Integrative Learning Core Committee

Course Design and Proposal Process

The course proposal forms are proficiency based and contain five main sections: 1) course information, 2) primary proficiency and assignments, 3) assessment process, 4) secondary and tertiary proficiencies (optional), 5) syllabus. In addition to the main sections, each proposal form includes a signature sheet, preamble, and checklist. Before submitting a course proposal, please review the required course criteria below. At a minimum the sample syllabus must include a statement declaring that this course is an ILC course in the chosen BOR Area and that, as such, material in the course addresses students’ achievement of (list selected proficiency or proficiencies).

Course Criteria

Courses listed as 3000 or 4000 level courses will not be approved for ILC credit;
Courses may have no more than one pre-requisite, and that course must be an approved ILC course;
Courses cannot limit enrollment to students in a specific major or in a cohort – must be open to all students;
Courses must be offered at least once within two academic years;
For cross-listed courses, departments involved consult and submit one course application;
For sequenced courses, course proposals must be submitted at the same time;
Courses can only be listed in one Louisiana BOR area (Honors seminar courses are exempt);
It is the responsibility of the Honors college to ensure seminar courses approved for ILC are not identical to ILC courses taught in the home academic department under other course numbers;
Courses include integrative learning pedagogies and assignment(s);
Courses identify the primary ILC proficiency;
The primary ILC proficiency must be reflected in 20% of course content, and the instrument(s) used to evaluate the primary proficiency must account for at least 20% of the course grade;
Courses acknowledge an understanding that the proficiency and dimension(s) will be assessed each time the course is taught (including all modalities); and
Previously approved general education courses or new course listings must submit the ILC Course Proposal Form.

Syllabus Elements

The Courses and Curricula Committee recommends the following elements to be listed in each syllabus. The below elements are being shared to help ILC course proposers ensure their syllabi are in compliance. This is merely a guide and is not required for the sample syllabus evaluated by the ILC Committee. At a minimum the sample syllabus must include the required ILC components; they are marked with ‘*required’.

The course title, rubric and course number, description as it will appear in the catalog.
Faculty contact information including the physical location of the office, phone number, and email address.
A listing of office hours.
A grading Scheme:
1. A listing of the point values that will be assigned to all course activities from which the grade will be determined.
2. A list that shows how the total points earned in the course will be mapped into the LSU plus/minus grade scheme.
3. A description of all course activities from which the student grades will be determined; clearly showing how 20% of the course content and 20% of the course grade are aligned to the primary proficiency (*required).
4. For projects, reports, field trips, and participation activities, specify all activities students will be expected to perform and how the grade will be determined.
5. Attendance grades must specify how the grade will be calculated and what accommodations will be given for excused absences.
6. A description of how accommodations for excused absences will be handled. Please refer to PS-22.
Title of text, laboratory manual, or other course materials, including a list of principal reference readings.
A 15-week outline of course subject matter including the approximate exam schedule and deadlines for the submission of student work.
A statement and reference link to the Student Code of Conduct.
A statement and reference link to the faculty expectations of student effort as specified in the LSU credit hour definition in Policy Statement 45.
A statement and reference link regarding accommodations for disabilities as specified in Policy Statement 26.
Include the following statement (*required):
1. Integrative learning allows students to make simple connections among ideas and experiences and across disciplines and perspectives. The LSU Integrative Learning Core (ILC) curriculum is designed to develop student abilities to transfer their learning to new situations and demonstrate a sense of self as a learner. A fundamental goal of the ILC is to foster students' practical and intellectual capacities associated with integrative learning in preparation for high competence and functionality in their post-baccalaureate careers. This course fulfills the BoR Area of ________ and provides students experience with the ILC proficiency of ________.
A C-I Certification Syllabus Statement, if applicable.
A statement regarding academic achievement as shown in the example syllabus via the Center for Academic Success.

Course Proposal Review Process

Submission of Proposal
1. Instructor/Course Coordinator submits the ILC Course Proposal.
Course Proposal Distribution
1. Course proposals are gathered and sent to the Faculty Senate ILC (FSILC) committee for review on the 1st or 15th of the month.
2. The course proposals will be sent to two FSILC committee members for review.
3. Once the course proposal is disbursed to the reviewers, the reviewers have two weeks to complete the Course Proposal Review Rubric. The rubric and any comments will be brought to the full committee at the next FSILC committee meeting after the two-week review. The FSILC committee will discuss the course proposal and make final recommendations. Please note this process could take a minimum of 4 weeks during the academic year. If submitted during summer, the process will be delayed until fall or spring semester.
Course Proposal Recommendation
1. The full committee will vote to:
  1. Approve as is
  2. Approve with modification
  3. Table for consultation
  4. Deny
2. The Chair will not sign the Signature page until the course has been approved by the committee (majority).
Course Proposal Tabled
1. When an ILC course proposal recommendation is ‘table for consultation’, the course coordinator/instructor must complete one of the following and re-submit the proposal:
  1. attend ILC open office hours;
  2. meet with the two FSILC Committee members whom reviewed your proposal; or
  3. request a meeting with your FSILC Committee college representative.
Course Proposal Modification
1. When an ILC course proposal is ‘approved with modifications’, the course coordinator will receive a Modification Form to be completed within two weeks and sent to gened@lsu.edu.
2. The completed modification form will be reviewed by the at least two FSILC committee members who will either approve, deny, or request further modifications.
Course Proposal Approval
1. Once the course has been approved by the committee, the Chair will sign the signature page and send to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
2. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness will forward the signature page of the FSILC approved course proposal to the Office of Academic Affairs for final approval.
3. A course is not officially approved until the Office of Academic Affairs has signed the signature page.
4. The Office of Academic Affairs will keep the original signature page on file and send a copy to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
5. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness will work with the registrar’s office to ensure timely inclusion in the course catalog.
Course Implementation
1. The course, as it was approved, will be implemented in the following Fall or Spring semester. The course will not be added to the ILC course catalog until February 2022 with full ILC implementation in August 2022.
Course Renewal Review
1. When an ILC course proposal is ‘approved,’ it is expected that the course will proceed as described in the proposal.
2. All courses will be reviewed on a five-year review cycle. This is five years from the date they were approved by the Office of Academic Affairs.
3. The proficiency and dimensions aligned to the course cannot change until the course is up for renewal (every five years), unless the course chooses to DROP from the ILC program and reapply by submitting a new course proposal form. It is recommended that the new course proposal form be submitted and approved prior to dropping the course from the program, otherwise there may be a semester where students would not be awarded general education credit.
Assessment Process Change Form
1. An Assessment Process Change form may completed if the course proposal was submitted and approved prior to April 1, 2021 and the course coordinator would like to reduce the number of dimensions being assessed.
2. Ideally, the direct measures used to assess the dimensions will not change during the five-year period. However, the committee realizes that there may be exceptions, particularly if the assessment data suggests that change is needed to either the process or the direct measures chosen.
3. The FSILC Committee will review the Assessment Process Change Form and determine whether the requested change is approved or if additional information is needed to make a determination.

Course Proposal Forms

Courses wanting to be considered for the ILC program will choose a primary proficiency and complete the corresponding course proposal form. All completed proposals and supporting documents should be emailed to Integrative Learning Core. Before submitting an ILC course proposal, please ensure all components in the checklist are complete.

ILC Course Proposal Forms by Proficiency

ILC Instrument(s) Choices and Assessment Guidance

Each ILC course will include a course-specific assessment plan. This plan details how each instructor for a given ILC course will collect and analyze data that assesses the primary proficiency and corresponding dimension(s) that are addressed in the course. Assessment data are collected by section and aggregated to the course-level according to the assessment process identified in the course proposal in addition to comparing the data across modalities (if applicable). Details regarding the ILC assessment reporting process can be found at www.lsu.edu/oie/.

Instructors have two choices as they develop this plan.

Option A: Instructors may select one or more of the proficiencies default dimensions to be addressed in the course.
Option B: Alternatively, if the instructor prefers not to assess at least one of the default dimensions, the instructor(s) have the discretion to identify at least one alternative dimension to assess the proficiency. These alternative dimensions and assessment protocols must be approved at the department level, either by the department head, an assessment committee, or an individual designated as assessment coordinator. The Department Level Approved Assessment Plan will then be submitted to the ILC committee for approval.

ILC Instrument(s) Choices and Assessment options include: essay, extended response questions(s), lab report, multiple choice questions, performance, presentation, reflection paper, short answer question(s), or other.

Departments need only assess a majority of sections annually for each course. However, it is important that these sections be as representative as possible of all sections (and modalities) of the course, including those taught in the summer or intersession terms.

A common standard for sampling is work from 10% of the students, or 10 students, whichever is greater, but this may be problematic for large classes, depending on the assessment instrument chosen. You do not need to sample; if you prefer to submit data from your entire class (the entire population), you are free to do so.