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Undergraduate Catalog Entry Guidelines

2008-2009

The undergraduate catalog serves as the contract between the university and students, and is intended to convey all policies, procedures, and degree requirements. The catalog is also sent to some prospective freshmen.

All undergraduate catalog entries should include the following information.

Program Introduction

1. Program Name
2. Contact Information
   1. Name of Department that offers the program
   2. Name of School or College that offers the program
   3. Room and Building
   4. North or South Campus
   5. Phone number
   6. Fax number
   7. Email address
   8. Department or program website
   9. Name of Department Chair, Undergraduate Program Director, Academic Advisor, or other important personnel for students
3. Program Overview: General/introductory information about the program, approximately one or two paragraphs in length.

About the Program

1. About Our Degrees
   1. What are the goals and objectives for your curriculum?
   2. For each degree program, provide:
      1. Acceptance Information: What do students need to do to get accepted into the program?
      2. Are there application deadlines?
      3. How many students are accepted each year?
      4. How many students are currently in this major?
      5. Is there any other acceptance information students should know?
2. About Our Facilities
   1. What kind of facilities does your department offer?
   2. This could include studio space, lab equipment, off-campus sites, etc.
3. About Our Courses
   1. What type of courses are offered by the department?
   2. Are there special classrooms that your department usually uses?
   3. What is the average class size for your department?
   4. Do you use TA's? If so, what do they usually do?
   5. What courses do you recommend for students who are interested in exploring this field?
4. About Our Faculty
   1. What do your faculty specialize in?
   2. Have your faculty received any honors or awards?
   3. Who is your director of undergraduate studies and is he/she available for students to speak with?
5. Practical Experience and Special Academic Opportunities
   1. Notable Program Features: Are their any unique opportunities, methods of instruction, or programs available to students?
   2. Undergraduate Research and Practical Experience: Include information about internship, independent study, or hands-on opportunities available to students in the program. May also include information about study abroad programs.
   3. Honors, Awards, and Scholarships: Are there any special honors, awards, or scholarships available to students in your department? Include information about departmental awards that are available to students in the program.
6. Extracurricular Activities
   1. Are there any student groups associated with your department? If so, please give names, some brief information, and a link or phone number for more information.
   2. Does your department offer any special activities, such as social gatherings, brown bags, etc. for undergraduate students?
   3. We will provide a link to UB's Student Association page.
7. Complementary Programs and Courses
   1. What majors, minors, and courses offered at UB in other departments would complement your department's programs?
8. Links to Further Information About This Program
   1. Graduate Admissions
   2. Department page
   3. School page
   4. Are there other links you would like to provide?

Degrees and Policies

1. Degrees Offered: list the degrees offered by you department/program, i.e. BA, BS, MA, PHD, etc.
2. Degree Options: information about the degrees, including policies on joint or double majors, or concentrations within the major.
3. Advisement
   1. Information for students who may be interested in this program, including information about advising resources/policies that are available.
   2. How does your department give placement or credit for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit?
   3. Are there frequently asked questions that you could address here?
4. Acceptance Information: information about the means by which students apply to and get accepted into the program. Note that acceptance criteria need not be listed here as it will be included in the degree chart.
5. Academic Requirements: specific departmental requirements for graduation that are not already included in the chart below. May also include information that elaborates on the degree chart.
6. Transfer Policy: information on how transfer coursework is evaluated and applied to the program, including any departmental policies in this area.

Degree Charts – Each degree (baccalaureate, combined, and minor) has a chart with degree requirements, which uses the following headings.

1. Acceptance Criteria: qualifications needed by students wanting to become majors in your department: minimum overall GPA, minimum GPA in prerequisite courses or other types of courses, and other criteria such as audition or interview.
2. Advising Notes: other information students need to make wise choices while in their major, such as graduation criteria, when to apply, details concerning electives, and so forth.
3. Prerequisite Courses: complete list of courses required prior to acceptance to the major.
4. Required Courses: complete list of courses required within the major to earn a degree.
   1. Summary subheading: The summary should list only the total number of credit hours required for the major [prior to any waivers or substitutions that may be granted]. This number should include prerequisites and required courses, but not additional general education requirements. The summary should not be broken down into different types of requirements.
5. Recommended Sequence of Program Requirements: a suggested sequence of courses that will help a student graduate in 4 years.
6. Electives and Course Groupings: explanations about elective courses that are required for the major, or lists of courses from which students may choose—students would not need to take every course listed here. In addition, other categorizations of courses for your students may be listed here.
7. Concentrations: concentrations your department offers that are registered with SUNY.
8. Emphasis Areas: unregistered areas of emphasis within your department's academic discipline where students may focus their degree programs.
9. Note: Headings A, C, and D (and subheading Di) are required for all entries. If you believe they should not be for you, please explain why. With regard to headings B, E, F, G, and H, only those that are relevant for the material in your entry are necessary. Program-specific subheadings may be inserted under these headings.

Course Descriptions

1. Course number
2. Title
3. Credits
4. Semester(s) offered (F, Sp, and/or Su)
5. Prerequisites
6. Corequisites
7. Type (DIS, LAB, LEC, REC, SEM, TUT)
8. Notes
9. Description

Make sure that you include in your course description portion ALL courses that your department expects to offer over the next 4 years. If you cannot obtain a description from the planned course instructor, you should use the description submitted with the original proposal for the course. Also, courses that will not be offered over the next 4 years should NOT appear in this year's catalog.

Course descriptions, prerequisite and corequisite information are now posted on the course schedule for each semester. This information is being pulled from the Undergraduate Catalog. Because this information is now more accessible to students, it is vital that it is accurate and complete. Please check the accuracy of all of your courses' titles, credits, instruction types (LEC, LAB, etc.), semester(s) offered (F, Sp, Su), and prerequisites.

The following principles should be followed when constructing course descriptions:

1. The catalog course description must be a concise description of the subjects that the course will cover, including appropriate references to techniques used, approaches taken, and skills which will be developed.
2. Course descriptions should not contain information appropriate to course syllabi, such as the nature of assignments, texts required, or grading requirements.
3. Course descriptions should maintain a tone that is appropriate for a formal document, which serves as a contract between the university and its students. No marketing or informal language will be accepted.
4. Course descriptions should be constructed using the active voice and gender neutral language, and should be as concise as possible with no repetition.
5. When constructing course descriptions, departments should keep in mind that these descriptions also appear on the Class Schedule.
6. Prerequisites and corequisites, including specific courses as well as required experience or skills, such as computer skills, should be included in the prerequisite and corequisite fields, not in the course description itself.
7. The Notes section, which appears in italics prior to the course description, is appropriate for information regarding the classification of the course in a particular area within the program, lab or other fees associated with the course, and other notations as approved by the Office of the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education.
8. All content is subject to the approval of the Office of the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, which reviews course descriptions, for consistency, tone, curricular approval, and other factors.

Career Information

1. Please give a quick introductory paragraph describing the state of the field for your graduates.
2. What are the skills and interests of students who excel in this field?
3. What careers do your graduates pursue?
4. What percentage of your graduates find related employment?
5. Where do your graduates find related employment?
6. What information can you offer regarding salary trends for those who find employment in this field?
7. What percentage of your graduates go on to graduate school?
8. What graduate schools do your graduates go to?
9. NOTE: Some of the above career information can be or has been provided by the Career Services office.

Faculty

1. List all undergraduate faculty. Please include rank, highest degree, and PhD-granting institution (ex. Jane Smith, Associate Professor, PhD, University of Chicago.)