CALS Curriculum Committee and Course Proposal Resources

(Revision of a policy begun December 1988, revised December 13, 2003, fall 2015 [approved by the CALS Faculty Senate on February 3, 2016], and February 5, 2018.)

Cross-listing refers to the same course having course numbers in two or more majors, minors or departments and is generally implemented when recognition is required for the obligations or responsibilities of departments or faculty instructors.

NOTE:  Because cross-listing a course increases the complexity of course management for both the Registrar and the instructor, cross-listing should be avoided unless there are clear benefits to the students or instructors.

Therefore, there are only a few grounds to cross-list a course:

• The course is co-taught by faculty from different departments or programs.
• The course is a requirement for all students in the cross listed major/department/unit.
• The course is seen as a significant part of the curriculum in the cross-listed major/department/unit. 

For the committee to approve a rare cross listing on the grounds that a course is not required but is a significant part of the curriculum, a compelling justification must be provided, such as: a vast majority of students (data included) are taking the course in one department or program in order to satisfy a requirement in another department or program.

Once it meets one or all of these criteria, to be considered for cross-listing, a course:

• Must be reviewed and approved by the curriculum committees in the several majors or minors involved.
• Must be reviewed and approved by the curriculum committees of the colleges involved.

The rationale for cross-listing must be documented during the approval process.

Alternatives to cross-listing

CALS has generous allowances for courses taken outside of the college (the most generous of any college at this time). Further, the combination of college and major or minor requirements is generally flexible enough to allow students to take courses in other colleges. Additionally, CALS shares several majors and minors with other colleges. Courses in these majors or minors are accepted as CALS courses without cross-listing.[1] Therefore, there should be little need for cross-listing courses.

Requests are often erroneously made to cross-list in order to make a course more visible to students in other majors. Alternatives to cross-listing that satisfy this need are:

• Departmental and multi-departmental majors or minors in CALS can and often do list required courses that are taught by faculty in other departments. Common examples are calculus, chemistry, and economics.
• Departmental and multi-departmental majors or minors can and do list courses in any department that meet requirements of the major or minor where their students have a choice among several courses.
• Majors or minors can and do provide course recommendations to students for a variety of purposes unrelated to requirements of the major or minor.

The Curriculum Committee will not approve courses for cross-listing when this is:

• Solely or primarily for the purpose of making the course visible to students.
• Solely to enhance the stature of the course; i.e. to accommodate students who only want to register for courses in fields considered fashionable.

The Curriculum Committee will also not be able to cross-list courses that do not meet the SUNY/Carnegie guidelines for credit in relation to contact hours.

[1] Biological Sciences, Biology and Society, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Information Sciences, Nutritional Science, Statistics.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings are reserved for evening examinations and therefore shall remain free from classes and laboratory exercises. On Monday and Wednesday evenings only regularly scheduled courses, and prelims previously approved by the Office of the University Faculty are permitted. Other evening academic activities commencing at or after 7:30 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays are not allowed.

Definitions

• Crosslisted Courses: Offered by multiple departments where the content and level are the same. Classes meet together.

• Co-meeting Courses: Similar in content, but offered at different levels (ex. undergraduate and graduate level). Classes meet together.

Cornell adheres to United States Department of Education, New York State Education Department, and Middle States Commission on Higher Education guidelines pertaining to the definition of a credit hour. For more information, see the updated policy on Defining and Assigning Credit Hours, which went into effect July 1, 2021.

• Credit Hour FAQs from the Vice Provost for Enrollment
• Credit Hour Calculator

These members are appointed by their units and not elected. The Associate Dean and Director of Academic Programs has oversight of this committee.

Ex-Officio Members