Political Science DeCal Approval Process for: FALL 2008
If you are shopping for Decal course to take, check out the DeCal website.


So, you want to create a DeCal course and offer it through the Polisci Department? Great! Getting a DeCal approved through Polisci requires several steps which must be completed accurately and on time.

Read the info below so that you stand the best chance of having your course approved.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
April 11,2008: Proposal submission deadline to Polisci Dept.

Read below for details and other deadlines. All deadlines are final!

Contents of this site
Student Qualifications
Faculty Qualifications
Polisci Course Requirements
Polisci Course approval procedure
- A complete proposal
- Departmental review
- Faculty sponsor
Receiving academic credit for facilitating a DeCal
Links to additional resources

Student Qualifications

  • Student facilitators may be of any major and any grade level.
  • Student facilitators must be a registered student at the time the course is taught.
  • A maximum of 2 students may co-teach a course.
  • Student facilitators may teach only one Political Science DeCal course per semester.
  • Courses must be taught by the student(s) who received approval for the course. If you are unable to teach the course, it will be cancelled.

Faculty Qualifications
You should be sure that your sponsor is eligible to sponsor your course. Not all faculty, especially new members, will be aware of the rules. Should your sponsor be ineligible, your course will be cancelled unless you can find a substitute in time.

  • The sponsoring faculty member must be a permanent faculty member who is currently teaching a Political Science course the same semester as yours. Faculty profiles may be found at http://www.polisci.berkeley.edu/Faculty/faculty.asp.

  • Faculty sponsors may supervise only one P/NP undergraduate course per semester, including DeCal courses.
  • If you are unsure of your sponsor's employment status, you can check with the Undergraduate Advisers.

DeCal Course Requirements

  1. Courses must have an academic purpose; activity-based courses are not accepted. Courses that involve only advocacy work are not eligible for Decal credit. For example, it would not be appropriate to offer a course on how to set up an NGO or how to influence local politics (however worthy these objectives may be). By contrast, it would be appropriate to offer a course on the role of NGOs in our political system or on state and/or local politics. The course must be taught from a political science perspective, and be of significant relevance to the major.
  2. Courses must not advocate for a specific political or ideological position. Proselytizing is not permitted. Courses must be academic in tone and give fair representation to all perspectives. They may not advocate for a political position, no matter how apparently innocuous or uncontroversial. For example, it would not be appropriate to offer a course on why we need to save the environment or stand up for women's rights, even if most members of the Berkeley community would be very sympathetic to these positions. By contrast, it would be appropriate to teach a course on issues in environmental policy or political debates surrounding the changing place of women in society. DeCal courses must be academic in nature; activity-based courses are not accepted. The course must be taught from a political science perspective, and be of significant relevance to the major.
  3. Courses must begin the first week of the semester and must meet continuously throughout the semester for at least one hour per week.
  4. DeCal courses that meet for 1 or 1-1/2 hours per week will carry one unit. Courses that meet for 2 or more hours per week will carry two units. Two units is the maximum for all DeCal courses.
  5. All enrolled students must be required to do the same work and receive the same number of units.
  6. All DeCal courses are graded P/NP.

DeCal course approval procedure for Political Science
   There are several steps to approval:

   1. Creating a DeCal Proposal: syllabus and statement
   2. The Polisci Departmental Review
   3. Obtaining Faculty Sponsorship

The DeCal Proposal:

A. A complete syllabus. The syllabus must include:

1. A description of the course (its purpose, core content, and methods)
2. A description of each week's topics.
3. A statement of the frequency and length of class meetings.
4. A syllabus with specific readings for each week of class.
5. A statement of the grading policy, including the weighting of each assignment.
6. A statement on policies regarding absences. Barring extreme family or medical emergencies, no more than two absences should be accepted.

B. A separate statement. The statement must describe each of the following:

  1. The nature of the subject matter or course content.
  2. The key learning outcomes: what will students know or be able to do as a result of this course?
  3. The methods of instruction (e.g., lecture, discussion, collaborative learning, etc.).
  4. The methods of evaluation of student performance.
  5. How the Instructor of Record (the faculty sponsor)will supervise the student course facilitator(s). Supervision can take the form of in-class observations, review of course materials, and/or meetings with student course facilitator(s), among other options.

Submit both the course syllabus and statement to Suzan Nunes in 210 Barrows in person by April 11, 2008.

Departmental Review:

After submitting your proposal you will meet with the Undergraduate Faculty Advisor, Prof. Jonah Levy, to discuss the course. You will be scheduled for this meeting when you turn in the DeCal Course Proposal to Suzan Nunes. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes. These interviews are currently scheduled for April 23, 2008 between 10:00am -4:00pm Please plan your schedule accordingly.

All DeCal proposals must be approved by Prof. Levy.

Once approved, you will receive a Course Scheduling Form and the Special Studies Course Proposal Form from Suzan Nunes.

Faculty Sponsorship:

If you have not yet approached a member of the Polisci faculty for sponsorship, you should do so now. Before doing this, read the rules governing DeCal faculty sponsors to be sure your sponsor is eligible. Have your sponsor sign the Special Studies Course Proposal Form: http://education.berkeley.edu/specialstudies/spstudies_propfrm.pdf.

All subsequent steps on the Special Studies Course Proposal Form, including obtaining the Chair's signature, will be handled by Suzan Nunes. She will also obtain a room for your course and post your course description on the Political Science web site.

You will later receive a copy of the Special Studies Course Proposal Form, signed by the Chair, which you can take with your own copy of your syllabus to the DeCal office in 320 Eshleman Hall in order to have your course listed on their web site.

Receiving academic credit for facilitating a DeCal:

Student Facilitators can receive academic credit one of two ways:

  1. Through the Political Science Dept. by enrolling in PS 99 or 197. See below for details.
  2. Through the Student Learning Center by enrolling in Educ 97 or 197, "The Craft of Facilitating." (http://slc.berkeley.edu/ucftr/craft_of_fac.htm). Students preparing to teach a future DeCal course may receive 2 P/NP units. Students currently teaching a DeCal course may receive 3 P/NP units.

You cannot receive units for both Educ 97/197 and PS 99/197.

Enrolling in a Polisci 99 or 197

  • PS 99: For students with 59 or fewer units by the beginning of the semester in which the course is held. PS 99 requires a cumulative gpa of 3.3 and the prior completion of at least two Political Sciences courses.
  • PS 197: For students with 60 or more units. PS 197 requires a minimum 2.0 gpa overall and in the major.
  • PS 99 and 197 forms are available in the Political Science Undergraduate Advising Office in 296 Barrows.
  • The deadline for submission of PS 99 or 197 forms is the end of the 3rd week of the semester. Completed forms, signed by the faculty sponsor, must be returned to the Undergraduate Advising Office in 296 Barrows.
  • You will receive a Course Control Number for PS 99 or 197 when you turn in the signed form. Failure to submit the form by the end of the 3rd week will result in the forfeiture of credit.
Additional resources for Student Facilitators:

Student Learning Center Undergraduate Course Facilitator Training and Resources: http://slc.berkeley.edu/ucftr

New DeCal Start up Clinics: http://slc.berkeley.edu/ucftr/decalstartup.htm

Special Studies 98 and 198: http://education.berkeley.edu/specialstudies/. See this site for complete information on DeCals including Student, Faculty, and Chair checklists.

Accommodating the Academic Needs of Students with Disabilities: http://dsp.berkeley.edu/berkacompolicy.html and http://dsp.berkeley.edu/dspfaq.html

Tools for Teaching - Creating a Syllabus: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html

DeCal Office - http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~decal/