Contact the R'Courses coordinator at rcourses@ucr.edu, Ext. 2-7739, for more information.

Faculty Expectations

• Faculty Expectations

  First Quarter - Proposal

  • Review the student facilitator’s syllabus/proposal form and make suggestions for revisions or additions
  • Once the student has submitted their online proposal, fill out the online approval form
  •  Meet to outline expectations for the 190 directed study course (1 unit, either S/NC or letter grade—at your discretion)

  
  Second Quarter – Directed Study – 1 unit

  • Assist the student in creating classroom assignments, resource/reading lists, guest speakers, etc.
  • Assign appropriate readings/assignments for the 190 directed study course with the student facilitator
  • Assign a grade to the facilitator for the work completed in the 190 course
  • Optional continuation of the 190 course for the third quarter —at the discretion of the faculty and student facilitator

  
  Third Quarter – Facilitation of R’Course

  • Serve as instructor of record for the R’Course (a 190 or 198 through your department)
  • Meet (in person or via phone/email) with the student periodically to discuss the progress of the course
  • Attend a minimum of one class to provide meaning feedback, but no more than 3 classes
  • Assign a grade (S/NC) to each of the course participants in collaboration with the student facilitator if the course is structured as an XXX198 in your department. Some departments do not offer 198 as a designation leaving R’Courses to be built using the 190 designation, which in most departments does not allow for an S/NC grade.
• Faculty Checklist

  The proposed course is in compliance with Academic Senate guidelines on unit values, is graded on an S/NC basis, and has regularly scheduled meeting times.

  • An R’Course should require approximately 30 total hours of work from each student participant over a 10-week quarter.
    •  Course workload breakdown:

      In-class time (lecture, discussion, etc.)	1 hour/week	10 weeks	10 hours
      Class preparation time and assignments (reading, research, group activities, etc.)	2 hours/week	10 weeks	20 hours
      		TOTAL	30 hours

   The proposed course has explicit academic content and requirements, beyond classroom attendance, for receiving credit. In particular:

  • Students read, as part of the course, articles, books, and/or primary source documents that place the topic of the course in an academic context.
  •  Students are informed in writing about what they need to do to pass the course.

  The content of the proposed course is within the scope of your department’s academic program and does not duplicate existing courses offered in the department or at the university.

  Course is not based on a previous student’s R’Course that was offered at the University (unless they receive permission). Students may teach a total of six R’Courses during their time at UCR, and a maximum of two separate topics.

  You have clarified the respective roles and responsibilities of the student course facilitator and the instructor of record. In particular:

  • You have reviewed and approved the course syllabus prepared by the student course facilitator. The syllabus includes an outline of course content, the reading list, and specifies assignments and the requirements, beyond classroom attendance, for obtaining a passing grade.
  • You have developed a plan for supervising the student course facilitator and reviewed this plan with the student course facilitator. Supervision should take the form of at least one in-class observation, review of course materials, and meetings with the student course facilitator, along with additional support as necessary.
  • The student course facilitator understands that you, as the instructor of record, are the one who has the responsibility for supervising the awarding of all final grades and for reporting the grades to the Registrar.
  • You and the student course facilitator have established a mechanism for keeping accurate records and documentation to support the awarding of credit to enrolled students. Course iLearn’s are set-up with the instructor of record initially. R’Courses staff works with ITS to get facilitators instructor access to iLearn accounts. R’Course staff are also added to each course iLearn for additional supervision.
  • You, as the instructor of record, are aware that you are the appropriate person to respond to and resolve complaints, conflicts, and grievances brought by students taking the course.

  You have checked to see that the resources needed for this course can be provided by the department or are otherwise available to the student.

  You have worked with the department to assign a space and time for the course (either through the general assignment process or independently). You, as the instructor of record, are aware that you are ultimately responsible for the success of your R’Course. In particular,

  • You are aware that R’Courses must comply with the same university policies that apply to other courses taught for unit credit at UCR. You should pay particular attention to issues of course content, instructional standards, and academic integrity. It is your responsibility to ensure compliance with applicable policies.
  • You understand that if the student facilitator does not comply with recommendations made by you, the department, or the R’Courses Board after the course has begun, or if the student is unable to continue as the instructor, that you may be responsible for completing instruction of the course.
• Next Steps
  1. Sign the online faculty form if the student proposal meets your criteria for approval.
  2. Retain a copy for your files.
  3. Department chair will also receive a copy of the proposal for review before final submission to the R’Course Governing Board. Department chair approval is a requirement for the course to be offered.

Department Chair Information

• Dept. Chair Checklist

  1. Have you checked to ensure the following:

  • The proposed course content is NOT already covered by a course in the department.
  • The department is willing to provide appropriate administrative support for this course (scheduling of course in banner per Academic Senate approval for R’Courses*, and grade adjustments if necessary).
  • The resources needed for this course can be provided by the department or are otherwise available to the student.

  * Academic Senate approval for R’Courses states that courses may not have any pre-requisites or barriers to student enrollment. Additionally, the Academic Senate has approved R’Courses as S/NC grades, however, if your department does not currently have a 198 designation, then it will be necessary for R’Course participants to be given a letter grade per department policy pertaining to 190 designations.

  
  2. In the event that the student does not comply with recommendations made by the faculty mentor, the department, or the R’Course Board after the course has begun, or if the student is unable to complete instruction of the course, the Department Chair (in consultation with the faculty mentor and the R’Course Board), may terminate a course or request that the faculty mentor completes instruction.

• Next Steps

  Sign the R’Courses Department Chair Approval Form if the course meets the criteria for approval. You will be sent an email with a link to the Qualtrics form upon student submission of a proposal.

  
  If you have any questions about any stage of the proposal process, please let us know at rcourses@ucr.edu.