Subject code and number

About the subject code and number form fields

Subject Code

  • Purpose: The identifier for course subjects
  • Does it appear in the academic calendar: Yes
  • Type of field: Type and select
  • Constraints: Two to six letters (no spaces, numbers, or special characters). 
  • Notes:
    • Each Subject Code has an associated name and is owned by an academic unit.
    • Courses must use an approved subject code or go through the process to create a new one.
    • Once they exist, they can be used at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels.

Number

  • Purpose: In combination with a subject code, creates a unique course indicator that represents the course.
  • Does it appear in the academic calendar: Yes
  • Type of field: Text box
  • Constraints: Courses have three digits (exceptions: PD courses, high school equivalencies, uncredited seminars which may have one or two digits). Courses may have letter suffixes (e.g., 100A, 266L).
    • Undergraduate courses currently appear in the 100, 200, 300, 400, and for Engineering only, 500 levels.
    • Graduate courses appear in the 600, 700, 800, and 900 levels. 

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Guidance

What to consider before changing a subject code and/or number

In and of itself, a subject code or course number change can be mundane and does not have much impact on current students. There will be a transition between the old (i.e., students who have taken courses using the old iteration), and the new and this could create confusion for students, advisors, and other interested parties.

The student impact increases if one or more additional fields are changing simultaneously (often touted as a "curriculum refresh"):

  • title
  • description
  • course level (e.g., 300-level number becoming a 200-level number)
  • learning outcomes

However, changing subject codes and/or numbers can create a large volume of work across campus. With a large campus-wide impact, they should be done sparingly and with a good rationale.

Subject codes

Possible impacts (within and outside the originating faculty):

  • proposals: requisites, cross-listings
  • Calendar: academic plan requirements
  • scheduling: reserve caps, instructor association, course build, and the following would not work for three terms: prior term copy, copy forward of constraints
  • Quest coding: academic progression (average lists and rules), queries, academic requirements reports, grade security
  • other work on campus: Institutional Analysis and Planning, transfer credit database

For consideration:

  • Will any courses continue to be offered using the original subject code?
    • If yes: Need to temporarily cross-list with original subject for a given time frame. Consult the Office of the Registrar before proceeding.
  • Are any courses being renumbered at the same time?
  • What other academic units/disciplines are impacted?
    • See Dependencies listed in Kuali CM for each course for full list of courses and academic plans impacted.

Numbers

Possible impacts (within and outside the originating faculty):

  • submissions: requisites, cross-listings, sometimes other courses' descriptions
  • Calendar: academic plan requirements
  • scheduling: reserve caps, instructor association, course build, and the following would not work for three terms: prior term copy, copy forward of constraints
  • Quest coding: academic progression (average lists and rules), queries, academic requirements reports, grade security
  • other work on campus: transfer credit database

For consideration:

  • Will any courses continue to be offered using the original course number?
    • If yes: Need to cross-list with the original subject for a given time frame. Consult the Office of the Registrar before proceeding.
  • Are any courses being renumbered at the same time?
  • What other academic units/disciplines are impacted?
  • Is the number changing to reflect a change in course level (e.g., 3XX to 2XX)?
    • If so, the Course Level field needs to be updated to match.
  • Is the number changing for academic unit organizational purposes (e.g., 35X to 34X)?
    • Note: This type of change is not seen as favourable, due to impacts and amount of work.
  • Has the proposed new number been used previously (pre-Kuali CM)?
    • Note: Preference is always to use a number that has never been used previously.
    • If so, how much time has elapsed since the new number was last used? Faculty contacts can assist with this determination.
      • If over five years since last used, safe to reuse.
      • If it has not been five years:
        • Can a different number be used instead?
        • Creates an extra layer of confusion with communicating the change (e.g., antirequisites, plan requirements).
        • If it was ever in the Kuali CM system, the subjectcode+number combination will not be able to be used again.
  • Is the course being changed currently cross-listed?
    • If so, consultation with the other discipline is required, as they may also want to change their course's number (and/or level) or may need to make changes to their plan requirement lists.
  • Have other disciplines which list this course in their plan requirements been consulted/informed?
  • Communicate the change via antirequisites.
    • The former number is added as an antirequisite (to all offerings if the course is cross-listed) to prevent students from re-enrolling in the renumbered course. This antirequisite must be coded using the free form text box, using standard wording, since the course under the old number will no longer display in the future calendar.

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Subject code creation process

New subject codes can only be requested by designated faculty/affiliated institution representatives (the "designated faculty representative"). See Contacts for the list of representatives.

There are two processes for requesting a new subject code, depending on whether the goal is to 1) create a brand new subject code, or 2) replace an existing subject code with a new subject code. Before making changes to an existing subject code, possible impacts (see below) should be considered.

Important: The name of the field has a limit of 50 characters.

How to request a new subject code

Creating new subject codes

In this process, a new subject code is being created for a new area of study.

  1. The designated faculty representative must submit a request to the support portal on behalf of the academic unit/faculty.
  2. A consultation phase takes place. The Office of the Registrar (RO)/Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) will verify the availability of the requested subject code and consult with each other and all faculties/affiliated and federated institutions of Waterloo for any concerns. If applicable, concerns raised are worked through before an answer is communicated back to the requestor.
    Timeline: This phase is expected to take no longer than 1-2 weeks.
  3. The RO/GSPA adds the new subject code to Kuali Curriculum Management (CM) for use by the requesting area, and notifies the designated faculty representative.
  4. Proposers use Kuali CM to create a governance approval proposal for each course. Each course must complete the full approval process because they are usually tied to new courses and all details of the courses must be approved.

Replacing subject codes

In this process, a new subject code is being created to replace an existing one for all courses (e.g., DRAMA to THPERF).

  1. The designated faculty representative must submit a request to the support portal on behalf of the academic unit/faculty.
  2. A consultation phase takes place. The Office of the Registrar (RO)/Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) will verify the availability of the requested subject code and consult with each other and all faculties/affiliated and federated institutions of Waterloo for any concerns. If applicable, concerns raised are worked through before an answer is communicated back to the requestor.
    Timeline: This phase is expected to take no longer than 1-2 weeks.
  3. The RO/GSPA adds the new subject code to Kuali CM for use by the requesting area, and notifies the designated faculty representative.
  4. Proposers use Kuali CM to create an editorial proposal for each course that is affected by the changing subject code.
    • If a course that is changing subject codes is cross-listed, that cross-listed course offering also needs a proposal. That proposal might only need to have a matching effective date and no other change made to it. The cross-listing field itself will automatically update upon approval of the subject code change.
  5. The designated faculty representative uses the template for subject code change submission to SUC (DOCX) to create and submit a summary document to Senate Undergraduate Council (SUC) indicating the subject code change as the official motion of record.
  6. The RO processes and approves each editorial proposal in Kuali CM. Further post-approval work occurs, such as:
    • impacted dependencies
    • course scheduling processes
    • AP/average lists
    • queries
    • degree audit
    • security access for grades
    • permission numbers
    • etc.

Note: Once the new subject code is approved to move forward (after the consultation phase is complete), the better order is to have the SUC motion on the record first and then finish processing the courses in the RO, but the work can happen simultaneously. A large part will depend on SUC meeting timing. Course proposals can begin to be prepared as soon as the subject code is available in Kuali CM.

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