Submission Instructions

The dates and deadlines below refer to courses planned for AY 2023-2024. Please, direct emergency requests for SFA approval to kertesz@georgetown.edu or cynthia.wei@georgetown.edu with a brief summary of your request.

Contents

  1. Overview
  2. The review process
  3. Review schedule
  4. Additional guidelines
  5. How to submit a course for approval

Overview  

The Science For All (SFA) program arose from the ambition of the university to provide education for all undergraduate students on the Main Campus in at least one natural science course. The Main Campus Executive Committee (MCEF) established this program in collaboration with the Main Campus Core Curriculum Committee (MCCCC) with the final approval by the Provost. The Core Science Committee (CSC) committee operates as a subcommittee of the MCCCC. The review process is completed twice a year; proposals are due in early fall (for subsequent spring and summer semester courses) and early spring (for subsequent fall semester). Please see the Review Schedule section below for the next course proposal submission deadline.

Courses may be existing/recently offered courses designed or newly adapted for non-majors. Current science courses that are taken as part of the major or minor (e.g. natural sciences, NHS, STIA, and pre-health program) can be submitted for requesting an SFA designation of a course.
Faculty can submit a course for requesting the Science for All designation following the link at the bottom of this page. Please review all instructions and contact the committee with any questions.

Review Process

The MCEF/Provost resolution stipulates joint approval of each Science For All course by the respective deans and the CSC. The review process follows the guidelines established by the CSC. The CSC will focus on commenting on and recommending courses for SFA designation. It is anticipated that these comments will play a helpful role to improve the quality of the courses and contribute to the goals and guidelines laid out in the MCEF/Provost resolution that established the Science For All program.

1. The goal of the CSC is to provide the instructor(s) with comments as to whether their course satisfies the goals of the SFA program. This will include the degree of scientific content, and the balance of societal/ethics/policy with science content. The committee’s review can request responses and feedback from the instructor.

2. The committee’s review can request responses and feedback from the instructor. These can be subject to further comments and evaluations as appropriate by the committee. A maximum of two iterations (one corrected resubmission in each cycle) is planned to preserve efforts by instructor and committee.

3. The committee strives to provide a broad range of courses. It is recommended that excessive overlap with existing courses be avoided. The list of SFA courses offered in the last two years will be maintained on the SFA website.

4.The committee will pay particular attention to the learning goals established in the MCEF resolution. However, each course is unique, and the evaluation will not simply offer a checklist of the enumerated goals. A course that is particularly strong in part of the goals should still be approvable except for the key element of balance listed under point 1.

5. The following recommendations are possible: approved, conditional approval subject to specific requests, request for resubmission with revision, not approved. These summaries will be shared with the instructor(s) and their supervisor(s). In the case of “request for resubmission with revision”, the review will be shared with the instructor only, pending a revised submission for approval. 

The full description of the review process can be read here. (new window)

All courses should be submitted for review to the Core Science Committee via the link at the bottom of this page. If the course was returned with comment, please resubmit via the same submission link below.

Review Schedule for new courses planned for 2024 (last updated Aug. 9, 2023)

  • Deadline for professors to submit regularly scheduled course materials to the SFA websites:
    • Spring 2024 courses: September 15, 2023
    • Summer 2024 courses: November 1, 2023
    • Fall 2024 courses: February 1, 2024
    • Late addition Fall 2024 courses (intended for first year students and others registering over the summer): May 1, 2024
  • Written feedback from the committee will be provided before the departmental review phase for registration, and 3-6 weeks after the submission deadline.
  • Courses which are not recommended for listing in the SFA program will have an opportunity to submit a revision based on the feedback.
  • The Core Science Committee will consider submissions on an emergency basis (e.g. courses by new hires). Please contact the Chair of the Committee  before proceeding with a submission through your Program Director of Department Chair.

Additional guidelines

  • While not required elements of SFA courses, we recognize the value of laboratory activities, experimental demonstrations, effective use of TAs, and student-centered practices (active learning, directed discovery, peer instruction), and strongly encourage faculty to incorporate these elements. The program currently does not offer resources to expand the inclusion of these elements; only your own department or school may help with providing resources.
  • A course which is co-taught by more than one faculty member should only be submitted for approval as one document (e.g. PHYS 151). A course which has multiple sections where each section is unique should be submitted for approval as individual sections (e.g. INAF 180-01).
  • Courses with approved SFA attributes fall in two categories. (March 20, 2020 additional guideline accepted by the CSC.)

Group (1) General introductory courses that are part of a fundamental sequence for natural science majors. Once SFA approved, these courses will remain approved from year to year. If any of these courses undergo major changes, the committee may request a re-submission for SFA approval.

Group (2) Other SFA approved courses do not need re-approval from year to year except for circumstances having to do with major changes in the course. The information requested from Chairs/Prog Directors is under Administrative Aspects here. (new window)

To submit a course for approval

Faculty should prepare a cover letter (new window). Please see guidance in the link and include the course syllabus in a single pdf, which should be submitted here. 

Please use the following file naming convention: CourseNumber_abbreviated title_Instructor last name.pdf 

(e.g. BIOL014_ecolcities_Green.pdf).