If a college or university standardizes its courses, the courses would be taught the same, every year, regardless of which professor teaches the class. If a student enrolls to take beginning U.S. history, the college uses a pre-selected curriculum for that class. Professors are not able to select the materials that they would like to cover but rather must adhere to the schools' curriculums for classes. Standardization opponents argue that this limits a professor's ability to teach creatively and use outside material in class, while proponents say that students and teachers benefit from knowing exactly what to expect from a class.
Most colleges and universities use a standardized set of course numbers to denote the academic level of each class. The Oxford English Dictionary defined introductory courses as being numbered "101" in the 1920s, and many schools still use this course number to identify beginning courses. Other schools label introductory classes for freshmen and sophomores using numbers 1 to 99 and mark courses for juniors and seniors using 100 to 199. Graduate-level courses use numbers 200 to 299. Every school has its own system, so check with your college's registrar or look in its course catalog to learn how it numbers its classes.
Professors usually have the task of selecting the textbooks that they will use for their classes each semester. At schools that standardize their courses, they may not be able to do so as the schools pre-select the textbooks for each of its classes. Some professors love this system, as they do not have to do the work of sifting through dozens of textbook options every term, but others loathe it because it limits their choices and socializes their classes.
Strictly standardized college classes may limit the breadth of student learning styles that can be effectively taught in one class. Professors in standardizes classes may not be able to select different books for students who are not absorbing material from the school's chosen book. They may not be able to adapt the curriculum to include instruction that benefits auditory and visual learners as opposed to students who learn best using traditional teaching methods, such as lecturing and reading. Prospective college students should research the teaching styles that are used at the schools of their choice and determine whether they will benefit from them. Some students enjoy knowing what types of teaching methods to expect, so a standardized curriculum that benefits their learning style may help them succeed academically.