Rausser College DeCals

Useful Links

The DeCal Program at UC Berkeley allows students to create and facilitate their own classes on a variety of subjects. Students who are interested in creating their own DeCal could do so while working with a sponsoring Rausser faculty member.

The Rausser College deadline for Fall semesters is June 15th by 5 pm, and for Spring semesters, October 15th by 5 pm

RCNR DeCal Student Facilitators (ENERES/ ENVECON/ ESPM/ NUSCTX/ PLANTBI) must meet all the following criteria:

  • Facilitator must be a full-time UC Berkeley student *unless approved for a reduced course load through DSP/academic department
  • Facilitator must have a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA and be in good academic standing
  • Facilitators may only facilitate 1 course per semester
  • DeCals can have a maximum of 3 facilitators. At least 1 facilitator must be in an RCNR major
  • DeCals must be facilitated by the student who received approval, facilitators may not switch
  • Faculty sponsors must be active in the semester that the DeCal is offered, cannot be on sabbatical/leave
  • Facilitators must complete UCFTR training (link is external) by the Senate’s submission date (link is external). This is later than the RCNR DeCal deadline. Even if your workshop is after the RCNR Deadline, you must still submit your completed DeCal packet to RCNR by the college deadline listed.
  • Application must be completed and on time

PDF Submission must include the following or will not be reviewed:

Steps to Propose a Rausser DeCal

The student is responsible for completing all paperwork, obtaining signatures, and keeping a copy for themselves.

Step 1: Begin 2 to 4 months before the submission deadline

  • Develop an idea for a class
  • Develop a syllabus
  • Complete the required UCFTR Training Workshop
  • Partner with a Rausser instructor to review and approve your syllabus. This instructor will then sign your Course Proposal Form and write a Faculty Letter of Support.
  • Get the Department Chair’s signature on the CPF form. NOTE: ESPM DeCals do not need a signature from the Department Chair before submission.
  • If you have questions, make an appointment with the DeCal Coordinator (scheduling.rcnr@berkeley.edu) to review your application.

Step 2: Due October 15th for Spring semesters, and June 15th for Fall semester

  • Once you have created your PDF you will submit it to this Survey before the deadline
  • Students keep a copy of everything for their own records

Step 3: What to expect after submission and before approval

  • Monitor your email account for anything from scheduling.rcnr@berkeley.edu. We may request edits, and there will be deadlines associated with those edits.
  • Fill out the listing survey sent with your college approval email

Step 4: After College Level Approval — Fall semester (mid-Summer) and Spring semester (mid-Fall)

  • DeCal Coordinator will submit your college-approved application to the Academic Senate
  • Academic Senate will review applications
  • Monitor email in case Academic Senate has questions
  • Academic Senate approves your class (no news is good news)
  • The DeCal Coordinator will set the class to print in the class schedule.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes

  • Be sure to check that the weekly schedule outlined on your syllabus matches the Unit Value Worksheet
  • Make sure that all the facilitators involved in the DeCal (max of 3 allowed) are listed on the Course Proposal Form, Syllabus, and in the DeCal Survey
  • List each facilitator’s training dates separately with their full name on application
  • Planning in advance is strongly encouraged to give adequate time for obtaining all required signatures and to make any updates and revisions after receiving feedback about your application.
  • For Fall DeCals, obtaining signatures before summer break is highly recommended as faculty may not be available in summer.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Temple Byars at scheduling.rcnr@berkeley.edu.