Plan of Study

Plan of Study Best Practice

A Plan of Study is included with each program in the catalog. The plan is a snapshot of the courses and requirements needed to complete the program in a standard time frame. The plan does not replace advising or individual student scenarios which may include transfer credits, test scores, or other college-level coursework.

Creating the Plan of Study

The plan can be created or updated directly in the catalog or with a template. All new programs submitted into the approval workflow require an attached Plan of Study and when approved will be added to the new program catalog page.

Plan of Study Template – instructions and example included. (Excel download)

It is noted on the Plan of Study catalog page that the courses in the plan may be offered in terms other than those listed in the plan to allow for flexibility.

All submitted or edited plans will be reviewed for continuity with the program.

Contact the Catalog Editor with any questions on creating or editing a Plan of Study.

Standardize Content

The Plan of Study has some standardized content to maintain a consistent catalog style. Level and term-specific information is posted below.

• Footnotes are utilized for explanations of program elective credits. These comments are generally pulled directly from the program curriculum. (example: complete 15 elective credits in the program discipline, or the approved list).
• Footnotes may be used for additional curriculum information that may need an explanation.
• Only courses and program electives required in the curriculum should be added to the plan (and general education for undergraduate programs). If a specific course is suggested and not in the curriculum it should be noted in the specific course comment. Program electives are noted and specific requirements are added as a footnote.
• Credit ranges are discouraged in the plan. They are typically used only if there are course choices in a term in which the two to three courses vary in credits.
• Programs that have concentrations can have plans for each concentration or can be combined.
• Plans are created to begin in one specific term, typically fall, even though students may start in other terms. Plans that include cohorts that begin in terms other than fall can be created.
• Required program courses should only be entered in one term unless the total credits required for the course must be completed in multiple terms. The individual credits for each term should be entered on the course listing per term, instead of the total credits needed for the requirement.
• Requirements in which there are a choice of courses should have all course choices listed and a footnote added if an explanation is needed. In cases where there are more than four or five choices, a footnote instead of course listings may be a better option.

Review the current catalog for Plan of Study examples.

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Level and Term Content

Undergraduate—Quarter

• Plans should include ENGL 101, ENGL 201, Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning, 2-Humanities & Arts BACR, 2-Social Science BACR, 2-Natural Science BACR, Diversity, Global Studies, and Senior Capstone. If a specific course is not assigned to one of these attributes, the attribute should be added and the course credit should be entered as 5 credits. A footnote added to each plan explains that not all general education courses may be 5 credits.
• Programs that require World Language (BAs) have a note added and the requirement does not need to be built into the plan, except for programs that require college-level language.
• The credit total requires a minimum of 180 credits. General electives may be added to the plan in the catalog to reach the minimum credit total.
• Summer term can be added to the plan and should only be used for programs requiring courses in that term.

Undergraduate—Semester

• Two Plans of Study are created for semester programs. They are split between quarter and semester terms and have separate totals that need to meet the minimum credit requirement.
• The separate term plans may have separate starting terms.
• Review the Undergraduate-Quarter information for additional content.

Graduate—Quarter

• Total credits for the plan should equal the total credits for the program.
• Post-bac or standard program prerequisite requirements can be added as a separate plan on the program Plan of Study catalog page, or as courses with no credits and a footnote added.
• Summer term can be added to the plan and should only be used for programs requiring courses in that term.

Graduate—Semester

• Review the Graduate-Quarter information for content.