Standards section B: Program Structure and Curriculum
B.1 The program clearly specifies and publishes program goals, objectives, and requirements. The institution’s mission and purposes are reflected in the specific educational objectives of the program. Requirements for the program are based upon clearly defined and articulated learning objectives, including a mastery of the knowledge, methods of inquiry, and intellectual skills.
B.2 The program design is characterized by sufficient content, breadth, depth, coherence, and rigor appropriate to its higher education level. Individual courses and programs are dynamic and responsive to new developments in the field and modes of inquiry.
B.3 The program and courses provide an opportunity for reflection and for analysis of the subject matter. Programs and courses offered other than the usual semester/quarter-hour basis, through distance learning modalities (online, hybrid, video-conferencing, or other means) or through different divisions of the institution (e.g., day division, evening division, continuing education division) demonstrate that students completing these programs or courses acquire levels of knowledge, understanding, and competencies comparable to those expected in
B.4 The methods of evaluation of student performance are appropriate and consistent with established institutional and academic standards and are comparable to other programs throughout the institution.
Standards section C: Faculty
C.1 Faculty credentials, number, diversity of educational and professional experience, time commitment, and performance are sufficient to accomplish. The program’s mission and objectives. Faculty specializations and status (full-time, part-time, emeritus, or other faculty holding a terminal degree in her or his discipline) are considered in recruitment and hiring decisions.
C.2 Faculty holding terminal degrees or highly qualified practitioners in the field are actively sought. Institutions do not have undue dependence on faculty who are graduates of their own programs.
C.3 The institution employs an open and orderly process for recruiting and appointing faculty. SCP program faculty members direct the search process for new program faculty members.
C.4 All faculty in an associate degree program must possess a minimum of a master’s degree in SCP or 18 graduate degree hours in the discipline they teach or must be certification credentials if teaching in the SCP.
C.5 Faculty categories (e.g., full-time, part-time, adjunct) are clearly defined, as is the role of each category in fulfilling both the programs and the institution’s mission and purposes. Orientation, oversight, evaluation, and professional development opportunities are provided for all faculty, including part-time and adjunct faculty.
C.6 Faculty members effectively carry out their assigned responsibilities. The institution employs effective procedures for the regular evaluation of faculty appointments, performance, and retention.
Standards section D: Admission and Articulation
D.1 The institution specifies and publishes requirements for admission into, continuation in, termination from, or re-admission to its SCP program(s), which are compatible with its educational purposes. Graduation requirements are clearly stated in appropriate publications and websites and are consistently applied in the process of awarding degrees. Degrees awarded accurately reflect student attainments.
D.2 No credit toward graduation is awarded for a pre-collegiate level or remedial work designed to prepare the student for collegiate study.
D.3 The institution awards degrees only to those students who have earned at least 50 percent of the credit hours in the SCP program through instruction offered by that institution.
Standard section E: Resources
E.1 The program has sufficient suitable and safe facilities (including classrooms, laboratories, and offices), equipment and services (e.g., computing technology and support), and administrative and budgetary resources to meet program objectives and the needs of faculty and students across all modes of program delivery (i.e., on campus, hybrid, and online).
E.2 Faculty and students have access to library and information resources, services, facilities, and staff sufficient to support the teaching and learning environment, research, and service mission of the program.
E.4 A program’s resources must be in compliance with the standards of that region’s institutional accrediting body.
E.3. Faculty and students have access to information technology infrastructure, resources, and services to provide a reliable, secure, and robust environment conducive for teaching, learning, and research.
Standards section G: Integrity
G.2 Appropriate publications (print or electronic) that contain the Second Chance Pell program’s mission, objectives, and expected educational outcomes; requirements and procedures and policies related to admissions and the transfer of credit; student fees, charges, and refund policies; rules and regulations for student conduct; other items related to attending or withdrawing from the program; courses currently offered; academic policies, procedures, and requirements for the SCP program or other relevant forms of academic recognition.
G.3 The program’s relevant website and printed materials include a list of all current faculty, indicating departmental or program affiliation/status (for example, full or part-time, graduate faculty, emeritus) and showing degrees held and the institutions granting them.
G.4 The Second Chance Pell program clearly indicates whether any offerings, courses, services, or personnel are not available during a given academic year. It does not list as current any courses not taught for two consecutive years, which will not be taught during the third consecutive year.
G.5 The Second Chance Pell program has readily available valid documentation for any statements and promises regarding such matters as program excellence, learning outcomes, success in placement, and achievements of graduates or faculty.
Standards section H: Program Quality and Effectiveness
H.1 The program undergoes a systematic evaluation of all program components and uses the results for program improvement.
H.2 The program demonstrates that its graduates have acquired the knowledge and developed the skills that are identified as the program’s objectives and student learning outcomes.
H.3 The program demonstrates that students completing courses in non-traditional time periods and modalities (e.g., online or hybrid), in different divisions, and at satellite or branch campuses acquire levels of knowledge, understanding, and competencies comparable to those expected in similar programs offered in more traditional time periods, modalities and locations.
H.4 The institution periodically reviews the program under established, clearly defined institutional policies and uses the results to improve student learning and program effectiveness. The review includes an assessment of effectiveness, currency, and continued need.
Standards section I: Branch Campuses, Additional Locations, and Other Instructional Sites, and Modalities
I.1 Second Chance Pell Program courses and programs offered at branch campuses, additional locations, online/hybrid format, and other instructional sites must meet the standards and educational objectives of the home institution. Such activities are integral parts of the institution and maintain the same academic standards as courses and programs offered on-campus or in more traditional formats.
I.3 The institution maintains direct and sole responsibility for the academic quality of all aspects of the program. On-campus faculty has a substantive role in the design and implementation of off-campus and/or online programs.
I.4 If there are programs available to students via distance technology (e.g., online) or other means, such as off-site instruction is conducted in a manner that maximizes student-faculty interactions and ensures quality. Standards for all programs (residential, non-residential, face-to-face, and distance education/online) should be comparable.
Standards section A: Program Mission and History
I.2 Students have ready access to appropriate learning resources, including adequate technical support as part of any distance education (e.g., online) course delivery. Sufficient library and information resources and services are readily accessible to students wherever the program is located or however it is delivered, and sufficient and appropriate orientation and training are provided for their use. The facilities foster an atmosphere conducive to inquiry, study, and learning among program students, faculty, and staff.
A.1 The program has a stated mission and set of purposes derived from and consistent with the overall mission and purposes of the institution of higher education.
G.1 The program presents itself to students and other members of the interested public by providing information that is clear, complete, and accurate.