to faculty members as they strive to maintain high academic quality. Frequently, there is no textbook or previously utilized syllabus available. The class meets perhaps three or four hours a week, and the instructor must prepare well to avoid traps such as “staying only one day ahead of the student.” Guided independent study or small group learning experiences must be designed to replace traditional classes.
Refer to the Curriculum drive for forms,flowchart, and timeline. Effective Date: March 2015 Review Date: March 2015
