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7.1: Purpose
This policy addresses expectations and instructor compensation for independent study, independent research or creative works project, and senior/honors thesis courses. It does not apply to field experience, student teaching, or internship courses.
7.2 Course Approval
Instructor and supervisor (chair or dean) approval is required for a student to enroll in a course covered by this policy. Senior or honors thesis courses may have prerequisites that must be completed before enrollment is approved.
Independent study courses should be offered as exceptions rather than regular practice, with programs aiming to structure the curriculum and course offerings to ensure that class sections meet minimum enrollment targets. Requests for single enrollment sections of independent study courses, variable credit courses, and senior (honors) thesis courses as curriculum substitutions for courses that are required to complete a degree program but fail to meet minimum enrollment targets are strongly discouraged and should be minimized as much as possible. However, they may be granted in exceptional circumstances, particularly to help students graduate in a timely fashion, with special permission from the faculty member, chair (where applicable), and dean.
7.3 Pay Rates
Pay for instructor-supervised courses is calculated using a modifier of 0.2 applied to the normal pay rate per credit per student enrolled:
Pay per student = 0.2 x (# of credits) x (# of students) x (overload pay rate)
If pay for overload courses changes, the pay for supervised independent study courses will change accordingly.
A supervised independent study course may count toward a faculty member’s instructional workload, with dean approval, if it meets a sufficient threshold of enrolled students and/or total units in each term.
7.4 Related Information
1. Instructor and student meet to discuss the work or project and to outline deliverables.
2. Instructor completes e-form for supervised independent study courses.
3. E-form is routed to dean/chair for approval.
4. Administrative assistant completes faculty contract.
5. Pay is distributed on last paycheck of the term.
7.4.1 Revision History
– Approved by Dr. Molly Appel on 7/27/2023; Dr. Tony Scinta on 7/27/2023; and President DeRionne Pollard on 9/13/2023.