Combined Sections

Joint-listing and cross-listing courses

While joint-listing (combined sections) and cross-listing courses are commonly done in the College, special attention must be given to ensure that College policies and practices are being followed (and the desired outcome achieved).

Joint-listing

A combined section—formerly known as (and often still referred to as) a "joint-list"—is the temporary linking of one or more separate courses. In order to combine sections of a course, the following must occur:

  1. Each course to be combined (joint-listed) must officially be in the University Course Catalog and on the Schedule of Classes for the desired semester.
  2. With the approval of the chairperson(s) of the department(s) wishing to combine sections (joint-list), the scheduling officer(s) of the department(s) links the courses in the Schedule of Classes, provided the classes meet the guidelines outlined below.

For multi-departmental combined sections, credit hours are attributed to the unit based on the enrollment in the unit's section only.

Some common examples of combined sections (joint-lists) are:

  • Combining an undergraduate section with a graduate section of the course (same instructor, same time, same room, but different standards/assignments).
    • SOC-S 422 CONSTRUCTING SEXUALITY (3 cr.) meets with SOC-S 522 CONSTRUCTING SEXUALITY (3 cr.)
    • FINA-S 422 B.F.A. TEXTILES (1-12 cr.) meets with FINA-S 521 GRADUATE TEXTILE DESIGN (1-30 cr.)
  • Combining identical courses that exist in more than one department (same instructor, same time, same room, same material, and same assignments/standards).
    • AAAD-A 297 POPULAR MUSIC OF BLACK AMERICA (3 cr.) meets with FOLK-E 297 POPULAR MUSIC OF BLACK AMERICA (3 cr.)
    • HIST-B 323 HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST (3 cr.) meets with JSTU-J 323 HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST (3 cr.)
  • With combined sections (joint-lists), departments can:
    • Combine more than two courses
    • Set an overall enrollment capacity (for example, 50 total across all sections) or a unique enrollment capacity for each course (for example, 25 seats for a total of 50 seats in a combined section of two courses)

If more than one department is involved in the combined sections arrangement, the credit for the enrollment will go to the course under which the student is officially registered (unless otherwise arranged in advance with the Office of Enrollment Management in the College).

Not all courses, however, are eligible for combined sections (joint-listing). The College and the Campus-wide General Education curriculum abide by the principle that the students in the same classroom must earn the same type of credit. To this end, the following policies apply to combined sections (joint-listed courses):

  1. All courses must have the same General Education attributes (GenEd A&H, S&H, N&M, MM, EC, WL, or WC). For example, if one course/section is GenEd A&H and another is S&H, they cannot be combined. Likewise, if one course is GenEd WC and the other has no GenEd designation (even if it is effectively the exact same course), they cannot be combined. (Applies to undergraduate courses only.)
  2. All courses must have the same CASE attributes (CASE A&H, S&H, N&M, MM, EC, WL, POC, DUS, or GCC). In the event one of the courses has no designation, the course that lacks CASE credit may, under some circumstances, be granted temporary attribution with written approval from the College Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records. (Applies to undergraduate courses only.)
  3. Courses being taught for Intensive Writing (CASE IW) credit may not be combined with graduate-level courses. Also, if two or more courses that carry CASE IW are combined, the combined enrollment of all sections must total 25 or fewer seats.
  4. The College does not permit combining 100/200-level courses with 300/400-level courses.
  5. The College generally does not permit combining with courses from other schools (other than with the College schools SGIS, MSCH, or SOAD).
  6. All combinations involving graduate-level courses must also adhere to any policy set forth by the University Graduate School.

In the rare circumstance where an exception to any of these policies may be warranted, written approval must be obtained from the appropriate office (Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, College Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy and Records, or the College Graduate Office).

Scheduling Officers in departments are responsible for making Combined Section requests to the Office of the Registrar. They, along with department chairs and directors, are also responsible for ensuring all policies are followed.

Cross-listing

Cross-listing is a listing of courses in the College Bulletin and in the Schedule of Classes of courses taught in other departments that may count toward major, certificate, or minor requirements or otherwise may be of general interest to students. For example, the African Studies Program diligently lists courses taught by AAAD, ANTH, CMLT, FOLK, FRIT, etc. that may be of interest to students seeking courses on topics related to African studies (see listing example in the Schedule of Classes). This is merely a courtesy listing.

Unfortunately, due to the fact most students use the online "course search" feature instead of the Schedule of Classes to search for classes, the effectiveness of cross-listing has diminished. Furthermore, cross-listing has no effect when it comes student Academic Advisement Reports and Degree Maps.

Credit hours are attributed to the course's unit, not the unit with which the course is cross-listed.

Other notes

The Canvas learning environment uses a definition of "cross-listing" that is different than described above. Their definition is similar to the Combined Section definition above, but it is not an official combining of sections: it is just a way to combine the management of one or more courses into one Canvas course site.