Beginning this fall, over 100 undergraduate courses will have new numbers -- which could cause some confusion for students registering for classes.
The course number changes are the result of the Tennessee Board of Regent's Common Course Numbering Project. Because of pressure from the State Legislature Education Committee, the TBR decided to renumber courses which are common to all 19 of its institutions in order make student transfers easier.
David Sigsbee, director of Academic Transfer and Articulation, is concerned that the changed course numbering could potentially lead students to register for the wrong classes. Most of the problems would come from sequenced courses, such as HIST 1301 and HIST 1302, which will be changed to HIST 1110 and HIST 1120 this fall. If a student took HIST 1301 this spring, they will have to know to look for HIST 1120 in the fall and not HIST 1302.
All of the number changes are for lower division (1000 and 2000-level) courses, including 37 out of the 67 general education courses. Pat Stevens, director of the general education program, estimated about 80 percent of undergraduate students will be affected by the number changes.
In addition to the number changes, some of the course titles will also be changed.
"The course title changes are more descriptive, and instead of causing confusion will actually make things more clear," Stevens said.
College Chemistry I (CHEM 1101) and College Chemistry II (CHEM 1102) are being renamed Introduction to Chemistry I: General and Inorganic (CHEM 1010) and Introduction to Chemistry II: Organic and Biochemistry.
These new course titles will be helpful for transferring students both to and from The U of M, because the course content is contained in the title, according to Stevens.
Another potential problem with the new numbering system is that some course numbers previously used will be reassigned to completely different courses, Sigsbee said. PHYS 2510 and 2520, which are calculus based (Physics for Science and Engineering I and II), are being changed to PHYS 2110 and 2120.
These numbers are currently used for General Physics, a course which is trigonometry based.
"I am so concerned that an engineering student who took calculus-based physics this semester will err and enroll in the trigonometry-based physics in the fall," Sigsbee said.
Both Sigsbee and Stevens have been informing deans, department chairs, directors and faculty about the new course numbering system. They hope advisers will be especially aware of the changes, and articulate them to students.
"Students should proactively address their confusions about the numbering system in order to avoid problems," Stevens said.
Information and tables about the course number and title changes can be accessed at http://www.people.memphis.edu/~actran/numbering.html.
