Experience Learning Courses (N, R, and S Designations)
Experience Learning Courses (N, R, and S Designations) are those that have passed a detailed review process and have been determined to meet specific criteria. Approved courses receive a clear identifier to indicate the type of Experience Learning a student can expect from the course. This identifier appears in the catalog, on the schedule of classes (timetable), and on the student’s transcript as part of the course number. The three types of Experience Learning course designations currently available at the University of Tennessee are Internship (N), Research (R), and Service Learning (S). The identifying letter is part of the course number as in ABCD 310X, where ABCD is the subject, 310 is the course number, and X is one of the three course designations.
Subcommittee Chairs
Stephanie Kit, Internship
Sharon Jean-Philippe, Undergraduate Research
Virginia Stormer, Service-Learning
Course Review and Approval Process
DEADLINE for proposals is October 15.
Proposals for Experience Learning Course Designation (N, R, or S) must be submitted through the host college’s standard curricular approval process via Curriculog. Proposals that have received college-level approval must reach Molly Sullivan, Assistant Registrar for Curriculum and Catalog Management, or another member of the Curriculum and Catalog Management team no later than the deadline noted above.
Experience Learning Course Proposal Instructions & Forms
Definitions of EL Courses
(where ABCD stands for academic discipline)
- ABCD 310 Non Designated courses
- ABCD 310N Designated Internship course
- ABCD 310R Designated Undergraduate Research course
- ABCD 310S Designated Service-Learning course
Equivalency of EL Courses
1. For Registration, Repeat, and Replacement
Each designation of the course will be equivalent to the other designations, as defined in Banner.
ABCD 310 is equivalent to ABCD 310N
ABCD 310 is equivalent to ABCD 310R
ABCD 310 is equivalent to ABCD 310S
ABCD 310N is equivalent to ABCD 310
ABCD 310N is equivalent to ABCD 310R
ABCD 310N is equivalent to ABCD 310S
ABCD 310R is equivalent to ABCD 310
ABCD 310R is equivalent to ABCD 310N
ABCD 310R is equivalent to ABCD 310S
ABCD 310S is equivalent to ABCD 310
ABCD 310S is equivalent to ABCD 310N
ABCD 310S is equivalent to ABCD 310R
General Repeat Policies and Grade Replacement Policies apply, as applicable.
Example: Student takes ABCD 310S and earns an F. Student registers for ABCD 310 and earns grade of B, which is treated as a repeat of ABCD 310S. Student attempts to register for ABCD 310R and is not allowed because credit has already been earned for the course.
2. For Curricular Requirements
Each college can determine if a particular version of a course is required for a specific program. For example, some departments may require only the R designation, or one R and one S. (Note that Banner will consider these courses equivalent, but DARS can make a distinction between the courses.)
Example: Department requires a course with an “R” designation. Student takes ABCD 310R and earns an F. Student takes ABCD 310S and earns a B-. The course has been repeated one time successfully for the student to earn the credit for that course, but the curricular requirement in DARS is still incomplete.
Prerequisites for/of EL Courses
Because the designated and non-designated courses are defined as equivalents, requiring one version as a Registration Enforced (RE) Prerequisite to a course also allows all other versions of that prerequisite course to be acceptable.
Example: Department defines ABCD 310R as a prerequisite for ABCD 410R. Because all designations of ABCD 310 are equivalent, Banner will allow a student to register for ABCD 410R if the student has received credit for any one of ABCD 310, ABCD 310N, ABCD 310R, or ABCD 310S.
A department may choose to require a specific designated course as a Department Enforced (DE) Prerequisite. Departmental enforcement can be handled by placing a Permission on the course to prevent initial registration without review, or at the start of the term by monitoring the class roster to determine eligibility of those who have registered.
Catalog Description for EL Courses
The designated course may refer to the non-designated course with an additional statement describing the designation or may have a distinct description.
| Example: | ABCD 362 | Examines racial/ethnic disparities in criminal offending and victimization, as well as different experiences with law enforcement, judicial, and correctional agencies. Emphasis on social justice. |
| ABCD 362S | Same as ABCD 362 with a service-learning component. | |
| Or | ||
| ABCD 362S | Examines racial/ethnic disparities in criminal offending and victimization, as well as different experiences with law enforcement, judicial, and correctional agencies. Emphasis on social justice and including a service-learning component through supervised projects in the community. |
(Note that this is an example and not a required course description. Departments may choose to describe the course as they think best, but text that emphasizes the internship, research, or service-learning nature of the course is strongly encouraged.)