Proposal Guidelines

General Background Information

A Justice Brandeis Semester (JBS) is an engaging, immersive academic program in which small groups of students explore a thematic topic through inquiry-based courses linked to real-world experiential opportunities. Each JBS program will consist of a coordinated set of courses addressing a common theme. Ideally the courses are interconnected, creating a seamless overall program.  

JBS internships, field-based research, creative work or community-engaged learning allow students to:

  •  gain real-world experience through experiential learning
  • build close relationships with professors and small groups of students
  •  acquire skills that will make them stand apart from their peers after Brandeis

Program Structure

There are several possible formats for JBS

  • Summer JBS (following the regular summer school calendar start date and ending either eight or ten weeks later)
  • Fall JBS (following the regular academic calendar)
  • Spring JBS (following the regular academic calendar)
  • Extended JBS (summer through fall or spring through summer): this option would include a 12-16 credit JBS program with an optional fall/summer internship or other experiential learning component for a total of 16-20 credits

SUMMER JBS
Each summer JBS program will consist of at least 12 credits (e.g., three 4-credit courses, or two 6-credit Experiential Learning courses). Each JBS 4-credit course will meet for a minimum of 39 contact hours. Each 6-credit JBS course will meet for a minimum of 47 contact hours, with an additional 24-39 practicum hours. These contact hours may include “out-of-classroom” instruction, when the instructor is present. JBS programs may be offered for either eight or ten weeks, with sessions beginning at the start date of the summer school calendar.  

SUMMER WITH OPTIONAL FALL JBS
An Extended Fall JBS program offered in the summer and fall will include 12 credits during the summer, and an additional 4 to 8 credits earned during the following fall. The fall component will usually entail a full-time internship, fieldwork or research.  Students participating in the summer program with the optional fall extension will be considered a full-time student from the start of the summer program through the end of the fall semester.  Students will pay tuition for the equivalent of the fall semester and cannot live on campus during the fall semester.

FALL AND SPRING JBS
Each fall or spring JBS program will consist of at least 16 credits, and no more than 20 credits.   Each JBS 4-credit course will meet for 39 contact hours. Each 6-credit JBS course will meet for a minimum of 47 contact hours, with an additional 24-39 practicum hours. These contact hours may include “out-of-classroom” instruction, when the instructor is present. Fall and spring Justice Brandeis Semesters will follow the standard start and end dates for each semester, although instructional activities may be concentrated more intensively during certain periods and weeks.  

SPRING WITH OPTIONAL SUMMER JBS
An Extended Spring JBS program may span a spring and summer and include 16-20 credits (but may not span fall through spring). An Extended JBS program offered in the spring and summer will likely include 16 credits during the spring, and an additional 4 credits to 8 credits earned during the following summer, usually for a full-time internship or fieldwork or research. Students participating in the spring program with the optional summer extension will be considered a full-time student from the start of the spring semester through the end of the summer program.  Students will pay tuition for the equivalent of the spring semester.

Enrollment

JBS programs are expected to each enroll 12 to 15 students. The minimum number of students expected for viable programs is likely to be 8. Most will not enroll more than 20 students. Non-Brandeis students may apply to the summer programs but the fall and spring programs are open to Brandeis students only.

Students who enroll in a JBS program must take all of the courses offered within the program; they may not enroll in a subset or portion (that is, only 4 credits or only 6 credits) of a Justice Brandeis Semester curriculum. Courses that have been offered through the Brandeis Summer School program may be repurposed for inclusion in a JBS program, but a summer JBS curriculum may not include current Summer School offerings, and Summer School students may not enroll in a subset of summer JBS program courses. During fall and spring semesters, enrollment in JBS program courses is limited to JBS students, and JBS students may not enroll in courses other than those offered in their specific program.

Brandeis Masters students may enroll in summer, fall and spring JBS programs at the discretion of the respective program, provided that the student meets admissions criteria, and provided that space is available. Admissions preference will be given to undergraduate students.

All courses offered in a 12 credit JBS program  must be taken for a letter grade, with the exception of already approved credit/no-credit courses. Students may elect to take one course on a pass-fail basis on a fall or spring JBS as allowed under the pass-fail option regulations.

Classroom space scheduled by the Office of the Registrar is not normally available for fall and spring JBS programs. If some amount of on-campus instruction is needed for the program, we will consider possible solutions on a case-by-case basis. 

Expenses

A 12 credit JBS will be billed at 75 percent of the AY semester’s tuition, and a 16- to 20-credit JBS, even if extended from the summer through the fall, or from the spring through the summer (e.g., 12 credits during the summer and 4 to 8 credits in the fall), will be billed at full semester’s tuition. 

The range of expenses to be covered by JBS tuition, excluding faculty salaries, will normally not exceed $6,000 per program.  This amount is subject to the number of students enrolled and is offered as a suggested ceiling rather than a guarantee. In addition to achieving its pedagogical goals, the JBS program is an attempt to meet financial challenges facing the university, and thus expenses associated with proposals should be kept to the minimum level possible.

Transportation (e.g., air/train travel) and housing expenses for out of state JBS programs will be billed separately.  Some local travel may be provided by the program, through the Experiential Learning program van or a van rental.

Faculty Compensation

Compensation is subject to approval by the Dean of Arts and Sciences, but will be comparable to current Brandeis Summer School and academic year rates. For more information, please consult with Elaine Wong.

Some Brandeis faculty will choose to teach JBS summer courses as part of their normal academic year teaching load, replacing courses usually taught in the previous spring or following fall, with departmental approval. Faculty may also apply to teach JBS summer courses as overloads, either compensated or banked. (For information on course banking, please check with the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.)

Fall and spring JBS courses will be taught as part of the normal academic year teaching load for full time faculty.

With the approval of his or her chair, a faculty member with a teaching load of two courses per semester may teach all of the courses offered in a 12-credit summer JBS program and have this work count as the equivalent of one full semester’s service and teaching load, to replace, for example, the service and teaching obligations of the following semester. In this case, the “third” course may not be banked.

Proposal Format

Please answer all of the following in your narrative proposal: 

1. What is the title of your proposed Justice Brandeis Semester?

2. Please include a four paragraph description of your program, suitable for posting on the JBS website and usable in other marketing efforts.  Please also include a separate rationale for the program.

3. For each course offered in your program, please list:

a. the number of credits;

b. the name(s) of the proposed instructor(s) (if known);

c. whether the course is already listed in the Brandeis University Bulletin, or will require new course approval;

d. the course description (if this is a new course);

e. whether or not these courses will count toward requirements or electives for your major and/or minor, or for other majors and minors, or for general education requirements.

4. What are the expected course assignments and means of evaluation for each course?

5. Please include a sample weekly or daily schedule, with proposed meeting times and other instructional activities.

6. What are the experiential learning and/or community-engaged learning components of your proposed JBS?

7. What are the expected learning goals and outcomes for students enrolled in this JBS? In what ways does this program contribute to facilitating the university learning goals of social justice and global citizenship?

8. What is the target student group for this program?

9. What is the ideal number of students for this program and the maximum number of students?

10. Are there course prerequisites for admission to this program?  

11. How would offering this JBS affect the curriculum of your department and/or other programs to which you contribute? Has your department/program chair approved this JBS proposal? (Please include correspondence from the chair confirming approval.) 

12. If partnerships with other businesses or organizations are necessary, please discuss the status of negotiations and related expenses, if any. 

13. If services from other Brandeis offices or departments (e.g., Study Abroad, LTS or Hiatt Career Center) are required, please also discuss.  

14. Proposals should list all proposed expenses (faculty and teaching fellow/assistant salaries, course replacement, programming and/or transportation expenses, etc.) and resource needs, assuming that 12 to 15 students enroll. Please use this template for this section. (If appropriate, please list expected expenditures for smaller or larger cohorts of students.)

15. For fall/spring JBS proposals, please explain the extent to which the program activities would occur away from campus versus on or near campus.  

Approval Process

New courses, including six-credit Experiential Learning courses (see EL Practicum Guidelines posted on the Experiential Learning and Office of the University Registrar Web sites), will be approved in the standard manner, by department/program, school councils and dean.
 
Faculty proposing JBS with Study Abroad components should approach the Office of Study Abroad at the earliest possible date and no later than two months before the proposal deadline for assistance in preparing a feasibility document (for more information, please contact J. Scott Van Der Meid, svanderm@brandeis.edu).

All JBS proposals will be submitted first to the Justice Brandeis Semester committee for "preapproval," before submission to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and Dean of Arts and Sciences for final approval. Please send applications to Elaine Wong and the Office of Study Abroad, preferably in an e-mail attachment to ewong@brandeis.edu and abroad@brandeis.edu.

Proposals for summer 2013, fall 2013, and spring 2014 JBS are due no later than Monday, October 1, 2012, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Proposals for JBS programs to be offered after spring of 2014 may also be submitted now (and/or in the future). 

JBS proposals will be reviewed for approval based on the following criteria: academic coherence, excellence and feasibility; expected appeal to undergraduates; financial viability; and health and safety.

Assessment

Summer, fall and spring JBS program courses will participate in the online Course Evaluation system. A supplementary assessment form may also be utilized.