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Cross-Listing of Courses: Policy

• A St. Olaf course is cross-listed only if the subject matter of the course lies between two discipline-specific or interdisciplinary fields and/or if the approach to the subject matter draws on two discipline-specific or interdisciplinary fields.
• The FTE for the cross-listed course comes from one of the sponsoring departments/ programs unless the course is team-taught. The planning and scheduling of the course are completed by both departments/programs involved, and the cross-listing is approved by both departments/programs, by the associate deans that oversee both departments/programs, and by the Registrar, in consultation with Dean’s Council and with CEPC.
• Both departments/programs may use the course as a requirement or an elective in the major or concentration when appropriate.
• The course number, title, and description remain constant over time. The academic catalog and the class and lab schedule list the course in numerical order under both participating department(s)/program(s), accompanied by a cross-listing notation. The class and lab schedule also lists the course under the dual department code (see below).
• Subject to normal review, the GE attributes attached to the cross-listed course remain consistent across terms and instructors.
• If more than two departments/programs wish jointly to cross-list a course, that course must be housed under the Interdisciplinary Studies (ID) program in the catalog and the class and lab schedule. It may be cross-listed under all of the participating departments in the catalog and in the class and lab schedule.

Cross-listing of Courses: Implementation

Technical Specifications:

• Cross-listed courses receive a joint department/program code that reflects both sponsoring departments/programs. (See examples below.)
• In the class and lab schedule, a cross-listed course appears, in numerical order, under the joint heading and also, in numerical order, under both sponsoring departments. A cross-listing notation is appended to the class and lab entry.
• In the St. Olaf catalog, the course is listed, in numerical order, under each of the sponsoring departments; an additional cross-listing notation is included; in the SIS catalog, the course is only listed under the new dual department notation.

Procedures for Submitting Course Proposals for Cross-listed Courses:

• Faculty requesting to cross-list a course must complete the section on cross-listed courses on the New Course Proposal Form (form to be revised), including a rationale explaining the place of the course in the curriculum of each department and the ways in which the course subject and/or approach lies between two discipline-specific or interdisciplinary fields and/or the approach to the subject matter draws on two discipline-specific or interdisciplinary fields.
• The signatures of both/all department chairs/program directors and relevant associate deans are required on the form.
• Otherwise, the new course and GE approval processes are the same as for any other course.

Examples:

At the March Faculty Meeting, the faculty approved several courses, the designations of which will change if this motion is passed:

Biology/Environmental Studies 350, “Biogeochemistry” will become BI/ES 350.

ID 125, “Integrated Chemistry/Biology I,” ID 126, “Integrated Chemistry/Biology II,” and ID 127, “Integrated Chemistry/Biology III” will become CH/BI 125; CH/BI 126; CH/BI 127.

Philosophy/Religion 278, “Ethics of War” will be PH/RE 278.

New “departments,” BI/ES, CH/BI, and PH/RE, will appear alphabetically in the Class and Lab Schedule.

In the catalog, these courses will be listed within the participating departments.

For example, PH/RE 278 will appear under PHILOSOPHY, between Philosophy 261 and Philosophy 294; it will also appear under RELIGION, between Religion 276 and Religion 280.