Concentration Management & Proposals
A full list of all active concentrations can be found in the Bates Catalog.
Concentration Course Management
Concentration Course Management Form (Coordinators)
The Concentration Course Management Form is for Bates College Concentration Coordinators to submit course additions to their existing concentration. This form should be submitted only after the course instructor and Concentration Coordinator have discussed whether the course in question is a good fit for the concentration. Once both the instructor and coordinator agree and consent to add the course to the concentration, the Concentration Coordinator should complete this form for processing by the Registrar’s Office. Assuming the instructors for each course have consented, the coordinator may use this form to submit multiple course additions to the concentration at one time.
Once the Registrar’s Office confirms that a new course has completed the approval workflow and has been implemented in the system, or if the course already exists in the curriculum, the course instructor should review the current concentrations and their descriptions in the Catalog to determine which concentration(s) may be an appropriate fit. The instructor should then contact the relevant Concentration Coordinator(s) to propose adding the course to the GEC. If both parties agree, the Concentration Coordinator should submit the Concentration Course Management Form to add the course.
When a Concentration Coordinator identifies a course in the Catalog, Course Schedule, or New Courses Report that seems to be a good fit for their concentration, the Coordinator should contact the course instructor to determine whether they are interested in adding the course to the concentration. If the instructor agrees to add the course to the concentration, the Coordinator should submit the Concentration Course Management Form to add the course.
New Concentration Proposal
New Concentration Proposal Form
New Concentration Proposal Form PREVIEW
Proposal Development: Prior to submitting this proposal, interested faculty should consult with the relevant stakeholders for courses they propose to include as applicable toward the requirements of the concentration. While developing the new concentration, proposers should consider the ease with which students will be able to choose courses from within the concentration (open to student agency). Also consider whether the concentration’s requirements are flexible enough that students can realistically complete them without needing to petition for exceptions.
Assessment: Each new and existing concentration must define and begin a process of assessment, which will be used as part of the concentration’s formal review. In accordance with NECHE accreditation standards, each new and existing concentration must be formally reviewed by the coordinators every ten years, with a report to CRC providing responses that fully revisit each review criterion submitted in this proposal, along with a report on assessment results. Concentrations that can not demonstrate operational feasibility, progress toward their stated learning outcomes, or student demand, as well as concentrations that do not participate in regular assessment and review, are subject to sunset.
Questions regarding concentration management, proposals, and assessment should be sent to the Curriculum Review Committee at crc@groups.bates.edu.