Course Level & Code Assignment
You may find below a table summarizing the guidelines on the course levels and course code assignments, as well as the corresponding offering units [link to “Course Offering Eligibility” in Section AI], for common core courses across all areas.
| Common Core Groups | Common Core Areas | Eligible Offering Unit | Letter‐code Prefix | Number Code | ||
| 1st Digit – Academic Level | 2nd Digit – Course Offering Unit | 3rd to 4th Digits – Assigned by Offering Unit | ||||
| Experiencing | UxOP - UROP | RO | UROP | 2: 2000-level 3: 3000-level | Follow coding mechanism of RO | |
| UxOP - UTOP | All Schools | UTOP | 1: SSCI 2: SENG 3: SBM 4: SHSS 9: AIS 0: JS | Follow coding mechanism of individual unit or by UCE Team for JS courses | ||
| UxOP - UPOP | UPOP | |||||
| UxOP - UCOP | UCOP | |||||
| Broadening | A | All Schools | Follow letter code for individual unit | 1: 1000-level (primarily at this level) 2: 2000-level (brief explanation required) 3: 3000-level (academic justification required) | Follow coding mechanism of individual unit | |
| H | ||||||
| S | ||||||
| T | ||||||
| SA | ||||||
| SUS | ||||||
| Foundations | HNW | AIS | HMAW | Designated course: HMAW 1905 | ||
| HAIC | All Schools | Follow letter code for individual unit | 1: 1000-level (primarily at this level) 2: 2000-level (explanation required) 3: 3000-level (very strong academic justification required) | Follow coding mechanism of individual unit | ||
| CTDL | CTDL | 1: SSCI 2. SENG 3. SBM 4. SHSS 9: AIS 0: JS | Follow coding mechanism of individual unit or by UCE Team for JS courses | |||
| E-Comm | CLE/SHSS | Follow letter code for individual unit | Follow coding mechanism of individual unit | |||
| C-Comm | CLE/SHSS, HUMA/SHSS | |||||
Course levels
(a) 1000-level Courses:
Common core courses are designed to broaden students’ horizons and should generally be open to all students without prerequisites. Therefore, courses in the Foundations and Broadening groups should primarily be developed at the elementary 1000 level.
(b) 2000-level Courses:
While 2000-level courses may be considered, you have to provide an explanation justifying the need to offer a 2000-level common core course if you are proposing courses in the Foundations and Broadening groups.
(c) 3000-level Courses:
You will need to seek for a special approval from the Committee on Undergraduate Core Education (CUCE) [link to “Committee (CUCE)” in Section I] for proposing a 3000-level course in the Foundations and Broadening groups. An academic justification demonstrating the relevance of the course to the Common Core Program is necessary.
(d) 4000-level Courses:
4000-level courses cannot be included in the Common Core Program.
(e) Course Level for Experiencing Group:
Courses in the Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Programs (UxOP) area under the Experiencing group are positioned at the upper tier of the Common Core structure, requiring students to apply their academic knowledge within and outside their major programs and competencies acquired in the Foundations and Broadening groups in real-life contexts.
You are encouraged to design UxOP courses for students in Year 3 or above, as most students should have completed some common core courses in the Foundations and Broadening groups during their first two years. These courses can be coded as either 2000-level or 3000-level without requiring academic justification.
Academic justifications for proposing 2000/3000-level courses in Foundations and Broadening groups
When preparing the academic justification for proposing a 2000/3000-level common core course in the Foundations and Broadening groups, consider the following points:
- Your course should spark students’ interest, motivating them to continue studying the subject independently or pursue further study at a higher level in the future.
- Your course should provide a broad introduction, avoiding an immediate focus on specialized topics or in-depth study.
- Should your course require students to engage in comparison and analysis, the materials and the skills and assessments required should be tailored to consider the academic background and preparedness of the students, the majority of whom are high school graduates with 12 years of schooling.
Provision of course places at various levels
To ensure that the Common Core Program offers sufficient course places at the 1000 or 2000 levels, such that no student should be compelled to take 3000-level courses if they feel uncomfortable doing so, the number of common core course places offered at the 3000 level each term in each area should not exceed 10% of the total course places offered for that area. You are advised to collaborate with your School and/or Department to ensure that no more than 10% of the total course places are at the 3000 level.
Course code assignment
You may consult with your School and/or Department when assigning course code for common core courses. Please pay special attention to the following coding requirements:
(a) Cognitive Foundations of University Education: Critical Thinking and Data Literacy (CTDL)
A universal letter-code prefix “CTDL” is adopted for all courses in this area.
The first digit of the 4-digit number code indicates the academic level of the course, while the second digit denotes the course offering school. You should follow the coding mechanism of your School/Department for the last two digits of the number code. The last two digits will be assigned by the Undergraduate Core Education (UCE) Team for courses jointly offered by different Schools (i.e., Joint Schools (JS) courses).
Assignment of the second digit for Schools:
1: School of Science
2. School of Engineering
3. School of Business and Management
4. School of Humanities and Social Science
9: Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies
0: Joint Schools
(b) Behavioral Foundations of University Education: Habits, Mindsets, and Wellness (HMW)
There is only one designated HMW course, which is coded HMAW 1905. This course is hosted by the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) and is jointly delivered by all Schools and the Dean of Students’ Office (DSTO).
(c) Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Programs (UxOP)
- UxOP courses must use universal letter-code prefixes of “UROP”, “UTOP”, “UPOP”, and “UCOP” for the respective programs.
- Since UROP courses are solely offered by the Research Office (RO), the number codes are directly assigned by RO.
- For other UxOP programs, the number codes should follow the same principles as CTDL courses.