Course Guide Project

Status Update: Course Guide Project

Summer 2007

The UW-Madison Course Guide project team is currently in the information-gathering phase. The more input we receive the better informed the process will be. To that end, we are reaching out to a broad range of campus colleagues and stakeholders.

This work is building off of the existing Biological Sciences Course Guide in place on campus now. We began our information gathering with students in the spring, knowing that they will be scarce in the summer. We also have been meeting with faculty, advisors and administrators in smaller groups as the opportunities arise. In addition, two campus-wide Listening Sessions have been held.

Input from members of our Advisory Group, which includes faculty, advisors, administrative staff and students, has also played a role in this phase. We plan to continue our outreach over the next few months with faculty and instructional staff, advisors and department administrators.

The team has heard considerable excitement about the possibilities of a Course Guide from students and campus colleagues. They are especially interested in how it will be a useful and efficient planning, advising and communication tool. We also have heard some concerns. We are listening to the feedback and gathering rich information that will inform future planning.

Summary of previous outreach activities in 2007:

Month	Activities	Audience
January	Information-sharing session	DoIT Student Advisory Council
February	Information-sharing sessions	Council on Academic Advising Representatives from the Associated Students of Madison
March	Listening Session	Students
March	Information-sharing session	Executive Committee of the Teaching Academy
March	Update/feedback meeting	Course Guide Advisory Group
April	Information-sharing sessions	L&S Advisory Consortium Dean of Students Advisory Board
April	Listening Session	Faculty, instructional staff, advisors, department administrators

Upcoming Plans

May, June, July, August: continued information-sharing and user interface sessions with advisors, faculty and instructional staff, department administrators, and students. Sharing information at the Teaching and Learning Symposium Resource Fair

June: Joint meeting of project Course Guide Project Content and Policy subcommittees

July: Course Guide Project Advisory Group update meeting

September: Outline project development timeline and rollout phases

Plans for fall: Continuation of informational meetings with stakeholders as the project moves into the development phase

Course Guide Examples

Peer institutions across the United States have implemented online course guides to help students make informed choices for their class selection. Below are some samples. As mentioned earlier, Biological Sciences at UW-Madison has already created their own Course Guide and it is our intention to build from their example.

UW-Madison Biological Course Guides

http://courseguide.wisc.edu/CourseGuide/

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (tutorial)

http://www.onestop.umn.edu/onestop/Registration/Course_Search_Tutorial/Course_Guide.html

Purdue

http://joe.english.purdue.edu/fa06/lynch3/coursebook

St. Andrews School - Delaware

http://libraryweb.standrews-de.org/curriculumsection/courseguide/