That’s a wrap on RAP

It’s time to register for classes! Imagine you are a student, you go to the Course Search & Enroll app, you search for some courses and see the following prerequisites:
  • So St.
  • High school alg & geom. Not open to those who have had a 200-level Physics crse. Open to Fr? 
  • No requisite is listed on the course 
Are you feeling like you would be academically prepared for these courses? This was the lived experience of students prior to the Requisite Amnesty Program (RAP). Prior to the implementation of the PeopleSoft student information system (SIS) in 1999, the enrollment system was not able to enforce course requisites. Historically, course requisites were listed at the bottom of the course description as freeform text. It was up to instructors to persuade students who enrolled in the course without the proper preparation that they should drop the course. The implementation of SIS created the technical ability to enforce requisites, as well as use enrollment controls to limit who can enroll in a high demand course. However, the technical capacity did not automatically mean that the campus culture or habits changed. There was also no requirement that the text included with course description would match what was being enforced by the enrollment system. That all changed starting in 2015. Course proposals that were reviewed Fall 2015 and onward would have enforceable requisites at time of governance approval and be implemented and enforced in SIS. Also in 2015, the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) resolved that a project should be undertaken to allow units to update course requisites via a batch process rather than through individual course change proposals. The Office of the Registrar, in partnership with Academic Planning and Institutional Research (APIR) have since collaborated on a multi-year project known as the Requisite Amnesty Program (RAP) to allow departments to review and update enforced requisites on the entirety of a subject’s courses instead of one-by-one course proposals. This improvement was beneficial because UW–Madison has over 9,000 active courses. Governance channels were still honored and departments managed spreadsheets, which once approved were implemented in SIS by the RO’s course specialist.  When the Fall 2022 Schedule of Classes is published this March, all courses will have been through the RAP process. Students will be held to prerequisites enforced at time of enrollment to ensure they have the academic preparation needed for success, helping with their time-to-degree. Requisites will use everyday language and specifically mention which courses are required for preparation.  Special thanks to course specialists past-and-present (Scott Golueke, Nikki Bollig, Jen Brown, and now Jess Baran) who were involved in updating each of these 9,000+ courses. This summer, there will be a couple of updates to the CourseLeaf course bridge and SIS course data to finalize the project. At that time, you’ll hear Eric MacKay and Will Lipske decree “that’s a wrap!… or maybe a RAP.” Also, for those wondering about those courses mentioned at the start: 
  • The Shakespearean Drama (ENGL 220) requires “Sophomore Standing” (formerly known as So St.)
  • The Ideas of Modern Physics (PHYSICS 107) now enforces “Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) A requirement or special student standing”
  • Aramaic I (HEBR-BIB 701) now enforces “Graduate/professional standing”