Faculty wishing to “experiment” with new courses and approaches for Signature Inquiry do not need to go through the MP Innovation Lab, nor do they need to create new, permanent courses in CIM. This can be done by using the existing “topics course” number in your department.  

A topics course is a permanent, “0-ending” course (excepting 340 Internships or 480 Honors Thesis) inherently designed for temporary or exploratory courses.  Each semester, a new section is “built” using a new title and new section number.  You do NOT have to go through the CIM review process with this approach: Signature Inquiry designations for such sections can be petitioned to the University Director of Liberal Education/LEC for temporary approval outside of CIM.  You must supply a syllabus and assignment descriptions that clearly illustrate how SI and MP outcomes are being met.  Temporary designations may only apply to the Signature Inquiry attribute and courses may be offered for 5 terms before needing to become permanent.

Some departments have topics courses that meet other MP areas, such as ATH 190 (PA2A and PA4B) or LIN 210 (PA2A).  In these cases, all sections must meet the relevant MP outcomes as well as the temporary Signature Inquiry. Also note that most Signature Inquiry courses are not team-taught; any team teaching considerations are independent of this process and would be handled exclusively among the relevant chairs, faculty, and deans.

For more information, please contact Leighton Peterson or Elizabeth Hoover.