Grading Options

Area of Inquiry courses are designed to encourage exploration of an unfamiliar area of study and may not be offered with a “Graded” only option in SSASECT. This encourages exploration of new subject areas without the added pressure of a letter grade. On the other hand, those same courses might also serve as foundation courses for pre-major students in that area of study. For those students, a letter grade would be required for the course, and taking it “Pass/No Pass” before choosing the major could cause a problem later. Such courses should carry the clear stipulation that pre-major students must use the “Graded” option to apply the course to their major. In contrast, exploratory students may choose the “Pass/No Pass” option. Unanimously passed by Undergraduate Council May 11, 2005.

Major Restrictions

Courses that are offered for majors only are excluded from area of inquiry status, but courses that are designed for both majors and other students may qualify. Area of Inquiry courses may not be restricted to majors only in SSARRES. See policy on the Undergraduate Council web page.

Class Level Restrictions

Area of Inquiry courses may not be restricted by level (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior). For example, you may not “exclude” freshman from registering for a 300-level area of inquiry course. However, you may implement prerequisites on any area of inquiry course to help prepare students for the more rigorous demands of upper division course work.