ILC Course Criteria
- Courses listed as 3000 or 4000 level courses will not be approved for ILC credit;
- Courses may have no more than one pre-requisite, and that course must be an approved
ILC course;
- Courses cannot limit enrollment to students in a specific major or in a cohort – must
be open to all students;
- Courses must be offered at least once within two academic years;
- For cross-listed courses, departments involved consult and submit one course application;
- For sequenced courses, course proposals must be submitted at the same time;
- Courses can only be listed in one Louisiana Board of Regents area (Honors seminar
courses are exempt);
- It is the responsibility of the Honors college to ensure seminar courses approved
for ILC are not identical to ILC courses taught in the home academic department under
other course numbers;
- Courses include integrative learning pedagogies and assignment(s);
- Courses identify the primary ILC proficiency;
- The primary ILC proficiency must be reflected in 20% of course content, and the instrument(s)
used to evaluate the primary proficiency must account for at least 20% of the course
grade;
- Courses acknowledge an understanding that the proficiency and dimension(s) will be
assessed each time the course is taught (including all modalities); and
- Previously approved general education courses or new course listings must submit the
ILC Course Proposal Form.
ILC Syllabus Elements
The Courses and Curricula Committee recommends the following elements to be listed and provides a sample syllabus on
the Committee's website. The below elements are being shared to help ILC course proposers
ensure their syllabi are in compliance.
- The course title, rubric and course number, description as it will appear in the catalog.
- Faculty contact information including the physical location of the office, phone number,
and email address.
- A listing of office hours.
- A grading scheme: A listing of the point values that will be assigned to all course
activities from which the grade will be determined.
- A list that shows how the total points earned in the course will be mapped into the
LSU plus/minus grade scheme.
- A description of all course activities from which the student grades will be determined;
clearly showing how 20% of the course content and 20% of the course grade are aligned
to the primary ILC proficiency.
- For projects, reports, field trips, and participation activities, specify all activities
students will be expected to perform and how the grade will be determined.
- Attendance grades must specify how the grade will be calculated and what accommodations
will be given for excused absences.
- A description of how accommodations for excused absences will be handled. Please refer
to Policy Statement 22.
- Course objectives.
- Title of text, laboratory manual, or other course materials, including a list of principal
reference readings.
- A 15-week outline of course subject matter including the approximate exam schedule
and deadlines for the submission of student work.
- A statement and reference link to the Code of Student Conduct.
- A statement and reference link to the faculty expectations of student effort as specified
in the LSU credit hour definition in Policy Statement 45.
- A statement and reference link regarding accommodations for disabilities as specified in Policy Statement 26.
- Include the following statement (required): Integrative learning allows students to
make simple connections among ideas and experiences and across disciplines and perspectives.
The LSU Integrative Learning Core (ILC) curriculum is designed to develop student
abilities to transfer their learning to new situations and demonstrate a sense of
self as a learner. A fundamental goal of the ILC is to foster students' practical
and intellectual capacities associated with integrative learning in preparation for
high competence and functionality in their post-baccalaureate careers. This course
fulfills the BoR Area of ________ and provides students experience with the ILC proficiency
of ________.
- A C-I Certification Syllabus Statement, if applicable.
- A statement regarding academic achievement as shown in the example syllabus via the
Center for Academic Success.
Instrument Choice(s) and Assessment Guidance
Each ILC course will include a course-specific assessment plan. This plan details how each instructor for a given ILC course will collect and analyze
data that assesses the primary proficiency and corresponding dimension(s) that are
addressed in the course. Assessment data are collected by section and aggregated to
the course-level according to the assessment process identified in the course proposal
in addition to comparing the data across modalities (if applicable). Details regarding
the ILC assessment reporting process can be found on the Assessment page.
Instructors have two choices as they develop this plan.
- Option A: Instructors may select one or more of the proficiencies default dimensions
to be addressed in the course.
- Option B: Alternatively, if the instructor prefers not to assess at least one of the
default dimensions, the instructor(s) have the discretion to identify at least one
alternative dimension to assess the proficiency. These alternative dimensions and
assessment protocols must be approved at the department level, either by the department
head, an assessment committee, or an individual designated as assessment coordinator.
The Department Level Approved Assessment Plan will then be submitted to the ILC committee for approval.
ILC Instrument(s) Choices and Assessment options include: essay, extended response questions(s), lab report, multiple choice
questions, performance, presentation, reflection paper, short answer question(s),
or other.
Departments need only assess a majority of sections annually for each course. However,
it is important that these sections be as representative as possible of all sections
(and modalities) of the course, including those taught in the summer or intersession
terms.
A common standard for sampling is work from 10% of the students, or 10 students, whichever is greater, but this
may be problematic for large classes, depending on the assessment instrument chosen.
You do not need to sample; if you prefer to submit data from your entire class (the
entire population), you are free to do so.
