1. Cross-Listed Courses

Cross-listing occurs when a course from one department or program (without any change to the course's departmental designation or number) can satisfy requirements in another department or program. The primary reasons for cross-listing include:

  • to allow a student to count a course from an interdisciplinary program in a department for purposes of diversification (e.g. ENVS 112 counts as a Biology course in fulfillment of the Natural Sciences diversification)
  • for one department's course to be counted in another department for diversification purposes (e.g. MUSC 103 counts as ANTH for Social Sciences diversification)

Cross-listing requires only the approval of chairs of the departments/programs between which the cross-listing occurs. The catalog copy should include a clear indication of the requirement the course can fulfill in the department or program where it is cross-listed.

It is usually sufficient for a department or program simply to list by number and title the courses from other departments or programs that can be counted toward that department/program's major, minor, or concentration in the intro section of that department/program's section in the Course of Catalog.

For some time now, Kenyon has double-listed certain courses. For example, MUSC 312D “Music, Film and Culture: Ethnographic Perspectives” is the same course as ANTH 312D because the content of these courses reflects the dual disciplines of musical studies and anthropology and the expertise of the professor teaching them. This course’s unique position in the curriculum is described in the course description along with prerequisites. Considering the current practice of double listing some courses and not others, CPC has created a document to describe the argument for double listing and curricular guidelines for courses for which this designation should apply.

Some courses are fully embedded in two disciplinary departments or in a program and a discipline; these courses may be required for both. For example, the course might benefit from a population of students who have skills developed in two particular fields. The instructor may have designed the course in a way that engages two fields/disciplines equally. Kenyon’s curriculum has evolved in a way in which the double listing of some courses will simply reflect the reality of how the course is taught and how the students in it approach the material.

However, before embarking on a practice of double listing courses, CPC wants to be sure that we have created a clear set of guidelines that benefit the curriculum as a whole. We want to make sure that the Departments are in agreement about how a course should be listed. Specifically, it should be clear in the course description, content, and pedagogy that the characteristics of this course are in line with double listing.

Some of the Critical Benefits of Double Listing

Double listing is important for recognizing the curricular composition of a course. Students may be majors in the two Departments/Programs so they need to know that this particular course meets a requirement or a valuable elective. In this way, it also shows the equivalence between the two Departments/Programs in which the course is taught. Another critical value for double listing is how the course is described on a student’s transcript. For these reasons, double listing reflects a reality about the course and describes its role in the curriculum of each Department/Program and of the College.

Guidelines for Double Listing

Double-listed courses should have a duality that allows students to approach the material from differing origins. Accordingly, the instructor will design the course material and objectives through both lenses. It is crucial that the pedagogical and intellectual aims of the course truly draw from both fields, and the assignments, readings, and activities in the course demonstrate its dual character. Therefore, double listing is tied to the course content, not an instructor or their appointment, and a course that is double listed should remain double listed as the content is inextricably tied to two disciplines.

Double-listed courses should intentionally draw from two student populations, with seats divided roughly equally (50/50 or 60/40). Courses double listed at introductory levels will provide foundational concepts and skills for students to pursue future coursework in either/both disciplines; double-listed upper-level courses should intentionally unite students that already have foundational concepts in different disciplines. Instructors must provide a pedagogical rationale to CPC for how uniting students who bring specific sets of experiences will enrich the course content and meet course objectives. For instance, instructors might describe assignments, discussions, and/or collaborative projects that intentionally forge relationships between students of different populations using material in both disciplines.

When a double-listed course has a single instructor, the faculty member must have the academic background and expertise to offer a course in both disciplines. Ideally, the instructor will already have academic partnerships and/or relationships with both Departments/Programs as a natural extension of that expertise. The Chairs/Directors of both Departments or Programs must approve the course on its own and agree that CPC should consider the course for double listing. Double listing is not automatic for faculty members with joint appointments, as double listing is an attribute of the course content and objectives, not simply a reflection of the instructors’ expertise.

Double listing is not necessary for a course to count in the curriculum of another major, minor, or concentration, and in fact, a course should not be double listed solely for that reason. While a double-listed course should naturally serve as a requirement or elective for curricula in both Departments/Programs, the purpose of double listing is to convey the reality of the course content, not to indicate that it counts in any curriculum. No course will be listed as more than two courses. The numbering and course title must correspond across both departments.

CPC will consider arguments for double listing a course with the support of the instructor and both Departments/Programs based on the criteria above. As with other course changes, such as changing a course number or description, double listing requires considered approval from both Department/Program Chairs and a proposal to CPC.