Section 1501.309  Course Classification and Applicability

a)         Course Classification.  Information on courses for which credit is to be awarded shall be submitted to ICCB through an electronic exchange system in order for the courses to be classified into appropriate instructional and funding categories and added to the college's Management Information System (MIS) Course Master File.

b)         Course Credit Hour Determination

1)         Credit hours for courses for which ICCB credit hour grants are to be claimed shall be determined on the basis of an expected 45 hours of combined classroom/laboratory and study time for each semester hour.

2)         Lecture Courses.  Courses with students participating in lecture/discussion oriented instruction shall be assigned one semester credit hour or equivalent for each 15 classroom contact hours, at a minimum, of instruction per semester or equivalent.  It is assumed that two hours of outside study will be invested for each classroom contact hour.

3)         Laboratory Courses.  Courses in which students participate in laboratory/clinical-laboratory oriented instruction shall be assigned one semester credit hour or equivalent for each 30-45 classroom contact hours, at a minimum, of instruction per semester or equivalent.  It is assumed that one hour of outside study will be invested for each two laboratory contact hours.

4)         Clinical Practicum courses. Courses in which students participate in clinical practical experiences shall receive one semester credit hour or equivalent each 30-60 contact hours, at a minimum, per semester or equivalent.  It is expected that one hour of outside study time will be invested for each two clinical practicum contact hours.

5)         Internship Courses.  Courses in which students participate in nonclinical internship, practicum, or on-the-job supervised instruction shall receive one semester credit hour or equivalent for each 75-149 contact hours, at a minimum, per semester credit hour or equivalent.

6)         Students who participate in an approved program with an intensified or accelerated schedule shall be exempt from the contact hour requirements of this subsection (b).

c)         Course Syllabus.  A syllabus shall be developed and maintained for each credit course and shall be available to the public and students upon request.  A syllabus contains the description of the course, specific objectives of the course, a topical outline, and the method for evaluating student performance.

d)         Course Applicability.  All credit courses must be part of an approved unit of instruction (see Section 1501.302), and the approved unit of instruction for each course shall be indicated on the college's ICCB MIS Course Master File.

1)         Lower-division Baccalaureate Courses.  Courses designed to meet lower-division baccalaureate degree requirements shall be applicable to associate transfer degrees.  For each baccalaureate course offered, the college shall either obtain approval for the course to be listed as a Statewide articulated transfer course by a general education or baccalaureate major panel of the Illinois Articulation Initiative or maintain current written articulation agreements or transfer equivalency documents with:

A)        at least three Illinois public universities;

B)        at least three baccalaureate degree-granting institutions to which a majority (51%) of the college's students transfer; or

C)        one or more baccalaureate degree-granting institutions to which a majority (51%) of the college's students, majoring in the field for which the course is required, transfer.

2)         GECC Credential.  Upon a student's completion of the GECC, a college is authorized to award a GECC credential, which shall, at a minimum, consist of a notation on a transcript for the student achieving the credential.

3)         Remedial Course Credit.  No remedial course credit shall be applicable to associate degrees designed for transfer to institutions granting baccalaureate degrees.

4)         Adult Basic Education Course Credit.  No adult basic education course credit applies to degrees or to certificates, except the Adult Basic Education Certificate.

5)         Adult Secondary Education Course Credit.  No adult secondary or college preparatory education course credit applies to degrees or certificates, except the Adult Secondary Education Certificate.

6)         Career and Technical Education Course Credit. Courses designed to prepare individuals with a technical skill shall be applicable towards the requirements or electives for completion of an associate's degree (applied or transfer) or a career and technical education certificate.

7)         General Studies Course Credit.  General studies course credit applies only to the Personal Development; Homemaking; Improving Family Circumstances; Intellectual and Cultural Studies; Community and Civic Development; and Health, Safety and Environment Certificates.

e)         Special Upper-Division Courses

1)         A college may offer any course that is offered by a university, regardless of numbering system, if the university normally permits its own students to take the course as lower-division students.  These courses will be eligible for ICCB grants, if they meet all other criteria.

2)         If at least three public universities in Illinois agree, or if a public university that is the principal recipient of transfers from the community college agrees, certain special courses taught at the upper-division level may be offered by a college and be eligible for ICCB grants, provided they meet all other criteria.

f)         Independent Study.  Independent Study course credit shall not exceed 25 percent of the credit hour requirements for a student to earn an associate degree.  The topic of an independent study course shall be listed on the student's permanent academic record.

g)         Internships.  An internship experience for credit that is designed to provide the student an opportunity to put into practice the theories and techniques learned in the classroom/laboratory shall be applicable to an associate degree or certificate, provided at least 12 semester credit hours or equivalent in the corresponding curriculum are completed by the student before, or are taken by the student concurrently with, the experience.

h)         Courses Approved as Repeatable

1)         Courses in which the content varies from term to term or from student to student (e.g., independent study, special topics, and internship courses) or in which a student is expected to gain increased depth of knowledge and skill through repetition shall, at the request of the college, be approved for repeatability under the following conditions:

A)        The number of times the course may be taken for credit does not exceed four times, or the semester equivalent, e.g., a single course can be taken one time and repeated no more than three times per student;

B)        The method of determining the amount of credit to be awarded for each section of the course, for each term, or for each student is specified in the college's catalog, on the course syllabus, and on the course classification form, and the subject matter and number of credits for which the student enrolled is specified on the student's permanent academic record;

C)        The college's catalog, the course syllabus, and the course classification form requesting approval of repeatability by the ICCB indicate the number of such credits that will apply to degree or certificate completion for a single course or a combination of related courses; and

D)        The total number of credit hours for a single course or for a combination of related courses that are applicable to degree or certificate completion does not exceed the maximums established in subsection (b) governing credit hour determination, subsection (f) governing independent study, or Section 1501.507(b)(10) governing the maximum rate of credit hour production.

2)         Vocational skill courses that must be retaken periodically by law for persons employed in an occupation or vocation to maintain employment shall, at the request of the college, be approved for repeatability beyond the limits described in subsection (h)(1)(A) under the following conditions:

A)        The content of the course is determined by law and does not change from one year to the next; and

B)        A copy of the law (or regulation administering it) and a course syllabus accompany the course classification form requesting repeatability.

3)         An adult basic, adult secondary, or a remedial education course that is organized into discrete modules and offered for variable credit shall, at the request of the college, be approved for repeatability under the following conditions:

A)        No discrete module is repeated more than three times;

B)        The title of a module completed and the grade received is permanently recorded on the student's permanent academic record; and

C)        The content and number of credit hours for a discrete module is shown on the course syllabus and on the course classification form requesting approval of repeatability by ICCB.

4)         An adult basic, adult secondary or remedial education course that is not organized into discrete modules shall, at the request of the college, be approved for repeatability under the following conditions:

A)        The number of times the course may be taken for credit does not exceed four times, or the semester or equivalent; e.g., a single course can be taken one time and repeated no more than three times per student.

B)        The variety of skill levels included in the course and the methods used to accommodate individual differences based on an assessment of student skills is specified in the course syllabus; and

C)        The course title and the grade received is permanently recorded on the student's academic record each time that the course is taken.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 18680, effective November 13, 2020)