FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for Interdisciplinary Studies at City Tech
last updated 9/18/2023
Compensation
As of Summer 2023, there is a new process for compensating guest lecturers of ID courses. For Fall 2023,
- ID instructors must email their course syllabus (as an attachment) and the guest lecturer list to provost@citytech.cuny.edu by Thursday, September 7. Please make sure the syllabus identifies the dates of guest lectures, and matches the dates in the guest lecturer list. The Provost’s Office will upload the information to a Dropbox folder to which chairs and COAs/CAAs have access.
- Name the syllabus with the following file name convention: your last name+course+section+syllabus. For example: if Prof. Green was teaching CHEM 1110 D27 the file name for the syllabus would be: GreenCHEM1110D27syllabus
- The guest lecturer list should be in this format in the body of the email
Instructor name:
Course and section number:
Course meeting day of the week, time and location
Name of Guest Lecturer:
Date of guest lecture
Time of guest lecture: Start – End –
2. Instructors are responsible for confirming with the chair/COA/CAA of the department in which the course is housed that guest lectures have occurred. To send a confirmation of a lecture:
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- Please use a departmental email address
- Use the email subject: Guest lecturer confirmation: your last name+course+section.
- Put the details in the same information format as in 2b above
3. The department in which the course is housed will include the guest lecture on the month’s Faculty Service Report (FSR)—please make sure NOT to check the instructor absence column, as both the instructor and guest lecturer are present. The Provost’s Office will work with AWMO and the department to ensure timely payment.
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Adding guest lecturers to Blackboard
To add guest lecturers to a course, instructors must now email the Provost directly with the name of the person and the access time period (from 24-hours to the entire semester). Instructors also need to email the Provost to add an Observer to the course (i.e., to observe an asynchronous course during a 48-hour time period).
Instructors teaching an ID course
When do I have to submit my syllabus to the ID Course Coordinator?
Every semester you teach an ID section. At the start of each semester, you will receive an email requesting a copy of your syllabus. Your syllabus is due the first week of the semester.
What happens to my syllabi each semester?
ID syllabi are reviewed by ID committee members. They are checked to make sure that they adhere to ID guidelines (indicated on original proposal for an ID course). For example, reviewers check to see if the class is co-taught or consists of a minimum of 20% guest lecturers from the discipline(s) specified on the original course proposal.
When do I need to complete paperwork for the ID Committee?
Anytime there is a change to your course that impacts the ID learning outcomes, you will submit documentation to the ID committee using the short form found here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/ids/files/2020/04/Short-form-change-ID-format-changes.docx
Examples of changes to a course that impact ID Learning Outcomes: changing the discipline of a guest lecturer or changing the discipline of a co-instructor. Other changes like switching from in-person to hybrid also apply.
I’m having trouble finding a guest lecturer… what should I do?
First, you can ask your guest lecturer to recommend colleagues from within their discipline at City Tech. You can also explore the discipline using the college website and department listings. Craft an invite to your potential new lecturer specifying how you see their expertise fitting into your course. There is also a list of willing guest lecturers on the ID website, here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/ids/resources/have-an-id-course-idea/guest-lecturers/
If you are unable to find a replacement from the same discipline, you will have to submit a short form denoting the change in discipline as well as shifts made to the ID learning outcomes. These changes should be reflected in your syllabus to students as well (i.e., don’t just keep previous ID learning outcomes on your syllabus).
I have a recording of a guest lecture given last semester… can’t I just show that again?
Guest lecturers need to be interactive. A recording will not suffice. Always work to have you guest lecturers interact with students. In the case of asynchronous sections, considering the pandemic, recordings can be used, however, there needs to be an interaction plan in place (e.g., discussion boards, office hours).
How many guest lecturers do I need?
If you are co-teaching a course and 2 or more disciplines are represented, then you are not required to have guest lecturers (unless you’ve specified that in your original ID proposal). Please note: one person can only represent one discipline at a time, regardless of expertise.
If you are teaching an ID section using the guest lecture model, then at least 20% of your class meetings need to be offered by a City Tech faculty member from at least 1 discipline other than your own. The same guest lecturer can have many visits, or you can have many visits from several different disciplines. A good rule of thumb: you will need at least six 1.25 hours lectures or three 2.5 hours lectures, or any combination of these that equates to 20% of your total class meetings.
Students
Where can students find detailed information about interdisciplinary courses?Find detailed information on the college’s website.
Some courses are a mixture of interdisciplinary (ID) sections and non-interdisciplinary sections. Don’t forget to look for the ID designation. See Students, Don’t Let This Be You! Check for ID (Interdisciplinary).
Thinking about proposing a new ID course or new section for an existing course?
How do I propose a new interdisciplinary course?
We provide a form to propose an ID course as well as a checklist.
I want to submit a proposal for an interdisciplinary course. What are the deadlines? To run the course next semester
- New courses have been approved by College Council Curriculum Committee by first day of semester of the previous semester. For example, to run a course for Fall 2023, it should have been approved by the CCCC by the first day of classes for Spring 2023, which is also our application deadline.
- Existing courses must be submitted the previous semester, two weeks before the next ID Committee meeting
Can I propose that an existing non-ID course be made interdisciplinary?
Yes. See the ID course proposal page. Also see our application checklist.
How are ID course proposals evaluated?
The evaluation framework includes not only the ID learning outcomes with evaluation strategies, but also the main ID assignment (or representative example of course ID assignments). Here are some sample syllabi.
Questions related to existing ID courses
What is the difference between an ID and non-ID section of the same course?
The ID version of the existing non-ID course needs to go through the same proposal process just like a new ID course. It has to meet a variety of objectives and learning outcomes that align with interdisciplinary learning. These objectives are further detailed in our proposal form and application checklist. The course also has to be team-taught (co-taught, include a minimum number of guest lectures, be part of a learning community) by faculty in different disciplines and have an interdisciplinary theme.
If my ID course is switching format (e.g., from co-teaching to guest-lecturer model), do I need to submit documentation?
Yes. See this form.
Who do I contact for questions about ….
| New courses | Reneta Lansiquot and Sean Macdonald | reneta.lansiquot-panagiotakis94@citytech.cuny.edu sean.macdonald74@citytech.cuny.edu |
| Format changes | Reneta Lansiquot and Sean Macdonald | reneta.lansiquot-panagiotakis94@citytech.cuny.edu sean.macdonald74@citytech.cuny.edu |
| Guest lecture payment | Provost’s Office |
pamela.brown00@citytech.cuny.edu |
