Course Unit Value / Contact Hour Justification Form

COURSE ID:		COURSE TITLE:		

Overview
This form is designed to guide faculty when submitting any course proposals for determining course unit values and contact hours. ASCCC(Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, the state Chancellors offices at both the CC and CSU levels, and C-ID have established that “normal” unit values are generally defined by C-ID descriptor minimums, local transfer institution equivalents (for us that would be CSU, Fresno and CSU, Bakersfield), other mandated model curricula or starting with a 3 Carnegie Lecture unit course. It is for these reasons that our campus has agreed to look at courses more closely and evaluate what positive and negative impact they are having on students. It has been discussed and agreed that when possible we will use the suggested “minimum units” (and related contact hours) suggested by a C-ID descriptor as a baseline for our courses. The Curriculum Committee has created this form to be completed and attached to your CORs in Elumen (Curricunet) using the “Attached Files” tab. Please enter your responses in the provided blue shaded boxes like the sample to the right.

Units/Hours Review
Please review and supply the following information, taking into account the following definitions*.
•	LECTURE HOURS/UNITS (Ratio of in-class to homework hours is 1:2) An instructional method that primarily uses full-class or group content delivery.  May include some small group work, presentations, and discussion.
•	LAB HOURS/UNITS (Ratio of in-class to homework hours is 3:0) An instructional method where students primarily work independently or in groups to develop or practice skills in a laboratory, workshop, studio, court, field, or other specialized instructional space.  Instructor supervised and directs activity at the student or small group level for most of the class period.
•	INTEGRATED LAB HOURS/UNITS (Ratio of in-class to Homework Hours is 2:1) An instructional method where the instructor switches between lecture and lab instruction in the same class period and classroom.
*Definitions derived from multiple sources, including Title 5, and the Program & Course Approval Handbook. 

SECTION 1: Course Unit Overview 

Please show how the unit values and modalities/hours are changing or unchanging with this proposal. 
	PROPOSED COURSE VALUES		CURRENT COURSE VALUES	
		UNITS			UNITS	
		LECTURE hours (per term)			LECTURE hours (per term)	
		LAB hours (per term)			LAB hours (per term)	

	Yes/No	C-ID Number Assigned & Attached	
Is this course C-ID approved and the course content, lec/lab hours, and units align with the C-ID Descriptor?			
	Yes/No	Last Revision Date	
Has this course been previously approved with a Contact Hour Justification Form submitted and the rationale and data submitted previously is still valid?			
	STOP - *If you answered yes to the previous questions, you are done.  No further justification is required.
	If no, you must complete the justification sections.

SECTION 2: Justification Units/Hours

State Norms:
How does the course, as proposed, compare to courses across the State in terms of breadth and depth? Use CID-approved courses, other CIDs, ASSIST, CurricUSEARCH, state mandates, other model curricula as resources to help complete this section. NOTE: Limit comparisons between colleges to those that have been reviewed in the last 5 years and have been C-ID approved if applicable.  The reason for this is that old courses have not been reviewed under new standards and are out of compliance. 

Mandates:
Are there any mandates or regulations that require the number of units and/or contact as proposed for this course? (i.e. if there was a state regulation that required an EMT course to meet for no less than 75 hours)

Does a mandate exist for this course?           		
If yes, please identify, describe and document them here:		

STOP - *If you answered that you are complying with a state mandate or regulation and have documented this in your response above, then you are done.  No further justification is required.

	*If you answered no, please continue completing the form.

C-ID Unit Value: 
C-ID descriptor unit “minimums” reflect the minimum number of units that CCC/CSU (DIG) discipline faculty have collegially agreed reflect the instructional time necessary to cover the content in the descriptor. The CID descriptor is assumed to be the essential or “minimum” content covered in a course to be eligible for C-ID. To use the C-ID Descriptor as a unit justification, the course should align with the descriptor and will be submitted to C-ID for approval. 

C-ID Eligibility:
Is there a C-ID descriptor available for this course?           		
Are you submitting the course for C-ID approval?		
Are you aligning with the course content and the “Minimum Units” indicated on the C-ID descriptor?		
Please list C-ID#, Course Title, and attach the C-ID Descriptor:		

	STOP - *If you answered yes to all of these questions, you are done.  No further justification is required.

	*If you answered no, please continue completing the form.

SECTION 3: Narrative Justification 

In addition to “Faculty Considerations”, the following are typical considerations of the Curriculum Committee. Please respond to the questions listed following the lists of considerations in narrative form.

STUDENT CONSIDERATIONS
•	Financial Aid
•	Scheduling Flexibility
•	Available Course Offerings
•	Student Demographics and Preparedness
•	Ability to Persist Toward Identified Goals
•	Required Instructor/Student Contact Hours?
•	Cost for Enrollment/Materials
•	Total Contact Time Plus Outside-of-Class Time
•	Units Available for Degree/Transfer
•	Eligibility for Priority Registration 
•	Ability to Pursue More Than One Major
•	Contact Time as it Relates to Student Success 
•	Maintaining Full-Time status (12 units)
	INSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
•	Articulation Considerations
•	Scheduling Resources
•	Budgetary Considerations

EXTERNAL CONSIDERATIONS
•	California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO)
•	Ed Code
•	Title 5 
•	Academic Senate of California Community Colleges
•	The Community	

What is the need for and/or benefit of allocating additional / fewer unit(s) / contact hours?  

Your Claim:
(describe the need and/or benefit here):		
Evidence of Claim Above:
(This could include, but are not limited to, academic research, success rates, etc.  Please note that a list of one or two randomly selected schools that also have high units is not independently justification to warrant high units / contact hours):		
Source of Backing: 
(Please be specific.  For example, if you tell us it is required by Title 5, then include the section numbers and text used or if referencing a data set or research report, please provide a complete reference and/or attach the actual report.)  This will greatly expedite the review process.		

NOTE: If you have more than one unique claim, please repeat the format above and number them.