Registrar Terminology

General Terminology

People / Units

D/P = department / program

IOR = instructor of record

UCSC = Undergraduate Curriculum and Standards Committee

Schedule

Meeting Pattern (MP) = the dates + time + location that a given class will meet over the semester

f2f = face to face / in person / not online

OA = online asynchronous format/MP. No synchronous components can be required.

Cross-listed = see below

Course Description = see below

Semesters

IU uses an at first baffling and then pretty clever 4 digit code to reference semesters:

4208 = 4120283 = Fall 2020

  1. Century (not particularly useful)
  2. Last 2 digits of year
  3. Indicates semester according to the following key, which, while I’m not sure how they arrived at those particular numbers, does order the academic year nicely:
    • 2 = Spring
    • 5 = Summer I/II
    • 8 = Fall

Cross-listing

Different COURSES may be scheduled as CROSS-LISTED. This means that for a particular iteration, the scheduled CLASSES of those COURSES will run concurrently (i.e. with the same MP and IOR).

CROSS-LISTED CLASSES:

  • may have the same syllabus and requirements, especially if the COURSES are equivalent
  • may have different syllabi and requirements with some overlap, if the COURSES are scheduled concurrently but are not equivalent
  • count as a single unit for determining enrollment thresholds and IOR teaching loads
  • (like any other classes) receive their own Canvas site. Canvas sites may be combined easily by the IOR.

A CROSS-LISTING is merely a question of scheduling CLASSES. It does not create or reflect any permanent relationship among COURSES. If for some reason I wanted to cross-list CLAS C205 and SPAN S131 for a semester, I could.

Descriptions / Advertising Classes

Course Description = an outline of what broad content can be expected for a given COURSE, containing only information applicable to every iteration of that COURSE. 

Class Description = describes a CLASS and therefore a particular iteration of a COURSE. The Class Description can be used to provide more specific information, such the semester’s focus or information about the IOR.

Class Descriptions can only be changed by the individual CLASS IOR (although sometimes the scheduling system carries them over from semester to semester). To do this, or to designate a proxy, go to ONE.IU.EDU and searching for “Manage Class Descriptions.”

Class Note = used for logistical information that students should know before registering for a given class, such as textbooks, fees, (suggested) prerequisites, applicability to majors/minors, CROSS-LISTINGS, equivalencies, future scheduling, etc.

Prerequisite language in a Class Note is not automatically binding and will not prevent any student from registering for that CLASS. Class Notes are updated by the D/P as part of building the semester schedule.

What Information Goes Where
Information Course Description Class Description Class Notes
General classroom content Yes Maybe No
Specific classroom content No Yes No
IOR information No Yes No
Links to syllabus, websites No Yes No
Scheduling information (cross-listing, unusual meeting patterns) No No Yes
Textbooks No Maybe Yes
Registration information (equivalencies, pre-requisites [recommended and binding]) No No Yes
Applicable to University Campus Campus
Modified by CARMIN IOR Scheduling administrator
Review schedule As needed Semester Semester