Approved April 24, 2025

麻花影视 allows degree programs to offer upper-division (400-level) undergraduate courses with graduate (500-level) courses having similar course content in a co-convened arrangement with a single instructor, a common meeting schedule, and one common LMS course shell. Courses may be co-convened when there are sound pedagogical reasons (e.g. when a graduate course enrollment is insufficient to offer the course at the graduate level alone, faculty expertise made available to both undergraduate and graduate students). Co-convened also expands the opportunities for undergraduate students to be exposed to instruction at a more challenging level.

Though co-convened courses can strengthen the undergraduate experience, courses must be carefully designed to respect the undergraduate experience and to ensure the integrity of the graduate experience; these differences in expectations and requirements of the students enrolled in the two co-convened courses must be clearly identified.

Graduate expectations must be commensurate with the level of the graduate course listed. As a rule, co-convened courses should generally be taught at a graduate level but with appropriate modifications to the undergraduate co-convened course so that it is accessible to upper division students in the program.

When a graduate course and an undergraduate course are co-convened they should reflect the following guidelines:

  1. The two courses must have the same number of credits and have different requirements and performance expectations reflecting the different course levels. There must be two course syllabi that clearly differentiate the expectations for students receiving undergraduate and graduate level credit in the co-convened courses (e.g. distinct and different student learning outcomes, separate assessments, and grading criteria). Both syllabi and class schedule should be made clear that co-convened courses meet at the same time and location, with the same instructor, and have the same LMS course shell, but that the two courses have different requirements reflecting the different course levels.
  2. Standard practice is that co-convened course pairings consist of one 400-level and one 500-level course. Exceptions to 400- and 500-level pairing will be the exception and should be rare and occur only under extenuating circumstances. These exceptions will have to go through the standard curricular process and a strong rationale must accompany proposals.
  3. Co-convened course descriptions must indicate that the courses can be co-convened. Course titles must be identical and prerequisite courses and knowledge should be appropriate and comparable for both courses.
  4. Course proposals must be submitted and approved separately for each of the courses in the proposed pairs through the campus curricular review process. Co-convened courses must go through both the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the 麻花影视 Graduate Committee processes.
  5. At the time of the review of the co-convened courses, syllabi for both courses complete with course descriptions, course readings and activities, and Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) will be submitted to all curriculum committees as support for the co-convening. The course proposals must address the following:
    1. Both course proposal forms must specify that the courses may be co-convened and that credit may not be earned in the other course of the pair at a later time (except by approval of a student鈥檚 graduate committee). Furthermore, students may not complete any additional/distinct work for the 500-level course after completing the course at the 400-level in order to receive graduate credit or count the course toward a graduate program. 
    2. While course descriptions and course syllabi for co-convened courses should be similar, specification of the requirements for the graduate course must clearly delineate greater expectations for and the additional requirements of graduate students, appropriate to the field of study. Graduate education entails a deeper level of understanding, specialization, and a more advanced instruction, not just more quantity of work.
    3. New proposals for co-convening courses must be submitted at the same time as the new course or course revision proposals for the graduate and undergraduate courses. Approval of the courses is not contingent upon approval of the co-convening; however, co-convening is contingent upon the approval of the courses. Existing co-convened courses also go through the proposal process to update course descriptions and to ensure course requirements for co-convening are met.
  6. Courses not approved for co-convening must be taught separately.
  7. Graduate students enrolled in the graduate level course should not be used as teaching assistants for the co-convened undergraduate course.
  8. Courses to be co-convened must be offered within the same department. Co-convened courses may not be offered within different departments.

Practice/Core Principles

  1. Only 400 and 500 courses may be co-convened unless there are extenuating circumstances and in which case the department may request an exception.
  2. Separate syllabi for both courses must be submitted.
  3. Co-convened must go through the formal curricular process at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
  4. As a general principle, the graduate learning expectations in a dually listed course are characterized by a more in-depth and broader focus on the theoretical foundation underlying the subject matter, a substantially greater volume of content area reading, higher expectations for writing that showcase advanced theoretical understanding and synthesis, and a level of classroom engagement that reflects greater intellectual maturity and scholarly depth compared to typical undergraduate students.
    1. Some examples of greater expectations may include that graduate students show development of independent critical judgment and evaluation of course material, and that graduate students present the evidence of their original critical analysis. Examples of additional assignments might include significant research papers, oral presentations of research on course assignments, and/or the demonstration of more sophisticated laboratory or studio skills than those required of students in the undergraduate course.
  5. Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
    1. Graduate education entails a deeper level of understanding, specialization, and a more advanced instruction, not just more quantity of work. SLOs must clearly delineate greater expectations for and the additional requirements of graduate students, appropriate to the field of study, and there must be a delineation between the undergraduate and graduate student expectations. For example, using the Bloom鈥檚 Taxonomy structure, a student in a 400-level undergraduate course may be required apply and analyze whereas the graduate student in a 500-level course may be required to evaluate and create (see Blooms Taxonomy for cognitive levels).
  6. Reading Materials
    1. For graduate students, reading materials should be primary and secondary in content area, challenging beyond standard of preparation in the field, and support mastery of learning outcomes.
  7. Writing or Other Assignments
    1. Assignments should be adjusted. For graduate students, writing or other assignments should be sophisticated, should address concepts in a theoretical and synthetic way, and should support mastery of advanced learning outcomes. 
  8. If a program has a 3+2 curricular pathway, those programs should ensure that the master鈥檚 level coursework occurs at the 500 level.