[OACRAO] Determining if an updated course needs a new course number or not

[Alex Siebert]

Colleagues,


I would like your professional opinion on whether an updated course would need a new course number or if the original would still be appropriate.


This is in regards to a history class (closer to modern day) that we are bringing back after a hiatus.


The original course content covers 20th century wars that the US was involved in (both World Wars, Vietnam, Korean wars) focusing on the concept of "Total War" and how that impacts the countries' societies in many ways.


The new description updates it to also include the Post 9/11 era of modern warfare, and updated technology/teaching styles used in the classroom,  still keeping the core concept of "Total War" and its impacts.


I am of the opinion that this would not constitute creating a new course number because the core focus of the class has not changed, only the range of events and tech used has been changed. I can see that this could create a problem if this conversation were to come up again in 5-10 years time with small changes over time changing it to where it does not accurately reflect the original anymore. I don't think that we are at that point just yet though.


I think it comes down to valuing a somewhat finite number of available course numbers and clearly defining what constitutes a significant enough change in a course description/curriculum that necessitates a new course number entirely.


To use a metaphor (because I was recently in the market for purchasing a car), I can see parallels in car models and their different generations. There's the new generation of a car (significant body change and styling and bigger under the hood changes), which would be our new course number scenario. There's also the mid-cycle refreshes, or annual updates (updating the entertainment system, tweaking the suspension, adding the latest tech like Apple Carplay and wireless charging) but you can't see really any changes from the outside--that would be like a course description update that does not mandate a new course number.


Thanks for your thoughts on this--I appreciate it!



Alex Siebert
Director of Registrar Services
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