Configure Prerequisites
Overview
In this section, you can list the prerequisite courses, credits, and grades required for entry to your program. Applicants will then self-identify which courses they feel meet your prerequisite coursework requirements.
You can add instructions that help guide applicants through selecting their prerequisites. You can also add descriptions for each prerequisite, explaining how you expect applicants to match the prerequisite. This field can contain a maximum of 250 characters, so you may need to shorten descriptions if cutting and pasting from another resource.
You should identify prerequisites by subject types, not university course numbers (i.e., "Introductory Biology" instead of "BIOL 101") as students from different institutions may not be familiar with your course numbering system.
Prerequisite course collection is optional for each program. You can add up to 50 prerequisite courses for each program.
Adding Prerequisites
- Click the Editor link at the top.
- Click the Prerequisites checkbox on the left, then click the Prerequisites link.
- Enter any custom instructions you want to provide in the Applicant Instructions field. This text will appear at the top of the page.
- Click + Add Prerequisite.
- Enter the following details for each course.
- Title: enter a descriptive title (e.g., "Intro to Biology with Lab" – not "BIOL 101 & 101L").
- Description: enter a description that is 250 characters or less (e.g., "Biology courses must be for science majors and taken within the last 5 years to fulfill our requirements.").
- Minimum Grade: enter a number from 0-4, including two digits after the decimal point (e.g., 2.50).
- Minimum Credits: enter a number (e.g., 4).
- Max Number: if desired, enter the maximum number of courses that an applicant can match to this prerequisite. Be sure to consider if you want to allow for repeated attempts. Additionally, consider how other institutions offer courses when entering a maximum. For example, some institutions offer lecture and lab courses as one course, while others separate these into two courses. In this scenario, it's best to list at least two as the maximum, so applicants have the flexibility to link courses as their institution offered them.
- Click + Add Prerequisite to continue adding courses as needed.
- Click Save.
Managing Prerequisites
Once your prerequisites are added, you can make edits as necessary.
Reordering Prerequisites
Reorder your prerequisites by dragging and dropping.
Editing Prerequisites
Edit your prerequisites by clicking the desired field and making your changes in line.
Deleting Prerequisites
Delete prerequisites individually by clicking the trash icon.
Best Practices
There isn't an audit process that ensures the applicants have matched courses in the way you've asked them to, so provide as much guidance as needed to help avoid incorrect selections. Moreover, if your CAS uses verification, these applicant-matched prerequisites are not reviewed.
Don't be overly specific with course numbers. For example, ANT 210 (for Anthropology) may not directly translate to a course the applicants have taken. Instead, use language like "Introduction to Anthropology."
If you want applicants to report laboratory courses, we recommend that you combine the class and laboratory as one prerequisite. For example, instead of requesting:
- Introduction to Biology and
- Introduction to Biology Laboratory,
You should request "Introduction to Biology with Lab." Applicants can select multiple courses for each prerequisite. This is also helpful if an applicant's transcript reports these as one course (i.e., Introduction to Biology with Lab), as the applicant won't either reselect the same course for both Introduction to Biology and Introduction to Biology Lab or leave one prerequisite blank.
Double-check that you've included all your desired prerequisites.
Review this checklist when setting up your prerequisites:
- Be sure that your prerequisites are listed accurately and match your program's requirements.
- If you configure your program's transcript and coursework requirements, ensure that you select Prerequisite Only or Full Coursework so applicants can match their coursework to your prerequisites.
Poor Prerequisites (course prefixes used instead of generic course titles; separate prerequisites for labs):
Good Prerequisites (clear, generic course titles; labs combined with lecture courses):
