Course Descriptions

Rock Valley College’s courses on the following pages were approved by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).

Course Numbering System

Course descriptions are listed by prefix and include the course number, course title, prerequisites and corequisites, and a content description. The Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) Code is listed where appropriate, followed by the number that indicates whether the course is Baccalaureate/Transfer (1.1), Career‑Technical (1.2), or Developmental (1.4). Following the course description is the number of semester hours of credit, followed by the number of lecture hours and the number of lab hours.

Note: Not all courses are offered every year. These classifications are according to the master course file of the Illinois Community College Board.

Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) General Education Core Curriculum and Majors Codes

To assist students with identifying qualifying general education core courses (GECC), the following coding system appears below the course number and title in the IAI field. If a course does not have an assigned IAI number, it will appear as “IAI: None.”

IAI GECC Disciplines and Prefixes

Non‑Western Culture Course: The letter “N” in the IAI code field designates courses designed specifically to examine aspects of human diversity from a non‑U.S./non‑European perspective.

Other letters that may appear at the end of course numbers include:

D – Courses designed to examine aspects of human diversity within the United States.

L – Laboratory courses.

R – Research paper courses.

IAI Majors Courses

IAI Majors courses use a unique numbering system adopted for the Illinois Baccalaureate Majors’ Recommendations. An example of an IAI Majors course is IAI: CHM 911 – General Chemistry I.

In IAI Majors, there are only two components of the course numbering system: the abbreviation (for example, CHM) and the number (for example, 911). The abbreviation identifies the academic field of the course.

Additional information about major fields and their corresponding abbreviations is available on iTransfer.org.

Prerequisites

Many course descriptions indicate that a prerequisite is required for enrollment. Students who enroll in a course without meeting the prerequisite may be withdrawn at the request of the instructor. Students should carefully review catalog course descriptions.

If a course meets for a shorter or longer period than a 15‑week semester, lecture and laboratory hours are adjusted so the total number of hours equals those of a standard 15‑week semester.

Only degree‑level courses numbered 100 through 299 apply toward degree requirements. Credit earned in courses numbered below 100, above 299, or in select certificate‑level courses does not count toward any Rock Valley College degree.

Instructional Disciplines and Course Prefixes

The following is an alphabetized list of instructional disciplines and their corresponding course prefixes.

Catalog Disclaimer

The information in this catalog is subject to change without prior notice or obligation. Rock Valley College reserves the right to revise course content to reflect changing conditions, trends, and information within the discipline. Students are responsible for remaining informed of additions and corrections.

Not all Rock Valley College courses are listed in the Course Description section of this catalog. Students should consult an academic advisor to fulfill specific graduation requirements.