Non-credit courses allow students the opportunity to engage in non-credit academic experiences that are transcript visible. Read the non-credit course policy approved by Curriculum Council.
There is evaluative measurement of completion for non-credit courses. Two grades are available for faculty to record:
SC = Successful completion
NSC = Non-successful completion
Instructors enter a grade for each student enrolled in their course and submit grades during the structured grading period for each term.
Each non-credit experience has unique learning outcomes, competencies and assessments. Academic units can modify course descriptions for the syllabus but a standard course description (as listed below) will be added to the Catalog to ensure consistency across courses.
Non-credit syllabi must meet the minimum requirements. It is expected that 5 to 7 student learning outcomes will be selected from the lists outlined below.
Step 1: Submit a new course proposal using CIM
Step 2: Select type of course as 'non-credit' and liaison as 'liaison not required'
Step 3: Copy and paste the standard course description (below) into the course description field. The description in the Catalog is specific to the non-credit experience, not the course. The description in the syllabus should be specific to the course
Step 4: Start workflow on the proposal once all required fields are complete
Step 5: A Curriculum Coordinator in the Curriculum Management office reviews the syllabus to ensure it meets minimum requirements
Step 6: The Catalog Coordinator in the Office of the Registrar (OtR) reviews the proposal to ensure it meets the guidelines outlined in the non-credit course policy
Step 7: The proposal is sent to the College Committee Approver (typically an Associate Dean) for approval
Step 8: The proposal is added to the Curriculum Council consent agenda
Step 9: Upon approval by Curriculum Council, the proposal is sent to the Office of the Registrar (OtR) for input into Banner
Step 10: The proposal originator is notified once the course has final approval and can then work with their Department Scheduler to schedule a class
Description: Engage in a service-learning or community engagement experience where skills and knowledge are applied to meet an authentic community-identified need. The experience will integrate meaningful community service with reflection. Through readings and discussions, critically reflect on the service in order to increase understanding of the discipline, gain a broader appreciation of the discipline, enhance a sense of civic responsibility, and strengthen connections with communities.
Assessment of Student Learning
Students are eligible to receive transcript-visible notation for a non-credit undergraduate education abroad experience after satisfying the following requirements, which are to be verified by an OSU faculty member:
Student Learning Outcomes
As a result of this service-learning experience, students will be able to:
Description: Provides students with basic personal and interpersonal leadership skills that can be used within and outside of a work setting. Through practice, the leadership experience help students explore motivation, decision-making, time management, power, team building, conflict, ethics, dealing with change, communication skills, and diversity issues.
Assessment of Student Learning
We see the value of assessment for a course like this but feel that it is best left to the supervisor most familiar with the leadership course to decide whether the student deserves notation. That said, below are suggestions:
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
Student Learning Outcomes Cont.
Alternate model could be a graduated outcomes approach:
Description: Engage in research activities appropriate to the discipline; and through the research experience, acquire skills, techniques, and knowledge relevant to the field of study. In consultation with a faculty mentor, engage in research activity, and make and execute a plan for a project.
Assessment of Student Learning
Students are eligible to receive transcript-visible notation for a non-credit undergraduate research experience after satisfying the following requirements, which are to be verified by an OSU faculty member:
Assessment of Student Learning Cont.
Student Learning Outcomes
Undergraduate Research Competencies
Description: Provides basic personal and professional skills that can be used within and outside of a work setting. Through practice, this experience guides students in building and maintaining positive professional relationships, networking/mentoring relationships, and enhances students’ understanding of the connection between theory and practice in their respective disciplines.
Assessment of Student Learning
It is recommended that internship supervisors who are most familiar with performance of their student interns act as supervising faculty, and assess their performance on the learning outcomes.
Assessment of Student Learning Cont.
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of a student’s internship experience, they should have:
Description: Create a culminating project appropriate to the discipline that integrates and applies knowledge and skills from throughout the academic program. In consultation with a faculty mentor, design the content of the capstone experience and the ways in which they reflect on their learning in the experience.
Assessment of Student Learning
Students are eligible to earn transcript-visible notation for non-credit capstone experience after satisfactorily meeting all of the following standards to be verified by an OSU faculty member:
Assessment of Student Learning Cont.
Underlined language is drawn from the key elements of high-impact practices as outlined by Kuh and O’Donnell (Ensuring quality & taking high-impact practices to scale, 2013, p. 10, AAC&U).
Student Learning Outcomes
As a result of this capstone experience, students will be able to:
Description: Engage in an education abroad experience outside of the United States and its territories.
Assessment of Student Learning
Students are eligible to earn transcript-visible notation for non-credit capstone experience after satisfactorily meeting all of the following standards to be verified by an OSU faculty member:
Assessment of Student Learning Cont.
Student Learning Outcomes
To receive a SC grade, students must: