Supplemental instructions for 400/600 courses

The following supplemental instructions for 400/600 courses were created by a joint committee composed of members of the Graduate Council and the University Courses and Curricula Committee. This was done to ensure the quality of the graduate student experience when graduate students take courses with undergraduates. Compliance with these instructions should produce graduate student experiences in these courses commensurate with the level of academic excellence to which the University of Nevada, Reno is committed.

The following is a list of issues that individuals must address when they submit new courses which are to be cross-listed as 400/600 courses or existing 400/600 courses which are being modified in any way. These criteria exemplify the range of possible qualitative and quantitative differences that might exist between graduate and undergraduate offerings. New course submissions must address these items in both the course proposal and in the course syllabus, describing in detail the differences in the expectations for and evaluation for undergraduate and graduate credit.

  1. How will graduate students achieve deeper understanding of the material presented to the combined group?
  2. How will graduate student assignments differ from those of the undergraduates in their nature or quantity?
  3. How will increased opportunities for independent study or for interaction with the instructor(s) be made available for graduate students?
  4. Discuss any synthesis experiences specifically for graduates?
  5. Identify on the proposed syllabus the opportunities the graduates will have for work at a higher academic level.
  6. Discuss how the work of graduate students will be evaluated differently from that of undergraduates by describing the criteria used in grading an undergraduate assignment versus those used in grading a graduate level assignment.
  7. How will graduates leave the course feeling that they have obtained greater academic value?

Answers to these questions and other issues that address the qualitative and quantitative differences between graduate components of a 400/600 course should be part of the course syllabus and attached to the New or Changed Course Proposal form with the other required documentation.