G/PPS 02.05 - Small Class Report

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University will ensure class offerings meet the academic progression needs of students and effective stewardship of academic and economic resources of the university.

1. SCOPE

   1. The purpose of this document is to establish policy for reporting small classes. As a general rule, small classes should be avoided. Program chairs, department chairs, and school directors should plan class schedules for efficient use of resources. When it becomes necessary to offer a small class, it must be justified and monitored as described within this policy.

   2. This policy conforms to Texas Education Code Section 51.403, Economic Justification for Courses; Reports of Student Enrollment and Academic Performance.

2. DEFINITIONS

   1. Texas State University defines a small class as:

      1. an undergraduate class with fewer than 10 registrants; or

      2. a graduate class with fewer than five registrants.

   2. Organized classes subject to these standards include all classes whose primary type of instruction is lecture (instruction type 1), laboratory (instruction type 2), or seminar (instruction type 4). Classes categorized as independent study, thesis, practicum, clinical, internship, student teaching, and dissertation courses are exempt from small class standards and are not included in the small class reporting requirements.

3. JUSTIFICATIONS FOR SMALL CLASSES

   1. The following nine explanations qualify as justifications for small classes. Only these justifications are acceptable.

      1. Justification Code 1 – A required course for graduation; the course is not offered each semester (or term), and if canceled, may affect the date of graduation of those enrolled

      2. Justification Code 2 – A required course for majors in this field and should be completed this semester (or term) to keep proper sequence in courses

      3. Justification Code 3 – A course in a newly established degree program, concentration, or support area

      4. Justification Code 4 – Interdepartmental (cross-listed) courses taught as a single class by the same faculty at the same station, provided that the combined courses do not constitute a small class

      5. Justification Code 5 – The first time offering the course

      6. Justification Code 6 – Class size is limited by accreditation or state licensing standards

      7. Justification Code 7 – Class size is limited by availability of laboratory or clinical facilities

      8. Justification Code 8 – Course voluntarily offered by a faculty member in excess of the institutional teaching load requirement and for which the faculty member receives no additional compensation

      9. Justification Code 9 – Unforeseen enrollment shift during registration

4. SMALL CLASS REPORT PROCEDURES

   1. Each semester, Texas State will prepare a small class report of all organized small classes, using enrollment data as of the official census day. The report will contain the course subject, prefix and number, section number, instructor, and enrollment.

   2. The small class report, the report instructions, and deadlines for the final report will be sent from the Office of the University Registrar to department chairs and college deans.

   3. Each program chair, department chair, and school director will provide the justification code using the small class report .net tool with the explanations delineated in Section 03.01. Previously identified stacked courses should be removed from the report. Once justifications are submitted, an email will be sent to college deans for approval.

   4. Each college dean will approve and submit the final small class report to the Office of the University Registrar using the small class report .net tool by the requested due date.

   5. The Office of the University Registrar will review each college small class report for compliance and submit the final small class report for review by the associate vice president for Academic Affairs and the provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs.

   6. If necessary, the Office of the University Registrar will work with the college deans on corrections to the small class report.

5. REVIEWER OF THIS PPS

   1. Reviewer of this PPS includes the following:

      Position	Date
      University Registrar	November 1 ONY

6. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

   This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State Global policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

   University Registrar; senior reviewer of this PPS

   Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management

   Vice President for TXST Global