Recommendations of the University of Montana - Missoula College of Technology Curricular Integration Task Force to ASCRC

We recommend that the following guidelines be used for judging whether COT courses are collegiate and should be offered for full University credit. But we also note that Mountain Campus courses have not been explicitly tested by the same standards, and that some of them are perhaps not collegiate. We therefore recommend that all future courses submitted to ASCRC for approval be tested by these standards.

We believe for a course to be offered for BA/BS credit, it should demonstrate the following standards, OR it should argue why a particular standard should not be applied:

1) Course presents an appropriate balance between theory, concepts, application, and descriptive material given the topic and nature of the course.

2) Course utilizes college level textbook(s), FacPac, materials, etc. and not solely manuals, industrial notes or directions, etc.

3) Course has proper balance between course content or structure (i.e., labs, discussion section, etc.) and the number of assigned college course credits.

4) Course requires proper prerequisites, if needed.

5) Course utilizes appropriate testing and assessment techniques given the topic and nature of the course.

6) Course should not be remedial for college work.

Our committee makes the following recommendations to ASCRC with regard to efforts to integrate College of Technology (COT) curriculum with curricula on the Mountain campus:

1. College of Technology courses should be considered by ASCRC for review and approval without requiring that they be submitted with a T designation unless requested by COT. The ASCRC will have the discretion to designate a non T-designated course submitted for its review as a T course (noncollegiate) upon examination of the course material.

2. College of Technology will work with departments on the Mountain campus to establish course equivalencies and to allow students greater access to classes they need, and to facilitate transfer of credits of those students from the College of Technology who pursue a baccalaureate degree on the Mountain campus.

3. As long as students meet their General Education Requirements and requirements in the department of their major, it seems unfair to penalize students or to dictate to students as to what their “elective’ courses should be. Our current policies disadvantage COT students who wish to pursue a baccalaureate degree on the Mountain campus. One suggestion would be for ASCRC to consider raising the number of T designated credits accepted from students toward total credit requirements for graduation.