College-Wide: Course Description Builder

Elective Course Description Builder

Faculty, use this form to build and submit your approved and scheduled Elective Course Description to Faculty Coordinators.

THIS FORM IS NOT USED TO PROPOSE NEW COURSES TO YOUR DEPARTMENT.

This form includes recommendations for writing more detailed course descriptions in response to student feedback.

Build and submit one Course Description at a time. Refresh the form to build and upload any additional course descriptions.

View guidelines/instructions online.

PROCESS:

Faculty submits updated course description for elective courses using this form.
Chair/Director will review as applicable.
Approved Course Descriptions sent to Faculty Coordinators.
Faculty Coordinators will post updated descriptions in the Academic Advising site in the Nest.

FIND YOUR SCHEDULE VIA THE DASHBOARD (MY.OTIS.EDU)

Go to Menu > Select Registration > Download the Course Schedule PDF for Semester

Go to "My Teaching Schedule" web part at bottom > select the purple button "View Current Schedule" (will only populate once students enroll in classes)

Top Tips

Suggested word count: 75 - 100.

Write from a student-centered perspective.
Use common terms that students understand. Avoid Academic jargon.
Use present tense and active voice.
Use clear, concise, and simple sentence structure and language.
Use gender neutral language.
Use industry-approved technical terms and acronyms when appropriate.
Use generic terms when referencing software. Only use specific software names if they are the central focus of the course or if they are required for course delivery.
State intended course delivery mode (blended, online, on-class).
State overarching learning goals - what you teach and what you hope students learn.
Include signature or distinctive coursework students will complete in class.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how you can mix and match these categories to pack a significant amount of information into a short course description. Aim toward specificity.

Name*

First Name

Last Name

Email*

Select Applicable Semester:*

Fall Spring Summer

Enter 4-Digit Year:*

Select Academic Chair/Director or Dept. Rep:*

Faculty teaching Foundation electives should not select the Foundation Chair but rather the major department Chair

Enter Course Title:*

Enter "Opening" for Course Description:*

Enter "Body 1 - Why This Course Matters" for Course Description: *

Enter "Body 2 - The Methodology" for Course Description:*

Enter "Closing" for Course Description:*

Optional: Upload an image you wish included with description. No File Chosen

File uploads may not work on some mobile devices.

Optional: Share link to site you wish included with description.

Thank you.

Please select "submit".

Your Course Description will be sent first to your chair for approval and then to the Faculty Coordinators.

Chair/Director Approval

Review submitted syllabi from faculty. If you wish changes made, you can re-upload the corrected syllabus document below.

Okay To Send To Faculty Coordinators:*

Yes No

If made changes, enter corrected Course Description below in its entirety: