Course Numbers at PEA

By ARYAN AGARWAL, OWEN LEE, CHLOE LIND, and JAYDEN OH

During Phillips Exeter Academy’s admissions process, prospective Exonians inevitably come across what is arguably the most essential document created by Exeter each year: the Courses of Instruction (COI), a repository of all Exeter courses being offered. The COI can be daunting for some, and usually the primary source of confusion stems from the niche course-numbering system that Exeter uses. This week, The Exonian attempted to compile a guide on the system detailing how it is made.

Scrolling through the COI, the system seems pretty simple at first glance. Higher numbers, with more prerequisites, are often more “advanced” and vice versa. Letters in a course numbering look like they indicate something special, like an accelerated course or deviation from the standard. Though these more basic system features seem simple, many nuances and questions arise when they are inspected further. What makes an introductory economics course 500-level? Why is the highest filmmaking course only a 200-level? Why is the MAT41X math course, not MAT42X if it covers MAT421 material? Before decoding, we first examined the process that goes into crafting the COI by asking those directly involved.

The courses are designed and implemented by a series of committees. Director of Studies and Instructor in Science Jeanette Lovett explained that “most courses are created within the department. Then, they’ll be voted on by the 12 department heads. If it passes through the department heads, it goes out to the full faculty.” 

However, interdisciplinary and experimental courses work slightly differently. “We have this second pathway called the Exeter Innovation Courses, and those courses will have the three letters EXI. These are slightly different from the normal courses because they don’t belong to any specific department, so they end up under the integrated studies section of the COI.” 

Lovett continued to detail the creation process for these courses: “The proposal usually comes from a faculty member, and then it goes to the Curriculum Committee. This committee is half composed of elected faculty members and half composed of administrators who stay on the committee for continuity and representation. After the proposal passes through this committee, it gets sent through the same process as most courses.” 

There is also the process of retiring a course. Lovette shared that “if a course’s enrollment has been going down because it’s not popular, then it’s time for that course to retire. That is a decision that the department would first make, and then department heads would ratify that decision.” 

Chair of the Department of Mathematics Panama C. Geer commented on the timing of each COI’s release. “The COI is compiled in the fall term for the next year. Occasionally, there will be additions or deletions for course offerings in any one department.” The purpose of this process, as Lovett noted, is “to innovate with new and exciting courses and retire older courses with lower enrollment rates. This process ensures that each year offers a similar number of courses.”

For math specifically, Geer explained that “we don’t change most of the courses; the only courses we change year to year are the special topics courses, which are the 690 and 790 courses.” Though somewhat complicated, students can be assured that the creation of the COI is done carefully.

After the process, students are left with the full documentation of the courses for the year. Though the system may seem straightforward for the faculty and administration, students still need to translate its overwhelming nature. After all, Exonians are the ones who take the classes. 

Lovett explained that each course comes with “three letters and then three numbers. Occasionally, the last number will actually be a letter. The three letters just indicate the department. For example, CHE stands for the chemistry department.” This three-letter and three-number system is the standard method that the COI uses. 

She then explained the significance of each digit in the number assigned to a course. “The first number is the most telling because that will tell you the ‘level’ of the course. For 100, we call that the preparatory level. 200 is intermediate or advanced. The reference for 300 is a bit outdated, as it is called the SAT Subject Test Preparatory level, which no longer exists. We need to change that. 400 is AP equivalent or first-year college level. 500 is first or second-year college level, while 600 and 700 are college major equivalency. 999 is what we call independent field courses.”

  It is important to note that these aren’t strict difficulty indicators, mainly requiring a case-by-case format for more accurate telling. Nonetheless, this first digit gives a good overview of the course’s “level.” 

She also gave insight into the other two digits. Typically, a higher or lower second digit does not indicate anything, as each department uses whatever number is available. On the other hand, the third digit does hold some weight. 

“If it ends in a one, that usually means that it moves really quickly, so it’s accelerated.” Geer mentioned a “difference between accelerated and enriched” in the math department. If the course ends in one, it doesn’t necessarily mean that students will complete their study of the subject any faster, but they may complete extra problems along the way. 

Art Department Chair Adam Hosmer shared his thoughts on the system. “The course numbers indicate how advanced the courses are. In art, 200-level art courses are a prerequisite for 400, which is a prerequisite for 500, and so on.” 

He continued, adding that “higher numbers are not ‘harder’ in the sense that it is hard to do well in the class. It’s more that the level of difficulty matches the students’ experience and ability.”

Regarding collaboration between departments and questions of consistency, Lovette discussed why specific departments do not offer certain levels while others do. “It is kind of an oddity, and I’d say that there tends to be more gradation in the numbers for courses that you take regularly throughout high school. Most kids take English every term they’re here, whereas physics, you usually only take one year, maybe two.” Lovette means that, for those courses that students won’t be taking every year throughout high school, like physics, departments may skip the earlier numbers. On the other hand, it makes more sense to include these 100-level courses for departments like English that even preps are taking.

Apart from its existence, there are practical implications for the COI and the course numbering system. One of the biggest of these is college applications; when Exonians come upon one of the most lauded times of their Exeter career, they are heavily involved with this setup. The question arises as to how colleges decipher the COI naming system.

Lovette explained that “the CCO will send to any school that students apply the school profile. It’s a written document that shares all of the details that I just shared and more. It’s a great way to help whoever is in admissions over there understand what a 200 versus 400 course means, but also that, for example, our physics 200 level may be much harder than other schools who offer AP Physics.” The outreach that the CCO conducts is critical and ensures that prospective colleges understand precisely how rigorous the courses students take are, regardless of the number that represents them.

On the same note, Geer said, “A couple of years ago, we offered a MAT690 course called Billiards. Having conversations with Betsy Dolan, it would be easy for a college to assume that it wasn’t as rigorous as it actually was. Truthfully, it was a terrific course by all accounts.” She continued, “A college counselor will often have a conversation with me or with the individual instructor of that course. That way, when they have conversations with college representatives, they can say that the course is really amazing.” She praised the CCO, sharing that “college counseling does an amazing job to understand our curriculum and translate that to the college admissions offices. I can’t recommend their work highly enough.”

Upper Stanley Huang discussed one of the possible issues that may arise when applying to college. “I think we, as Exonians, like to associate larger numbers in terms of classes with more rigor. It’s imposing if I tell someone that I’m taking MUS999. Well, MUS999 is a relatively easy class. When applying to college, having a larger number is more impressive.” 

Huang himself believed that oftentimes, “the numberings are less helpful in telling me how difficult a course is because it’s often pretty disproportionate. For example, certain 600 Latin courses are easier than some 500.” In these cases, a college may misinterpret a course’s rigor simply because of a lower number.

Apart from colleges, prospective and incoming Exonians are among the biggest groups that must constantly deal with COI. Lovette explains, “When students are admitted, they are assigned the interim advisor. They are like your advisor once you get here, except temporarily. They will reach out, introduce themselves, and offer to talk about questions.” These interim advisors receive many questions regarding what courses are “better,” in which case they can adequately aid these new students.

Naturally, with such an important system, there will always be questions on its efficacy and how satisfactory it is. Lovette said that “most people are satisfied with the system. The three steps to creating a new course are a good filter to ensure that our offer is appropriate, timely, and fits student needs.” 

Although this process is thorough, issues still occur. Lovette highlighted a vital idea around course levels and their comparison beyond Exeter. “We keep an eye on and monitor the course numbers. Around ten years ago, we audited all the course numbers and noticed they had increased by a hundred. We do this because it is good to compare both within the school’s different departments and with peer schools.” 

Eventually, these course numbers play into college admissions, where the numbers become super important. Lovette raised this concern: “College admissions officers only have so much time to examine an individual transcript. If a student from Exeter takes a 300 or 400-level course, which might be a 500-level course somewhere else like Andover, the college admissions officer will probably take the student with the 500-level course on their transcript.” The work done to update and ensure that students are given the best shot at college through the COI is crucial for the functionality of the courses.

Aside from colleges, students themselves can be overwhelmed by the numbers. Advisors do their best to help students figure it out. 

Geer shared, “There is a document written in recent years by advisors called the Insider’s Guide to Academic Advising. It contains a lot of information about different departments’ nuances and difficulty levels. The department heads also update it very frequently.” 

She added, “Beyond this document, teachers are also in constant contact with each other. The nice thing about being at a boarding school is that I can pick up the phone or send a quick email to help figure out how to meet the needs of individual students.” The extensive contact between teachers allows students to thrive here at Exeter.”

The COI book has caused some confusion among the student body since its installment, although many are indifferent about redesigning Exeter’s core curriculum to reflect course difficulty better. Lower George Lyle remarked, “I don’t necessarily think 500-level English is as hard as a 500-level math or science course. [Lower] Alex [Ren] is acing 500-physics as a lower, but he struggles in 300 English. Same for me in math. But at least for math, since the course book says what AP it is equivalent to, it is easier to explain to someone.” Lyle also touched on the discrepancies in higher-level, interdisciplinary course offerings: “Also, we have courses like interdisciplinary, psychology, and economics where it starts as 500s but is not that hard. And in general, course levels really depend on your teacher.” 

Although many Exonians find themselves frustrated after perusing the COI Guide, others, like lower Oscar Anderson digress. “I wouldn’t redesign it. I think it works quite well, and there’s no need to change,” remarked Anderson. “I don’t talk about courses with numbers [outside of Exeter]. Especially for math, since Exeter math is different from regular math, the course numbers really don’t mean anything outside Exeter. They cover multiple topics at different paces,” Anderson commented on the non-Exonian perspective of the COI Guide. 

In addition to there being confusion about course requirements and the skill level required to pursue certain trajectories of study at Exeter, students report significant curriculum gaps in different teachers’ classes. “In my lower year, I took Modern India, and there were two teachers that were teaching it. Even though it was the exact same course, one teacher was severely behind the other, and so there was this class dichotomy that also changed depending on the teacher,” shared Upper Anish Sundaraj.

Huang echoed Sundaraj: “I think the difficulty of a course is often less determined by the actual curriculum and more by the teacher and the events that are co-occurring within the course.”

Exeter’s course numbering system, while intricate and occasionally perplexing, serves as an important reference for students on campus and is a testament to Exeter’s unwavering dedication to providing its students with intellectually stimulating course rigor. Despite the confusion that it often evokes in prospective and current students of the Academy, the behind-the-scenes processes behind its creation and figuring are the processes that aid students in making sound academic choices during their time as an Exonian. From academic advising to college counseling, Exeter equips its community to navigate its unique course numbering system effectively. 

While there are still challenges to be addressed — for example, how colleges interpret the numbers — the CCO, faculty, and administration work diligently to ensure that the COI Guide’s numbering system serves its initial dual purpose—to guide students throughout their Exeter careers and to open doors into the future.