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The Why and How of Course Renumbering
Why are all Los Rios colleges converting to a new course numbering system, beginning Summer/Fall 2003? Our previous numbering system was developed around the time that American River College and Sacramento City College came together to form the Los Rios Community College District in 1965. Thirty-eight years later--in a district that has grown from two colleges to four--it was clear that we had outgrown our existing numbering system and needed one that would meet our needs for the next 38 years. The decision to change the course numbering system was prompted by several factors. However, the most obvious factor was that we were running out of numbers in certain departments. Previously, only 50 numbers were allotted to each department for transfer courses (e.g., CIS 1-49), and only 50 numbers were allotted for nontransfer, A.A.-applicable courses (e.g., ENGL 50-99). In departments with a large number of transfer-level courses, all available numbers were being utilized. Professors were deleting courses to make numbers available, or they were using letter suffixes to distinguish courses. Gerontology, for example, had resorted to numbering courses from 46A to 46U! To address the problem, a task force of faculty representatives from all four Los Rios colleges was formed. The Course Renumbering Subcommittee met in the summer of 2001 and drafted a Numbering Style Guide and a set of possible new numbers for each department. The Numbering Style Guide was approved by each college’s Curriculum Committee and Academic Senate. During the 2001-2002 academic year, the Renumbering Subcommittee met with departments in districtwide meetings to edit the draft course numbers. You can imagine the huge logistical task in renumbering more than 3500 courses and meeting with more than 100 Los Rios departments! Although converting from our previous numbering system to a new one has been a significant, labor-intensive task, the new numbers do provide a number of advantages. For example, renumbering has allowed faculty to “rationalize” the existing set of courses. Under the new system, non-transfer and transfer courses are clearly distinguished by specific number ranges (100-299 for non-transfer courses; 300-499 for transfer courses). In most departments, courses are now numbered in prerequisite order (MATH 25, 32, 100, 120, & 300, for example, form a sequence in which each course is a prerequisite for the course immediately to its right). In the new system, courses are arranged into “thematic blocks,” so that courses with similar content across the district are numbered in the same range (for example, all the Biological Psychology courses in Los Rios take their numbers from the PSYC 310-319 thematic block). Renumbering also gives faculty an opportunity to remedy curriculum problems such as incorrect course titles, courses inappropriately identified as transfer or non-transfer, and courses with incorrect unit values. New course numbers go into effect this summer, and the 2003-2004 college catalogs will use the new numbers in course descriptions and programs of study. Students will begin registering for courses under the new system later this spring. Of course, no change of this magnitude can be accomplished without some period of adjustment. The good news is that new system makes more sense than the previous one, giving departments plenty of room to grow as course offerings expand to meet the needs of students.
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