Preparing for Call for Courses
Interested in teaching at UCSC this coming summer?
The following information will help you prepare for the Call for Courses.
Our office sends out the Call in mid-October. This call asks departments and colleges to put forth courses for the coming summer quarter. Courses can be taught online or in person, and during either of the two 5-week sessions or in the 8-week or 10-week sessions.
Who can teach*
- Current UCSC Faculty & Lecturers
- Graduate Students (approval by CCI required)
- Visiting Faculty & Lecturers from other campuses
* Final hiring decisions are made by the Dean of Summer Session. We reserve the right to decline an appointment based on poor course evaluations or other concerns.
Types of courses needed
Students are looking for courses that; help them make progress in their major, are heavily impacted in the other quarters, or fill a General Education requirement. Summer is also a great time to pilot a new course. The majority of courses are taught in one of two 5-week sessions and are of equal quality and rigor to those offered in fall, winter, and spring. There is a minimum requirement of 35 contact hours over the session regardless of which session the course is taught in. Summer courses should fulfill some of these criteria:
- Meet Major or Minor Requirements
- Carry General Education Codes
- Fulfills Fall Prerequisites
- Are heavily
impacted in fall, winter, spring - Are not offering in fall, winter, spring
- Upper-Division courses
- Evening courses
- Interdisciplinary appeal
- Attract enrollment
- Graduate Student teaching opportunity
How to put forth a course
Courses taught in the summer quarter come from Academic Departments and Colleges. If you are interested in teaching, please notify your department manager of your interest and ask what they require, as well as their timeline; as these vary by department.
Summer Session does not accept courses directly from individuals; they must come through an Academic Department or College.
If you wish to teach an existing course but revise its current, official course description or title, please fill out a "Course Revision Form" to request CCI approval by its deadline.
Summer Session looks for major/minor requirements, general education codes, highly impacted classes, even distribution between Session 1 and 2, upper divisions that aren’t articulated at community colleges, and other attributes so we have broad, appealing course offerings each summer.
New courses are often launched in summer, submit to CCI for approval as with any quarter.
CEP encourages the submission of in-person and online course proposals to the Committee on Courses of Instruction (CCI). The Committee on Courses of Instruction (CCI) has drafted Interim Guidance on Applications for Online Modalities - Summer 2023.
To accommodate courses in the process of being modified for online modalities, CCI is extending the course approval deadline for Summer 2023. Course proposals received before January 31, 2023 will now be reviewed by CCI for Summer 2023. It is important to note that courses or revisions submitted after the original deadline
(January 15th) may not necessarily be approved in time for early scheduling actions. To expedite CCI review, please be sure to confirm the syllabus includes all CCI Syllabus Requirements.
Notification
If your course is going to be offered in the summer, you will be notified via email from Summer
January, February, and March are key months to promote your class. That sounds early, but by April/May, students have made their summer plans. We would love to help you promote your class! Please contact Marketing and Communications Manager, Jennifer Gallacher to strategize.
Enrollment opens on May 1.
For more detailed information on teaching in Summer Session, including timeline, policies, and guidelines, please see our Instructors' Guide.
