ETSU is adopting a new course identification system that will affect most of the university’s course listings.
As one of the 19 Tennessee Board of Regents’ institutions, ETSU is required to change to a course ID system that will be common to the TBR’s six universities and 13 community colleges.
“All of this change is designed to help students transfer easily and without loss of credit,” said Dr. Linda Doran, ETSU vice provost. “It also eliminates the lengthy processing of transcripts.”
TBR policy states that any student receiving a university degree or an associate’s degree designed for transfer, is required to complete a 32-hour core including such classes as English composition, U.S, History and Humani-ties.
All courses are identified by a Rubric and a number. For example, Probability and Statistics is listed as MATH 1080, with “MATH” as the Rubric and 1080 as the course number.
In the past, the TBR institutions have had different Rubrics and numbers for the same core courses.
The purpose of the changes is therefore to create a universal classification for these freshman and sophomore-level classes.
In addition, the new Rubric and numbering system will also facilitate the advising process.
“Transfer students can be difficult to advise because you’re trying to look at what another school calls a course,” said Dr. Ramona Williams, director of undergraduate student advisement. “Now it’s going to be a lot easier. It’s a very good thing.”
The changes only apply to the classes that meet the common core. However, many upper level courses will be affected nonetheless. For example, instead of the Rubric “BISC” for freshman biology, the new prefix, “BIOL,” will identify all biology courses including those at the 3000 and 4000 levels.
Some courses such as Ameri-can literature have already changed, but students can expect most of the changes to be implemented for Fall 2001.
“We’re modifying all our software, record systems, course catalogs and term schedules,” Doran said. “This spring, the Fall 2001 schedule of classes will reflect all the changes.”
Both Doran and Williams said that these changes will not be inconvenient for students. However, everyone is encouraged to become aware of the changes and read the details about the new course IDs.
Notes about the former number and Rubric for a course will be included in the term schedule to prevent confusion.
“It’s important for students to closely look at the schedule of classes to see the changes,” Williams said. “There shouldn’t be any problems, though.

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