Chapter One: Introduction - TCCIA Web view · 2014-01-17The processes associated with these guidelines include applications for new program approval, revisions for currently approved

Guidelines for InstructionalPrograms in WorkforceEducatio

n

June 2010

2014

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

i

Table

Property of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This Draft is Distributed for Review Purposes Only.

This edition of Content s Guidelines for Instructional Programs in Workforce Education

2010

Chapt er One : Intr odu ctio n ................................................................................................... 1

A. Purpos e o f t he G uideline s ................................................................................................ 2B. Programssupersedes and Awards

..................................................................................................... 2C. Chang es in t he G uideline s ............................................................................................... 2D. Effe ctiv e Da tes f or t he 2 010 Guid elin es ............................................................................

3E. Conta ct Us ..................................................................................................................... 3

Chapter Tw o: Gener al Instituti onal and P ersonnel Requirem ents forreplaces all previous editions of GIPWE.

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Table of Contents

Guidelines for Instructional Programs In Workforce Education

2014

Chapter One: Introduction 1

A. Purpose of the Guidelines 1B. Programs and Awards 1C. Effective Dates for the 2014 Guidelines 1D. Contact Us 2

Chapter Two: General Institutional and Personnel Requirements for Workforce Education Programs 3

A. Role, Mission, and Institutional Accreditation 3B. Program Coordination and Faculty 3C. Program and Graduate Credentialing 3D. Equipment, Facilities, Classrooms, and Laboratories 4E. Career Development Services 4F. Qualifications of Workforce Education Program Personnel 4G. Professional Development 5

Chapter Three: Workforce Education Program Elements 6

A. Workforce Education Programs: Overview 6B. Characteristics of Workforce Education Programs 7C. Characteristics of External Learning Experiences 11D. Characteristics of Apprenticeships 15E. Characteristics of Applied Associate Degrees 16F. Characteristics of Workforce Certificates 18G. Characteristics of Continuing Education (CE) Programs 20H. Distance, Off-Campus, and Self-Supporting Education 22

Chapter Four: Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) 27

A. Background and Purposes of the WECM 27B. Organization of WECM Courses 28C. Explanation of Course Elements 28D. Determining Allowable Contact Hours 29E. Definition of Types of Instruction 29F. Assignment of Semester Credit Hours and Continuing Education Units 29G. Special Topics and Local Need Courses 30H. SCH Single-Course Delivery 33

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Chapter Five: New Program Approval Process 34

A. Overview of the New Program Certification Process 34B. Application Procedures and Requirements 35C. New Program Review Process 37

Chapter Six: Program Revisions 40

A. Need for Program Revisions 40B. Components of Program Revision Applications 41C. Program Revision Procedures 42

Chapter Seven: GLOSSARY 44

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Programs ............................................................................................................................ 4

A. Role, Missio n, an d I nstit utional Ac cr edita tion .................................................................... 5B. Program Co ordination/F acult y ......................................................................................... 5C. Program an d Gra duat e Crede ntialin g ............................................................................... 5D. Equipmen t, Faciliti es, Classrooms, a nd La bora tories .......................................................... 6E. Career D eve lopm en t S er vices .......................................................................................... 6

F. Qualifi cati on s of Wor kfor ce E duc atio n Pro gram P ersonn el ................................................. 61. Fac ulty ..................................................................................................................... 6

2. Career D eve lopmen t P er sonnel .................................................................................. 63. Administrators ........................................................................................................... 7

G. Prof essional Dev elo pme nt ............................................................................................... 7H. Off -Cam pus Instru ctio n ................................................................................................... 8

Chapt er Thr ee: Wor kf or ce E duc atio n Pro gram E lements .......................................................10

A. Work for ce Educa tion Pro grams: De fi ning Ch aract eristics ..................................................111. Explanatio n of C IP C ode s ..........................................................................................112. Types and C haracteristic s of Aw ards ..........................................................................19

B. Program Re quireme nts ..................................................................................................281. Program Demand 282. Effe ctiv e Us e o f Ad visor y Commit te es ........................................................................283. Iden tifi catio n of Pro gra m Comp ete ncies .....................................................................304. Selection of Program Courses ....................................................................................305. Dev elopm en tal Edu catio n Cours es .............................................................................336. Establishme nt o f Pr ogra m Linkag es ...........................................................................337. Verifi cati on of Work place Com pe ten cies .....................................................................338. Stud ent S uc cess G uideli nes an d Sta ndards ................................................................409. Repor ting a nd Recor d K eepin g ..................................................................................41

10. Addition al Guidelines for Conti nuing Educa tion ( CEU) Courses.....................................42

11. Oth er Re qui remen ts .................................................................................................45

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C. Examples o f Forms ........................................................................................................461. Advisory Co mmittee Me eting Minute s ........................................................................472. Chart of SCANS Skills ................................................................................................493. SCANS Occupational Ass essment ...............................................................................524. Program Co mpet enc y Pr ofile .....................................................................................545. SCANS Ma tri x Mod el .................................................................................................576. External L ea rning Expe rienc e S tud en t Evalua tion Form ...............................................587. Transcrip t F orm .......................................................................................................60

Chapt er Fou r: The Wor kfor ce Edu cation Cours e Manual (W ECM) ..........................................61

A. Backg rou nd and Pur pos e s of the WE CM ..........................................................................62B. Dev elopm en t and Or gani zation of WE CM Co urses ............................................................62C. Explanatio n of C ourse E ntries .........................................................................................63D. Using th e W ECM ............................................................................................................65

1. Guidelin es f or All C ours e Typ es .................................................................................652. Spe cial To pi cs Co urses .............................................................................................663. Loc al N eed Courses ..................................................................................................694. External L ea rning Expe rienc e C ourse s .......................................................................715. Mirror C ours es .........................................................................................................746. Lower -Di vision A cad emic C ourse Gui de M anual ( ACGM) Par al lel Cou rses .....................747. Dev elopm en tal Edu catio n Cours es .............................................................................758 . Vend or -Auth ori ze d a nd Gen eri c Non -Ve nd or C ours es ..................................................759. Courses R eq uired by Lic ensure , C ert ificati on, or Accr edita tio n Agen cies .......................7510. CEU Prof essi onal Dev elo pment Cer tif ication C our ses...................................................7511. WECM Sh ort-Hour Con ti nuing Educa tion U nit (C EU) Cours es .......................................7612. SCH Single-Course Delivery .......................................................................................76

E. Mainte nan ce Pro cess f or WECM Co ur ses .........................................................................761. New Courses ............................................................................................................772. Revised Cou rses .......................................................................................................773. Corre ct ed C ourses ....................................................................................................774. Archived Courses ......................................................................................................775. Archive -P en ding C ourse s ..........................................................................................77

Chapt er Five : New Prog ram Appr ov al Pro cess ......................................................................78

A. Ov erview o f the New Prog ram Ce rtifi cati on Pr oce ss .........................................................791. New Pr ogra m Appro val Require d ...............................................................................802. Distanc e Ed ucati on Pr og rams ....................................................................................803. Applica tion Deadlin es ...............................................................................................804. Texas Skill S tandar ds Board Recognition ....................................................................80

B. Applica tion Proc edur es and Re quire ments .......................................................................811. Lett er of Int ent ........................................................................................................812. Electr onic N ew Pr ogram Applica tion Forms ................................................................813. Supp orting Doc umen tat ion .......................................................................................81

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C. New Pr ogra m Review Pr ocess .........................................................................................841. Staff Revi ew of th e Appli cati on ..................................................................................842. Obje cti ons t o Pro pos ed New Pr ogra ms ......................................................................843. Coor dinatin g Boar d App roval .....................................................................................854. Implem enta tion Dea dlin e ..........................................................................................855. Appeals Pro ced ure ....................................................................................................85

D. Examples an d F orms ......................................................................................................86

Chapt er Six: Pro gram R evisions ..........................................................................................91

A. Nee d f or Pro gram Revisi ons ...........................................................................................921. Chang es Th at Req uire a Progr am Revision .................................................................922. Chang es Th at D o N ot Requir e a Pro gram Revisi on .....................................................933. Chang es Th at Req uire a New Prog ra m Applica tion .....................................................934. Applica tion Deadlin es ...............................................................................................93

B. Electr onic S ubmission of Progr am Re visions ....................................................................94C. Compo nen ts of Prog ram Revision Ap plicati ons .................................................................94D. Program Re vision Pr oce dures .........................................................................................95

1. Conv ersion/R evision to a Te ch Pr ep Award ................................................................952. Program De activ atio n ...............................................................................................953. Program Re activ atio n ...............................................................................................954. Institu tion -I nitiate d Cl osure ......................................................................................95

E. Staff Revi ew of R evision Applica tion ................................................................................96F. Appeals Pro ced ure .........................................................................................................96

Chapter S even: Gl ossary ......................................................................................................97

URL Web Sit e Addr esses .................................................................................................... 108

A. Coor dinatin g Boar d Information .................................................................................... 109B. Fed eral Gov ernmen t Ag enci es (G en eral I nfo rma tion) ..................................................... 109C. State G over nment Agen cies ( Gen era l Inf ormatio n) ........................................................ 110D. Higher Ed uc ation Ass oci ations and I nforma tion Resour ces ............................................. 111E. Program or Oc cup atio n- Spe cific Ac cr editing , C ert ifying or Li censing B odi es and

Prof essional Associati on s .............................................................................................. 113F. Regional Accredi ting Bo dies .......................................................................................... 116


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Chapter One: Introduction

[A.] A. Purpose of the Guidelines 2

B. Programs an d Awards 2C. Changes in the Guidelines 2D. Effe ctiv e Da tes f or the 2010 Guidelines 3E. Conta ct Us 3

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A. Purpos e o f t he G uideline s

The Guidelines for Instructional Programs in Workforce Education (GIPWE) is the Coor dinatin g Boar d’s official p olicy manual for both cr edit and n on -cre di t w or kf orce edu cati on pr ograms of fe red a t p ublic higher education i nstitutions in T exas.

The manual provides guidelines for the eff ective design, development, operation, and evaluation of credit and non-credit workforce education programs. The guidelines contained in this manual are based on rules adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Rules adopted by the Coordinating Board are available under Title 19wor kf orce edu cati on pr ograms. of the Texas Administrative Code.

The processes associated with these guidelines include applications for new program approval, revisions for currently approved programs, deactivation or reactivation of programs, and closure of programs, an d implementa tion of Tech Prep programs..

Throughout thesethe guidelines, the word “must” is used to identify program requirements and the word “should” is used to identify characteristics that are strongly recommended.

Coordinating Board Rule 9.93 (b)(1)(H)B. states that a program must be “designed to be consistent with the standards of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and with the standards of other applicable accrediting agencies, and…in compliance with appropriate licensing authority requirements.” If the guidelines in this manual and the program requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) conflict, the SACSCOC requirements supersede these guidelines.

A. Programs and Awards

The following programs and awards are covered in the Guidelines inclu de:

[1.] 1. Associate of Applied Science (AAS)/) and Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) degrees;

[2.] 2. certificates approved by the Coordinating Board and offered for continuing education units (CEU) or semester credit hours (SCH); and

[3.] 3. institutional certificates and marketable skills achievement awards.

These guidelines do not apply to academic associate degrees and certificate programs such as the Associate of Arts (AA), the Associate of Science (AS), the Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT), or the academic core curriculum.

C. Changes in the Guidelines

The 2010 revision incorp orates som e notable changes from the 2008 edit ion. Notabl e changes incl ude the following:

http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=1&ch=9&rl=93

http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=2&ti=19

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Chapter Tw o, General R equir ements: No not able cha nges .

Chapt er Thr ee, Pro gram Elemen ts : Table 3 .1, P rogram Ar ea s by 2 -digit and 6 -digi t CIP Code Lev el, h as b een upd ate d to i nclu de t he 2010 CIP co des publi shed b y t he Natio nal Ce nter for Educa tion St atistics ( NCE S). Ch ang es in Cha pter Three also r eflect the ne w program certi fication and the repeal of insti tutional effecti ven ess processes.

Chapter Fou r, W orkfor ce Education C ourse Manu al (WECM): No n ot able chang es.

Chapt er Five, N ew Pr ogr am Appr oval : The 2010 r evision of C hapter Five states the rulesthat w ere a dop ted by t he B oard in Octob er 200 9 regarding the certifi cation of new associate of a pplied science d egr ee an d certi ficat e pr ogra ms.

Chapt er Six, Progr am Re visions: No nota ble cha nges.

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Chapter Eight, Institutional Effectiveness: Chapter 10 of Coordinating Board rul es rel ating to Institutional Effectivenes s in Publi c T wo-Year C olleges w as repealed b y th e Board at it s Octob er 200 9 quar terly meetin g. Co nsequ ently, Chapter Eight has been removed from the GIPWE .

On ce adopted, new rules conc erning the revi ew of existing p rograms at public colleges and universiti es will be made availabl e at:

[B.] D. Effective Dates for the 20102014 Guidelines

Institutions must begin incorporating the 2014 Guidelines for Instructional Programs in Workforce Education starting September 1, 2014. The 2014 Guidelines must be fully implemented by fall 2015. Applications for new workforce education programs are subject to the requirements of the

2010 2014 Guidelines for Instructi onal Programs in Wo rkfor ce Educ ation beginning D ecemb erSeptember 1, 2014, except for the legislatively mandated 60 semester credit hour (SCH) limit for associate degree programs, which becomes effective fall 2015.

2009.

[C.] E. Contact Us

A directory of Coordinating Board staff in th e Ca reer and Te chni cal Programs Department responsible for workforce education programs is available at www.thecb.state.tx.us/WAARstafffr om the THECB home page (ww w .t he cb. s ta t e.t x . us ) through Academic A ffairs – Career Te ch nical Pr ogra ms..

Mailing address:

CareerCommunity and Technical Pr ogra msCollege DepartmentTexas Higher Education Coordinating BoardP.O. Box 12788Austin, Texas 78711

Telephone Number: 512-427-6200Fax Number: 512-427-6168

To submit comments or suggestions for the next edition of the

GIPWE, conta ct: Susan E. Hetzler, Ph.D.Direc tor of C areer Te chni cal Pr ogram sTexas Higher Education Coor dinatin g Boar dP.O. B ox 12 788Austin, T exas 78711Telephone Number: 512- 427-6220Fax Num ber : 512-427 -6 168

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?objectid=15D7058E-EC17-079B-57E9ADC11B021659

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please email: [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

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Chapter Two: General Institutional and Personnel Requirements for Workforce Education Programs

[A.] A. Role, Mission, and Institutional Accreditation5

B. Program Co ordina tion/F acult y 5C. Program an d Gra duat e Credentialin g 5D. Equipment, Faciliti es, Classrooms, and Laboratories 6E. Career D eve lopmen t S er vices 6F. Qualifi cati on s of Wor kfor ce E ducation Program P ersonn el 6

1. Faculty 62. Career Development P er sonnel 63. Administrators 7

G. Prof essional Dev elo pme nt 7H. Off-Cam pus Instruction 8

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A. Role, Mission, and Institutional Accreditation

Each Workforce education programprograms offered by a Texas public community or technical college must be withinconsistent with the institution’s role and mission as established by the Texas Legislature and approved by the institution's governing board.

To receive Coordinating Board approval for a workforce education program, a public technical or community college must comply with the Principles of Accreditation of the Commission on C olle ges ofadopted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SA CS/COC).SACSCOC).

[B.] B. Program Coordination/ and Faculty

Each Workforce education programprograms must be directed by an administrator who has appropriate authority to ensure that the quality of the program is maintained and that the program complies with all applicable laws, rules, and guidelines.

E ach Workforce education Associate of Applied Science (AAS)/) and Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) degree programprograms must have at least one full-time faculty member whose primary teaching assignment is i nwith that program.

All certificate programs must have an assigned program coordinator who is a full-time employee of the college qualified in an occupational/technical area (but not necessarily assigned full-time to the certificate program). Certificate programs must have at least one appropriately credentialed part-time faculty member teaching in the subject area.

C. Program an d Gra duat e Credentialin g

Each program coordinator shallcoordinators must be familiar with state, federal, and national program accreditation, certification, orand approval and credentialing requirements, i. e., for graduates, including licensure, certification, and/or registration, for gradua tes , b oth m andat ory a nd opti onal.

[C.] Each institution must provide a sys t em an d a ti meline toProgram and Graduate Credentialing

Institutions must seek state or national program accreditation, certification, or equivalent recognition, when applicable, in conjunction with the development of the program. If the accrediting or certifying body requires documentation that students have graduated as a condition of certification or accreditation, the institution must seek certification or accreditation within 12 months after the first gradua ting class. The ins tituti on ma y also n eg oti ate wi th t he Coordina tin g Boar d

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a nd different tim e of accreditation or certificati on should it be necessary but must notify in ample time. graduates.

Graduates must be eligible to seek credentialing upon graduation without additional work experience or verifi cation of com parabl e education, unless the additional work experience and/or v erifi cati oneducation is commonly required of all applicants for the credential.

For program s in which s uch accreditation or app roval is not r equir ed f or studen ts t o seek creden tialin g upon graduation an d i s not a com mon expe ct ation of local industry, the institution m ay ei ther obtain pr ogra m accreditation or approval or cl earl y discl ose to program applicants the eligible cr ed entials t o s e ek u pon gra duati on. The instituti onInstitutions must also communicate any limitations to the students resulting from th e p rog ram’s non-accreditation of a program and inform them how to contact a related credentialing agency when applicable.

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[D.] D. Equipment, Facilities, Classrooms, and Laboratories

All facilities, classrooms, and laboratory space must be adequate and appropriate for the program to serve the an ticipa ted number of students projected to enroll. Equipment should represent technology currently found in business and industry. Opportunities for students to gain additional hands-on experience usin g stat e-of -th e-ar t equip ment should be provided via external learning experiences. This applies to all out-of-district and off-campus, as w ell as on-camp us, loca tions .

[D.] E. Career Development Services

Each insti tut ionInstitutions must provide comprehensive career development services to students, including career information and planning;, job placement;, career counseling and assessment;, and follow-up services.

[E.] F. Qualifications of Workforce Education Program Personnel

The minimum qualifications for all w orkforce educati on pr ogr am pers onnel must be i n compliance with current SACS prin ci ples. The following personnel qualifications information is provided to help colleges and schoolsinstitutions ensure excellence in instruction and career development services for students a s well as eff ecti ve pro gr am, programs, and course administration:

1. Faculty

It is the responsibility of each institution to ensure that the qualifications of faculty teaching in state-fu nded workforce education programs and courses ( , both for credit and continuing education), are in compliance with the current requirements of the Commission on C olle ges of th e So ut hern Asso cia tion of Colle ges an d S ch ools (SAC S),SACSCOC, regardless of the teaching cir cumsta nces (i.e ., fu ll time, part time, of f-ca mpus, out -o f- district , dist ance lea rnin g, a nd third- party contra ctual) .modality or location. Faculty must be recruited and appointed by the institution prior to the start of instruction. Institutions must document academic preparation, work experience, other appropriate qualifications (certificates, licensure, etc.), and justification for any exceptions to SACSCOC requirements.

Degrees and graduate credit hours held by faculty members, whether full-time or part-time, must have been earned at an institution accredited by an accreditor recognized by the Coordinating Board or its foreign equivalent. It is the responsibility of the institution to verify equivalency of degrees or credit hours granted by foreign institutions. Documentation of degree equivalency must be kept on file as long as the faculty member is employed by the institution.

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Faculty m ust be recruite d and ap poi nted by th e institution pr ior t o th e st art ofinstructi on. Institutional records mus t do cum ent acad emic pr epara tion , w ork experi en ce , oth er appropriate quali ficati ons (i.e., cer tificates, licensure, etc.), and completejustificati on for any exceptions to th e requirem ents of SACS .

2. Career Development Personnel

Career development personnel should have a combination of academic preparation and work experience.:

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[a.] a. Guidance, counseling, and career development activities should be provided by professionally trained counselors. A master's degree in counseling or a closely related field is required or; alternatively, a master's degree with significant course w orkcoursework and experience in career development is acceptable. Examples of related aca demic graduate degree pr ogra msdegrees include student development counseling in higher education and mental health counseling. Professional credentials, such as state professional counseling licensure (LPC) or certification by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) are preferred.

[b.] b. Career development personnel must meet the requirements of SACSSACSCOC and/or federal Perkins Act regulations in accordance with their specific assignments.

[c.] c. In exceptional cases, outstanding professional experience and demonstrated competency may substitute for the academic preparation m e ntion edstated above. This should include a combination of both exceptional c ours e wor kcoursework and experience in career development. Institutions must verify these exceptions on an individual basis and keep supporting documentation on file.

[d.] d. Paraprofessionals employed in specific areas, such as job placement, must demonstrate academic preparation and experience consistent with their assignments.

3. Qualifications of Administrators

The identi fication of qualifications forof administrators of workforce education programs isare the responsibility of the higher education institution in keeping with its defined mission, administrative organization, and accreditation standards. Workforce education administrators should possess credentials, experience, and demonstrated competency appropriate tofor their areas of responsibility.

[F.] G. Professional Development

An institution must provide workforce education progr am faculty, career development personnel, and administrators with a n on-going opp ortu nity to enga ge in opportunities for professional development f or th e dur ation of th ei r empl oyment at th e ins tituti on.

. Professional development opportunities should include content that assists the college personnel in further developing their knowledge and skills related to their role in the institution and theirpositions. Professional development in general (i .e., may include instructional methods for facul ty, approaches to advising diverse populations for advis ors, advances in information management for admi nistrators).

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, and related activities. A record of all professional development activities completed by colleg e pers onnel should be maintained f or th e durati on of their employment .

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H. Off-Campus Instruction

All off-campus instruction must adhere to Coor dinating Boar d Rules, Cha pter 4, S ubchapter P, “A ppr oval of Distan ce Educa tion C ourses a nd Programs for Public Insti tutions,” an d Chapt er 4 , S ubch apt er Q, “A ppr oval of Off-C amp us and Self-Supp orting Courses and Programs fo r Public Insti tutio ns.” Th e n otifi catio n and app ro val pr ocedur es f or distan ce edu cati on, o ff-camp us, a nd o n-camp us exte nsion pro grams a nd cours es are p ost ed o n th e Distance Educati on w ebsite, w hich is accessed from the TH ECB hom e page (www.thecb.state.t x .u s ) through Academic Affairs – Academ ic Programs – Distan ce Education, and include the following:

“2. Pro ce du res f or Off -C ampus Co ur se and Prog ram Deliv ery and On -Ca mpus Exten sionCourse and Program Del ivery

(a) Procedur es for Revi ew a nd Appr ov al of All Off-C ampus L ower-Division In structi on (bot h f orm ul a fun ded an d ext ensi on ) and On -Cam pus Ex tensi on L ow er- Divisi on Instru ction.

(1) Unless spe ci fically exem pted by th e Board , all off-campus lower-division courses by uni versiti es, h ealth -r elated institutions, publi c technical col leges , Lamar state colle ges , or by pu blic co mmunity col leges outsid e th eir ser vi ce areas s ha ll be review ed by the high er edu cati on R egion al C ou ncil con taini ng each site proposed to receive instructi on.

(2) Regional Council notifi cation shall be made for al l on-cam pus extension l ower- division courses.

(3) A public community col lege plannin g to offer off-campus courses and programs outside its taxing district but inside its servi ce area shall noti fy all potenti ally affe ct ed R eg ional C oun cil s prior to off ering the co urse or pr og ram.

(4) All institutions offering off-campus lower-division instruction shall submit an annual Off-C ampus Ins tr ucti onal Pla n to th e a ppropriate Regional C oun cil s and the B oar d on a sched ule to be deter mined by th e Commissioner. An Off-Campus Instructional Plan is an i nstituti on’s listing b y lo ca tion of of f-c ampus lowe r- division cour ses and programs plann ed t o be tau ght d uring a n academi c year . For publi c community colleges, the Off-Cam pus Instructional Plan will contain both ou t-of -service ar ea courses an d pr ograms that r equir e Regional Council review and approval, an d ou t-of-dist rict b ut in -service-ar ea courses a nd programs w hich m erely require Regi onal C oun cil noti fica tion .

(7) Procedur es for submittin g applicatio ns to th e Board f or a uth orizati on to off er off - campus l ow er-di vision courses are as follows:

(A) Each Regional Council shall revi ew Off-Cam pus In structi onal P lans affectin g the R egion prop osed by all institu tions, ex cept for cours es offer ed by commu nity colle ges in t heir d esigna ted s ervi ce areas, and f orward its recommend ations for approval or dis approval to the B oar d.

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(B) If pr op osed off -c ampus cours es c oul d af fect a n i nstituti on w hich is a member of a no ther Region al C ou ncil, the Off- Campus Instructional Plan shall also be sent to that institution and to the Council to w hich it belongs. The full membershi p of tha t C ou ncil shall r eview th e pr oposal an d return a recommend ation for ap proval or dis approval to the originati ng institution.This recom menda tion of th e Region al Cou ncil and the instit ution’s request shall both be sent to the Commissioner.”

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by the institution.

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Chapter Three: Workforce Education Program Elements

[A.] A. Workforce Education Programs: Defi ning Ch aracteristics 11Overview

1. Explanation of C IP C odes 112. Types and C haracteristic s of Aw ards 19

B. Program Requirements 281. Program Demand 282. Effective Us e of Advisory Committees 283. Iden tifi catio n of Pro gra m Comp ete ncies 304. Selection of Program Courses 305. Developm ental Educatio n Cours es 336. Establishment of Pr ogra m Linkages 337. Verifi cati on of Work place Com pe ten cies 338. Stud ent S uccess G uideli nes an d Sta ndards 409. Repor ting a nd Recor d K eepin g 4110. Addition al Guidelines for Conti nuing Educa tion ( CEU) Courses 4211. Oth er Re qui remen ts 45

C. Examples of Forms 461. Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 472. Chart of SCANS Skills 493. SCANS Occupational Ass essment 524. Program Competency Pr ofile 545. SCANS Ma tri x Model 576. External L ea rning Experience S tuden t Evalua tion Form 587. Transcri pt Form 60

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A. Workfor ce Educa tion Programs: Defining Characteristics

ConsistentIn keeping with the U.S. Department of Education’s 16 Career Clusters16 Care er Clusters and, the Texas Education Agency’s AchieveTexasAchi eveT exas career pathways initiative, and the Coordinating Board’s Texas Career Clusters (www.AchieveTexa s .org ), project, a workforce education program consists of a coherent sequence of courses designed to prepare students for employment in a career field. A workforce education program is developed by an institution w orking in close cooperation with business and industry to satisfy a need for timely and effective workforce education. Additionally, many workforce education programs toda y are articulated with secondary schools through dual-credit or Tech Pre p and with four--year college programs to provide students the opportunity for a seamless transition and furtherto the next level of education.

A workfor ce educati on pr ogram has a com petency-bas ed curr iculum orga nized to edu cate industry -driv en le arning out com es. T hese outco mes are me asured i n te rms of appr opriat e skills, knowledge, and perspectives mastered by a student to enter a profession related to the pro gram ’s care er p at hway. All w orkf orce edu cati on pr ogr ams must pr ovid e stu de nts with opportunities to attain competence in oral and written communicati on as w ell as math and com puter skills. T hese skills may be dem onstrated by the inclusion of either applications or assignm e nts in multip le courses o r by co urses in th ese ba sic comp ete ncies .

Business and industry experts should provide substantial input into the curriculum design of a workforce education program, including profession-specific knowledge, skills, and abilities and general skills as appropriate, such as oral and written communication, mathematics, computer literacy, and industry-related workplace practices.

A workforce education program may lead to a single award (degree or certificate) or contain a "career cluster " of multiple awards/exit options (degreesdegree and/or certificates). A progr am is usually id ent ified by a tw o-di git Class ificati on of I nstruc tional Programs (C IP) cod e (s ee T able 3 -1) w hile an awar d is identifi ed by a six-di git CIP code . Wh en quit e distinct disci plines ar e encom passed by the sam e tw o-digit CIP cod e, th e pr ogram is defin ed by t he four -digi t or six-digit CIP cod e. In many ins ta nces su ch a wards must meet i ndus tr y and/ or s ta te/n ati onal a ccr edi tatio n, li censure, certific ation, or registration requir ement s. Som e of t hese awards can be join ed in car eer lattices (se e Table 3-2 f or some exam ples). If add itional la tti ces are ne ed ed, institu tio ns may p rov ide evid ence of local or m ar ket ne ed to the Co ordin ating B oard and request consideration of new lattices .

1. Explanation of C IP C odes

The Classifi cation of Inst ructi onal Pr ograms (CIP ) is a federal taxon omy d evel op ed by the U.S . Department of Educa tion's National Ce nter for Edu cati on S tatis tics (NCES) (http:/ / nces.ed.go v ). Th e CIP taxon omy is us ed by sta te age ncies and na tional associati ons to esta blish standar d te rminolog y, improv e com municati on , and sta ndar dize record-keepi ng.

Gen erally, a s more digit s are a dd ed to a CIP cod e, the pr ogr am becom es more

http://txcareerclusters.org/

http://www.achievetexas.org/

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/factsh/career-clstrs-prgrms-study-fs080528qa-kc.pdf

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/factsh/career-clstrs-prgrms-study-fs080528qa-kc.pdf

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specific. A two-digit CIP Code refers t o a broad career fi eld. A four -di git CIP cod e refers ei ther to a car eer pat hway or sim ilar lev els of training bu t possibly in differing occupati ons. Asix-digit C IP cod e r ef ers t o a sp ecific occup ation or job titl e. For exampl e, CIP cod e:

50 Visual an d Per formin g Arts50.04 D esign a nd Appli ed A rts50.0402 C ommer cial and Advertisi ng Art

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Table 3 -1 lis ts pro gram areas in th e program CIP code colum n. The list of program names/awar ds tha t shou ld be gr oupe d at the tw o-digit lev el is revi ewed p eriodi cally . While coll eg es’ recomm enda tions fo r CIP co de a ssignments are gi ven ev ery considera tion, C IP code assignments are ultimat ely b ased on defi nitions in th e CIP code manual as determin ed by Coordin ati ng Board staff.

Table 3 -1 . P rogram Ar ea s by 2 -digit and 6 -digi t CIP Code Level

1 Program sequence is indicated in parentheses, where applicable.

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18


19


20


21


Table 3-2 provides a list of la ttices consisting of p rograms in differen t CIP codes that lead to care er pa thwa ys.

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`Table 3 -2 . Career Latti ces

Addition al guidelines for reasonabl e and fl exible groupi ngs of awards wi thin program s are as foll ows:

a. All awards must begin with the same pr ogram CIP code. Instituti ons will have the opp ortu nity to p rovi de feed back t o t he C oor dina ting B oard on any neces sary reclassifi cati on or divisio n of existing pro grams.

b. The Coordinating B oard’ s offi cial program inventory will list program titles that are based on th e titl e of the CIP code to which th e p rogram or la ttice b elong s.

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Institu tions may choose their own a ward ti tles p rovid ed that the awar d clearly defin es th e natur e of th e awar d. Ins tituti ons ar e en cour aged to use com mon aw ard titles as s pecified in the CIP cod e m anual t o promote arti cul ation i n pr ogram offerings an d awar ds th at ar e gr anted by oth er institutions.

2. Types and C haracteristic s of Aw ards

Each prog ra m may ha ve sever al awa rds. Generally, it is recommended that the number and type of awards in a program not exceed the following:

[1.] a. one AAS or AAA degree;, 60 semester credit hours (SCH);[2.] b. two level -one certificates, each between 15-42 semester cr edit

hours ( SCH);SCH;[3.] c. one level -two certificate between 43-5930-51 SCH;[4.] d. one enhanced skills certificate (if applicable) between 6-15 SCH;[5.] e. one or more continuing education certificates (if applicable) between

360 and -779 contact hours; and[6.] f. one or more marketable skills awards (if applicable) between 9-14 SCH

or 144-359 contact hours.

In some disciplines, a broader array of awards may be warranted. The type and number of awards should provide the building blocks for students leadingto move from basic to more advanced workplace competencies. Ideally, each award should enable students to build towardstoward the associate degree. Under some ci rcum stances, a program m ay also h ave a n advan ce d te chni cal certif icat e o f 16 -5 0 SCH.

A program is usually identified by a four-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code while an award is identified by a six-digit CIP code. Generally, as more digits are added to a CIP code, the classification becomes more specific. A two-digit CIP code refers to a broad career field. A four-digit CIP code refers to a career pathway or similar levels of training but possibly in differing occupations. A six-digit CIP code refers to a specific occupation or job title.

For example: CIP code 50 Visual and Performing Arts CIP code 50.04 Design and Applied Arts CIP code 50.0402 Commercial and Advertising Art

The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is a federal taxonomy developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The CIP taxonomy is used by state agencies and national associations to establish standard terminology, improve communication, and standardize recordkeeping. A list of CIP codes is available at http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/CIP/

In August 1 998, L ynda Zimmerman of th e Amer ican Associa tion of Com munity C olleges (AACC) pu blished a poli cy stat emen t con cerning t he associat e deg ree. Th e t ext of t he statem ent m ay b e a cces sed o n t he A ACC websit e (ht t p ://www .a a c c . n c h e .e d u ). The existen ce of sever al differen t d egr ee titl es for t he sam e or highly simila r programs inevitably results in confusion wh en pot ential em ploy ers e val uate the qualificati ons of workforce education program graduates. Zimmerman stated:

http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/CIP/

http://nces.ed.gov/

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In re cent ye ars ther e ha s bee n a problem of ti tles for associa te d egr ees . In cert ain sta te s and in cert ain institu tio ns, dif fer ent deg re e title s are us ed d ue to traditi on or local circumstances. But instituti ons should avoid degree title proliferati on and the con fusion w hich results, especially since students move from insti tution to insti tu tion a nd, upon gr adua ti on, to differ ent areas of the nation . T he use o f multi ple d egr ee ti tles has bee n esp ecially preval ent in occup ation al areas w her e som e insti tutio ns o ffer many diff er ent deg re es in specifi c tech nologies. In an at temp t t o redu ce the numb er of t hese deg rees and to a voi d confusion a bout th e level of academic achievement, it is highly recommend ed ( that th e applie d asso ciat e d egr ee ) hav e a limited numb er of designa tions to den ot e s peci al fiel ds of st udy s uch as nursing , compu tertechnol ogy, or law enfor cem ent. Ins t itutions are encoura ged to us e na tionally standar dized nom en clature to ensur e tra nsfer abi lity and a common underst andi ng o f t he associat e degr ee. (p .2)

The r eport also recomm ends that in contrast to narrowly specialized programs, progr ams sh ould be desi gned t o edu cat e stu dent s broa dly wi thin an occu pation or

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industry. Where appli cable, certifi cates should follow the same gui delines using s tandard nomen clatur e an d types of aw ards.

The limitation on multipl e awards wi thin defin ed subject ar ea s is inten ded to pro te ct against excessive awar d proliferati on and to promote the successful pro gression of students toward program com p leti on. The limitation does not prevent exceptions from being requested.

Approv ed ap plied ass ocia te d egr ee a nd certi ficat e pr ograms shall app ear on the workforce education pr ogram inventory mai ntained by the Coordi nating Board. All progr ams wi ll be su bject to esta blished sta tewid e pr ogram e valuati on pr ocedur es. Awards mus t be listed in an institution's catal og , appear on a student's tr anscript , an d be subj ect to an institution' s Gra dua te Guaran tee policy.

a. Associate of Applied Science/Associate of Applied Arts D egr ees

The d egr ee opti ons f or a work for ce e duca tion pro gram ar e th e Associ ate of Ap plied Science (AA S) degree and the Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) degree. Degrees m u st be limit ed to a t otal of 6 0-72 sem est er credi t ho urs. Ea ch w orkf orce edu cati on progr am sh ould have at least half of its coursew ork drawn fr om a comm on technical special ty id entified by th e pr ogram C IP cod e. Thi s ensures th at each degr ee or certi fica te pr ogram has a clea rly d efi ned su bject matter focus and provides students with o pp ort unities for e mployme nt and care er a dvan cem ent . Th ese guid elines ar e not in tended to est ablis h an a rbitrar y numb er or per cen tag e of sp eci fic courses that must be contained in a program; l ogi cal ex ceptions to the gui delines will be permitt ed .

An appli ed a ssociate degree r esults i n a formal a ward that in dicates mastery of a prescribed s eries of com petencies with defined empl oyment outcom es. A AS and AAA degr ees are technical in natur e an d are usu ally i denti fied wit h a br oa d d esignati on (e.g., AAS in Electronics and AAA in Music Performance).

The technical specialty component of an AAS or AAA degree should cons titute 50 percen t t o 7 5 per ce nt of the course credi ts. T he se may i nclu de b ot h W or kfor ce Educa tion C ourse Manu al (WECM) courses and academic courses that are directly relate d t o th e disci pline . The us e o f WECM Speci al Topi cs in the curri culum is limited to t hre e cou rses (see Ch apter Four f or d etails) . I n certain ca ses, th er e ar e par allel cours es listed in the WE CM and the Lower -Di vision A cademic C ourse Gui de M anual (ACGM) . In these instan ces, th e AC GM cours es with WECM equival ents may coun t a s part of the t ech nical s pe cialty component. The remaining 25 percen t t o 5 0 per cent of an AAS or A AA degree should consist of support cours es and gen er al edu cati on cours es.

In re cent ye ars, n ew car eer fields su ch as Bi ot echnolo gy hav e em erg ed t hat ma y requir e exte nsive a cade mic pr eparat ion f or a stu dent t o e nte r the wor kfo rce . Su ch cases ma y warrant an exception t o the general poli cy t hat 50 per cent of th e cours e credi t be in technical course work, especially if s ome of the required course work has no WEC M equivalent courses. In ca ses wher e the pr ogr am would r equir e a

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prep ond era nce o f a cad emic co urse s, th e colleg e must do cu ment that th e ad ditio nal academic course work w as recommended by th e program ad visory comm ittee an d that i t is dir ectl y rel ated to the occu pational fi el d and/ or to a Coordina ti ng Board- approved Field of S tud y Curricul um.

Coor dinatin g Boar d rule s and guideli nes ar e alig ned wi th t he Principl es of Accr edita tion: Founda ti ons for Qual ity Enha ncement of th e Commission on C olle ges of the S ou th er n Asso ciati on of C olleg es and Schools (SACS). To meet SA CS guidelines, each degree must have a minimum of 15 sem ester hours in gener al edu cati on. T he 1 5 hour s of gen er al e duca ti on mus t i nclu de at l east on e c ours e in each of the following three areas: humanitie s/fine arts , social/behavioral sciences, and ma them atics/na tural scien ces . E ach coll ege should w ork with its SACSrepres entati ve concerni ng cours es that will be acceptable. General education courses must be transferable courses found in the ACGM or on the c olleg e’s appr ove d acad emic un ique n eed course i nvent ory. Exampl es of a ccept able gen eral edu cati on disciplines are listed in T able 3-3 bel ow.

Table 3 -3 . Examples of Gen eral E d ucati on C our ses by Ar ea

Humanitie s/ Fine Arts*

Social/ Behavioral Science

Natural Science and Math

Hu manitiesLiterature History of Theater Art HistoryMusic Appreciation/ Music History Dance Hi story Philosophy

Cultural StudiesClassi cal Lan guages

Ethics

GovernmentHistory

Psy chology Sociology

Anthropology Econo mics

BiologyChemistry

Phy sicsCollege-level Math (must be

acade mic, not applied) Geology

*Not e: Use of S pe ech or English co mposit ion courses to satisfy the Humanities/Fine Arts req uirement is not recommend ed. Som e S ACS teams have disapp roved t his practice at a number of colleges .

Each degr ee program m ust also in clude m ath , computer, an d communi cation comp et en cie s. Thes e co mpet enci es should be b uilt int o e ver y course an d pr ogram t o the extent that they are appr opria te and r ele van t. I f a n i ns titution elects math, computer science, or communicati on courses as gen eral edu cati on r equir emen ts, t he cours es mus t be academ ic transfer course s of a collegiate level and general nature, not gear ed to a specific occupation ( e.g., welders, electri cians, or admini strative assistants).

In con trast , applie d com pet enci es sh ould be built into the program. In other words, math f or electrici ans mig ht b e an a ccepta ble prog ram course, but it is not a general edu cati on course.

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Furth er, if a colle ge ch oo ses math as a g eneral education requiremen t, i t nee d n ot be coll ege al gebra . An a ccept able course is college mathem atics. College mathematics is a course which may i nclud e al gebra and geometry, topi cs in sets, logic, num ber systems, number theory, fu nction s, eq uivalence, congruence , measurem ent, other geometri c concepts , and i ntroduction to probability and statistics .

b. Progr am Sp ecialti es an d Shor ten ed Tracks

A program s pecialty is a variation within one AAS or AAA degree allowing students to take individual courses . A specialty does not result in a differ ent AAS or AAA degree and is n ot li sted on the Coor dinatin g Boar d p rogram inv ent ory but m ay result i n a separat e cer tifica te awar d. Th e sp eci alty must m atch th e pr ogram CIP code of the approved a ward an d m ust hav e a t l east 50 perc ent of th e te chni cal sp eci alty compon ent (includin g W ECM and academi c courses) in com mon. Program speci alties may b e ap pr oved as r evi sions to th e original degr ee. Ins tituti ons int erest ed in program specialties should work cl os ely with Coordinatin g Board sta ff. Examples of special ties i nclude an A AS in Hospitality Ma nag em en t wi th a specialty i n Hotel Managemen t or Tourism . Anoth er ex ample is an AAS in Com puter Information Tech nol ogy with a sp ecialty in Syst ems Security or D esign a nd M edia .

If an institution has both an associate degree (A AS or AAA) and a shortened track to the deg ree, only the fina l award is lis ted on th e C oordi natin g Board’s pr og ram inventory. For exam ple, if a college has both a n AAS in nursi ng an d a Licensed Vocational N ursing (L VN) to Ass ociat e D egr ee Nu rsing (ADN ) transition tr ack , th e final awar d, the AAS , wo uld appear on th e inventory. Wh en there are tw o tra cks transitioning to the same award , t hey need n ot b e of t he sam e len gth . However , a ny credi t gi ven for previ ous learning mu st be tied t o specific cou rses. For ex ample, th e college’s ass ocia te degree in n ursing progr am ma y req uire 72 SCH for stu dents who have not complet ed t he LVN progra m and only a total of 60 SCH for LV N transi tion studen ts ( e.g., 45 SCH of course wor k and 15 SC H transferred fr om th e L VN progr am).

c. Credit Certi fi cate Pr ograms

A credit certificate shoul d constitute progression toward an AAS or an AA A degree. At least 50 p ercent of th e cours e cr edits shoul d be drawn fr om a focused techni cal special ty. The rem aining cours es may be techni ca l or a cademi c cours es.

Credit certifi cates will be approved in four different categori es or levels:

(1) A level on e certi fica te can be compl eted by a s t uden t in on e calendar year or less. It must consist of a t least 15 an d no mor e t hat 42 SCH. Stud ents in level one certifi ca te pr ogr ams are not req uired to tak e th e T exas Success I niti ative (TSI) as lon g as th ey ta ke n o m ore than 6 SCH outside th e curriculum i n a certi ficate program . All certifi cate programs should provide for local assessment and r emedia tion of s tudents. This aw ard shall be identi fied on the CBM-00 9 (graduate/ completer re port) as CER T1. As a rul e, the cur riculum for a l evel on e certi ficate is limited to one Special T opics course.

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A Career Foundati on Co re (C FC) C er tifica te is a l evel one certificate (CERT1). This certificate is based upon the identi fication of a sequence of WECM courses and learning outcomes that r epr esent a ca reer foundation core wi thin a specifi c career cluster. A CFC certificate m ust consist of at leas t 24 S CH and n o more than 42 SCH . Th e int ent of this awar d is to maxi mize a n indi vidual st udent's opportunity for imm ediate exit for em ployment with options to pursu e the progr am’s a ssociat e d eg ree or to tra nsfer to ano ther high er edu cati on in stitutio n or technical college. This certificate also allows a studen t to pursue a second year i n a sp ecifi c Ca reer Pathwa y pr ogram .

A certificate which exceeds 42 SCH i n a pr ofession r equirin g bot h ex tern al progr am a ccr edi ta ti on a nd lic ens ur e or certificati on examination for practitioners (e.g., Licens ed Vocati on al Nursing) may be appr oved by th e Coor dinatin g Boar d as TSI-waived if the prog ram can be com pleted in one year or less, has a maximum of 48 SCH for the program including all admissions and cours e prerequisites, has a maximum of 18 SCH per fall or spri ng semester, and meets Board rules for shortened semes ters .

Approval for a TSI waiver must be obtained by written request to the A cademicAffairs an d Research Di vision of t he Coordina tin g Boar d. Th e reques t m ustidenti fy t he award a nd i nclud e t he t otal n umb er of SCH in t he aw ard, t he num ber of SCH per s emest er, th e nam e of t he applicabl e accrediting, licensing orcerti fying ag ency/ag en cies, a nd a st atem ent of assurance t hat t he awa rd with all of its prer eq uisites can r eason ably b e c om pl ete d i n on e calen da r y ear.

(2) A level tw o certi ficate m ust consist of at l east 43 SCH and no more than 5 9 SCH.

Students in all level tw o certi ficates s hall be subj ect t o th e re quirements of the TSI. T his aw ard shall be identi fied on the CBM-00 9 as CERT2. As a rul e, the curriculum for a l evel tw o certi ficate is limited to no m ore than two Speci alTopics cours es.

(3) An Enhanced Skills Certi ficate is a certificate associated with an AAS or AAA degr ee prog ram. In som e cases, a b accal aur eate degree or junior -level s tandin g in a baccalaureate degree program may be a prerequisite for the Enhanced Skills Certifi cat e. The cer tifica te must b e clearly d efine d in cours e con ten t an d outcom es. It must consis t of at least 6 SCH and n o mor e than 15 SCH a nd may extend an A AS or AAA degree to an overall total that shall not exceed 87 SCH. This award shall be i den tified on th e CBM-00 9 as CERT3. Th e award m ust not be used to circumvent the 72 SCH cap for degrees . It is intended to provide skills bey ond care er e ntry or where ext er nal mand ate s make i t im possible for specifi ed programs to meet the 72 SCH limit.

(4) An Advanc ed Techni cal Certifi cate is a certificate that has a defin ed associat e or baccalaur eat e d egr ee as a prer eq uisite. In s ome cases, r equiri ng junior -lev el standing ma y be used as a pr erequisite for admis sion into the certificate. It must consist of at least 16 an d no mor e than 50 SCH. It mus t b e focus ed , cl ea rly relate d t o th e pr ere quisit e d egr ee, an d justifiabl e to m eet ind ustry or ext ernal

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agen cy requ irements . A n adv anced technical cer tifica te atta ched to an A ASdegr ee must be i n th e sa me pr ogram area as th e AAS degr ee (see T ables 3.1-3.2). For a n advan ced te chni cal certif icat e at tach ed t o a ba ccalaurea te degree or to juni or-l evel stan ding i n a baccalau reat e pr ogra m, th e colle ge sh ould consult with Coordin ating B oard staff for determinati on of an appr opr iate progra m area . This award shall be i den tified on th e CBM-00 9 as ATC. As a r ule, the curr iculum for a n a dva nced t echnical certifi cat e tog et her wi th th e p rer equisite ass o ciat e degree is limited to no more than three Special Topics courses.

An AAS or A AA degr ee p rogram tha t provid es a short ened tra ck of 1 6-50 SCH for studen ts wh o h old a rela ted degree may offer an advanced technical certificate for the short ened tra ck . For exampl e, an AAS de gree pr ogra m in Sonogr aphymay pr ovid e an a dvan ced techni cal certifi cate in sonograph y for students whoalready h old an AAS in E chocar diogr aphy . In this case , the pr ogram i nven tory would list both an AAS in Sonography and an advanced technical certi ficate in Sonography.

d. Contin uing Educa tion C ertifi cate Pr ograms

All WECM, Speci al Topics, and Local Need cours e s curr ently approved for workfor ce con tinuing educa tion contact h our r epor ting, regardless of length, shall be reported on the C BM-00C (Quarterly Class Report). S tudent-l evel data for wor kfor ce con tinuing educa tion courses shall be repor ted on the revised CBM-00A (Students in Non -S em est er L engt h Courses R eport).

A coher ent s equence of continuing education courses which total 360 or more con tact h our s must be s ubmitted as a workforc e edu cati on certifi cate pr ogram . Courses sh al l be co nside red part of a co her ent se quen ce if th ey m eet on e of th e following requirements:(1) includ e r equ ired a nd/o r r ecommen de d pr ereq uisit es or co-r eq uisites; (2) lead to an external credential (license, cer tific ati on, or regist ration); or(3) are t ake n b y a majorit y of st ude nts i n sequ en ce to m eet

o ccupati onal qualifications.

T hese cer ti fi cat e pr ogram s m ay awar d c ontin uin g ed uca ti on units (CE U) acc or din g to the guidelines in this m anual. All Continuing Edu cati on cer tifi cate pr ogra ms must be listed on t he coll eg e’s ap prov ed in ventory of pr ograms and must be tra nscript ed . Workfor ce educa tion pr ograms of 78 0 contact hours or m ore must be offered forSCH only . A n excep tion is made for Emergen cy Medi cal T echnology/Par amedi c continuing education pr ograms, C IP 51.0904, which may have a maximum of 800con tac t h ours.

An institutio n must follow SACS guid elines wh en con ver ting p revio usly aw arded CEU credi ts t o st uden ts tha t wish to hav e th em as colleg e credit . (S ee “Ad va nce d Standing” later in this chapter.) If the college converts CEU t o SCH, it mu st hav e a policy an d maintain documentati on that th e continuing edu cati on cou rses have m et the sam e ob jectiv es, rig or, eval uatio n process, a nd fa cult y q ualifications as the analogous credit courses. T he d ocum enta ti on m us t dem ons trate tha t i ndividual

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con tinuing e duca tion stu dents hav e met t he sam e comp et en cies as the s uccessful credi t stu dents prior t o t he gr antin g of SCH retr oactiv ely for cours es ta ken as con tinuing educa tion .

e. Institutional Awards

(1) Gen eral

In ad dition t o Coordi nati ng Board re cog nized aw ards, coll eges may offer institutional awards of fewer th an 15 SCH or 360 continuin g edu cati on conta ct hours r eflecting a course or series of cours es whi ch:

(a) repres ent achievem ent of an i den tifiable skill profi ciency, or(b) meet a stud ent's self -de fined ed ucat ional obje cti ve.

Institu tional awards shall be based on existing W ECM courses or cours es that are part of the i nstituti on’s approved Lo cal Need course invent ory. Institutional awards ar e not part of the C oor dina ting B oard P rogram Inventory.

(2) Marketabl e Skills Achievement Awards

A Marketabl e Skills A chi evem ent Aw ard is a s equence of credit cours es totaling9-14 SCH or workfor ce continui ng educati on cour ses of 144-3 59 contact hours. These awards meet the minimum standard for p rogram l eng th specifi ed by th eTexas Workforce C ommission for the federal Wor kfor ce In ves tm ent A ct ( WIA) program. Characteristics of marketabl e skills achievement aw ards include the following:

(a) The aw ard i s TSI-w aived und er C oordinatin g Board rul e 4.5 4b;(b) The con ten t of th e awar d must fulfill on e o f tw o requir ement s: the

pro gr am was recom mended by an external workfor ce a dvisory com mittee, or itappears on t he L ocal Wo rkfor ce D ev elopm ent Board’s Deman d Occupa tions list;

(c) In mos t cases, the award should be composed of WECM courses only,however , ac ademi c cour ses may be used occasi onally i f recommen ded by th e extern al committee an d if appropria te for the conten t of the award;

(d) If t he award do es n ot ha ve a t le ast 5 0 percent of its course work in an approved pr ogram CIP code on th e colleg e’s Coordinatin g Board inv ent or y,the coll ege must compl y with the Si ngle Course Delivery gui delines for WECMcours es listed in Chapter Four of this manual; and

(e) The insti tuti on should docum ent that the marketable skills achievem ent award prepa res stud ents for empl oy ment in a ccordan ce wit h guid elines forthe WIA.

Marketabl e Skills Achievement Awards do not require a pproval from the Coor dinatin g Boar d. Stu dents who complete the awards m a y be repor ted as compl et ers on t he C BM-00M re por t. (Refer t o th e Coordin ati ng Board

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R e portin g and Pr ocedu res Man ual f or mor e det ails.)

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(3) Appren ticeship

(a) General Information

Appren ticeship is a stru ctur ed sys te m of j ob trai ning d esign ed t o prep ar e individuals for occupations in skilled trades and crafts. It com bines industry skill standards (on-the-job training) under the s upervisi on of experienced journeyman -level w orkers with job-r elate d classroom ins truction. Traditio nal apprentices hip pr ogram s are in con structi on an d manu factu ring an d in clude oc cup ations such as elec trician , plum ber/pi pefi tter, carp ent er, and sh ee t metal w orker. The Departme nt o f La bor h as appr ove d s om e non -tra di tio nal oc cup ations for a ppr enti ceships . Ho wever, each instituti on considering a progr am in t hese occu pa tions must d etermin e wh eth er sta te l aws and regulations allow apprenticeships in non-traditional occupati ons such as child dev elopm en t and res ear ch te chnicia n.

All apprenticeship pr ogra ms must b e register ed w ith th e Bure au of Appren ticeship an d Trai ning (BAT) of the U.S . Depar tmen t of L ab or. Th ese progr ams m ust be un der the directi on of the Ap prenti ceshi p Committ ee as described in Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 133. Pr ogr am spons ors , i.e., in dividu al empl oyer s, associations of empl oyers, or groups of em pl oyers in cooperation with organized labor provide on -the-j ob traini ng ( OJT) . P ublic school districts and post secondary institutions m ay pr ovid e t he r elat ed classroom instructi on component necessa ry to fulfill the requirements of a Bureau of A ppren ticeshi p (BAT) approved a pprenticeship pr ogram . Th e related classroom i nstru ction ma y pr ovide SCH or continuin g edu cati on u nits (CEU) an d may b e pa rt of an a pplied associat e degr ee or w orkforce certi fica te .

Institutions may participate in apprenticeship tra ining ei ther i n an apprentices hip d edicated pr ogram a pproved and fund ed by t he T exas Workforce Commission (TWC) or in the enrollment of apprentices in Coor dinatin g Boar d a pp roved an d funded cours ework open to a ny qualified student.

(b) State Fundin g Sources

State fu nds are a vailabl e for job-related classroom instruction costs only, nev er f or th e o n-t he -job -trainin g p or tion of an a ppren ticeshi p pr ogram . State funds ma y b e a ccessed f rom ei ther t he TW C or t he T exas Higher E ducati on Coor dinatin g Boar d, but not b oth .

Authori zatio n for stat e f unding of cl assroom cos ts of ap pren ticeshi p pro grams from the T WC is found in the T exas Education Code, C hapter 133 . For further i nforma ti on on TW C pro cess es , c ont act the T WC . A ddi tional i nforma ti on is available at:

Colleges may provide 144 hours of related instruction as CEU or SCH ,

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following CB rules for all degrees and certificate programs . The college m ay enroll regular as well as apprentices hip students in th e cours e(s) an d obtain regular contact hour fun ding for su ch course(s) from the Coordina ting B oard. These cours es woul d b e ch osen fro m the Workforce Edu ca tion C ourseManual (WE CM) as described i n Chapter Four of these Guidel ines. T uition and fees appl y (see S ection 54.051 of the Texas E ducati on C ode and guidelines inthis manual).

(c) College Credit

The 144 or more hours of job-relat ed classroom instruction per year may be transcribed by colleges a s CEU or as SCH, resulting in a maximum a ward of 14 .4 CEU or ap proximat ely 6-9 SCH per year .

Of the total hours of on -the-job train ing a cquir ed through apprenti ceship ,1008 contact hours may be converted to CEU or SCH credits by the institution to apply towar ds the comp letion of a CE certificate, creditcertificate, or the Associ ate of Applied Sci en ce (AAS) degree. (As not ed above, on -the-j ob traini ng h ours do not quali fy for st ate fun ding fr om ei therTWC or th e Coor dinatin g Boar d. )

The college should utilize the instructions for cooperati ve educati on courses to d et ermin e wha t cour ses to trans cript and th e CEUs or S CH to be aw arded . For CE cours es th e ra tio of one CEU to 10 conta ct hours woul d be used a nd could result in a maximum of 100.8 CEU. For cre dit c ours es t he ra tio of o ne SCH to 7-10 conta ct hou rs of appr en ticeshi p trai ning p er we ek f or 1 6 weeks coul d resul t in a pr ogra m maximum of nine SCH for students.

Appren ticeship pr ogram s and coll eg es are en co urage d t o w ork tog eth er so that s tudents are a ble to learn , earn, and acquire coll ege credit. Colleges are also urged to expl ore pa rtnership opportunities with secondary schools in crea ting Te ch Prep AAS progr ams an d with universities in articulating apprentices hip AAS pr ograms with baccalaur eat e d egr ees. ( Conta ct th e Coor dinatin g B oar d’s Ca reer Te chnic al Progr am s Depar tm en t s taff for m ore information about apprenticeships and Tech Prep.)

(d) Summary

According to the Texas E duca ti on Co de, ap pren ti ces hi ps are con tr oll ed by emplo yers. I f an appr ent ice tak es col lege courses that are fun ded by the Coor dinatin g Boar d as part of the a ppren ticeshi p, t he foll ow ing prin ciples apply:(1) The college cours es rem ain subject t o th e SACS Principles of

Accreditation;(2) Courses fun ded by the Coor dinatin g Boar d mu st be op en t o an y

eligi bl e studen t, bot h appr en tice and non -ap prenti ce;(3) The college is in control of all classes with a nd wi thou t ap prentices;

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(4) The Ap prent iceship Com mittee , empl oyers , an d t he BAT are i n ch arge o f

35


and r esponsible for t he apprentices hip pr ogram , b eing sur e the program meets the D epartm ent of Labor stan dards, and evaluatin g a studen t’s completion of the program; and

(5) If emplo yers sele ct a c ur riculum t hat coi ncid es w ith th e colle ge’s requir ement s for a d egr ee or cer tificate as par t of the appre nticeship progr am, th en stu den ts may recei ve a collegiate award as part of theoverall apprenti ceship.

For addi tion al inform ation, r efer to the T exas Educati on C ode un der T ex as Statutes ( http://www.statute s .legi s .state.tx.u s ), C hapters 61 and 133; CB Rules (C ha pt er 9 ; an d the Texas Workforce Commission Rules (Texas Adm i nistrative Code, Title 40 Part 20, TWC ), C hapter 837 .

B. Program Requirements

Certain el ements must b e commo n t o all w orkf or ce edu ca tio n pro grams. These inclu de:

1. Program Demand

.

B. Characteristics of Workforce Education Programs

All workforce education programs must contain the following common elements:

1. Program Demand

Using national, state, and local industry-based trends, standards, and labor market information, the colleg einstitution must document the need for the program in the college's service area. Se e C hapt er Fi ve , N ew Progr am Ap proval Pro ce ss, for mor e det ails.

2. Effective Use of Advisory Committees

Each insti tutionInstitutions must establish separate industry-based advisory committees for each workforce education program. The b road purp os esrole of an advisory committee ar eis to 1) t o help a college document the need for a workforce education program and 2) to ensure that the program has both adequate resources and a well-designed curriculum to provide students with the skills, knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary to successfully

meet th e ne eds o f b usin ess and i ndu stryabilities essential for employment. The advisory committee is one of the principal means of ensuring meaningful business and industry participation in program creation and revision.

and r evision .

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[a.] a. Advisory Committee Functions o f an a dvisor y commi tte e i nclud e:Advisory committees perform the following functions:

(1) evaluating the goals and objectives of the program curriculum;[(2)] (2) establishing workplace competencies for the program

occupation(s);[(3)] (3) suggesting program revisions as needed;[(4)] (4) evaluating the adequacy of existing college facilities and

equipment;[(5)] (5) advising college personnel on the selection and acquisition of

new equipment;[(6)] (6) identifying local business/ and industry leaders who will provide

students with external learning experiences, employment, and placement opportunities;

(7) assisting in the professional development of the faculty;(8) assisting in promoting and publicizing the program to the community

and to business and industry; and(9) representing the needs of students from special populations.

b. Advisory Committee Composition

(1) Advisory committees must be composed of persons who broadly represent the demographics, including the ethnic and gender diversity, of the institution’s service area as well as the demogra phics of the occupational field. C om mittee in all sectors of the business community within the institution’s service area. Members should be knowledgeabl ewell informed about the knowledge, skills used in, and abilities required for the occupation for which they are providing information and guidance.

(2) Memb ers sh ould be dra wn fr om b ot h th e priv at e an d pu blic sectors wit h an emphasis on business, in dustry , an d l abor org anizations .

(3) Tech Prep program s pecific a dvisory committees must include mem bers who repres ent secon dary and higher education as well as business and industry.

(4) Full-time faculty and staff of the college off ering t he pr ogr am mustmay not be members of the advisory committee, but they may serve in an ex-officio capacity. Part-time faculty who hold full--time positions within the career field may be members of the committee. Faculty and staff of senior institutions with whom t he program articulation agreements may be articulat ed ma y also be members of the committee.

c. Advisory Committee Meetings/Minutes

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(1) Advisory committees of existing programs must meet in person a minimum of one time a year and should, if p ossible, have a quorum present. How ev er, i t is strongly recommended that conta ct with commi tteesAdditionally, committee members should be mai ntainedkept apprised of the program’s performance throughout the year via e-mail , fax , phon e, or vi deoconferen ce.

(2) During the development of new programs, advisory committees must meet in person at least twice and communicate throughout the program development and approval process. Minut es and docu menta tion of communi cation m ust b e available up on r equ est.

(3) All meetings of th ean advisory committee must be recorded in official minutes. The minutes must include the following information:

(a) 1) identification of committee members (name, title, and affiliation);

(b) an 2) indication of th e committee members' presence or absence from the meeting;

(c) 3) the names and titles of others present at the meeting; (d) (4) the signature of the recorder; and(e) 5) evidence that industry partners have taken an active role in

making decisions that affect the program.

Minutes must be maintained in colle ge fil esby the institution and made available to t he Coordinating Board staff upon request. A sampl e format for recordin g a dvisory committee meeting minutes may be fou ndSee Figure 3.1, Sample Advisory Committee Meeting Record Template, at the end of this chapter.

3. Identification of Program Competencies

A credit program Institutions must consist of a curriculum demonstrate that integra tes necessary a cademic and workforce knowledge and skills as i denti fied in the professional literature, by program experts , by business and industry advisory com mittees , in recogni zed skill standards, and b y othe r relat ed professional or ganiza tions . Dev elopm en t of a com peten cy -based curriculum requires identifica tion of subject ar ea -spe cifi c a ca demic and workf or ce cours es.

Aeach award, whether for credit or continuing education program cons ists of w orkforce knowle dge and skills identi fied i n the sam e m anner as th ose in credi t progr ams. While con tin uing , provides the general academic education pr ogr am s do not contain academic courses, incorporati on of appropriate academic skills is encoura ge d.

General academic and the workforce skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to attain entry-level employment in a target occupation. These

38


competencies may be developed and documented using one of the processes discussed below. Identifying program competencies facilitates the selection of courses for program development.

a. A Program Competency Profile is a matrix of the knowledge and skills to be mastered by the student upon completion of the award, with a crosswalk from the competencies to the academic and/or workforce courses through which the competencies will be achieved. See Figure 3.2, Sample Program Competency Profile for Small Business Management Certificate, at the end of this chapter.

b. A Detailed Work Activity (DWA) curriculum alignment is a process developed by Texas State Technical College-Waco to align curriculum and course learning outcomes with the Texas Workforce Commission’s DWA common skills. Business and industry employers finalize the DWA skills list to perform a gap analysis that links job skills to program learning outcomes. Additional information is available at www.thecb.state.tx.us/DWAAmerican w orkers is the topi c.

c. The DACUM (Developing A CurriculUM) process incorporates the use of a 1 991 report by the S ecr etarypanel of experts to identify the major duties and related tasks included in an occupation, along with the necessary knowledge, skills, and traits. The final result is an occupational profile chart describing a job in terms of specific duties and tasks that competent workers must perform. Additional information is available at http://www.dacumohiostate.com/process.htmLabor’ s.

d. The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) ti tled , “identifies entry-level workforce skills described in a Department of Labor report, What Work Requires i nof Schools.”. The Commission conducted extensive research and interviews with business owners, public employers, union leaders, supervisors, and laborers in a wide variety of work settings. See Figure 3.3, Sample SCANS Matrix Model, at the end of this chapter. Additional information about the report and a list of the identified skills is available at http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/whatwork/whatwork.pdfThe fi ndings stated that, "good jobs will increasingly depend on people who can put knowl edg e t o wor k." Ad ditionall y, th e Commission estima ted that l ess tha n half of th e students currently exiting high school possess the ability to find and keep good jobs. Findings als o determined that "workplac e kn ow -how” c onsist s of two ele ments:.

(1) foundati on skills and (2) w orkplace competencies . (See “What Work Requires of Schools,” June, 1991. See “C ha rt of SCANS Skills ” and a s ample “SCANS Occupational Assessment” mod el at en d of this cha pter .) Ad diti onal in forma tion ma y b e foun d on th e web at:

Ins ti tu ti ons m us t dem ons trate tha t e ach award , w heth er for credi t or c on ti nuing edu cati on, a ddresses SC ANS. Evi den ce of this m ay in clude a Progr am Co mpet ency Profile and a SCANS matrix, i.e., a m atrix of the skills and knowledge competenci es to be mast er ed by the stud ent upo n co mpletio n o f the award , with a cross walk fr om th ecompetencies to the academic and/or workforce cours es wh ere the com p etenci es will be achie ve d. (S ee sam ples of a “Pr ogra m Comp et ency P rofil e” and “SCANS Matrix Model”

http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/whatwork/whatwork.pdf

http://www.dacumohiostate.com/process.htm

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/DWA

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at th e end o f th e chap te r.)

4. Selection of Program Courses

To select program courses, faculty and administrators should refer to the Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) and the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM.). These manuals describe established courses and guidelines for the creation of Special Topics, Local Need, orand Academic Unique Need courses. See Chapter Four of this document for WECM Guidelines and the "Trans fer, Core C urri culum and Field of S tudy Curricula" w ebsite (a ccessible fr om t he C oor dina ting B oard’s main websit e under A cademic Affairs – Academic P rograms) for ACGM information.

Courses m a y be d eliver ed b y di ffer ent typ es of instructi on generally consisting of lect ures a nd /or lab ora tor ies or exte rn al learnin g courses (s ee Chapt er Fou r of th ese

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/UndergraduateEd/WorkforceEd/acgm.htm

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/UndergraduateEd/WorkforceEd/acgm.htm

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/UndergraduateEd/WorkforceEd/wecm/

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Guidelines).

a. Choice of Prerequisites

(1) All college-level, non-developmental courses whi chthat are required course prerequisites and/or requirements for entry into a degree or certificate must be included in the total hours for the award and must be clearly identified in the proposed curriculum plan. Developmental education course hours must not be included in the total credit hours for the award.

(2) An associate degree program must be structured so that it can be completed within two and one-half years of full-time attendance, including th e prerequisites.

(3) The f ollowin g are examp les of pr ereq uisites whic h may be ch osen by coll eges and whi ch must be incl uded in a curriculum plan:

(a) WECM Cour se:Machine Drawing -- T his is a course in precision drawing of machine parts stressing cor rect pr ocedu res in ma king detail and assembly drawings. Prerequisite: Begin ning T ech nical Dra fting.

(b) ACGM C ours e:Anatom y an d Physiol og y I -- This course examin es cell stru ct ure a ndfunction; tis sues; and th e skel etal , muscular, and nervous systems. Em phasis i s on s tru ctur e, fun cti on, and the i nterrelationships of the human system s.Prerequisite: General Bi ology

(4) When th ere are al tern ati ve m eans to satisfy a course pr erequisite, the prere quisite does no t ne ed t o be i ncl uded in a cu rriculum pla n. How ev er, if hig h school cours es are used as prer equis ites, the courses must be those taken by most o r all h igh sch ool st uden ts. S om e exam ples of al tern ativ e mea ns:

(a) Int r od u c t ory Statist i cs -- This course i s a study of collecti on and tabulati on of data , ba r ch arts, graphs , sampling, measures of central ten den cy a nd variability, correlation, i ndex numbers, statisti cal distributi ons, probability,and a pplicat ion t o v ariou s fields. Prer equisite: Tw o y ears of hi gh scho ol algebr a or demonstr ated com peten ce as a ppr ov ed b y t he in struct or. (N ote: High sch ool algebr a can be r eason ab ly exp ect ed of hi gh s chool gra duat es .)

(b) Beginni n g W ord P r ocess i ng -- Dev elopment of ap plicati ons an d pr ocedur es for operatin g a w ord pr ocessing sys tem. Provides hands -on training a nd self pac ed ins tru ctio n o n bas ic d ocum ent cre atio n, ed iting, and fo rmatting .Prerequisite: Typing skills of 30 words per min ute , ap pro val of instruc tor , or con tinuing educa tion course in keyboardin g.

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b. . Course Sequencing

All curricula submitted for appr ovalCurricula must demonstrate appropriate course se- quencingsequencing to promote student attainment of knowledge, skills, and com p etenci es. (abilities. For example, prerequisite courses must not be offered in the same semester as the courses for which they are the prerequisites, unless the courses arecan be compressed into less than a semester-length term without an overlap in the sequencedtwo courses.).

In designing a cours e sequence, institutions mus t ensur e tha t cr edit cur ricula demonstrate integrati on of a ca demi c and te chnic al c ompe ten cies or cours es.

c. Length of Semesters

To allow stu dents s uffi ci ent time for reflecti on, Semesters, both regular and compressed, should not award more than one SCH per week of instruction. For More information about requirements for courses offered in a shortened formats is available at Coordinating Board Rule 4.6format, refer to Coordi na ting B oard rules, Chapt er Fou r, Su bch apt er A, 4.6( b)..

Instruction should be scheduled in a manner that maximizes students’ opportunities for success. When a program has a full-time, lock-step schedule, institutions are encouraged to provide alternative tracks such as part-time schedules or other means to allow non-traditional students greater opportunities for success.

d. Advan ced St anding

Advan ced st anding may includ e su ch acti vities as the followin g: the conv ersion of con tinuing educa tion uni ts to semester credi t ho urs, th e gra nting of cre dits t o learning obtained from a non-coll egiate s ource, experi ential learning, an d th e grantin g of credi ts fr om another pr ogram th at re sults in a sh ortened pr ogram at a higher level.

All advan ced standin g pr ocedur es m ust adh ere t o Coordi nati ng Board r ul es and guidelines (particularly those in Chapter Ni ne of the r ules pertaining to contra ctual agreemen ts) and to th e Principles of Accreditatio n: Founda ti ons for Qual ity Enhancement, C ommissi on o n C olle ges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, 2010, or its successor. The Principl es o f Ac cre ditati on states the following:

“3.4 .4 Th e i nstituti on ha s a defined and p ublish ed p olicy for evalu ating , awarding , a nd a cceptin g cr edit for t ransfer , exp erienti al lear ning, adv an ced placemen t, and pr ofessional cer tificates that is consistent w ith its mission and ensures that course work and learning outcom es are at the



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collegiate level and com par able to the i nstituti on’s own degree programs. T he institution assumes res ponsibility for the academic quality of any course work or credit recorded on the instituti on’s trans cri pt. (See Co mmission policy, “Th eTransfer or Transcriptin g of Academ ic Credit. ”) ”

“3.4 .8 Th e i nstituti on a wards a cade mic cr edit for course w or k tak en on a noncredi t basis only when there is do cumentati on that th e no ncredit cour se work is equi valent to a designat ed cr edit experie nce .”

The SACS guidelines are intended to incl ude both academi c and technical course credi t an d d o n ot disting uish between th em. Each institution should have a policy to determine the maximum percent of an award that ma y be granted advanced

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standing in accordance with good practi ces.

5. Developm ental Educatio n Cours es

For s tudents with academic skill defi ciencies , developmental educati on courses shoul dbe ma de av ailable, as a ppropriat e, t o b e ta ken p rior t o or in conjun cti on with curricul um requir ement s in work for ce edu ca tio n pro grams. These cour ses may be used asdescri bed in the ACGM , or th ey may be adapte d for spe ci fi c n eed s o f work for ceedu cati on (e .g. , T ech nic al Math f or El ectr oni cs Tech nicians) . I f th e co nt ent of a t ec hnical cours e is developmental (bel ow coll ege level), it must receive a developmental approval number and must n ot b e coun ted to ward credi t for a n aw ar d. D ev elopmental appr ov al numbers are availabl e in study skills, English for s peakers of other l anguages, w riting, reading, and mathematic s. (Note: Developmental courses for public college students will only be fund ed b y t he s t ate for a t ot al of 27 sem ester credit hours within a college or district. This restri ction i ncludes cour se wor k taken during and since June 1996 .)

6. Establishment of Pr ogra m Linkages

Programs should dem onstrate flexibi lity and opportuni ty for studen ts. Th ey sh ould be design ed to permit m aximum access for stud ent s by establis hing link ages with other progr ams in publi c secondary s ch ools and/or ot her insti tutio ns of high er edu cati on .

Linkages ma y be demon strated by various ar ticu lation agr eements t hat provid e for studen t tr an sfer, inverted degree pla ns, ad van ced stan ding oppor tuniti es, 1+1 progr ams, a nd Tech Prep pr ograms.

7. Verification of Workplace Competencies

To verify entry-level workplace competencies, the colle geinstitution must provide at least one of the following for each approved award: a) capstone experience, b) eligibility for a credentialing exam, and/or c) an external learning experience. The experience should occur during the last semester of the student's educational program.

a. Capstone Experience

The capstone is a learning experience resulting in a consolidation of a student's educational experience and certifies mastery of entry-level workplace competencies. The capstone experience must occur during the last semester of th e stud ent's edu cati onal progr am. Methods of providing a capstone experience include the following:

(1) a final exter nal lear ning experi ence that all ows a student to apply broad knowl edg e of the discip line;

(2) a comprehensive, discipline-specific examination prepared by the faculty of the workforce education program and administered at the conclusion of the program;

(3) 2) a course involving simulation of the workplace, case studies, portfolios, and employment scenarios; and

(4) 3) a discipline-specific special project involving the integration of

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various teams of students performing activities to simulate the situations whichthat may occur in the workplace.

b. Credentialing Exams

Credentialing exams are licensure, certification, or registration exams provided by state or national agencies or by professional organizations.

c. External Learning Experiences

An external learning experience is a comp et en cy based learn ing exp erien ce , paid or unpaid, that enhances lecture and laboratory instruction and is provided at work sites appropriate to the discipline. The inclusion of an external learning experience in both certificate and applied associate degree plans is strongly recommended. The external learning experience allows thea student to have practical, hands-on training and to apply learned concepts and theories in a workplace setting. There are five types of external learning experiences which include clinical experi ences: clinicals, internships, practica, cooperative education, and apprenticeships. See Section C of this chapter for more information on external learning experiences and Section D for more information on apprenticeships.

6. Developmental Education Courses

For students with academic skill deficiencies, developmental education courses should be made available, as appropriate, to be taken prior to or in conjunction with curriculum requirements in workforce education programs. Developmental education courses for public college students will only be funded by the state for a total of 27 semester credit hours.

7. Establishment of Program Linkages

Programs should be designed to permit maximum access for students by establishing linkages with other programs in public secondary schools and/or other institutions of higher education.

Linkages may be demonstrated by articulation agreements that provide for student transfer, inverted degree plans, and advanced standing opportunities.

C. Characteristics of External Learning Experiences

Clinical and internship experiences provide workplace settings in which students learn and apply program theory and management of the work flow. Clinical experiences must take place in a health care setting and students must not be paid for the learning exp erien cesexperience. Internship experiences take place in any setting outside of health care and students may or may not be paid for the learning exp erien ces . (Please refer to Tabl e 3-4, Clinical E xperience and Internship Courses, in this chap ter .)experience.

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Practica and cooperative education provide workplace settings in which students gain practical experience in a discipline, enhance skills, and integrate knowledge. (Please refer to Tabl e 3-5, Pra cti cum and Co oper ative Edu cation C ourses , to determine w hich type of external learning ex peri ence is most appropriat e.)

To d et ermin e whi ch exte rnal lear ning experi en ce is appro priat e, coll eg es should review th e criteria in Ta bles 3 -4 an d 3-5 . Clinical experiences and internships are defined as closely supervised experiences with instruction in theory provided concurrently. Practica and cooperative education courses are less closely supervised, apply previously learned theory, and are suitable for the student who can work more independently and is either working in the discipline (cooperative education) or is almost r eadypreparing for career entry (practicum).

Appren ticeships pro vid e work place s ettin gs tha t are r egister ed wit h th e Bureau of Appren ticeship an d Trai ning (BAT) of the U.S . Depar tmen t of L ab or. Th e on-t he-job training (OJ T) component of a ppren ticeshi p pr ograms pr ovi des instru cti on in en try- level competencies. A maximum of 1008 conta ct hours of apprenti ceship on-the-job training m ay be gran ted SCH or CEU as cooperati ve edu catio n experien ce.

(1) The following principles apply to external learning experiences:

1. External learning experiences must ultimately be under the control of the educational institution, although individuals in the sponsoring workplace may be responsible for the daily supervision of the student or for the lecture component of cooperative education.

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[1.] (2) External learning experiences must be governed by a written, signed agreement between the higher education institution and the organization providing the experience. The higher education institution must maintain copies of such agreements and have them available for review by th e Coordinating Board staff. (A sample affiliation agreement is available upon request.)

The affiliation agreement should indicate what services each instituti on wouldentity will be responsible for and the timeline for expiration or renewal. The renewal process for sites outside the institution’s service area should be timed to coincide with the Higher Education Regional Council’s approval process.

the Hig her E duca tion Regional Coun cil’s appr ova l process.

[2.] (3) Institutions are encouraged to provide access to liability insurance for students enrolled in external learning experiences.

2. Each institution must assure that the external learning experience is consistent with industry standards, supports specific written objectives outlined by the educational institution, and emphasizes current practices in the field of specialization. The on-site supervisor of each external experience should have appropriate qualifications in the applicable discipline. Written evaluation records must be maintained by the educational institution.

[3.] (4) Prior to the beginning of the external experience, the institution must provide both the student and the external site with written documentation of the objectives, instructional strategies, and evaluation mechanisms of the external learning cou rseexperience.

(5) The insti tuti on must approve and evaluate all tra ining locati ons and m ust evaluate all facul ty m em bers who supervise students. The on -site supervisor of each ext ern al exp erien ce sho uld ha ve a ppr opriate qualifi cati ons in the applicable discipline. Written evaluation records must be mai ntained b y t he edu catio nal institution.

[4.] (6) A written External Learning Experience Student Evaluation Form, based on the student’s learning plan and describing student learning outcomes, must be developed by the instructor in conjunction with the external learning supervisor and pr ovidedprior to the s upervisor at start of the external site. This form will allow the supervisor and the instructor to monitor student progress and learning a ctiviti es accurately. The profil e may be in the form of a matrix or checklist (see sampleexperience. See Figure 3.4, Sample External Learning Experience Student Evaluation Form, at the end of thethis chapter) an d maintai ned at the edu cati onal insti tution.

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[5.] (7) Prior to the external learning experience, each student must receive a statement of the expectations of the external site.

(8) To pr epar e a stud ent fo r exter nal le arning exper iences, a stu dent must b e ta king a coher ent s equ ence of cours es in a n AAS, a certificate, an i nstituti onal award or apprentices hip certifi cation in the same tech nical edu cati on content area as a prerequisite or co-requisite to the external l earnin g courses . T he extern allearning cou rses may be for SCH or for CEU. Each student m ust be in contact with a designated instructor (college faculty or d esignat ed e mploy ee at t heexternal site) while at the work site.

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(9) External l ear ning ex peri ences m ay be paid or u np aid an d full or pa rt-time dep endin g u pon the typ e of ex peri ence and cr edentiali ng re quirements. Employment obt ained for the pur pos e of wa ge earning only must not b e considered as an extern al learnin g experien ce in the pr ogra m.

(10) Institutions are encouraged to provi de access to liability insurance for their studen ts wh o ar e e nrolle d in t he exte rnal lear ning experi en ces .

(11) For i ncome t ax purp oses , t o di ffer ent iate sti pen ds from wag es, colleges, businesses, and in dustri es par ticipat ing in extern al learnin g e xperien ces a re encoura ged to r efer t o a ppropriat e l abor l aws fo r clarifi catio n of em ploym ent vers us n on- emplo ym en t r el ati ons hips . T he following six criteria should be m et to indicate a non-empl oym ent relati ons hip:(a) the training, even though it includes actual operation of the faciliti es of

the employer , m ust be similar to tha t whi ch w ould be given in a workfor ce edu cati on pr ogram;

(b) the trainin g must be f or the ben efit of the traine es or s tud en ts;(c) the train ees must not dis place regula r empl oyees but rath er work u nd er

their close supervision;(d) the empl oyer that pr ovid es th e tr aini ng must deri ve n o immediate adv ant age

from the act ivities of t he train ees, an d on occasion the em ployer’s operations may a ctually be im ped ed ;

(e) the train ees or stu den ts should unde rstand that t hey are not necessarilyentitl ed to a job a t th e conclusi on of the trainin g peri od;

an d(f) the empl oye r and the tra inees u nder stand that t he tr aine es or stu den ts

are not enti tled to wa ges for the time sp ent in traini ng.

[6.] (12) The maximum number of external contact hours in an AAS program must not exceed 1008 hours unless the program is specifically exempt. Exemption may be granted to health professions programs based on the standard of practice for the specific discipline. To apply for an exemption, a professional organization must submit to the Coordinating Board a request and a rationale for such exemption. If a waiver is granted, it will apply to all programs in that discipline.

If a waiver i s granted, it will apply to all programs in that di scipline.

After revi ewi ngThe Coordinating Board has established the following external contact hour caps, based on state and national standards of practice for th e followin g disciplines , external contact hour ca ps hav e b een esta blished:

Discipline Name CIP Code

External Contact Hour Cap

Diagnostic Medical Sonography

51.0910

2000

Echocardiography 51.0910

1500

Electroneurodiagnostics 51.090 2000

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and Polysomnography Technology

3

Invasive Cardiography 51.0901

1500

Nuclear Medical Technology

51.0905

2000

Radiation Therapy 51.0907

1500

Radiologic Technology 51.0911

2000

Respiratory Care Therapy 51.0908

2000

All other CIP codes 1008

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(13) External learning ex periences m ust be properly s equenced with other courses in the program . To ensu re that the stu dent has developed a m inimum lev el of technical competency prior to entering th e work site, external courses m ust have a lectur e an d/or la bor at ory prer equi site or co-r equisite.

[7.] (14) In clinical, internship, and practicum experiences, formally scheduled discussion of the external experience with students is considered part of the external experience, not a separate lecture, component for credit hour assignment.

[8.] (15) Continuing education workforce awards, including marketable skills achievement awards and institutional awards, may requir einclude external learning experience courses. if they are required for licensure or certification. External learning experiences in continuing education must be approved in advance and are a vail able onl y on a limited b asis. Th e. An external learning experience course can beis awarded one CEU for every 10 contact hours. External learning experiences may be approved for continuing education as follows:

[a.] (a) up to 10 contact hours in a topic may be part ofincluded in a lecture/laboratory course; (b) and

a. more than 10 contact hours in a topic must be contained in a free-standing course separate from any lecture or laboratory course. (Ref er to t he WEC M

invent ory for curr entl y a pproved cou rses. Any An external learning cours escourse that is not alread y listed in the WECM must be submitted as a Local Need coursescourse and must be approved in advance of instruction to receive funding.).

(16) The following definiti ons are used in Tables 3-4 and 3-5:

(a) Clinical preceptor: a w ork-site supervisor who oversees th e daily, hands - on experi ences of a he alth prof essions studen t in t he w orkplac e;

(b) Close supervision: to remain within a short dista nce in tim e or spa ce; ve ry attentiv e; constant ov ers ight, guid an ce, an d r evi ew of the ha nds-onexperi enc es of a he alth prof essions studen t; dail y or ganiz ati on of the studen t’s activities;

(c) Direct supervision: daily oversight, guidance, an d revi ew of the ha nds-onexperi ences of a wor kf or ce edu ca tio n stud ents; daily organi zation of th e studen t’s activities; an d

(d) Indirect sup ervision: general ov ersight a nd gui dance of the hands - on experi ences of a wor kf or ce edu ca tio n stud ents; periodic r evi ew of t hestuden t’s pr ogress; ov er all orga nizat ion o f t he s t uden t’s activ ities.

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Table 3-4 . Cli ni cal Ex peri ence and Internship Courses

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Table 3 -5 . P racti cum an d Co op erativ e Edu cati on Courses

In general, the total contact hours for ex ter nal le arning exper ience cours e s per progr am must not ex ceed 1008. However , an institution may request a waiver for a progr am tha t excee ds 1 008 ext ernal co nta ct hou rs if th e insti tution can demonstr ate that additi onal hours ar e required t o meet the s tandar d pra ctice for tha t disciplin e.

Refer to th e list of pr ogr ams above t hat ar e alre ady a ppr oved for a great er num ber of exter nal conta ct hours and for a description of the waiver process.

An ext ernal l earning exp erien ce cr ea tes a physic al pres ence of the ed uca tional institution in the community in which the external learning ex perience is provided. For this reas on, it is very important for institutions offering ex ternal learni ng experi ences outsid e th eir own s ervi ce areas to foll ow th e proc edur es f oun d in B oard Rules, Chapter 4, subchapter E and the N otifi ca tion a nd Ap pr oval Pr oced ures f or Distance Educati on , Off-Campus, an d On-Cam pus Extension Programs and Courses. (Refer t o Ch apter 2 of th ese Guidelines .) A Texas instituti on wishing to s end

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studen ts to another s tate for extern al learnin g e xperien ces s hould ob tain permission from that st ate’s high er edu cati on a uthori ty t o h ave a ph ysical pres ence i n tha tstate. Likewi se, an out-of-sta te i nstitution wishing to use Tex as facilities for external learning experien ces m u st have a ppr oval from th e Coordin ati ng Board. (S ee B oard Rules, Chapter 7.)

When th ere is comp etitio n for ext ern al learning s ites, ins tituti ons should s trive for co ope rati on and colla bor ation i n sch eduling c om mon sit es. R egion al c ons ortia involving all stakeholders includi ng lo wer divisi on and u pper d ivision instit utions are encoura ge d.

8. Stud ent S uccess G uideli nes an d Sta ndards

Each program should identify factors that will facilitate student progress e.g., assessment, remediation, couns eling, or ientati on, child care, financial aid, transp ortati on, and specific steps to help the student ac hieve success in the program. Maintenan ce of Stud en t Success Pla ns for ea ch progr am is option al bu t s trongl y encoura ge d. Howev er , T SI gui delines must be followed.

a. Texas Success Initiative (TSI)

All studen ts enroll ed in a ssociat e d eg ree pro gram s or L ev el T wo certi ficat es must meet req uir emen ts o f t he T exas Su ccess Initi ati ve (TS I) , in cluding ass essment p rior to enrollm ent in any coll ege-level course work a nd an y indi cated develo pment al edu cati on or oth er s tr ate gy f or a chie vi ng college readiness. (For m ore informati on about TS I requirements, please refer to CB Rules, Chapter 4 , Subchapter C.)Although TSI requirem ents are waived for s t udents enrolled in Level One certificates, colleges should also provide s ome form of assessment and developm ental education for entering students in TSI-wai ved certi ficates .

Institu tions are str ongl y encoura ged to us e one of th e C oor dinating Boar d’s appro ve d as sessments o r on e o f t he nation ally n ormed tes ts specifi cally creat ed for workforce education stu dents (e .g. , W or k K eys t o assess entering students in TSI- waived certi ficates). Further, workforce ed u ca tio n fa cul ty ar e s tr on gl y en cour age d to collaborate with academic and developm ental educati on faculty to:(1) determine local, appropri ate cut scor es on th e as sessmen t in strument

t o measure the entry and exit levels of basic skills competencies ; and(2) crea te s ec ti ons o f cours e-b ased or no n-course based developmental reading,

writing, or math as appropriate to help students learn basic skills in work-bas ed applications and contexts.

b. Program Qu ality St andar ds

Gradua tes of pr ograms approved b y the Coordin ating B oard must be rep orted on t he CBM-009 each fall sem e ster following the clos e of th e fis ca l y ear . Al l chi ef .1 summarizes the instructional officers and workfor ce education administrators should consult withand compensation structure for external learning experiences.


Table 3.1: External Learning Experiences

CRITERIA PRACTICUM COOPERATIVE EDUCATION

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE INTERNSHIP

A. Instruction1. Level of

InstructionBasic, Intermediate, or Advanced

Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced



2. Type of Learning Required for health programs; required or elective for non-health programs

Required or elective Required or elective Required or elective

3. Student Outcomes Gain practical experience in a discipline; enhance skills, and integrate knowledge

Gain practical experience in a discipline; enhance skills, and integrate knowledge

Synthesize new knowledge; and/or apply previous knowledge; and/orlearn to manage the work flow

Synthesize new knowledge; and/orapply previous knowledge; and/orlearn to manage the work flow

4. Method of Instruction

Supervised practice Lecture with supervised practice

Practical experience related to theory simultaneously

Practical experience related to theory simultaneously

5. Type of Supervision

Health Related: Direct by faculty or a clinical preceptor Non-Health Related: Indirect by external site supervisor

Indirect by external site supervisor

Direct and/or close by faculty or clinical preceptor

Direct by external site supervisor

6. Lecture Component

Separate prerequisite or co-requisite course

1 hour/week required to be included



7. Role of College Faculty

Periodic visits Lecture and/or periodic visits to external site

Primary instructor or periodic visits

Primary instructor or periodic visits

8. Contact Hours per SCH

7-10 7-10 3-6 3-6

B. Compensation

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1. Student Yes or No Yes or No No Yes or No2. Faculty College pays its faculty. College pays its faculty. College pays its faculty. College pays its

faculty.3. Supervisor/Clinical

PreceptorExternal site pays supervisor or clinical preceptor.

External site pays supervisor.

External site pays clinical preceptor or supervisor.

External site pays supervisor.

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D.[B.] Characteristics of Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a structured system of job training designed to prepare individuals for occupations in skilled trades and crafts. It combines on-the-job industry skill standards training under the supervision of experienced journeyman-level workers with job-related classroom instruction. Traditional apprenticeship programs are in construction and manufacturing and include occupations such as electrician, plumber/pipefitter, carpenter, and sheet metal worker. The Department of Labor has approved some non-traditional occupations for apprenticeships, such as child development and research technician. However, each institution considering a program in these occupations must determine whether state laws and regulations allow apprenticeships in non-traditional occupations.

All apprenticeship programs must be registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) at the U.S. Department of Labor. These programs must be under the direction of an Apprenticeship Committee as described in Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 133their reporting officials prior to submission of this report to ensur e the accuracy of. Program sponsors such as individual employers, associations of employers, or groups of employers in cooperation with organized labor may provide on-the-job training (OJT). Public school districts and postsecondary institutions may provide the related classroom instruction component necessary to fulfill the requirements of a BAT-approved apprenticeship program. The related classroom instruction may provide SCH or continuing education units (CEU) and may be part of an applied associate degree or workforce education certificate.

According to the Texas Education Code, apprenticeships are controlled by employers. If an apprentice takes college courses that are funded by the Coordinating Board as part of the apprenticeship, the following principles apply:

1. The college courses remain subject to the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation;

2. Courses reported for state funding must be open to any eligible student, both apprentice and non-apprentice;

3. The college is in control of all classes with and without apprentices;4. The Apprenticeship Committee, employers, and the BAT are responsible for

insuring the program meets Department of Labor standards and for evaluating a student’s completion of the program; and

5. If employers select a curriculum that coincides with the college’s requirements for a degree or certificate as part of the apprenticeship program, students may receive a collegiate award as part of the overall apprenticeship.

Institutions may participate in apprenticeship training either in an apprenticeship-dedicated program approved and funded by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) or in the enrollment of apprentices in Coordinating Board-approved and funded coursework open to any qualified student.

1. State Funding Sources

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State funds are available for job-related classroom instruction costs. State funds may be accessed from either the TWC or the Coordinating Board, but not both. State funds are not for the on-the-job-training portion of an apprenticeship program.

Authorization for state funding of the classroom costs of apprenticeship programs from the TWC is found in TEC Chapter 133. For further information on TWC processes, contact the TWC. Additional information is available at http://www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/apprentice.html..

Institutions may provide up to 144 hours of related instruction as CEU or SCH, following Coordinating Board rules for all degrees and certificate programs. The college may enroll regular as well as apprenticeship students in such courses and obtain regular contact hour funding for them. These courses should be chosen from the Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) as described in Chapter Four. Tuition and fees apply. See TEC 54.051 and guidelines in this manual.

2. College Credit

The above-referenced 144 hours of job-related classroom instruction per year may be transcripted by colleges as CEU or as SCH, resulting in a maximum award of 14.4 CEU or approximately 6-9 SCH per year.

Up to 1008 contact hours of on-the-job training acquired through an apprenticeship, may apply toward the completion of a certificate (CE or credit) or an AAS degree. (As noted above, on-the-job training hours do not qualify for state funding from either TWC or the Coordinating Board.) The institution should have a governing board-approved process for determining what courses to transcript and the number of CEUs or SCH to be awarded. For CE courses the ratio of one CEU to 10 contact hours should be used, resulting in a maximum of 100.8 CEU. For credit courses the ratio of one SCH to 7-10 contact hours of apprenticeship training per week for 16 weeks should be used, resulting in a program maximum of nine SCH for students.

Apprenticeship programs and colleges are encouraged to work together so that students are able to learn, earn, and acquire college credit. Colleges are also urged to explore partnership opportunities with secondary schools in creating apprenticeship programs.

Additional information is available at TEC Chapter 61 and Chapter 133, Coordinating Board Rule 9.27, and Texas Workforce Commission Rules Chapter 837

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c. Gradua te Guarantee for AAS Gra dua tes

The Graduate Guarantee shall be used for accountability purposes. The guarantee shall ensur e the.

E. Characteristics of Applied Associate Degrees

An applied associate degree results in a formal award that indicates mastery of a prescribed series of competencies with defined employment outcomes. The degree options for a workforce education program are the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree and the Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) degree. AAS and AAA degrees are technical in nature and are usually identified with a broad designation (e.g., AAS in Electronics and AAA in Music Performance).

Degrees must be limited to the minimum number of semester credit hours required for the degree by SACSCOC, currently 60 SCH. If the minimum number of SCH required to complete an associate’s program exceeds 60, the institution must provide detailed written documentation explaining the compelling academic reason for the number of required hours, such as, but not limited to, programmatic accreditation requirements, statutory requirements, or licensure/certification requirements that cannot be met without exceeding the 60-hour limit. The Coordinating Board staff will review the documentation provided and make a determination to approve or deny a request to exceed the 60-hour limit. Institutions of higher education must be in compliance with this subsection on or before the start of the 2015 fall semester.

Institutions may choose their own award titles provided the title clearly defines the nature of the award. Institutions are encouraged to use common award titles as specified in the CIP code manual to promote consistency with program offerings and awards granted by other institutions, as programs should be designed to educate students broadly within an occupation or industry. Where applicable, certificates should follow the same guidelines, using standard terminology and types of awards.

Approved applied associate degree and certificate programs will appear in the Coordinating Board’s Workforce Education Inventory. All programs will be subject to established statewide program evaluation procedures. Awards must be listed in an institution's catalog, appear on the student's transcript, and be subject to the institution's Graduate Guarantee policy. The guarantee must ensure a graduate's employer that the graduate has met program competencies and shallmust offer up to nine tuition-free hours of education for a program graduate judged by the employer t o beas unable to perform on the job the competencies as spe cifie d in the coll ege program.

9. Repor ting a nd Recor d K eepin g

Submission of the CBM0 09 and the CB116 are r equir ed of all programs. In addition, con tinuing educa tion pr ograms must submit the following:

a. In all cases , no m ore tha n th e ap proved number of conta ct h ours or n o more

58


than the actual n umber of contact h ours taugh t per course (whichever is les s ) may be repor ted an d claim ed for stat e fu ndi ng; and

b. If a w or kfor ce c ours e i s off ere d co op erativ ely by two or m ore instituti ons, only th e institution of record, bas ed on student registrati on, may clai m state fun ding.

Transcripting of Courses : An institution must mai ntain and is sue upon request a record of each indi vidual's participati on in workf or ce a ctiviti es f or which S CH o r CEU ar e awarde d. Only th ose w ho su ccessf ully me et th e est ablishe d re quirem e nts f or an activity are aw arded SCH or CEU . A cumulati ve r ecord or trans cript r epres ents a n official verifi cati on of a lear ner' s parti cipati on. The insti tution shoul d maintai n records of partici pati on for a period of at l east s even years from the date of award. Policies regar ding th e reten tion and r eleas e of su ch records are established by the institution in keeping wi th the institution's policies for oth er t ypes of s tud ent edu ca tio nal re cor ds. Policies m ust also adhere to the foll owing requirements:

a. Guidelines published in the following documents:(1) Principles of Accr edit atio n: Fo unda ti ons for Qual ity Enha ncement

(2010 or subsequ ent editio n) of t he C ommission on C olleges, S outhern Associati on ofColleges and Schools; and

(2) The C ontinu ing Edu catio n Unit, by th e In ter national Associa ti on for C onti nuing

Educa tion a nd Trainin g (IACET).

b. The following specified items of information s hall be i ncluded on all records and transcripts:in the college program.

An AAS or AAA degree should have a technical component composed of 50 percent to 75 percent of the course credits drawn from a common technical specialty identified by the program CIP code. This ensures that each degree or certificate program has a clearly defined subject matter focus and provides students with opportunities for employment and career advancement. The curriculum may include both Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) courses and academic courses that are directly related to the discipline. The use of WECM Special Topics in the curriculum is limited to three courses. In certain cases, parallel courses are listed in the WECM and the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM). In these instances, the ACGM courses with WECM equivalents may count as part of the technical specialty component. See Chapter 4 for more information.

The remaining percentage of an AAS or AAA degree should consist of support courses and general education courses. These guidelines are not intended to establish an arbitrary number or percentage of specific courses that must be contained in a program; logical exceptions to the guidelines will be permitted.

In cases where a program may require a preponderance of academic courses, the institution must document that the additional academic coursework was recommended by the program advisory committee and that it is directly related to the occupational field and/or to a Coordinating Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum.

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To meet SACSCOC guidelines, each degree must have a minimum of 15 semester hours of general education courses. The 15 hours of general education courses must be selected from the following areas and must include at least 3 SCH in each area: Humanities/Fine Arts (Language, Philosophy & Culture, Creative Arts, etc.); Social/Behavioral Sciences (Government/Political Science, History, etc.); and Mathematics/Life and Physical Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, college-level Mathematics, etc.). Each institution should work with its SACSCOC representative concerning courses that meet these requirements. General education courses must be transferable courses found in the ACGM or on the college’s approved academic unique need course inventory. Generally, these courses should be selected from the institution’s core curriculum.

A program specialty is a variation within one AAS or AAA degree that allows students to take a particular sequence of courses. A specialty does not result in a different AAS or AAA degree and is not listed on the Coordinating Board program inventory, but may result in a separate certificate award. The specialty must match the program CIP code of the approved award and must have at least 50 percent of the technical specialty component (including WECM and academic courses) in common. Program specialties may be approved as additions to the original degree. For example, an institution could offer a single degree program, AAS in Hospitality Management, with two specializations, one in Hotel Management and another in Tourism.

An AAS or AAA degree program that provides a shortened track of 16-45 SCH for students who hold a related degree may offer an Advanced Technical Certificate (ATC) for the shortened track. For example, an AAS degree program in Sonography may provide an ATC in Sonography for students who already hold an AAS in Echocardiography. In this case, the program inventory would list both an AAS and an ATC in Sonography. The ATC is discussed further below, in Characteristics of Workforce Certificates.

All students enrolled in an associate degree program or a Level Two certificate program must meet the requirements of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI). More information about TSI requirements is available at Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 4, Subchapter C.

F. Characteristics of Workforce Certificates

A credit certificate should constitute progression toward an AAS or an AAA degree. At least 50 percent of the course credits should be drawn from a single technical specialty. The remaining courses may be technical or academic courses.

Credit certificates will be approved in four different categories or levels:

1. A level one certificate (CERT1) can be completed by a student in one calendar year or less. It must consist of at least 15 SCH and no more than 42 SCH. Students in level one certificate programs are not required to take the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) or any other assessment exam prior to entering the program.

2. A level two certificate (CERT2) is defined as any certificate for which a 60

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student must meet certain eligibility requirements prior to entry into the program. A CERT2 program may consist of between 30 SCH and 51 SCH. Students enrolling in CERT2 programs are subject to the TSI requirements and may be subject to other eligibility requirements as determined by the institution.

3. An Enhanced Skills Certificate (CERT3) is a certificate associated with an AAS or AAA degree program. The certificate must be clearly defined in course content and outcomes. It must consist of at least 6 SCH and no more than 12 SCH and may extend an AAS or AAA degree to an overall total that must not exceed 72 SCH. It is intended to provide skills beyond career entry as identified by business and industry.

4. An Advanced Technical Certificate (ATC) is a certificate that has a defined associate or baccalaureate degree as a prerequisite. In some cases, junior-level standing may be a prerequisite for admission into an ATC. The ATC must consist of at least 16 SCH and no more than 45 SCH. It must be focused, clearly related to the prerequisite degree, and justifiable to meet industry or external agency requirements. An advanced technical certificate attached to an AAS degree must be in the same program area as the AAS degree. For an advanced technical certificate attached to a baccalaureate degree or to junior-level standing in a baccalaureate program, the institution should consult with Coordinating Board staff to determine the appropriate program area to which the certificate should be assigned.

The following credit and noncredit certificates and awards may also be offered:

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1. A Career Foundation Core (CFC) Certificate is created through a statewide curriculum development process recognized by the Coordinating Board with input from business, industry, and instructional specialists. Each CFC certificate is based upon the identification of a sequence of courses and learning outcomes that represent a career foundation core within a specific career cluster. A CFC can be defined as a level-one or level-two certificate. A level one CFC certificate draws its core entirely from the WECM, while a level two CFC can draw from both the WECM and ACGM. The intent of this award is to maximize an individual student's opportunity for employment, with options to pursue the program’s associate degree or transfer to another higher education institution or technical college. This certificate also allows a student to pursue a second year in a specific Career Pathway program.

2. A Continuing Education (CE) certificate program consists of workforce knowledge and skills identified in the same manner as those in credit programs. All CE certificate programs must be listed on the college’s approved inventory of programs and must be transcripted. Workforce education programs of 780 contact hours or more may be offered only as SCH. An exception is made for Emergency Medical Technology/Paramedic continuing education programs, CIP 51.0904, which may have a maximum of 800 contact hours.

3. A Marketable Skills Achievement Award (MSA) is a sequence of credit courses that meet the minimum standard for program length specified by the Texas Workforce Commission for the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program (9-14 SCH for credit courses or 144-359 contact hours for workforce continuing education courses). An MSA award must meet the following characteristics:

a. The award is TSI-waived under Coordinating Board Rule 4.54b(1) name and address of the institution;(2) name a nd s ocial s ecurity number (o r oth er coll ege a ppr oved

uniqu e identi fication number) of the indi vidual participant;(3) title of the course, pr ogr am, or a ctivi ty; (4) compl eti on date;(5) number of S CH or CEU a warded;(6) report of assessment res ults or ot her requir emen ts for satisfa ctory com pletion;

and(7) the ins titutio n is free to transcript th e local titl e of Conti nuing Educa tion

62



cours es, but must use th e WECM titl e of credi t courses; the WECM Rubri c an d Course Num ber will be utilized on all offi cial instit utional trans cripts and repor ts.

10. Additional Guidelines for Conti nuing Educa tion ( CEU) Courses

a. State Regul ations for Fu nding of Workfor ce Continuing Educ ation Cours e s

Informati on regar ding a pproval an d fundin g of w orkforce con tinuing educ ation cours es taught by T exas public coll eges can be found in the following: Section54.051 of the Texas E ducati on C ode; Coordina tin g Boar d Rul es, Ch apt er 9, Subchapt ers A, E, F and G; and guid elines f oun d elsewh ere i n this do cu ment .

(1) To b e a ppro ved for stat e fu nding , w orkforce con tinuing educ ation courses must be consistent with the roles and missions of t he colleg e an d must be d esigned to respon d effectiv ely t o id entifi ed w or kfor ce need s by pr ovidi ng:(a) prepa rat ory edu cati on in occu pati ons addr essed i n cr edit wor kfor ce

ed ucation programs;(b) prepa rat ory edu cati on in oth er oc cup ations r equir ing o ther th an a

baccalaur eate or advanc ed degr ee for whi ch there is a documented needwithin th e T exas econ omy; or

(c) educati on to enhance or extend the s k ills of empl oyees already working in a particular fi eld.

(2) Workforce continui ng educati on;b. The content of the award must be recommended by an external

workforce advisory committee, or the occupation must appear on the Local Workforce Development Board’s Demand Occupations list;

c. In most cases, the award should be composed of WECM courses only. However, non-stratified academic courses may be used occasionally if recommended by the external committee and if appropriate for the content of the award;

d. The award complies with the Single Course Delivery guidelines for WECM courses (see Chapter Four); and

e. The award prepares students for employment in accordance with guidelines established for WIA.

Marketable Skills Achievement Awards do not require Coordinating Board approval and do not appear in the Board’s Workforce Education Inventory.

4. Institutional Awards

In addition to awards recognized by the Coordinating Board, colleges may offer institutional awards of fewer than 15 SCH or 360 continuing education contact hours for completion of a course or series of courses that represent achievement of an identifiable skill proficiency. do not require Coordinating Board approval and do not appear in the Board’s Workforce Education Inventory.

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G. Characteristics of Continuing Education (CE) Programs

A coherent sequence of continuing education courses that totals 360 or more contact hours must be submitted as a workforce education certificate program. Courses are considered to be part of a coherent sequence if they meet one of the following requirements:

1. include required and/or recommended prerequisites or co-requisites;2. lead to an external credential (license, certification, or registration); or3. are taken by a majority of students in sequence to meet occupational

qualifications.

Workforce CE courses with basic skills content must be designed for specific occupations and specific occupational target populations and must include appropriate occupational objectives. Courses that are primarily intended to develop basic skills, such as Adult Basic Education, GED preparation, and TSI preparation, are not eligible for state funding under this category.

(3) Workfor ce continui ng educati on cour ses submitte d for L ocal Need a pproval should not duplicate existing WEC M cours es or other appr oved w orkforc e con tinuing educa tion courses within the instituti on.

(4) A coher ent s equence of continuing education courses which total 360 or more con tac t h our s m us t b e a ppro ved as a pos ts ec on dary w ork for ce edu ca tion progr am. No single w orkfor ce contin uing edu cati on lecture or labor atory cours e may require more tha n 176 conta ct hours.

(5) Tuition and fees for workfor ce conti nuing edu ca tion courses offer ed for con tinuing educa tion uni ts (CEU) mu st be esta bli shed by the institution's gov erning b oard and be uniformly a nd consistently assessed. The institution's board may d elega te inter im auth ority for establishment of tui tion and fees. However, th e institu tion' s boar d mus t at l east an nually ra tify or approve any changes in tuition and fees.

(a) Based on the $25 per s e mester mi nimum tuiti on stated in Section 54 .051 of the T ex as E duca ti on Co de (http:/ /w ww.sta t ute s .legis. s ta t e. t x.u s ), it is

64


recommended that minimum tuiti on be $ 0.50 per conta ct hour for stu dents in workfor ce continui ng educati on cour ses.

(b) Ins ti tu ti ons provi di ng (c ontra ct) c ou rses to organizations for which credi ts or CEUs are ea rned and for which tuitio n is ch arged must charge out-of-sta te tuition t o no n-resid ent st uden ts wh o are br ou ght from out of state for suc h con tra ct clas ses (see Coordina ting B oard Rul es, Chapter 9 , S ubch apter G).Based on the $200 per semester minimum tuiti on for nonresi dent students stated in Section 54.051 of the Texas Education Code, it is recommended that minim u m tuition be $4.00 per conta ct hour for n on - resi dent studen tswho ar e brought from outside the st ate for contr act classes . For this p ur pose, a “n on -resid ent st ud ent ” is on e wh o lives and wo rks ou tside t he sta te .

(c) In general, colleges m u st charge for courses th at awar d CE U in order to gen erat e sta te formula funding . How ever , g ov ern ing b oards may choose tocharge zero tuition in one of tw o special circumstances as follows: (1) If all or a significant porti on of the ins tituti on's costs for faciliti es,

instruct or sa laries, equip ment , an d/o r oth er expe nses are cov ered bybusiness, in dustry , or ot her l ocal pu blic or priv at e cli ents , ind ividual studen ts ma y be exem pt from tuiti on . Th ese in -ki nd con tributi ons must satisfy a definition of sufficiency as determined by the local governing board; or

(2) If the w orkforce con tinu ing educatio n course is taught in federal pris ons and faciliti es, equipm ent, suppli es, and/or other expens es are borne by the federal gov ernment .

(6) An appr oved workfor ce continui ng educati on cour se may be deliver ed through con tra ct inst ructi on co nsistent wi th C oordi natin g Board Rul es and Re gulati ons, Chapt er 9 , S ubch apt er G .

(7) An appr oved workfor ce continui ng educati on cour se may be offer ed out- of- district/s ervi ce area , subj ect to appr oval by t he appropriat e Higher Ed ucation Regional Council(s) as speci fied in C hapt er 4 , Su bcha pt er P a nd Su bch apt er Q of the Co ordin ating B oard Rules and Regulati ons.

b. General Gui delines for Workfor ce C ontinui ng Educati on C our ses

(1) Purpos es for award of C ontinui ng Educati on Units (CEU)

(a) The CEU ser ves as a unit of m easur e to r ecogni ze an indi vidu al's partici pa tion in noncredi t activiti es t hat m eet ap propria te cri teria;

(b) The CEU ma y serve as the a ccoun ti ng uni t of a n institu tion' s total non-creditcours es, programs, a nd activi ties; an d

(c) The CEU crit eria pr ovid e a systema tic plannin g m odel fo r pro gram developm ent and delivery which helps to ensure quality workforce continuing edu cati on pr ogr ammin g.

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[1.] (2) CEUCE Administrative Criteria

(a) Orga nizati on . The institution hasmust have an identifiable office or division with designated professional staff to plan and administer workforce continuing education programs. Through this office, the institution ensur esmust ensure that both administrative and program criteria are followed for learning experiences offering CEU;.

(b) Learnin g En vironment a nd Su ppor t. The institution pr ovi desmust provide a supportive and positive learning experience through appropriate educational facilities, learning materials, equipment, and support services consistent with the goals and planned learning outcomes of each learning experience; and.

(c) Record Keeping. R efer to the section on Reporting and Record Keeping[2.] earlier i n thi s chap ter. (3) CEUCE Program Criteria

(a) Needs Ident ificati on. The program or activity ismust be planned in response to t he educational needs that have been identified for a target audience;.

(b) Learnin g Ou tcom es. Each program or activity ha smust have clear and consistent written statements of intended learning outcomes (e.g., behavioral or performance objectives). These outcomes should represent what learners are expected to accomplish as a result of the learning activity. T hey r epr esent (the knowledge, skills, or atti tudesand abilities required to move a target audience to another level of competencies.). Program content, instructional methods, and types of learner assessment areshould be dictated by the learning outcomes;.

(c) Instructi on. Qualified instructional personnel are dire ctlymust be involved in planning and conducting each learning experience. Thes eInstructional personnel should have competence in the subject matter, a clear understanding of intended learning outcomes, knowl edge and skill in s e lecti on and the ability to use of appropriate instructional strategies, and the ability to effectively communicate educational content to the target audience;.

(d) C ontent and M eth odology. The s election an d usechoice of content and instructional meth odol ogi es ismethods should be consistent with the desired learning outcomes. Met hods ar e

selected whi chInstructional methods should appeal to the diverse learning styles of each audience. Learners ar eshould be actively involved, have an opportunity to process in some w ay what they have learned, and receive feedback;.

(e) Assessm ent of Learning Outcom es. Prog ram planning includes ways in which partici pants willParticipants should demonstrate the achievement of the learning outcomes. Demonstrati ons through

66


appropriate assessment strategies. Assessment may be don e in different w ays --take the form of questions and answers, discussions, simulations, written or oral exercises, reports, projects, or plans. Assessment should be used throughout the program to promote and reinforce active learning.

Demonstrati ons ar e obs ervabl e a nd measurabl e. They cr eate acti ve l earn ing, help to promote and reinfor ce l earn ing, a nd are used thr ou ghou t th e progr am; an d

(f) Pr ogram Evaluation. Each progra m is Programs should be evaluated regularly for i tstheir quality and effectiveness. Pro gram evalua tions are t he i nsti tutio n's main sour ce of feedba ck. Evaluation may measure reactions of participants, the amount of learning, and/or changes in behavior, or . Evaluation may also provide information about the planning, development, administration, instruction, and support services for a program.

3. Funding of Workforce CE Courses

To be approved for state funding, workforce continuing education courses must be consistent with the role and mission of the institution and must be designed to respond effectively to identified workforce needs by providing the following:

a. preparatory education in occupations addressed in credit workforce education programs;

b. occupations that require less than an associate’s degree for which there is a documented demand within the Texas economy; or

c. education to enhance or extend the skills of employees already working in a particular field.

Workforce continuing education courses submitted for Local Need approval should not duplicate existing WECM courses or other approved workforce continuing education courses offered by the institution.

A coherent sequence of continuing education courses that totals 360 or more contact hours must be approved as a postsecondary workforce education program. No single workforce continuing education lecture or laboratory course may require more than 176 contact hours.

Tuition and fees for workforce CE courses offered for CEU must be established by the institution's governing board and must be uniformly and consistently assessed. The institution's board must at least annually ratify or approve any changes in tuition and fees; however, the board may delegate interim authority for establishment of tuition and fees.

An approved workforce CE course may be delivered through contract instruction consistent with Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 9, Subchapter G.

An approved workforce continuing education course may be offered out-of-district/service area, subject to approval by the appropriate Higher Education Regional Council(s). See Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 4,

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http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=19&pt=1&ch=9&sch=G&rl=Y



Subchapters P and Q, for more information.

Further information about approval and funding of workforce continuing education courses taught by Texas public colleges is available at TEC 54.051 and at Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 9, Subchapters A, E, F and G.

H. Distance Education, Off-Campus, and On-Campus Extension Programs

All off-campus instruction must adhere to Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 4, Subchapters P and Q. Notification and approval procedures for distance education, off-campus, and on-campus extension programs and courses are available at www.thecb.state.tx.us/offcampus

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http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm?objectid=8CD15E35-FE02-F186-0ECC9484F010B8AC






c. Summary

The CEU sh ould be awa rded to indiv iduals onl y for pa rtici pati on in th ose non - cr edit activi ties. Th ese a ctivi ties should be measured against guidelines that are well organi zed pl anned instru ction, dem o nstrate relat ed l earning out com es a nd measurability and meet specifi c criteria as outlined in section 3 of this chapter.

11. Oth er Re qui remen ts

Althoug h t his chap ter ou tlines th e ba sic req uirem ents for a w orkf orce edu cati on progr am, ot her r equir ements ma y also ap ply. These r eq uiremen ts are as foll ows;

(1) For req uire ments sp ecif ic t o th e WECM and rela ted course i nforma ti on , s ee Ch apt er

Four;(2) For new pr ogram application req uir emen ts, se e Chapt er Fiv e; (3) For program revision requirements, s ee C hapter Six; and(4) For appr oval of distan ce edu cati on courses a nd awards, colleges sh ould refer t o

CB Rules and Regulati ons, Chapt er 4 , S ubch apt er P and oth er r elated do cu mentsavailable at:

These r ules and g uidelin es are d esig ned to ensu re th e qualit y of cours es and pro gra ms as well as th e ad equ acy of the techni cal an d man agerial i nfra struct ures to supp ort those cours es an d pro grams.

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C. Examples of Forms

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1. .

71


Figure 3.1: Sample Advisory Committee Meeting MinutesRecord Template

CHAIRPERSON:

MEETING DATE: MEETING TIME: MEETING PLACE:

RECORDER: PREVIOUS MEETING:

MEMBERS PRESENT:: (P = Present) OTHERS PRESENT:

(P?) Name and Title (List all members) Business Affiliation Name and Title

AGENDAAgenda Item Action, Discussion, Information Responsibility

Approve Minutes from Last MeetingOld Business:

New Business:

Curriculum Decisions:

Other:

MINUTESKey Discussion Points Discussion

Old Business:

New Business:

Curriculum Decisions:

Other:

72


CHAIRPERSON SIGNATURE (or designee): DATE: NEXT MEETING:

CHAIRPERSON SIGNATURE: DATE: NEXT MEETING:

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Property of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This Draft is Distributed for Review Purposes Only.2. Chart of SCANS Skills

SCANS Skills are grouped in tw o areas: (1) foundation skills and (2) workplace comp et en cie s.

1. Foundati on Skills are defined in three areas: (a) basic skills, (b) thinking skills, and(c) personal qualiti es.

(a) Basic Skills: A worker m ust read, wri te, perform arithmetic and mathematical operations, l isten, and speak effecti vely. These skills include:(1) Reading: l ocate, understand, and interpret written informatio n in prose and in documen ts

s uch as man uals, gr aphs , an d sch edules;(2) Writing: communicate thoughts, i deas, informati on, and mes sages in w riting;

and crea te docum ents s uch as letter s, directi ons , manu als, r epor ts, graphs, an d flow char ts;(3) Arithmeti c a nd Ma them a tical Operati ons: perfor m basic com putati ons an d

approach pr acti cal pr obl ems by ch oosing a ppr opriatel y fr om

74


Figure 3.2: Sample Program Competency Profile for Business Management Certificate (Partial)

PROGRAM COMPETENCY WEC

M/A

CGM

COU

RSE

ACCT

1301

Intro

ducti

on to

Acco

untin

g

BUSI

130

1 Intr

oduc

tion t

o Bus

iness

BUSI

130

7 Per

sona

l Fina

nce

BCIS

1305

Bus

iness

Com

puter

App

licati

ons

ENGL

1301

Engli

sh Co

mpos

ition

BGMT

2305

Adva

nced

Com

munic

ation

s in M

anag

emen

t

ACNT

1313

Com

puter

ized A

ccou

nting

App

licati

ons

BUSG

2309

Small

Bus

iness

Mana

geme

nt

BGMT

2388

Inter

nship

HRPO

2301

Hum

an R

esou

rces M

anag

emen

t

MATH

1324

Math

emati

cs fo

r Bus

iness

Compare and Interpret Data X X X X X XShare/Report Relevant Data X X XTake Required Action X X X X X XFollow Up, as Necessary X X X X XCommunicate Company Image, Policies, and Safety Procedures X X X XOutline Job Duties X X X XIdentify Specific Procedures per Task X XTeach Specific Procedures per Task X X X X XObserve/Verify Comprehension of Job Duties X XEvaluate/Correct Employee Performance X XRetrain as Needed X XAssess Strengths and Weaknesses X XIdentify Employees’ Objectives X X X X XOutline Plan to Strengthen Weaknesses X XReinforce Strengths X XProvide Experience in Various Job Strengths X X X X X X X X XDetermine Mutual Objectives Within Organization X X X X X X X X XProvide Continuous Guidance X X X X XRecognize /Reward Job Performance X XDetermine Basic Staff Requirements X X X X X X XAnticipate Changes in Staffing Needs X X X X XReview Budget X x x x x x xAdjust Staff Accordingly x x x

Note: This is a vari ety of mathema tical techniq ues;(4) Listening: receive, attend to, interpret, and respond to verbal messages

and oth er cues; and

75


(5) Speaki ng: organize ideas and comm unicate orally.

(b) Thinking Ski lls: A worker must thi nk creativel y, make decisions, s olve p roblems , visualize, know how to l earn, and reas on effecti vely. These skills include:(1) Creativ e Thi nking: g ene rate new i deas;(2) Decision Making: specify goals and constrain ts a nd gener ate

alter natives , consider risks, and evalu ate and ch oose t he best alter nativ e;

(3) Problem Sol ving: recogn ize p robl ems and devis e and impl em ent plan of acti on; (4) Visualize ("Seeing Things in the Mind's Eye"): organize and process sym bols,

pictur es, gra phs, objects , an d other i nforma tion;(5) Knowing H o w to Learn: use effi cient learnin g t echniques to a cquir e an d

a pply new knowle dge and skills; and(6) Reasonin g: discov er a r ule or prin ci ple un derl ying th e r elati onship betw een two

or mor e obj ects and ap ply it w hen solving a pr oblem .

(c) Personal Qualities: A worker mus t di splay res ponsibility, sel f esteem, s oci ability, self managem en t, in tegri ty, and h on esty . Th ese qual ities incl ude:(1) Responsibility: exert a high level of effort and persevere toward

goal attainm ent;(2) Self Esteem: believe in one's own self wor th a nd maintain a p ositive view of

ones elf;(3) Sociability: demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy,

and politeness in group settings;(4) Self M anagement: asses s ones elf ac curat ely , se t pers ona l goals , m oni tor

progr ess, an d exhibi t sel f contr ol; an d(5) Inte grity an d Hon esty: c hoos e e thica l co urses of acti on.

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2. Workplace C ompetencies are defi ned in five ar eas: (a) res our ces, (b) interpersonal skills, (c) in form ati on, (d) systems , a nd (e ) te chn olo gy .

(a) Resources: A worker m ust identify , organi ze , pl an, a nd allocat e res ourc es ef fe ctiv el y. (1) Time: select goal -rel eva nt a ctiviti es, rank them , alloca te tim e, and prep are a nd

follow schedules.(2) Mon ey: Use or pr epar e b udgets, m ak e forecasts , keep record s, and

mak e adjustments to m eet obj ectives.(3) Material and Facilities: A cquire, s tore, allocate, and use materials or space

effi cien tly.(4) Human Res ources: Assess skills and distribute w ork accordingly,

evaluate performan ce and provide feedb ack .

Examples: u se compu ter softw are to plan a pr oject; prepar e a bu dg et; condu ct a cost/benefits analysis; design an RFP process; write a job descri ption; dev elop a staffin g plan .

(b) Interpers onal Skills: A w orker must work wi th others effectively. (1) Participate a s Member of a Team : con tri but e t o gr oup ef for t. (2) Teach Others New Skills.(3) Serve Clients/Customers : work to satisfy custom ers' expectations.(4) Exercise Leadership: communicate ideas to justify position, persuade

and con vince oth ers, r esponsibly challeng e existin g pr ocedur es an d poli cies .

(5) Neg otiat e: work towar d agreements involvi ng exchan ge of resources, r es olve diverg ent int erests .

(6) Work with Diversity: w ork well wi th men an d wo men fr om diverse ba ckg rounds .

Examples: collabor at e w ith a grou p member to solve a pr ob lem, w ork th rough a group conflict situation, train a colleague, deal with a dissatisfied customer in person , s ele ct a nd us e a ppro priat e l ead ership st yles, use eff ecti ve del eg ation techniqu es, con du ct a n i ndividual or team neg oti ation , d emonstrate an underst andi ng of h ow p eopl e fr om differen t cul tural b ack gr ounds mi ght beh ave in various situations.

(c) Informati on: A worker m ust be abl e to a cquir e an d use i nformation . (1) Acquir e an d Evaluate In formati on.(2) Organize and Maintain Information.(3) Inter pret an d Commu nicate Inf ormat ion. (4) Use Com puters to Process Information.

Examples: r esear ch a nd coll ect da ta from various sources, develop a form to collect data , d ev elop an in ventory recor d-keeping system, pr odu ce a rep ort usi ng gra phi cs, make an ora l presentati on using vari ous media, use on-lin e comp uter da tabases to resear ch a r epor t, use a com put er s preadsh eet t o d evel op a budg et .

(d) Systems: A worker must understand com plex interrelationshi ps.77


(1) Underst and Systems: kn ow h ow soci al, organi zat ional, and techn ologi cal systems wor k and o pera te eff ectivel y with them .

78


(2) Monit or a nd Corr ect Perf orman ce: distinguish tr ends, p redi ct impacts on s ystem oper ations, diagn ose deviations in s ystems' performance and correct malfunction s.

(3) Improve or Design Systems: suggest modifications to existing systems and develop new or al tern ati ve systems t o impr ove p er forman ce.

Examples: draw and interpret an organizati onal chart; develop a m onitori ng pr ocess; choose a situation needing improvement, break it down, ex amine it, propos e an improv emen t, a nd impl ement i t.

(e) Tech nol ogy: A work er m ust be abl e t o wor k wit h a vari ety of technol ogi es.(1) Sele ct T ech nolo gy: cho ose p ro cedu res, to ols or equipm ent includin g

co mputers and r elat ed technol ogi es.(2) Apply T echn ologi es t o T ask: und erst and over all i nten t an d pr oper

pr oced ures for s etup an d op era tion of equipm en t.(3) Maintain an d Troublesh oot Equipm ent: Prevent, identi fy, or solve problems with

equipm ent , i ncludin g co mputers and oth er te chn ologi es.

Examples: r ead equi pm ent des cripti ons and technical specifications to s elect equipm ent t o me et ne ed s, set up an d assembl e appro priat e equipm ent f rom instructi ons, read and follow directio ns for tr oubl eshooting a nd repairing equi pmen t.

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3. SCANS Occupational Ass essment

The k now -h ow id entifie d by SCANS is made up of five comp ete nci es and a thr ee -p ar t foundati on of skills and personal qual ities needed for solid job performance. T he rating level ranges from 1 (low ) to 5 (high) . Pl ea se cir cle you r response.

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81

Property of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This Draft is Distributed for Review Purposes Only.4. partial Program Competency Profile (PCP), dealing only with aspects of human resources management. A full PCP captures a comprehensive profile of all competencies related to a job.

82

Program: Precision Metal Working Award: Machine Tool

Technology/Machinist CIP: 48.0501Credential

:Certificat

LIST OF ALL COURSES REQUIRED AND IDENTIFIED COMPETENCIES

SCANS COMPETENCIESCourse Number Course

Title1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

x x x x x x x x ORIE 0102 Introduction to Collegex x x x x x x x MCHN 1438 Basic Machine Shop Ix x x x x x x x MCHN 1343 Machine Shop Mathematicsx x x x x x x x MCHN 1317 Machine Shop Blueprint Readingx x x x x x x x TECH 1341 Occupational Mathematicsx x x x x x x x MCHN 1341 Basic Machine Shop IIx x x x x ENGL 1301 Oral and Written Communicationsx x x x x x x x WLDG 1421 Introduction to Welding Fundamentalsx x x x x PSYC 1301 Human Relationsx x x x x x x x MCHN 1352 Intermediate Machining Ix x x x x x x x MCHN 1330 Statistical Process Control for Machinistx x x x x x x x MCHN 2344 Computerized Numerical Control Programmingx x x x x x x MCHN 1354 Intermediate Machining IIx x x x x x x MCHN 2335 Advanced CNC Machining

PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (as determined by advisory committee)

8. BASIC USE OF COMPUTERS

7. WORKPLACE COMPETENCIES

6. PERSONAL QUALITIES

5. THINKING SKILLS

4. SPEAKING AND LISTENING

3. ARITHMETIC OR MATHEMATICS

2. WRITING

1. READING


Skill / Competency :

Evalua te Market Put Together a “Game Plan” Prepare Budget to Meet Business Objectives Set Short-Te rm Goals Set Long-Term Goals Evalua te Previous Year’s Activities Visit Work Station Maintain Open Door Policy Liste n to Employ ee s a nd Custome rs Read Written Correspondence From Employ ees and Customers Keep Confidentiality, if Asked Respond to Input Appropriately Share Business Objectives and Results with Employ ees Determine Employ ee s’ Needs Locate Qualified Applicants Determine Job Re quirements Develop and Maintain Adequate Application FormReview and Evaluate Complete d Application

Intervie w Qualified Applicants Perform Background Checks Sc reen Applicants for Job, as Needed Se le ct Employ ee Maintain Paper Trail Reject Unsele cted Applicants Determine Reason for Discha rgeInvestigate Reason for Discha rgeDocument Reason for Discha rge

Evalua te for Consistency of DisciplineInform Employ ee of Ac tion Collect Company Property Process Final Paperwork

Rea d Busine ss-Re la te d Mate ria ls Review Statistica l /Financial Report and Analyze Data

83


4. Program Competency Pr ofile

Business


Compa re a nd Inte rpre t Da ta Share/Report Relevant Data Take Require d Action Follow Up, as Necessa ry Communicate Company Image, Policies, and Sa fe ty Procedures Outline Job Duties Identify Specific Procedures per Task Teach Specific Procedures per Task Observe and Verify Comprehension of Job Duties Evalua te and Correct Employ ee Pe rformance Retrain as Needed Asse ss Stre ngths and Weaknesses Identify Employees’ Objectives Outline Plan to Strengthen We aknesses Reinforce Stre ngths Provide Expe rience in Various Job Strengths Determine Mutual Objectives Within Organization Provide Continuous Guidance Recognize /Reward Job Performance Determine Ba sic Staff Re quire ments Anticipate Changes in Staffing Needs Review Budget Adjust Staff Ac cordingly Identify Customer Determine Customer Needs Provide Goods and Services to Meet Needs Promote Goods and Services Provide Customer Incentives

Use Follow-up Procedures Prioritize Activities

84


Delegate Responsibilities Direct and Follow Up on Activities Identify Problems

85


4. Program Competency Pr ofile

Business


Solve Problems (People, Equipment, Business, etc.) Determine Specific Quality and Needs Eva lua te Costs Justify Expenditure Complete Transaction Verify Receipt of Goods

Source: Doro thy McNutt. Used by Permission.

86

Property of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This Draft is Distributed for Review Purposes Only.5.Figure 3.3: Sample SCANS Matrix Model6.

87


Figure 3.4: Sample External Learning Experience Student Evaluation FormStudent Name ______________________________ Affiliating Institution _________________________Dates of External Learning Experience: From: _________________ To: _________________Dates Absent: ______________________________ Number of Days Late: ________________________

Please circle the most representative response for each behavior demonstrated by the student, using the key below. Please make any additional comments or information on the back side of this sheet.

Key:1 = Never 2 = Sometimes/Occasionally3 = Usually 4 = Almost Always 5 = Always

N/A = Not Applicable or Not Observed

Affective Traits:1. Starts activities immediately N/

A1 2 3 4 5

2. Respects the meaning of privileged information N/A

1 2 3 4 5

3. Maintains personal appearance and hygiene as appropriate for the workplace

N/A

1 2 3 4 5

4. Is skillful in adapting to and working with others N/A

1 2 3 4 5

5. Approaches assignments with confidence N/A

1 2 3 4 5

6. Maintains an orderly work area N/A

1 2 3 4 5

7. Replenishes supplies when needed N/A

1 2 3 4 5

8. Willingly stays to complete or correct work N/A

1 2 3 4 5

9. Searches for answers to questions in available time N/A

1 2 3 4 5

10.

Maintains/prepares satisfactory records N/A

1 2 3 4 5

11.

Follows established company procedures N/A

1 2 3 4 5

12.

Organizes workload N/A

1 2 3 4 5

13.

OTHER SKILLS UNIQUE TO THE OCCUPATION:

a. N/A

1 2 3 4 5

b. N/A

1 2 3 4 5

Psychomotor Skills:1. Routine tasks are completed within acceptable limitations N/

A1 2 3 4 5

2. Routine tasks are completed within acceptable time N/A

1 2 3 4 5

3. Sophisticated tasks are completed within acceptable limitations N/A

1 2 3 4 5

4. Sophisticated tasks are completed within acceptable time N/A

1 2 3 4 5

5. OTHER SKILLS UNIQUE TO THE OCCUPATION:a. N/

A1 2 3 4 5

b. N/A

1 2 3 4 5

Cognitive Skills:88


1. Transfers knowledge of principles and procedures to new techniques N/A

1 2 3 4 5

2. Recognizes tasks that are beyond student capacity N/A

1 2 3 4 5

3. Applies classroom learning to workplace setting N/A

1 2 3 4 5

4. Interprets charts, graphs, and data correctly N/A

1 2 3 4 5

5. Troubleshoots equipment N/A

1 2 3 4 5

6. Identifies and attempts to solve discrepancies in systems, results, or information

N/A

1 2 3 4 5

7. OTHER SKILLS UNIQUE TO THE OCCUPATION:a. N/

A1 2 3 4 5

b. N/A

1 2 3 4 5

This student has Entry-Level Skills: Now(Please check one) After additional external learning experience

After additional courseworkAfter additional coursework and external learning experiences

This studen t has Entry-Le vel Skills:

NowAfter additional external learning experiencesAfter additional course workAfter additional course work and additional external learning experiences

P lease pro vide additio nal i nfo rmatio n regarding yo ur evaluation of the studen t’s per formance in this external learning experience.Comments:

I have seen this evaluation and discussed it with my workplace supervisor.

Student Signature _____________________________________________ Date _______________Supervisor Signature __________________________________________ Date _______________Reviewed by College Instructor _________________________________ Date

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7. Transcript Form

THECB Rev. 06/2010

90

Property of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This Draft is Distributed for Review Purposes Only.________________

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Chapter Four: The Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM)

[A.] A. Background and Purposes of the WECM 62

B . Dev elopm ent and Or gani zatio n of WE CM Courses 62C. Explanation of Course E ntries 63D. Using th e W E CM 65

1 . Guidelines for All C ours e Types 652 . Special Topi cs Courses 663 . Local N eed Courses 694 . Ex ternal L earning Experience C ourse s 715 . Mirror C ourses 746 . Lower-Division A cademic C ours e Gui de M anual ( ACGM) Paral lel Cou rs es 747 . Dev elopm ental Edu cati o n Cours es 758 . Vend or -Authorized a nd Gen eric No n -Vend or C ou rses 759 . Courses R equired by Li censure, C erti ficati on, or Accr editatio n Agen cies 7510 . CEU Professi onal Develo pment Certif ication C our ses 7511 . WECM Short-Hour Conti nuing Educa tion U nit (CE U) Cours es 7612 . SCH Single-Course Deliv er y 76

E. Maintenan ce Pr ocess for WE CM Course s 761 . New Courses 772 . R evised Cou rses 773 . Corrected C ourses 774 . Archived C o urses 775 . Archive-P en ding Courses 77

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A. Backg rou nd and Pur pos e s of the WE CM

The Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) is a web-based inventory of current workforce education courses available for use by Texas public tw o-yearcommunity and technical colleges. Courses are grouped by subject area according to the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Since 1998, WECM related proj ects have ensured curr ency of WEC M courses a nd gui delin es. Fu nded th rough the C arl D . Perkins A ct, these pr ojects hav e also provid ed develo pmen t oppor tuniti es and have been s uppor ted b y coll eg e fa cu lty administrators, instructional speci alists, and business and industry repres entatives.The purposes of the WECM are as follows:

to:

[1.] 1. contribute to the currency and consistency of workforce courses;[2.] 2. to provide Texas colleges with increased assistance and flexibility in

responding to employer needs;[3.] 3. to enhance the portability of credits and credentials for students;[4.] 4. to provide increased access for students to workforce education degrees

and career advancement f or stu dent s;[5.] 5. to facilitate articulation with other providers of education at both the

secondary and post-secondary levels; and [6.] 6. to incorporate industry-established skill standards into WECM courses.

TheSince 1998, WECM-related projects, funded through the Carl D. Perkins Act, have ensured currency of WECM courses and guidelines. WECM policies and guidelines are updated annually through the WECM Leadership Advisory Committee. The committee is compris edcomposed of experienced workforce education leaders from small andto very large institutions in different regions of the state. These leaders have worked with a full range of semester credit hour (SCH) and continuing education unit (CEU) workforce education programs and courses and have participated in the implementation and maintenance of the WECM.

B. Dev elopm en t and Or gani zation of WE CM Courses

The WEC M i s organi zed by six-di git CIP cod es th at repres ent instructiona l prog ram codes , titles, an d d es crip ti on s f or a cad emi c an d oc cupa tional progr ams offer ed at p ostsecondary levels. The THECB assigns CIP codes and rubrics to courses for th e pur pose of clas sifying, recording, and repor ting statistics for workfor ce educati on cour ses. The CIP codes or rubrics are n ot i nte nded t o driv e th e sel ecti on of SCH o r CEU cours e o ff erings; rather , t o s e rve as a guide on ce a c olleg e ha s identi fied t he out com e s for a c ours e an d/or pro gram.

The WEC M cours es ar e crea te d an d maintaine d by teams of instructi onal specialists with expertis e in the su bject areas. The s peci alists ar e sele ct ed fr om colle ges aroun d

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th e state . The all ott ed ranges of co ntact h ours and/or cr edi t ho urs re pr esent th e in structi onal specialist teams’ professional judgm ent about th e appropriate am ount of time needed to cover the minimum course outcomes .

An appr ov ed program m ay in clude courses wi th differen t CIP codes . Th e decisi on t o use a WECM c ours e sho uld b e based prima rily on th e in tend ed en d-of -c ourse ou tcom es of th e cours e ra ther than th e C IP cod e or r ubric.

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When a WE CM course is alrea dy a va ilable to cover specifi c m aterial , th e i nstituti on m ust use the r ang e of cre dit a nd conta ct ho urs as well as t he minimum outc omes s peci fied in t he WECM cours e listing. Th e par ameter s in Tabl es 4 -1 or 4 -2 sh ould only be used when creating a completely new cours e at a WECM w orkshop or when design ing a S pecial Topi cs (Table 4-1) or L ocal Need (Tabl e 4 -2 ) course.

C. Explanation of C ourse E ntries

All WECM SCH and CEU courses are designed with an array of co urse op tions a nd ar e governed by uniform protocol. Courses allow flex ibility for col leges in awarding certificate and d egr ees and in resp ondin g t o th e immedi ate needs of st uden ts, business, a nd in dustry . SCH and CEU courses provide an opportunity for students to obtai n skills, knowl edge, and beha viors n eed ed for ca reer explora tion, en try i nto the job market , a nd spe cific job upgra des. A n explan ation of SCH an d CEU cou rse options an d pr otocol in clud e th e following:

End-o f -Cou r se Out c om es : End-o f-Co urse o ut com es are th e di stinguishing feat ure of e ach WECM cours e. Minimum out com es ar e int end ed f or stu den t a chie veme nt of sp eci fic competen cies and ar e m eant to be taught an d measured for the awar d of eith er SC H or CEU. C olleg es must n ot eliminate bu t are en cour aged t o e nh ance or ad d out com es. Enhancements or addi ti ons must not be so extensive that they result in a markedly different cours e. Loca l need or bu siness/indus try standards, state/nati onal creden tialingrequirements, empl oyer-def ined s kill requirements, nati onal i ndustry-defi ned skill requirements or standards, and/or T exas Skill Standards Board (TSSB) recognized skil lstandards m ay serve as resources for enhanc em ent or a dditi on of co urse outc omes.

Course De s c ription : C our se des criptio ns provide a n ov ervi ew of course conten t or subj ect matter . C oll eges m ust u se th e comp lete WECM course des cri ptions for all SCH course s and CEU “mirr or ” cours es, but th ey m ay enha nce or add t o the course des cri ptions as long as the enh ance ments ar e consisten t wi th WE CM ap prov ed end- of -c ourse ou tcom es. Theenhan cem e nts must n ot be s o exten sive th at t he y result in a fundam ent al ly diff ere nt course . Colleg es ma y amend t he des cripti on of a course offered only for CEU pr ovided tha t t heintegri ty and intent of the cours e remains inta ct and the d escripti on is consistent wit hWECM ap pr ove d e nd -of -c ourse ou tc omes.

C ont a c t H o ur R ang e : Ea ch SCH cour se in the WE CM has a su itable range of conta ct h ours necessary to master minimum course outcomes and to afford each college a choi ce of instructi onal strategies via lecture/lab componen ts. Th e SCH cours es ar e assigned co ntact hour r ang es based o n th e rati os o utli ned in Tabl e 4-2 of this Chapt er. Col leges m ust f ollow the esta blished ra tios for credit a nd conta ct hour assignments .

A CEU cours e with few er than seven contact hours of ins tructi on will not generate state fundin g. A n exception m ay b e p ermit ted w hen th e specifi c ty pe a nd l engt h of instru cti on is required by a local, s tate, or national licensing, certi fying , re gulat ory, or accr edi ting agen cy . The r equir ements for a dding a cour se with fewe r than seven conta ct hou rs are discus sed later in this chapter. No lecture/lab CEU course can have m ore than 17 6 conta ct hours. CEU extern al lear ning cours es must follow the same conta ct hour limits as the SCH extern al

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learning cou rses.

Sug g ested P rere q uisit e : If instructio nal specialis ts at a WEC M Cours e Review W orks hop recommend a course prerequisite, a specifi c list of sugges ted prerequisite cours e(s), skill(s), or knowledge is incl uded in the description.

Course Level : The cours e level indicates whether the course is introductory, intermediate, or advanced as recommended by instructional speci alists. Th e fi rst digit in t he cours e n umber specifies the course level as des cribe d bel ow in t he secti on titled “C ourse Rubric and Number .”

Course Titl e : The publis hed WECM title for SCH cours es mus t appear in college publications and on t ran scripts. For CEU courses , wor kforce marketin g ti tles may be used t o bett er descri be the natur e of th e cours es being offered and ma y b e listed in tran scripts. How ever , all CEU mirr or cours es must use th e pu blished WECM titl e for th e course.

Course Rub r ic a n d Nu m b e r : Rubrics (prefixes) provide a common set of unique cour se designa tions for ea ch occupa tion al discipline. Each four-letter ru bri c (e.g., D FTG) identifies a cluster of ski lls and kn ow ledg e t o b e used in determining b ot h course eq uivalen cy an d degree appli cability for transfer on a statewide basis. Using a comm on rubric enabl es studen ts t o l ink th eir p or tfoli os of skil l attainm ent to the occu pational n eeds of busine ss and industry. Courses should be ch osen based on course d escrip tions a nd en d-of-course out com es, n ot on ru brics . Any progra m may inv ol ve cou rses with sev eral different ru brics as long as th e cours e cont ent is appr opriate.

The four -digit number after the rubri c indi cates t he cours e level, th e SCH and/ or CEU value, the course t ype, an d t he sugges ted s equ ence. Th e followin g descri ptions explain:

1. The firs t digi t identifi es course l ev el. For SCH an d CEU courses, an in trod uct ory cours e is den oted b y a “1 ,” and a n adv anced cours e is de not ed by a “2.” A n int er mediat e cou rse m ay b e d en ote d wi th eit her a “1 ” or a “2 .”

2. The second digit d efin es the SCH or CEU valu e. For exampl e, a “3 ” indi cates a thr ee SCH cours e an d a “0 ” den otes a CEU cou rse. C ourses must follow the established ratios dis cuss ed i n C hapt er Thr ee . A ppr ov ed con ta ct h our a nd cre di t h our com bi natio ns can be foun d in Ta ble 4 -2 of th is chapter . T he num ber of C ontin uin g Edu cati on Units (CEU) awarded is calculated by settin g 10 i nstructional con tact h our s equal to one CEU .

3. The t hird an d fourth digi ts esta blish the typ e of cours e an d cours e sequ ence.00-59 Lecture-La b60-63 Clinical64-69 Practi cum70-79 Local N eed80 -85 C oo pera ti ve E duca ti on86-89 Inter nship90-99 Special Topi cs

For both SC H and CEU courses, th e published W ECM rubri c and n umber must b e us ed in offi cial college publicati ons.

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D. Using th e W ECM

1. Guidelines for All Cours e Types

a. Defini tion of Types of In structi on

Lecture: Time use d t o pr esent new material wi th addi tional cognitive and/or affective learning ou tcom es is cla ssified as l ec ture .

Laboratory: Time used by college personnel providing direct supervision of skill dev elopm en t, a pplication and pra cti ce of kn owledge is classi fied as laboratory. Also activi ties conducted in s imulation facilities to develop or practice skills are cl assified as labor ator y activiti es.

Credit l ectur e/lab co urse s may include a maximum of 47 c on tact h ours o f cli ni cal experi ence designa ted as labor ator y exp erien ce . Co ntinuin g edu cati on courses ma y include a m aximum of n ine (9) contact hours of clinical experience. Longer clinical experi ences must be tau ght as s eparate clinical courses.

External l ear ning ex peri ence: Tim e u sed t o pr esent or ap ply knowl edg e i n a workplac e s ettin g is cl assified as ext ernal l earnin g exp erien ce. T he in teg ration of knowl edg e gaine d thro ugh t he ext ernal experi ence wit h pr eviously lear ned co ncept s or pr acti ces , regar dless of s ettin g, ti me, or evaluation, is incl uded in the i nstructional design of th e ext ernal le arning exper ience an d w ould be clas sified as external h ours . Advan ced pr acti ce i n a la b set ting pri or t o p erfor ming an adv anced or hig h-risk procedure and discussion of cases may also be included in this ca tegor y. ( When su ch advan ced or high risk pr acti ce is 3 2 con tact h our s or gr eat er in a credi t course or 10 con tact h our s or gr eater in a con tinui ng education course, th e advan ced practice hours must be taugh t in a separate l abora tor y o r lec ture/l ab cours e.)

For definitions of specific types of external learning experiences, see the section on“Extern al Learning Experiences” i n C hapter Thre e.

b. Assignment of S emester Credit Hour s and C ontin uing Edu ca tion Uni ts

For SCH and CEU pr ogram formats, the educatio nal institution must assign consistent a nd appropri ate r ati os of co nta ct hou rs to S CH or CEU f or eac h c ourse in the program accor ding t o th e ra tios and p arameters es tablis hed by C oor dinating Board guid el ines. For su ggest ed combinations of l ect ure an d lab orat ory experi en ces , see Ta ble 4. 2, “Credi t an d Con ta ct H our C ombin ations for Existing WECM and Local Need C ours es.”

(1) For l ec tur e/c lassroom ins truc tion per 16-we ek s e mester , a ra tio of one S CH to one conta ct hour (1:1) must be used. If t he i nst ructi on is compressed into less than a 16-w eek semester, the course must s till requ ire the s ame num ber of con tact h our s as it w ould in a l ong s e mester .

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Example o f an eig ht -we ek summ er cours e8 l ec ture ho urs per wee k = 6 4 t otal con tac t h our s

64 total cont act hours/1 6 weeks is equivalen t to 4 hours/w eekThere for e, t he cours e is assigned 4 SCH.

(2) For on -campus labor ator y instru ction per 16-w eek semes ter , a rati o of on e SCH to two to four laborator y conta ct hours (1:2, 3 , or 4) m ust be used. Ther efor e, one SCH ca n be ear ned for two, thr ee, or four conta ct hours per week of laboratory instructi on.

Example of a four SCH course wi th l ecture and labora tor y:3 lecture contact h ours/ week = 3 SCH3 labor atory conta ct hou rs/week = 1 SCH Total for th e course = 4 SCH

(3) For external learnin g ex perience rati os , se e T abl es 3-4 and 3 -5 i n C hap te r

Thre e. (4) For contin uing education units, insti tutions must use a rati o of 1 CEU to

10con tact h our s. Calculatio n of CEU: W hen cal culati ng th e n um ber of CE U for acours e, th e number of conta ct minu tes sh ould b e t otal ed an d divid ed by 60 t o arrive at the number of contact h our s. Non-ins tr ucti onal time such as br eaks isnot in clu ded . Total con ta ct h ours are then divi ded by 10 t o d etermin e th e number of C EU. CEU can be expr essed in tenths (e.g., 17 contact h ours equa teto 1 .7 CEU) . When th e fr acti onal part of a con tact hour is at le ast 50 minu tes, the fra ction al por ti on m ay b e cou nt ed as a wh ole hour. Calculations of conta ct hours in volved in a w orkfor ce contin uing edu cati on experi en ce m ay in clu de thefollowing elements:

(a) In-class tim e with direct parti cipati on between the learner a nd instru ctor; (b) Field activiti es, la b assig nments , an d projects wit h an ins truct or pr esen t; (c) Activiti es in which there is no instructor present such as s upervised

independent study, com puter-assisted instr uction, extern al l earning experi ences or pr oject-b ased assign ment s (after field-testing has shown theavera ge am ount o f time requir ed to compl et e th e a ctivit y).

Examples of acti vities th at ar e n ot included when cal culatin g con tact h our s include tim e for study, assigned reading, meetin g time devot ed t o business or organi zati on al activities , and tim e all oca te d t o br eaks or r efr eshmen ts (u nless a presen tati on is made dur ing re fresh ments) .

2. Special Topi cs Courses

A Spe cial To pics cours e i s provi ded f or t emp orar y use or tra nsitional con tent and sho uld be us ed onl y whe n cour se cont ent d oes n ot exist in a curr en t WECM cou rse. Th e coll ege specifi es dis cipline-speci fic outcom es for the Sp ecial Topics course.

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T opics may ad dress recently identified current events, s kills, an d knowledge pertinent to the techni cal area and r elev ant to the occu pational d ev elopm ent of the stud ent . Sp ecial Topics cours es are available for certain rubrics within each six-digit C IP c od e an d are i de ntifi ed b y a “9 " in

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the third dig it of th e cou rse numb er.

Althoug h TH ECB appr ov al is curr entl y not r equir ed f or the cont ent of a Special Topi cs cours e, audi t penalties may ap ply if coll eg es are not very ca reful to i nclu de only legitimate w orkforce educati on content an d avoid non -fu ndab le community educa tion cours es. Coll eges m ust s ubmit a Special Topics f orm thr ou gh the el ectr on ic submission process prio r to th e end of the semester in w hich th e cours e is of fer ed.

The pr ocess for devel op ment and su bmission of the S pecial Topics SCH and CEU courses is as foll ows:

a. Determine if there is a s uitable WECM course available;b. If not, subm it a Special Topics Course Form for each Sp eci al Topi cs cour se tau ght

to the THECB . The Special Topics Cour se Form is l oca ted at th e WE CM website cited i nthis ch apter; and

c. The form m ust cl early d ocum ent th e CIP code, r ubric, num b er, su btitl e, effective date, a ctual number of conta ct hours taught, type of cours e (SCH or CEU), level ,cours e description, and minimum outcom es. The rubric must be s elect ed from th e list of available rubrics on the cours e appli cati on. The su btitl e iden tifies th e spe cifi c cours e content; for example, WLDG 1391 “All oys and Pr ocesses,” or WLDG 1091“Farm an d R anch Wel din g.”

A SCH Speci al Topi cs Co urse cann ot have few er than 16 or m ore than 11 2 conta ct hours. The course m ust follow the es tablished r ati os fo r c onta ct h our and credi t h our assignments as discuss e d ab ov e. All owabl e com binations ha ve b een outl ined in Tabl e4-1 of this C hapter. A ra nge of conta ct h ours and lecture/l ab l ab components is specifi ed for ea ch SC H value .

If a new or r evised pr ogr am inclu des a Special To pics cours e, either as a r equir ed cours e or as an electiv e, a Sp ecial T opics course form must be submi tted el ectr onic ally to t he THECB. Coll eg es are limit ed t o a to tal o f t hree Sp ecial Topi cs an d/ or L ocal N ee d cours es p er AAS degr ee or ad van ced techni cal certifica te. Ad ditionall y, colleges a re limited to tw o Speci al Topics an d/or Local Need cours es per Level 2 certificate and to one Special Topics or Local Need course per Level 1 certificate. Exceptions to this limitation will be made only if the requesting coll ege is abl e to provide a compelling justificati on for such a request.

A CEU Speci al Topi cs Co urse cannot have few er than seven or more than 112 contact hours. There is no limitation on th e number of CEU Special Topics cours es tha t can be taught per s emester or quarter.

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Table 4 -1 . C redi t/C ont ac t H our Com bi natio ns for SCH Special Topics C ourses

During WECM course review workshops, instru ctional special ists evaluate Special T opics cours es for possible i ncl usion in the WECM. If a cours e is ap proved as a n addi tion to the WECM, the i nstructional specialists w orking in conjuncti on wi th the instructional leadership and the Maintenance Proj ect will assign the final WECM titl e, rubric, num ber, s ui tabl e r an ge of co ntac t ho urs , num ber of SC H and/ or CE U, cours e de scription, an d minimum course outcom es. If a Special Topi cs course is added to the WE CM, it will be not ed on th e WECM website u nder “Workshop Results.”

If t he c ours e i s n ot a do pted as a re gul ar WEC M co urse , th e colle ge m ay con ti nu e to tea ch t he co nten t f or u p to 2 4 m on ths . A ft er 2 4 m onths , a n ew Sp eci al T opics F orm must be sub mitted to th e THECB.

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3. Local Need Courses

A Local N eed course ma y be used t o resp ond to unique local or regi onal conditions or to regula tory chang es, t o expand a n ex isting disci pl ine to include a new s pecialty, or to create cours es in new di sciplines. (New disci plines are those with no course rubri cs i nthe WEC M i nven tory o f cours es .) Pr ogr am s n ot addressin g a new dis cipli ne or a newspecial ty within a dis cipli ne ar e limited to the foll owing;

a. thre e Sp ecia l Topi cs and /or L ocal Ne ed cou rses per AAS deg ree or Ad va nce dTechnical Certificate;

b. two S pecial Topics and/ or L ocal N eed courses p er L evel 2 certifi cat e; a nd c. one Special Topics or Local Need co urse p er L ev el 1 certificate.

Content that is not contained in the WECM and that will be offered repeatedly over several years is most appropriate fo r Local Need status. Evidence of need for this course must be sub stantiat ed b y supp ort fr om busin ess and industry in a spe ci fi ed g eo graphi cal area . A L oca l Need course must be submitt ed t o the THECB a nd ap proved at l east 30 days pri or t o instruction t o qu alify for state fu ndin g. L ocal N eed courses ar e id entifi ed by a “7 ” in the third di git of the course number . Th e Coordin ati ng Board course repor t edit will verify w hether coll eges have s u bmitted all Local Need course forms .

The pr ocess for devel op ment and su bmission of a SCH or CE U Local Need course is as follows:

a. Determine if there is a s uitable WECM course av ailable or w heth er t he course mi ght be accomm odated in a Special Topi cs format;

b. If n ot , subm it a L ocal Ne ed C ourse A pplication. Clearly docu ment the CIP code; rubric; num ber; ti tle; justificati on for need of th e cours e; ty pe of ins truction; implemen tation date; actual contact hours; cours e ty pe (SCH or CEU ); licensing, certi fying, or accrediting body (i f applicabl e); level of instruction; cours e description;and minimum course outcom es. The Local Need Course Form is located at theWECM webs ite cited in this chapter; and

c. If approved by the THECB, the course will be added to the college's Local NeedCourse Inventory an d su bsequ ently r eview ed dur ing th e WEC M course re view process. Local Need courses will rem ain on the college’s local course inventory for 24 months . After 24 m onths, the college will be provided the opportunity to renew the cours e in or der to conti nue tea chin g th e cours e if th e course has not been a dded to the WECM course i nventory. Instructional special ists will determine if Local Need cours es should become permanent additions t o the WECM. I f a Lo cal Ne ed cou rse is added to the WECM, it will be noted on the WE CM website under “WorkshopResults.” At the end of 2 4 months, courses that have been a dded t o th e WECMcours e inv en tory mus t re plac e th e Lo cal N ee d cours es i n th e program.

A SCH Local Need l ectur e-la b cours e can not hav e fewer tha n 16 or mor e th an 176 contact hours. The cours es must follow the es ta blished r atios for conta ct hour and cr edit hour assignments as discussed i n Ch apter Thr ee . Pref erre d a nd allow able com binatio ns have been outlined in Ta ble 4 -2 of th is chap ter . A rang e of contact h ours with lectur e- lab comp on ents is sp eci fied for ea ch numb er o f SCH. L ocal Nee d ex tern al learnin g

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cours es mus t f ollow the establish ed ratios for th e ap propriat e ty pe of ex ternal learni ng cours e as outlined in Tables 4 -3, 4- 4, 4 -5, and 4-6.

A CE U Lo cal Ne ed co urs e c ann ot ha ve f ew er tha n 7 c on tac t hours u nl es s i t s pe ci fi cally address es local, state, or national li censure, certifi cati on, regul atory, or accreditation requir ement s. To cr eat e a course wit h few er tha n 7 c on tac t hours , a coll ege m ust submit a Local Need applicati on with justification that includes the description and length re qui red of the s peci fic cours e. T he co urs e must be r equir ed b y a local, state, or national licensing, certifying, regulatory, or ac cre diting age nc y. U pon v erificati on of th e external requirement, the Co ordinati ng Board staff will appr ove the course and forw ard the course application to the director of the WECM Project. T he director will verify that the course meets all WECM course protocol r eq uiremen ts a nd enter th e course in to the WEC M inv en tory.

A CEU Local Need l ectur e-lab cours e cannot have mor e than 176 contact hours . CEU extern al lear ning cours es must follow the same conta ct hour limits as the SCH extern al learning cou rses. A CEU Local Need cours e may have a cont act hour ran ge di fferen ti al of up to 24 hours. For exa mple, i f a course is to be offer ed for 24, 36 , and 48 hours , the approved range of contact hour s will be 24 to 48 hours .

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Table 4 -2 . L ect ure – La b Credit /Cont act H our Co mbinatio ns f or

SCH and Local Need Co urses

Not es: 1) *P refer red con tact h ours a nd combin at ions ar e tho se tha t t ypically rep rese nt best practices or the m ost comm on course patt erns an d 2) **Oth er allo wable combi nati on s are a vailable for specifi c cir cumstan ces.

4. External Learning Experience Courses

External l ear ning ex peri ence courses , e.g. , cooperative ed ucation, practicum (or fiel d experi ence) , inter nship, and clinical experi ence, are in clud ed in ea ch six-digit C IP co de area as appr opriate. External l earnin g experience cours es ar e generi cally des cribed i n the WECM a nd gui deline s for use of these cours es are pr ese nted in Cha pter Thre e.

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The parameters for developm ent of SCH clini cal experi en ces , int ernships , pra cti ca , a nd co ope rativ e edu cati on courses a re s ummarize d i n Tabl es 4-3 , 4-4, 4 -5 , a nd 4 -6. Cooperative educati on, which requires a one-hour lecture component, is summarized in Table 4 -6 . T ables 4 -3, 4-4, an d 4 -5 for clini cal ex perience, i nt ernship , an d pra cticum cours es refl ect contact hours for th e external learning com p onent only. Colleges may includ e f orm ally sch edul ed con fer en ces betw ee n instructors and students in internship, prac ticum a nd clini cal c ourses. In such cases , t he con fer en ce sh ould b e co unt ed as part of the exter nal hours, n ot as a lectu re compon ent.

Internship and clini cal courses have a rati o of cr edit hours to external experience contact hour s of 1:3 , 1:4 , 1:5, or 1:6 and m ay range from a total of 1 to 6 SCH. Practi cum courses h ave a rati o of cr edit hours to external experien ce contact hours of1:7, 1:8, 1:9, or 1:10 and may r ange from a total of 1 to 5 SC H. Cooperati ve educatio ncours es ha ve a r atio of credi t h ours to exter nal experien ce contac t hours of 1:7 , 1:8,1:9, or 1:10 and ma y ran ge f rom a to tal o f 2 to 6 SCH. For ea ch n umber o f SCH in the se tables , a range of allowable contact hours is specified.

Table 4 -3 . Cli ni cal Ex peri enc e SCH C ours e Ra nges

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Table 4 -4 . I nterns hi p S CH Cours e R anges

Table 4 -5 . P racti cum SC H Cours e Ra nges

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T able 4 -6 . C oop era ti ve E duca ti on SC H C ours e Ra nges

(includes on e lectur e ho ur per week)

5. Mirror C ours es

When a cou rse may be deliver ed in either a S CH or a CEU fo rmat, the co urse is d efin ed as a “mirr or ” cours e an d must be offered as publ ished in th e WECM. As w ith other WECM cours es, instr uctional delivery methods are determ in ed b y t he co llege . Th ecolle ge may cho ose to in clud e ad diti onal out com es to pr ovid e stud en ts a n op por tunit y to master com pet enci es th at ar e ab ov e the minimu m. How ever , ad de d o utcomes must not substantially change the intent of the course . Ins t itutions seeking to award credit for “mirror ” cou rses tau ght i n CEU f orm at ar e res po nsible f or m eetin g t he r equir emen ts ofthe C ommis sion o n Coll eges of th e South ern Associati on of Colleg es an d Scho ols, including requirements for facul ty qu alificati ons. (Refer to Ch apter 3, Section A - 2(d) (p.16) and S ecti on B -4( d) (pp. 24 -25 ) of th ese Guidelines for furth er expl anation.)

6. Lower -Di vision A cademic C ourse Gui de M anual (A CGM) Par al lel Cou rs es

The L ow er- Divisi on A ca demi c C ours e Gui de Man ual (ACGM ) i s the of ficial list of cours es approved for gen eral academi c tran sfer that m a y be offered by public community an d technical col leges in Tex as for stat e fundin g.

If a WECM course is parallel in content to an ACGM cours e, the ACGM course is refer en ce d i n th e WECM . Th e ACG M cours es ar e given Texas Common Co urse Numberi ng System r ubri cs and num bers an d ar e inten ded for transfer toward compl eti on of a ba cc ala ureat e p rogr am. Alth oug h some univ ersities a cce pt th e WEC M version of a parallel course in transfer, others do not. C olleges are str ongl y en couraged to us e t he A CGM v ersion of th e par al lel course if the fa culty member has appr opria te creden tials to teach a tr ansfer cours e.

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Field of Stud y Curri culum (F OSC) c ou rses are intended f or tra nsfer of l ow er divisi on cours e cre dit to ba cc ala ureat e p rogr ams at se ni or institution s of higher educa tion . Th ese cours es repr esent the lower divisi on major requir emen ts for a ba chel or’s degr ee in a specifi c disci pline and are always listed in th e ACGM. If a WE CM SCH course is parallel to an ACGM course designated as part of a FOSC, the WECM course des cri ption will be annotat ed w ith this in for mation . A W ECM course is not techni cally part of a FOSC , bu t some u niver sities may a ccept th e co urse b y lo cal agre eme nt.

7. Developm ental Educatio n Cours es

Developm ental education courses include comp ensatory material th at is below college level . Th ey cover t opics s uch as rea di ng, wri ting , mathema tics, stud y skill s, and Engli sh as a Second Language. Developm en tal education courses are available only in the Lower -Di vision A cademic C ourse Gui de M anual . The WEC M cours es ar e not in tended to provid e dev elopm ental i nstruction .

8 . Vend or -Auth ori ze d a nd Gen eri c Non -Ve nd or C ours es

The WEC M con tains ven dor -authorized cou rses written specifically to accomm odate instructi onal requirements of commercial vendors. Thes e courses w er e d evel op ed foruse only by colleges that are auth ori zed by a ve ndor to of fer the ve nd or's curri culum . In most cases, vendor-authorized cours es have g en eri c non -v en dor co urs e al ter na ti ves . These non -vendor cours e alterna tives con tain si milar outcomes as th os e in ven dor -auth orize d courses. How ever , t hey a re d esigne d for coll eges that are no t vend or - auth orized. Both ven dor -authori zed cours es and the non-vendor course alterna tives are flagg ed in th e WECM .

9. Courses R equired by Li censure, C ertificati on, or Accr editation Agencies

When applic able, th e na me of a Tex as licensin g or certi fying agency, board, or associati on i s included benea th the SCH and CEU en d-of-course outcom es for each applicable course. State agency re fe rences ar e p ublished in t he Dir ector y of License d Occup ations and A ppr en ticeshi p Pr ogram C onta cts in T exas published by Career Developm en t Resou rces (CDR). Nati onal certifi cation and accreditation bodies are identi fied by instructional speci alists for the WEC M Maintena nce Project but ar e gen er all y no t lis ted wi th the co urs e i nforma ti on on t he i nven tory . W hen notifi ed by t he Coor dinatin g Boar d of changes to li censur e, certification, or accr editatio n requirem ents that affect WECM cours es, the Main tenanc e Project works wi th qu alified i nstructional specialists to revise the cours es in question.

10. CEU Professi onal Development Certification Courses

A CEU pr ofessional d evelopmen t u pd ate course with a r ange of 7-24 con tact h ours is available in appropriat e CIP cod es a nd rub rics to assist colleges in m eeting mandatory licensur e an d certifi catio n contin uing edu cati on requirements. For a com plete list of approved pr ofessional d evel opm ent cours es, ent er “professional devel op ment ” un der “course titl e” on th e WECM sear ch p age.

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11. WECM Sh ort-Hour Con ti nuing Educa tion U nit (C EU) Cours es

Courses that have a designated range of 7-40 contact h ours are a vailabl e in th e WEC M and may be used to provide w orkforce skills or to enhance existing skills. These cours es are in ten ded to be offere d for con tin uing edu cati on u nits (CE U) onl y an d they do n ot have SCH m irror cours es.

12. SCH Single-Course Delivery

In res pons e to l ocal nee d, coll eges may o ff er a select num ber of individual SCH courses that are avai lable in th e WECM e ven if th e colleg e d oes n ot h ave an a ppr ove d pr ogra m in the same CIP code. However, the linking of WECM courses to develop a program without obtaining THECB program approval is not permitted. For ea ch academi c yearand wit hin a ny pr ogram CIP Code, a college may offer a maximum of 14 SCH of courses in an ar ea w here no app rove d pr ogr am exists provided the following req uiremen ts ar e met:

a. No m ore tha n two cours es or eigh t S CH (which ev er is gr eat er ) are of fer ed in any one semester, and no more than 1 4 SCH are offer ed i n an y on e year;

b. Courses m a y be WECM cours es, in cl uding S CH S peci al Topics and/ or L ocal Needcours es, but must n ot be external learning courses; and

c. Faculty teaching the courses must m eet all SACS requirements.

E. Maintenance Process for WECM Courses

All WECM courses are reviewed at least once every three years under the guidance of the WECM Project. Prior to selecting the subject areas to be reviewed, the WECM Project director and the WECM Leadership Committee consider new and emerging occupations, changing technologies, and field comments. to determine which courses should be reviewed in a given year. Instructional specialists, who are generally faculty members, and other content experts from around the state are gathered to review the WECM courses. Led by workforce education administrators, the instructional specialists may create, revise, an d/ or archive courses based on import ant factors such as technological advances; course utilization; Local Need course requests; trends in Special Topics courses; and requirements of licensing, certifying, or accrediting bodies. Th e review o f W ECM course s involv es in structi onal s peci alists an d ot her cont ent experts fro m arou nd th e stat e.

The WECM websiteWECM website enables colleges to search for courses by numerous attributes, including CIP code, rubric, num b er, title, descri ption , end - o f-co ur se ou tcomes , SCH and/ or CEU options others. Results of recent WECM course reviews and a schedule of future WECM Course Review Workshops are posted on this website. The website also provides links to other pertinent information related to workforce education.

this website. The w ebsite also provi des links to oth er p ertinent inform ation related to workforce education. The UR L for the WECM website is:

Readers are invited and encouraged to submit comments concerning WECM courses and processes through the WECM website. T o submit a comment, click

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http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/UndergraduateEd/WorkforceEd/default.htm


on the “WECM Comments” link.The WECM Protocol Manual

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1. New provides detailed information about the elements of a WECM course, the allowable ratios of lecture and laboratory contact hours per course, and other course usage requirements. The WECM Protocol Manual should be consulted when developing a new program or revising an existing program.

WECM courses may not be used to provide developmental instruction. Developmental education courses include compensatory material that is below college level and cover topics such as reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, and English as a Second Language. Developmental education courses are available only in the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual.

I. Organization of WECM Courses

WECM courses are organized by six-digit CIP codes that represent instructional program codes, titles, and descriptions of academic and occupational programs offered at postsecondary levels. The Coordinating Board assigns CIP codes and rubrics to WECM courses for the purpose of classifying, recording, and reporting of workforce education courses. The CIP codes and rubrics are not intended to drive the selection of course offerings; rather, they serve as a guide once a college has identified the outcomes for a course and/or program.

WECM courses are created and reviewed by teams of instructional specialists with subject area expertise who are selected from colleges around the state. The allotted ranges of contact hours and/or credit hours represent the appropriate amount of time needed to cover the minimum course outcomes based on the teams’ professional judgment.

Each four-letter rubric (e.g., DFTG) identifies a cluster of skills and knowledge to be used in determining both course equivalency and degree applicability for transfer on a statewide basis. Using a common rubric enables students to link their portfolios of skill attainment to the occupational needs of business and industry. Courses should be selected based on course descriptions and end-of-course outcomes, rather than on rubrics. A program may include courses with different rubrics as long as the course content is applicable to the overall program.

J. Explanation of Course Elements

All WECM SCH and CEU courses are designed with an array of course options and are governed by uniform course-writing protocols. Courses allow flexibility for colleges in awarding certificates and degrees and in responding to the immediate needs of students, business, and industry. SCH and CEU courses provide an opportunity for students to obtain skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed for career exploration, entry into the job market, and specific job upgrades.

When an existing WECM course is available to cover specific material, the institution must use the range of credit and contact hours as well as the minimum outcomes specified in the WECM course listing. For detailed information about WECM course elements, refer to the WECM Protocol Manual.

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K. Determining Allowable Contact Hours

For SCH and CEU program formats, the institution must assign consistent and appropriate ratios of contact hours to SCH or CEU for each course in the program according to the ratios and parameters established by Coordinating Board guidelines. A chart showing the allowable range of contact hours is available in the WECM Protocol Manual. A CEU course with fewer than seven contact hours of instruction will not generate state funding. An exception may be permitted when the specific type and length of instruction is required by a local, state, or national licensing, certifying, regulatory, or accrediting agency. No lecture/lab CEU course may have more than 176 contact hours. CEU external learning courses must follow the same contact hour limits as SCH external learning courses.

L. Definition of Types of Instruction

1. Lecture: Instruction that presents new material with additional cognitive and/or affective learning outcomes is classified as lecture.

2. Laboratory: Instruction that provides skill development, application, and practice of knowledge under direct supervision of college personnel is classified as laboratory instruction. Activities conducted in simulation facilities to develop or practice skills are also classified as laboratory activities.

3. External learning experience: Instruction that involves the presentation or application of knowledge in a workplace setting is classified as an external learning experience. The integration of knowledge gained through the external experience with previously learned concepts or practices is included in the instructional design of the external learning experience. For definitions of specific types of external learning experiences, see the section titled “External Learning Experiences” in Chapter Three.

A maximum of 47 contact hours of clinical experience may be designated as laboratory experience for SCH lecture/lab courses, while continuing education courses may include a maximum of nine (9) contact hours of clinical experience. All clinical experiences that exceed these limits must be designated as separate clinical courses.

M. Assignment of Semester Credit Hours and Continuing Education Units

For lecture/classroom instruction per 16-week semester, a ratio of one SCH to one contact hour (1:1) must be used. If the instruction is compressed into less than a 16-week semester, the course must still require the same number of contact hours as it would in a long semester.

Example of an eight-week summer course:

8 lecture hours per week = 64 total contact hours64 total contact hours/16 weeks is equivalent to 4 hours/weekTherefore, the course is assigned 4 SCH.

For on-campus laboratory instruction per 16-week semester, a ratio of one SCH to two to four laboratory contact hours (1:2, 3, or 4) must be used. Therefore, one SCH can be earned for two, three, or four contact hours per week of

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laboratory instruction. For allowable hours of external learning experience ratios, see tables in the WECM Protocol Manual.

Example of a four SCH course with lecture and laboratory:

3 lecture contact hours/week = 3 SCH3 laboratory contact hours/week = 1 SCHTotal for the course = 4 SCH

For continuing education units, a ratio of 1 CEU to 10 contact hours is used. The total number of contact hours is divided by 10 to determine the number of CEU, which may be expressed as a decimal. (For example, 17 contact hours equals 1.7 CEU.) Additional information about continuing education units is available at the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.

N. Special Topics and Local Need Courses

Special Topics courses are available for temporary use or transitional content and should be used only when course content does not exist in a current WECM course. Topics may address recently identified current events, knowledge, and skills pertinent to the technical area and relevant to the occupational development of the student. The college specifies discipline-specific outcomes for a Special Topics course. Special Topics courses are available for certain rubrics within each six-digit CIP code and are identified by a “9" in the third digit of the course number.

Although Coordinating Board approval is currently not required for the content of a Special Topics course, audit penalties may apply if colleges are not careful to include only legitimate workforce education content and avoid non-fundable community education courses. Colleges must submit a Special Topics form through the electronic submission process prior to the end of the semester in which the course is offered.

Content that is not contained in the WECM and that will be offered repeatedly over several years is most appropriate for Local Need status. Evidence of need for the course must be substantiated by support from business and industry in the local geographical area. A Local Need course must be submitted to the Coordinating Board and approved at least 30 days prior to instruction to qualify for state funding. The Coordinating Board course report audit will verify whether colleges have submitted all Local Need course forms. Local Need courses are identified by a “7” in the third digit of the course number.

Local Need courses may be used to respond to unique local or regional conditions or regulatory changes, to expand an existing discipline to include a new specialty, or to create courses in new disciplines. (New disciplines are those with no course rubrics in the WECM inventory of courses.) Programs not addressing a new discipline or a new specialty within a discipline are limited to the following:

1. three Special Topics and/or Local Need courses per AAS degree or Advanced Technical Certificate;

2. two Special Topics and/or Local Need courses per Level 2 certificate; and 3. one Special Topics or Local Need course per Level 1 certificate.

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The process for development and submission of a Special Topics or Local Need course is as follows:

1. Determine if there is a suitable WECM course available and whether the course might be accommodated in a Special Topics format.

2. Submit a Special Topics course application (for transitional content) or a Local Need course application (for distinct content that will be offered repeatedly). The Special Topics and Local Need Course Forms are available for electronic submission through the Workforce Education Inventory Access and Update website.

3. If approved by the Coordinating Board, the course will be reviewed during the WECM course review process. Local Need courses will be added to the college’s Local Need Course Inventory.

4. Special Topics and Local Need courses will be reviewed during WECM course review workshops for possible inclusion in the WECM.

5. Courses that have been added to the WECM course inventory must be used in place of the Local Need courses.

6. If the Special Topics or Local Need course is not adopted as a regular WECM course, the college may continue to teach the content for up to 24 months. After 24 months, the course must be renewed by submitting a new course application or by responding to the Local Need Course Renewal Form that is sent to the college each year.

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A SCH Local Need lecture-lab course may not have fewer than 16 or more than 176 contact hours. The courses must follow the established ratios for contact hour and credit hour assignments as discussed in Chapter Three. Preferred and allowable combinations are outlined in Table 4.1 below. A range of contact hours with lecture-lab components is specified for each number of SCH. Local Need external learning courses must follow the established ratios for the appropriate type of external learning course as outlined in the WECM Protocol Manual.

Table 4.1: Lecture – Lab Credit/Contact Hour Combinations for SCH, Local Need, and Special Topics Courses

SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS(SCH)

PREFERRED Contact

Hour Range per Semester

PREFERRED COMBINATIONS*

ALLOWABLE Contact

Hour Range per

Semester**

OTHER ALLOWABLE COMBINATIONS***

Lecture

/wk

Lab/wk

Contact/sem

Lecture

/wk

Lab/wk

Contact

/sem1 16-48 1

00

023

163248

16-64 10

14

3264

2 32-80 21011

02434

3248646480

32-128 20000

15678

488096

112128

3 48-96 3222

0234

48648096

48-144 311111

145678

648096

112128144

4 64-128 433223

023464

64809696

128112

64-160 42221

15789

80112144160160

5 80-144 54443

02346

8096

112128144

80-176 533332

145789

96112128160176176

New SCH an d CEU cou rses may be a dded t o th e WECM up on the recom menda tion of instructi onal specialists reaching cons ens us durin g a cours e review . Justifications for a new cours e i nclude n ew technol ogy, new licensure, certificati on, or accreditati on requir ement s; and/or a l arge numbe r of similar L ocal Ne ed a nd Sp eci al T opics course s submitted. A newly written course must not re plicate an

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existing WEC M course. A new cours e ma y be us ed as soon as it is offi cially pos ted on the WECM webs ite.

2. Revised Courses

Instru ctio nal spe cialists r eview ea ch SCH and CEU course at l east on ce ev ery t hre e ye ars for currency, frequency of utilizati on, and needed modi ficati ons. Such el ements as end- of -c ourse ou tcom es, c ou rse des crip tions, title , co ntac t h our r ange , SCH a nd CEUopti ons, CIP code, an d r ubric are rev iewed . After the instructi onal speci alists reach cons ensus, the revised course is recommended for inclus ion i n th e WECM . Once thecours e is po sted by t he Coor dinatin g Boar d on the WECM w ebsite it is available for immediat e u se. Th e existing cours e may b e used until A ugu st 31 of the next fis cal year. After this da te, th e revis ed cou rse m ust be used to a void fun ding pr oble ms.

3. Corrected C ourses

Administrati ve corr ections are m ade to WECM courses by th e WECM Mai ntena nce Project u pon appr oval by the WECM Lead ership Committ ee . These corre ctio ns are generally mi nor such as grammati cal or spelling changes. In rare instances, Coordinating Board s taff r emove a course for ad mini strative reasons . For example, s ome developm ental education courses w ere inadvertently placed in the WECM and were later removed (see entry on “Dev elopmental Edu catio n Cours es” i n Section D7, above).

4. Archived Courses

Archiving is the process of r emoving unused, i nvalid, or dupli cated courses fr om th e WECM. A co urse may b e archi ved in one of tw o ways: 1) fro m a re comm enda tion ma de by instructio nal specialis ts or 2) due to lack of us e duri ng the most r ecent five year perio d. A n a rchiv ed co ur se is no longer available for us e and i s no l onger eligible for state reimbursement. Archived courses will not be reins tated in the WECM. How ever, for future reference, an archived course data base w ill be maintained by the Coordinating Board.

5. Archive-P ending Courses

A list of courses that will be ar chived at the end of the next cycle will be posted on the WECM we bs ite b ef ore th e cours es ar e rem ov ed f rom th e WECM course i nven tory . T hese are “archive-pending” courses. Generally, an archive-pendi ng cours e w ill remain active for a minim um of on e a nnual cycle begin ning S eptember 1 and endin g August 31 . In some instances, a diff erent s chedul e will apply and the ex pi ration date for the coursewill be provi ded on the WECM inventory. Generally, if an archive-pending course is off ere d b y a coll eg e an d r ep ort ed to the Co ordina tin g B oar d pri or t o the offi cia l da te ofarchive, the cours e will not be archiv ed but will remain in the WECM.

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*Preferred contact hours and combinations are those that typically represent best practices or the most common course patterns.**Range includes Preferred Combinations and Other Allowable Combinations.***Other allowable combinations are available for specific circumstances.

O. SCH Single-Course Delivery

In response to local demand, colleges may offer a select number of individual SCH courses that are available in the WECM even if the college does not have an approved program in the same CIP code. However, the linking of WECM courses to develop a program without obtaining Coordinating Board program approval is not permitted. For each academic year and within any program CIP code, a college may offer a maximum of 14 SCH of courses in an area where no approved program exists provided the following requirements are met:

1. No more than two courses or eight SCH (whichever is greater) may be offered in any one semester, and no more than 14 SCH may be offered in any one year;

2. Courses may be WECM courses, Special Topics courses, and/or Local Need courses, but may not be external learning courses; and

3. Faculty teaching the courses must meet all SACSCOC qualifications and requirements.

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Chapter Five: New Program Approval Process

[A.] A. Overview of the New Program Certification Process 79

1. New Pr ogra m Approval Required 802. Distance Education Programs 803. Application Deadlines 804. Texas Skill Standards Board Recognition 80

B. Application Procedures and Requirements 811. Letter of Intent 812. Electronic New Progra m Application Forms 813 . S upp orting Doc um en tati on 81

C. New Pr ogra m Review Pr ocess 841. Staff Revi ew of th e Appli cati on 842. Objecti ons to Propos ed New Pr ogra ms 843. Coor dinatin g Boar d App roval 854. Implem enta tion Dea dlin e 855. Appeals Pr ocedure 85

D. Examples an d Forms 86

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A. Ov erview o f the New Pro gram Ce rtifi cati on Pr oce ss

At its October 29, 2009, meeting, the Coordinating Board adopted rules that significantly streamlinestreamlined the process of approval for new associate of applied science degree and certificate programs (Ch apter 9 , S ub chap ter E , S ecti on 9 .93) . In s umm ar y,. The adopted rules allow automatic approval of a new associate of applied science degree or certificate program if an institution and its governing board certify that th ecertain criteria are met and that current documentation is available to support the criteria. S peci fically , The criteria are available at Coordinating Board Rule 9.93in clud e the foll owing:.

1. The pr ogra m has instit utional and gov erning b oard appr ov al;2. The insti tuti on h as rese arch ed a nd documen te d curr ent job market ne ed for th e

progr am an d/or that th e pr ogram would l ead t o opp ortunit ies for fur th er education ;

3. There is re cent evid en ce o f b oth sh ort -term an d lon g-term studen t d em and f or the program;

4. Enrollment projections r eflect s tud ent d emand estimat es to ensur e th e finan cial self -suffici ency o f th e pr ogra m;

5. Basic and career techni cal/workforce skills have been integrated i nto the curriculum;6. The insti tuti on h as an enrollmen t m anagemen t plan for the progr am;7. The insti tuti on has or will initiate a process to es tablish articulation agreements for

the progr am with secon dary and/ or senior level ins titutions;8. The pr ogra m is design ed to b e cons istent wi th the standards of the Sou thern

Associ ation of C olleg es and S ch ools Commissio n on Colle ge s of the Sou thern Associ ation of Coll egesand S ch ools , an d with t he sta ndard s of oth er a pplica ble accredi ting ag enci es, and i s in compliance with appropriate li censin g aut horit y r equir emen ts;

9. The pr ogra m would not unnecessarily dupli cate existing pr ograms at other insti tutio ns;

10. Representa tives fr om p rivate sector business an d industr y h ave been in volv ed in th e crea tion o f t he pr ogr am throu gh participati on in an advisory committee;

11. Adequate funding is avai lable to cover all new costs to the institution ov er th e first fi ve years a ft er t he impl ementati on of th e pr ogram;

12. New costs during the first five years of the program woul d not exceed $2 million13. The insti tuti on h as an i mprov emen t plan in plac e f or all care er

t ech nical/ workf or ce progr ams th at d o n ot cu rrently meet Board stan dards for both gra dua tion andplacemen t;

14. The a ppr opr iate High er Educa tion R egion al C ouncil has been notified in writing of the prop osal f or a n ew pr og ram; and

15. Skill standards recognized by the Tex as Skill Standards B oard, if they exis t for thediscipline, h ave been re viewed an d consid ered for inclusion i n the curriculum for the progr am.

The criteri a l isted a bo ve must me et t he m ost cur rent r eq uire ments list ed in Cha pter Three o f these Guidel ines. T he institution must maintain doc um en tati on s up por tin g th ese criteri a on file an d a vail able u pon request by Coordina ting B oard s taff.

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A new applied associate degree or certificate program that meets these criteria may be requested using the Certification Form for New Associate of Applied Science and Certificate ProgramsCertificatio n F or m for New Ass ociat e of Applied Scie nce and Certificate Programs and is automatically approved if no objections are received during the 30-day public comment period. The institution's program inventory will be updated accordingly, and a letter of approval will be sent to the institution.

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a letter of approval will be sent to the

institution. a. New Pr ogra m Approval Required

Colleges must submit a New Program Certifi cation Form under the foll owing circumstances:(1) To c rea te a certi fica te , i ncludin g an advan ce d te chni cal certif icat e or a Fi eld of

Study Com pletion certific ate, or an a ssociat e d eg ree (AAS, A AA, AS, AA , or AAT) in a program for whi ch the coll ege has no current offerin gs on i ts inventor y, or in aprogr am whi ch h as been dea ctiv ated for ov er thr ee years;

(2) To crea te an associa te degree in a program i n w hich the college has onl y certifi cate off erings on its inven tory ; or

(3) To offer a sequ ence of workfor ce continuing educati on cour ses for which th e totalnumber of conta ct hours for th e sequen ce is 36 0 or m ore (see Chapter T hree).

A New P rogram Certi fication Form is not requir ed to add certi ficat es t o a n existing progr am. For this pu rpos e, an a pplication for pr ogram revision may be used (s ee Chapter Six).

If a licensing or accrediting agency requires confirmation that a program is approved by the Coordinating Board, the institution may request that a letter be sent to the appropriate agency affirming Coordinating Board approval.

b. Distance Education Programs

To offer distance educati on or off-ca mpus cours es or progra ms for fundi ng, a college must hav e a n appr ov ed “Insti tuti ona l Plan for Di stance Educ ation and Off-Cam pus Instru ctio n. ” Please ref er to Chap ter Two o f t hes e Gui delin es and the TH ECB Rules and Regulations, Chapter Four, Su bchapter P , Approval of Distan ce E ducation Cours es a nd Programs for Public Insti tutions at:

[1.] c. New Program Approval Required

Colleges must submit a Certification Form for new programs under the following circumstances:

a. to create a certificate, including an advanced technical certificate or a Field of Study Completion certificate, or an associate degree (AAS, AAA) in a program for which the college has no current offerings on its inventory;

b. to create a certificate, including an advanced technical certificate or a Field of Study Completion certificate, or an associate degree (AAS, AAA) in a program that has been deactivated for over three years;

c. to create an associate degree in a program in which the college currently only offers certificates; or

d. to offer a sequence of workforce continuing education courses for which the total number of contact hours is 360 or more. See Chapter Three for more information.

A Certification Form is not required to add certificates to an existing program. For this purpose, an application for program revision may be used.

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See Chapter Six for more information.

1. Application Deadlines

Program certification forms must be received at least 3045 days prior to the planned start date of the program in order to allow an adequate amount of time for public comment.

[2.] d. Texas Skill Standards Board Recognition

Institutions seeking approval for new workforce educati on programs are eligibl eencouraged to apply for program recognition from the Texas Skill Standards BoardT ex as Skill Standards B oard (TSSB). This process is optional and applies only to disciplines for which skill standards have been developed.

To apply for TSSB program recogniti on, the institution m ust docum ent that Texas skill standards, where recognized or conditionall y recognized by the T SSB, have been ful ly incorporated into the curriculum. (To see th e list of TSSB recognized and conditi onall yrecogni zed s kill standards, visit the T exas Skill Standards Repository website at:www.tssb.org.)

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B. Application Procedures and Requirements

1. Letter of Intent to Apply for New Workforce Education Program

A letter of intent shallmust be sent to the chair(s) of the appropriate Higher Education Regional Council(s) and to the appropriate local workforce development board(s). ForThe institution is not required to send a copy of this letter to the Coordinating Board. A listing of local workforce development boards is available at www.texasworkforce.org/dirs/wdbs/wdbmap.html, pl ease go to (. See Figure 5.1, Sample Letter of Intent, at the end of this chapter.) The instituti on i s no l onger requir ed to send a copy of this lett er to the Co ordin ating B oard ..

2. Electronic New Prog ram Application Forms

Public coll eges must submit new program applications electronicall y if they include any Local N eed cours es th at are not curr ently on th e coll eg e’s ap prov ed Lo ca l Ne ed co urse invent ory . T he inv ent ory of curr entl y appr ov ed L ocal Need courses can be foun d a t: under "WEC M (Techni ca l) Courses ."

3. Supp orting Documentation for New Program Development

This section outlines the supporting docum entation that Institutions should maintai n to demonstrat e proper new program de sign and implemen tati on. Ad dition al documentat ion may b e requ esteddocument that the following were reviewed during the new program appr ovaldesign and planning process. Pleas e sub mit this additi onal informati on only when specifi cally r eq uested b y Coordinating Board staff may request additional documentation during the new program approval process.

a. Documentation of Workforce Demand for the Program

The pr op ose d pr ogram must be just ified in term s of labor m arket inform ation documen tin gInstitutions must document pertinent local, regional, and/or statewide workforce demand for the program. Links to data sources and tools from the Texas Workforce Commission have been consolida ted on t he w ebare available at: http:/socrates.cdr.state.tx.us/iSocrates/Files/GIPWE.asp. To satisfy this requirement, institutions must document the program would accomplish at least two of the following:

(1) The pr ogra m would prepare students for an occupation that has been documented as needed from a strategic planning website such as CCB enefits Inc . (n ow p art o f Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.);.;

(2) The pr ogra m would pre pare s tud en ts for an o ccupati on t hat is targ et ed by th e local w ork force devel op ment boar d in the institution’s servic e area or local workf or ce d evel opm ent area;

(3) The pr ogra m would prepare students for an occupation that is on the list of targeted, high demand, or priority occupations f or t he r egion or

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the stat e as iden tified b y th e Texas Work for ce C ommission. Visit th e TW Con the institution’s Local Workforce Development Board website at : ;

(4) The pr ogra m would (3) prepare students for an occupation that has been identified as an emerging and evolving occupation for the region or state in the Texas Workforce Commission’s Labor Market and Career Informationby Career D eve lopmen t Res ources (C DR). S ee C DR website at:;(4) offer a program for which the Occupational Outlook Handbook

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(5) Publica tions of, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BL S) of th e U. S. D epar tment of Labor indi ca te, indicates high occupational demand for the occup ation f or th e next five to 10 years. Visit th e BLS websit e a t: ;

(6) (5) offer a program for which a survey of local or regional employers documents sufficient employment opportunities for the projected enrollment in the program. If a survey is used, documentation should include the type of survey (phone, mail, etc.); description and size of the population; description of sampling techniques; number and location (in district, service area, and/or statewide) of employers surveyed, including the total number of surveys sent and the number returned; number of usable responses; salary ranges and employment opportunities by job title; and demonstration that the program education or training results in added value or an entry level wage higher than minimum wage and/or a standard of living above poverty;

(6) offer a program that meets advisory committee recommendations;(7) Advisory Committee Recommendations;

(8) Occupationa l Informatio nal Networ koffer a program for an occupation listed in the Occupational Information Network (O*NET); or

(9) (8) offer a program that meets new regulatory/accrediting requirements.

b. Assurance of Basic and Workforce Skills

It is not necessary to submit this inform ati on, b ut The college must do cu mentmaintain documentation that the appropriate level of academic and workplace skills wouldwill be achieved upon completion of the described curriculum. (See ex amples of S CANS Ma trix Mod el a nd Program Co mpet ency Pr ofile at the end of Chapter Three.) for more information on identifying program competencies during program development.

To document students' attainment of basic academic skills, th e institution must either d esig nate th e pro gram as TSI -eligibl e or follow the guidelines for assessment and r emedia tion of s tude nts as outlin ed in Chapt er Thr ee of t hese Guidelines an d in Coor dinatin g Boar d rule s, Chap ter 4 , Sub ch apt er C.

c. Enrollment Management Plan

The institution should design a program-specific enrollment management plan. The plan should provide evidence that the proposed new program would have sufficient enrollment to support the program, including a(n ):the following:

(1) identification of articulated feeder institutions and programs (e.g., high schools partici pating in 2+2 and/or Tech Prepoffering programs of study or dual credit courses);

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(2) a strategy for enrollment projection and management that includes student recruitment and program marketing;

(3) a plan that specifies activities for access, recruitment, retention, and placement of students from special populations;

(4) a history of enrollment in related continuing education/workforce education courses (if applicable); and

(5) projected enrollment, including the anticipated number of program majors for the first year of program operation, the anticipated average annual enrollment thereafter, and the anticipated annual number of graduates once the program is fully implemented.

ther eaf ter , a nd th e a ntici pated an nua l number of gradua tes once th e pr ogram is fully impl emented.

NOTE: T o ensure the vi ability of a program , a m inimum enrollment of 20 studentsper year is recommended for mos t programs .

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d. Program Linkages and Demonstration of Non-Duplication

Each program (or group of similar programs) should hav e do cume nte ddocument linkage(s) with public secondary schools and/or other institutions of higher education and, as well as non-duplication with similar programs within the higher education region and/or service area. Documentation should include the following (as applicable):

(1) identification of similar workforce education programs and related training programs in the region/service area (information. Assistive data are available onat the Coordinating

Board Board’s Texas Higher Education Data website a t: http://www.thec b.state.tx .us ); ;

(2) documentation that contact has been made with appropriate institutional administrators to initiate program specific articulation;

(3) a timeline for the formal initiation of these linkages;(4) a statement specifying the form(s) of program linkage(s) that will be

initiated [e.g., articulation agreements, programs of study, dual credit); and/or

[e.g., inv ert ed d egr ee pl ans, a dvanc ed pl acement, 1 +1 p rograms, 2 +2( +2), and/or Tech Prep progra ms]; and/or

(5) documentation that clearly justifies the need for any proposed program that duplicates an existing program in the region or service area. Colleges wis hing to enter con tractual a gr eements with non-r egionally a ccr edi ted organiza tions

should consult th e C oor dinating Boa rd’s Rules, C hapt er Nin e, subch apt er G. Indepen den t sch ool dist ricts, colleges, degree granting career schools and colleges , an d/or appr ent iceship spon sors must obtain appr ov al from th e TexasEduca tion A gen cy a nd the C oor dina ting B oard to utili ze the Tech Prep P rogram designa tion for n ew or r evised pr ogr ams.

e. External Agency Approval, Certification, and Accreditation

Institutions wishing to enter contractual agreements with non-regionally accredited organizations should consult Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 9, Subchapter G. The institution shallmust document the process and time linetimeline for any required or voluntary external agency approval or accreditation required to ensure the eligibility of graduates to take the examinations required for certification, licensure, or registration. Let ters dem onstra ting communicati on wit h th e appropriat e approval agen cy and documen tati on of the required pr ocess shall be a vailable.

f. Resources R equired for Program Operati on

f. Assurance of Adequate Funding

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The institution should detail the initial resources needed for the program, including existing and additional faculty, facilities, equipment, and an estimate of annual operating costs. SpecificThe following areas to address includeshould be addressed:

(1) Faculty: for applied associate degree programs, at least one full-time faculty member with appropriate credentials must have his or her primary teaching assignment in the major, curriculum area, or concentration. All certificate programs must have at least an assigned program coordinator who is a full-time employee of the college and at least one part-time faculty member with appropriate credentials (s ee. See Chapter Two for more information about personnel requirements;

Chapter Tw o);(2) Facilities: these must be adequate for the delivery of the program. All

out--of--district or off-campus resources must be adequate to support a program of quality equal to that of the main campus;

(3) Equipment: a general list of major required equipment, estimated costs, and potential donations must be provided. An y equip ment or sup plies tha t w ould be dona ted mu st be noted i n this sectio n; and

(4) Five-year Costs and Revenue: details of how the institution will meet projected new program costs for the first five years, including personnel, operating expenses, and capital outlay, must be provided.

g. Advisory Committee Minutes

The institution must keep on file minutes of all advisory committee meetings conducted for the planning of the program, as w ell as a list of all a dvisory commi ttee members , in cluding th eir names , title s, and empl oyers . Th e minutes fro m at le ast. The minutes from at least two formal advisory committee meetings held prior to submitting the new program application should clearly document industry support. See Chapter Three for more information about advisory committee requirements.

two formal advisory committee meetings held prior t o sub mitting the new pr ogra mapplication s hould clearly document industry support. C. New Program

Review Process

When developing a new program, institutions are encouraged to consult with Coordinating Board staff as well as members of other appropriate state agencies and the appropriate local workforce development board(s).

1. Staff Review of the Application

Coordinating Board staff will make an administrative determination that the application is complete no later than five business days after receiving the application. Completed program applications will be posted for 30 days on the Coordinating Board website for public comment. Applications will be approved or disapproved within one year. However, colleges should receive notification of approval 30-45 days after the pr ogram’s posti ng on t he Co or dinating Boa rd’s websit e. For Program Certifi cation Forms that comment period ends, provided there are incom plete or require s ubstanti al changes, 60

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days will be allotted from the time the application i s received to res olve all problemsno unresolved objections.

An institution may request staff assistance in developingIf the Coordinating Board does not act on a new program. This is especially i mporta nt w hencompleted application, the program wouldwill be approved by default on the first anniversary after submission of its kind in the stat e a nd/or no WEC M courses are available for th e pr ogram a reaapplication.

2. Objections to Proposed New Programs and Resolution of Disputes

Objections raised by an institution toconcerning another institution's proposed new career/technical/workforce education program must be submitted in writing to the Assistant Commissioner for Workforce, Academic Affairs, and Research within 30 days from the date the letter of intent is sent to the Higher Education Regional Council. The Assistant Commissioner may delay formal review of the new program until objections are r emoved.resolved.

In th e ev ent of a disp ute betw ee n or amon g insti tutio ns tha t cann ot be re solved by th e institutio ns, the C ommis sioner m ay appoi nt a th ree m emb er repr esen tat ive p anel to be chos en from amon g th e votin g mem bers of othe r Higher E du cati on Re gio nal Co uncils. The panel w ill conduct a hearing and subsequently recomm end to the Commissioner a resoluti on to the confli ct . This pr oced ure ma y b e i mplemen te d at t he requ est o f a ny institution involved in the dispute.

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3. Coor dinatin g Boar d App roval

Associate degree and certificate programs must be referred to the Coordinating Board if they are the subject of an unresolved grievance or dispute. Other programs may be referred to the Coordinating Board at the Assistant Commissioner's discretion.

4. 3. Implementation Deadline

Programs must be implemented within 18 months of the approved implementation date as stated by the Assistant Commissioner in the approval letter. To pursue new program implementation after that time, the colleg einstitution must submit a new Program Certification Form.

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Figure 5. Appeals Pr oced ure

All appeals of Coordin ati ng Board decisions r egar ding n ew pr ogram appr oval sh ould begin by contacting an appropriat e member of t he Car eer T ech nical P ro grams staf f. If the ins titutio n and th e C oordi natin g Board s taf f are u nable t o res olve th e mat ter , th e institution m ay submit a written request for a ruling from the Assistant Commissioner for Academic A f fairs and Research. The institution s hall be notifi ed in writing of theAssistant Commissioner’s decision within 30 working days. An institution may appeal the Assistant Commissioner’s decision directly t o t he Commissioner a nd ul timately to th e Coor dinatin g Boar d u nd er th e provis ions of C oor dinating Boa rd Rules Ch apter One, Section 1.25 .

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D. Examples an d Forms

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Example: Sample Letter of Intent

[date]

Chair, Higher Education Regional CouncilChair, Local Workforce Development Board

Dear :________________:

Please be advised that [college] intends to apply for a new workforce education program leading to a [certificate/associate of applied science or associate of applied arts degree/advanced technical certificate] in [name of major].

It is our intent to submit an application for program approval to the Coordinating Board staff by [applicable due date; see approval process deadlines], and ,]. If the program is approved, forit is our intent to implement the program during [semester/year] impl em enta tion .].

If members of the Higher Education Regional Council or the Local Workforce Development Board have questions about our intent to offer this program, please inform me as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

[Name of president] [Name of college]

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Certif icatio n Form for New Assoc iate of App lied Scienc e Degree and Certificate Programs

Texas High er Education Coordina ting Board

Directions : An institution shall use this form to request a new associate of applied science degree or certificate program that meets all criteria for automatic approval in Coordinating Board Rules, Chapter 9, Subchapter E, Section 9. 93.

Information: Contact the Division of Academic Affairs and Research at 512/427-6200 for more information.

P rogram Information

1. Ins titutio n:

2. Program Nam e :

3. P r opo s ed CIP Cod e :

4. Num ber o f Requir ed S emest er Cre dit Hours (S CH):

5. Im plementati on D ate : Repor t th e first sem est er an d y ear that s tud ent s would ent er th e progr am.

6. C ontact P erso n : Pr ovi de con ta ct i nforma ti on f or th e perso n w ho ca n a nsw er sp ecifi c qu estio ns abou t th e pr ogram .

Name: Title:E-mail: Phone:

Signa ture Page

I hereby certify that all of the foll ow ing cri teria h ave been m et in accordance with the proced ures outlin ed in C oordi natin g Board Rul es, Chapt er 9 , Subchapt er E, Secti on 9. 93, an d that re cen t doc um en tati on i s a vailable to support these criteria:

(A) The program ha s instituti on al and gover ning b oard a pproval;

(B) Th e instituti on h as resear ch ed and d ocu ment ed curr ent j ob mar ket ne ed for the progr am an d/or that th e pr ogram would l ead t o opp ortunit ies for fur th er education ;

(C) The re is re ce nt evid ence of both shor t-t erm an d lon g-t erm stud ent dema nd for th e program;

( D) Enr ollment pr ojecti ons r eflect st udent d emand esti mates t o en sure th e fina ncial 134


sel f- suffici ency o f th e pr ogra m;

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(E) Bas ic and career techni cal/workforce s kills have been integrated into the

curriculum; ( F) T he instituti on h as an enrollment management plan for the pr og ram;

(G) The institution has or will initiate a process to establish arti culation agreem ents for the progr am with secon dary and/ or senior level ins titutions;

(H) Th e pr ogram is design ed to be consistent with th e s tandar ds of the S ou ther n Association of Colleges and Schools Commissio n on Colle ge s of the Sou thern Associ ation of Colleges and Schools, and with the standards of other applicable accrediting agencies, and is in compliance with appropriate li censin g aut horit y r equir emen ts;

( I) Th e program w ould not un necessarily duplicate exi sting programs at other

institutions; ( J) Rep resent ativ es from privat e sect or bus iness and in dustry hav e been

inv olved in t hecrea tion o f t he pr ogr am throu gh part icipati on in an advisory committee;

(K) A dequat e fu ndin g is availa bl e t o cov er al l new cos ts to the insti tution over the first five years a ft er t he impl ementati on of th e pr ogram;

(L ) Ne w cos ts duri ng th e first five y ears of the program would not exceed $2

mil lion; (M) The institution has an improvem ent plan in place for all ca re er

t ech nical/w or kfor ceprogr ams th at d o n ot cu rrently meet Board stan dards for both gra dua tion and pla cement;

( N) Th e ap pro priat e High er Ed ucati on R egi onal C oun cil has b een n otifi ed in wri ting of the prop osal f or a n ew pr og ram;

(O) Skil l standards recogni zed by the Texas Skill Standards Board, i f they exist for the discipline, h ave been re viewed an d consid ered for inclusion i n the curriculum for the program.

I understand that the Coordi nating Board will update the program i nventory for the i nstituti on if no obje ction s to the pro pose d pr ogr am are re cei ved during t he 30 -da y p ublic comm e nt p eriod .

Chief Execut ive Offi cer Da te

I her eb y cer tify t hat th e Gov erning B oard has ap prov ed this progr am.

Date of Governing Boar d approval:

Gov erning B oard (or Des ignee) Dat e

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These forms may b e u pl oad ed ele ctr onicall y t o t he C oor dina ting B oard b y accessing the Deg re e Program an d Administra tive C hang e Request Sys tem w ebsite at: https://ww w 1.t h ecb.st at e.t x .us/apps/proposals/ . Instructions for using this site are included on the w ebsit e.

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Chapter Six: Program Revisions

[A.] A. Need for Program Revisions 92

1. Changes That Require a Progr am Revision 922. Changes Th at D o Not Requir e a Pr ogram Revisi on 933. Changes That Require a New Program Application 934. Application Deadlines 93

B. Electr onic S ubmission of Progr am Re visions 94C. Compo nen ts of Prog ram Revision Ap plicati ons 94D. Program Re vision Pr oce dures 95

1. Conv ersion/R evision to a Te ch Pr ep Award 952. Program Deactiv ation 953. Program Reactiv ation 954. Institution-Initiated Cl osure 95

E. Staff Revi ew of R evision Applica tion 96F. Appeals Pr ocedure 96

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A. Need for Pr ogram Revisi ons

Once an AAS or an AAA degree or certificate is approved and has been placed on the college’s car eer te chni ca l/workf or ce edu cati on program inventory, changing it may require a formal program revision. Applications for revision of certificate and degree programs must be submitted through the Workforce Education Inventory Access and Update.

be submi tted el ectr onic ally thr oug h the WECM website at:If the change would sig nifi cantl y alt er t he A program out com es, the institution must submit an Appli cati on for a New Pr ogram (see Chapter Five).

NOTE: A revision will not be approved if it causes an associate degree to exceed 7260 SCH or causes any of, unless the req uested a wards to exceedinstitution provides an acceptable and compelling academic reason for the maximu m leng ths d escrib ed inexcess hours. See Chapter Three for more information.

Applications for program revisions must be submitted to Coordinating Board staff at least 60 days prior to the planned implementation date. Program revisions must receive Coordinating Board approval prior to implementation by the institution. Failure to submit a properly completed application or provide additional information as requested by Coordinating Board staff may delay the approval process. Notice of receipt and/or approval of the application will be posted on the Coordinating Board Community and Technical Colleges Electronic Program Status Notification Page

1. .A program is considered approved only when an "A" is listed in the "Act" column and the date of approval is shown in the "Notif. Date" column. If any changes were requested by the institution or made by Coordinating Board staff, the changes will be described in the "Notes/Comments" column.

1. Changes That Require a Program Revision

A program revision is required for the following changes in a program (as defi ned in:

Chapter 3):

[a.] a. to change the name of an AAS/AAA degree or certificate.;

[b.] b. to request a change in the CIP code of a degree or certificate to a different CIP code in the same program.;

c. to add a new Semes ter Credit H our (SCH) or Continuing Edu cati on (CE) certi fica te to a n exis tin g de gre e or cer ti fi ca te pr ogr am.

[c.] d. T o ad d a n A dvan ce d Tec hnical certificate to an existing program (see C ha pter T hree for details).;

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[d.] e. to revise the curriculum of an award in any of the following ways:

[(1)] (1) Any ne w Special Topics or Local Need courses are added to or removed from the curriculum (refer to Chapter Four for guidelines on using Local Need and Special Topics courses);

[(2)] (2) The total number of cre dit h oursSCH in the award is increased or decreased by more than six SCH from the number of S CH on the c olleg e’s appr ove d pr ogra m inventory, or by 100 or more CE contact hours in CE;, from the approved program;

[(3)] (3) The length of the award is increased or decreased by one semester or more;

[(4)] (4) The certificate statuslevel changes from Level 1 (TSI-waived) to Level 2 (TSI-liable) or vice versa; oror fr om L ev el 2 t o L ev el 1; or

[(5)] (5) Any academic courses are replaced by WECM courses or any WECM courses are replaced by academic courses.

[e.] f. to deactivate an award. (suspend new-student enrollment);

[f.] g. to reactivate an award (within three years of deactivation) . h. ); ora. to close an award. (discontinue and remove from program inventory).

2. Changes That Do Not Require a Program Revision

Provided that none of the above changes are requested, a program revision is NOT required in the following circumstances:

a. To in creas e or d ecr ease the numb er of changes to credit ho urs in a S em ester Credi t Hour (SCH)

award by sixprograms of less than 6 SCH or few er, provided that the total numberchanges to CE programs of SCH still falls withinthe allowa ble ran ge for t hat t yp e o f award OR t o incr ease or decr eas e th e num ber of

[a.] Contin uing Educa tion U nits (CEU) in a Continuin g Edu cati on award by less than 100 contact hours or few er, provided that the total number of contact hours still falls within the.

allowabl e ra nge for a CE award (360 -780) . NOTE : If the ch an ge w ould be more tha n six SCH from the number currently on the progr am inventor y (or 100 contact h ours for continuin g educa tion) , a r evision i s requir ed.

[b.] b. to substitute WECM courses for other WECM courses (except ifwhen Local Need or Special Topics courses are being added or removed).

[c.] c. to substitute ACGM courses for other ACGM courses (provided SACSSACSCOC general education requirements are still met).

d. To con vert t o a T ech Pr ep pr ogram ( providi ng n o oth er chan ges whi ch w ould

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r equir e a program r evision are made to the post -secon dary curri cul um).

It should be noted that even in cases when a program revision is not required, coll egesinstitutions are encouraged to ele ctr onicall y submit program updates at any time prior to the planned or requested implementation date in order to keep their online curriculum outlines current.

[3.] 3. Changes That Require a New Program Application

A New Program Application is required under the following circumstances:

[a.] a. to add a new AAS or AAA degree.;

[b.] b. to add a new degree or certificate (credit or continuing education) in a program area that is not currently on the college’s inventory.;

[c.] c. to reactivate an award three years or more after it has been deactivated. d. ; or

a. to make any changes that signi fica ntlysubstantially alter th e pr ograma program’s outcomes.

4. Application Deadlines

Applica tions for program revisions m u st be submit ted to th e C oordi natin g Board s taf f at least 45 day s prior to th e reques ted implemen tation date of the changes. Applications received les s than 45 days before the im plem entation date w ill be handled as tim e allows. Insti tutions shou ld be awar e that the staff may not be abl e to r eview late applica tions in time for t he r equ ested implem ent ation dat e.

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B. Electr onic S ubmission of Progr am Re visions

In th e in tere st of ef fici en cy, re vision applications must be submitted electronicall y. Informati on abou t this process is av ailable on th e CB w ebsit e at: or thr ou gh the WEC M w ebsite under “Electr onic Submissions ” at:

[B.] C. Components of Program Revision Applications

The following information will beis required to complete and submit the application.:

[1.] 1. The Institution’s Six-Digit FICE Code and Authorized Password: a valid password is required to gain access to the electronic submission system. The password is assigned to the college’s technical dean or vice president of instruction and may be requested by contacting [email protected].

[2.] 2. Action to Be Taken: select the appropriate action (see Sectio n D of this chapter for further expl anation).. Options include:

[a.] a. add an award to an existing program;[b.] b. revise an award;[c.] c. Convertreactivate an award to Te ch Pr ep;[d.] d. Reacti vatedeactivate an award;e. Dea ctiva te a n award;

[e.] f. close an award; and[f.] g. view and/or edit a revision currently saved “In Progress.”

[3.] 3. Program CIP Code and Award CIP Code: Ple as e r efer t oaccurate CIP code assignments are available through the Degree Program (Clearinghouse) Awards inven tor y vi alink on the Coordinating Board’s Course and Program InventoriesIn vent ory Br owse Portal (for accurate C IP code assignments page.

[4.] 4. Correctional Facility: revisions to awards offered both at the main campus and at a correctional facility must be submitted as separate awards. (Awards offered at correctional faciliti es cannot be Tech Prep.)

[5.] 5. Effective Date: select the effective date for the revision from the list of choices offered.

[6.] 6. Award Sequence: provide the award sequence as it appears on the current TH ECBCoordinating Board program inventory. This information is available using the Invent ory Br owse P ortal Course and Program Inventories page.

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http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/CourseInventory.cfm

http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/CourseInventory.cfm

mailto:[email protected]


[7.] 7. Award Type: provide award code for each award. See Chapter Three for characteristics that define each award type:

[a.] a. AAS Associate of Applied Science Degree (60 - 72 SC H)[b.] b. AAA Associate of Applied Arts Degree a. C1 Certificate level one (15-42 SCH)[c.] c. C2 Certificate level two (4 3-59 SCH)[d.] d. ESC Enhanced skills certificate (6-15 SCH )

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[e.] e. ATC Advanced technical certificate (16 -50 SCH; see C hapter Thre e)[f.] f. CE Workforce continuing education program (0 SCH; 360-779

contact hours)

[8.] 8. Award Title: provide the award title as it should appear on the institution’s inventory.

[9.] 9. Contact Information: provide contact information for the authorized institutional official and the contact person for the program.

[10.] 10. WECM Special Topics Course Submission. ( See Chapter Four) for more information.

[11.] 11. WECM Local Need Course Submission. (See Chapter Four) for more information.

[12.] 12. Proposed Curriculum Outline.

[C.] D. Program Revision Procedures

1. Conv ersion/R evision to a Te ch Pr ep Award

Convertin g a program or award to T ech Prep does not r equi re a progra m revision . Refer to Ch apter S even for ad ditional infor mation .

[1.] 2. Program Deactivation

a. Notice of Program Deactivation: an institution may deactivate a program by suspending new student enrollment and submitting an electronic Application for Program Deactivation to the Coordinating Board. Institutions should have on file and available for Coordinating Board staff review provisions for teaching out currently enrolled students.

b. Deactivation Time Limit: a program may remain deactivated no longer than three academic years. A program that is not reactivated by the institution within three years will be closed by the Coordinating Board.

3. 2. Program Reactivation

To reactivate a deactivated program, the institution must submit an electroni c Application for Program Reactivation that includes the proposed curriculum outline. The institution must have on file and available for Coordinating Board staff review a descri ptionan explanation of how it has corrected or will correct the reason(s) for which the program was deactivated.

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NOTE: A program can on lymay be reactivated within three years of being deactivated. If more than three years have lapsed, a new program application is required.

4. 3. Institution-Initiated Closure

A program or award may be closed voluntarily by an institution. If students are currently enrolled in a program that the college wishes to close, the program should be deactivated before being formally closed.

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dea ctiva ted before bei ng formall y cl osed.

An institution must submit an electronic Application for Program

Closure to notify the Coordinating Board staff of its intent to close a

program. Institutions should have on file and available for Coordinating

Board staff review the reason(s) for closure and provisions for teaching -out

currently enrolled students. Closed programs may on ly be reopened only if

they are resubmitted as new programs. E. Staff Revi ew of R evision Applica tion

Program revisions will be revi ewed by the Coordinati ng Board. Revised awards must meet the sam e ge neral guideli nes set f or workf or ce education programs in Chapter Three as wellas the stan dards for New Progr ams in Chapter Five.

Program rev isions must receive Coor dinating Boa rd ap prov al prior t o im plemen tation by th e institution. Failure to submit a pr op er ly completed app licatio n or failure to provide additional informa tion as requ este d by staff in a timely ma nner ma y de lay th e a ppr oval process . N otice of receipt and/or approval will be posted electronically on the THECB Community and Technical Colleges Electronic Progra m Status Notifica tion Pa ge a t:

A prog ram i s consi der ed appr ov ed o nly whe n an "A" is listed in the "Act" col umn and thedate of ap pr oval is sh ow n in th e "N otif. Dat e" col umn. If a ny chan ges w er e reques ted by th e college or m ade by CB staff, the changes will be descri bed in the "Notes/Comments"column . Inst ructi ons f or use ar e provided on the website.

F. Appeals Pr oced ure

All appeals of Coordin ati ng Board decisions r egar ding pr ogra m appr oval , revision , evalua tion , dea ctiva tion , an d cl osur e should be gin by conta cting an app ropriat e m e mber of the C areer T echnical P rograms Department staf f. If an insti tu tion a nd Co ordina ting B oard staff m embe rs are u nabl e t o res olv e the m att er, the ins titutio n may r eque st a rulin g fr om the Assistant Commissioner for A cademic A ffairs and Res earch. In such cases the institution shall be notified of the A ssistant Commissioner’s decision w ithin 30 w or king d ays ofreceiving the reques t. A n institution may appeal the Assistant Commissioner’s decision to the C ommis sioner of Higher E ducati on a nd ul timately to th e Coor dinatin g Boar d u nd er th eprovisions of Coordina tin g Boar d Rul es Chapter 1, Secti on 1. 55.

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Chapter Seven: GLOSSARY

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1+1 program. An arti culated , com pet ency-bas ed w orkf orc e e ducatio n progr am o ff ered by community and technical colleges where the fi rst year of a cademic and techni cal study is offered by one institution and the second year is offer ed by a secon d pa rticipating institution that of fers t he a pplie d a ssociat e d eg ree .

2+2 program. An arti culated , com pet ency-bas ed2+2 program. An articulated workforce education program that links the last two years of secondary education with the first two years of higher education to create a four-year academic and technical curriculum. These 2+2 programs do not necessarily meet all the r equire ments of a Tech Pre p p rogram .2+2+2 program. An articulated, competen cy -based workforce education program that links a 2+2 program to the last two years of higher education and that results in a baccalaureate degree. Th ese 2+2 +2 p rograms do not necessa rily meet all the r equir ements of a Tech Prep

progr am.

AAA . S ee A ssociat e of Applied Ar ts deg ree pr ogram .

AAS . S ee A ssociat e of Applied Scie nce degree

progr am. ACGM. S ee Lower Divisi on A cademic C ourse

Gui de M anual . AOS. Se e A ssociat e of Oc cup atio na l

Studi es de gree pr ogra m.

Academic. A term referring to courses and programs designed for transfer.

Academic Associate Degree. A type of degree program leading to the Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree and intended to transfer to a four-year college or university.

Academic year. A 12--month period, which may vary from institution to institution, but which generally begins on September 1 and ends on August 31 for state reporting purposes.

Accreditation. (Institutional). A process signifying that an institution has a purpose appropriate to higher education, and resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish its purpose on a continuing basis. Colleges in Texas should refer to the Principles of AccreditationPrin cip les of Ac cre ditati on (r eplaces the Criteria for Accreditation) adopted by the Co mmission on Colle ges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCommission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Accreditation (Program). A process of determining that a program of study within an institution meets standards set by a discipline-specific external agency, organization, or commission. Program accreditation verifies that a program of study is capable of training students to enter an occupation with the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Advanced technical certificate. A certificate that has a specific associate or baccalaureate degree (or, in some circumstances, junior-level standing in a

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baccalaureate degree program) as a prerequisite for admission. It must consist of at least 16 and no more that 50than 45 SCH. It must be focused, clearly related to the prerequisite degree, and justifiable to meet industry or external agency requirements.

Advisory committee. A group of business or industry representatives whose purpose is to advise the college on the needs for a particular program. The committee advises on matters of curriculum, instructor qualifications, and equipment and facility requirements needed to assure that graduates will have appropriate skills for employment in the business or industry upon graduation.

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that graduates will have appropriate skills for employm ent in the business or industry upon gradua tion .

Affiliation agreement. Documentation between a college and a business/industry affiliate definin gthat defines an educational partnership, and s pe ci fyi ngspecifies conditions, roles, and tim e lin estimelines.

Ann ual Data Profile ( ADP). A r ep or t ( data pr ofil e) pr epar ed b y t he C oordi natin g B oard s taf f from coll ege-genera ted data and pr ogram i nfor mation to be used by th e colleges to condu ct institutional effectivenes s self-assessments and institutional pl ans for new program r eview and program revisions. The ADP summarizes annual progress by each college toward m eeting state- level goals .

Applied associate degree. A type of degree program designed to lead the individual directly to employment in a specific career. Refers to the associate of applied arts and the associate of applied science degrees. The term “applied” in an associate degree name is the distinguishing characteristic of the technical nature of the college work. See Associate of Applied Arts and Associate of Applied Science.

Apprenticeship training program. A training program, register ed with that provides on-the-job training, preparatory instruction, supplementary instruction, or related instruction in a trade that has been certified as an apprenticeable occupation by the U.S. Department of Labor or th e state apprentices hip agen cy i n accord an ce with th e N ational Appr enti ceship A ct (2 9U.S.C . 50 ), t hat is con du cted or sp on sored by an employer , a group of em ploy ers, or a joint appre ntices hip committ ee r epr esent ing b oth em pl oyers an d a union, and that contains all terms and conditions for the qualification, recrui tment, selection, employment, and tr aining of

apprentices. These pr og rams must b e certi fied b y th e, Employment and Training Administration, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. The program is a structured system of training designed to prepare individuals for occupations in skilled trades and crafts by combining training under the supervision of an experienced journeyworker with job-related classroom instruction.

(BAT) of th e U. S . Depar tment of La bor.

Articulation. A planned process linking educational institutions and experiences to assist students in making a smooth transition from one level of education to another without experiencing delays or duplication in learning. Examples of articulation include advanced placement, 2+2 programs, and 2+2+2 progr ams, a nd Tech Prep Associa te of Ap plied S cien ce degr ee programs.

Articulation agreement. A commitment to a p rogram desi gned t o pro vide st ud ent s with a non -dupli cat ive sequence of pr ogr es sive a chievement . Su ch An agreement migh t b e signed between two institutions, such as a high scho olsschool and collegescollege or b etw een two-yeara technical or community college and four-yea r institutionsa university, to promote the transfer and success of students. through a non-duplicative sequence of progressive achievement.

Asses smen t (of stude nts). All coll eges m ust h ave poli cies and pro cedu res f or th e p roper 150


assessment of students i n basic skills of reading, writing, and math to ens ure proper advising and cours e placemen t. A coll ege m ay ei ther us e o ne of th e design ate d tests f or the Texas Success Initiative program or an ass essment inst rument of it s choi ce an d det ermin e i ts own cu t scor es f or p urposes of c ourse place ment . Na ti onal studies have shown that proper assessment and cours e placemen t h elp pr omote student success, satisfacti on, and retention.

Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) degree program. A program of study designed for immediate employment and/or career advancement that emphasizes the application of artistic principles and the humanities through an orderly, identifiable sequence of courses. The degree program is composed of technical courses, general education courses, related instruction courses, and, as appropriate, elective courses to prepare students for employment in the performing arts.

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cours es, an d, as appr op riate, el ectiv e cours es to pre pare stu dents for e mployme nt i n th e performing arts.

Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program. A program of study designed for immediate employment and/or career advancement that is composed of an orderly, identifiable sequence of courses designed to meet specific occupational competencies and outcomes. The degree program is composed of technical courses, general education courses, related instruction, and, as appropriate, elective courses to prepare students for employment as technicians or professionals.

Automated Student a nd Adult L earner Follow-Up System (ASAL FS). A n aut omat ed process th at uses em ployment and educa tion da t abases to tr ack program com plet ers, verifying their status i n terms of employment or further educa tion . Th e follow -up system is conducted by Career D eve lopmen t Res ources (C DR).

Award. The credential granted a student for successful completion of a set curriculum such as a degree or certificate.

BAT. A n a cr onym for th e B ur eau of A ppren tic es hi p Trainin g of the U.S . Depar tm en t of L ab or.

Capstone experience. A learning experience that results in consolidation and synthesis of program competencies.

Career cluster. A gr ou p o f rela te d awards or e xit opti ons ( degr ees or certifi cat es) i denti fied by a four- or si x-digit CIP code.

Career cluster. One of 16 occupational categories recognized by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE). Each category provides industry-validated knowledge and skills statements that define what students need to know and be able to do in order to realize success in a chosen field.

Career development personnel. Professional staff members who are employed in the delivery of career development services, which include information and planning, placement, counseling, and guidance as well as testing and assessment.

Career Development Resources (CDR). A u nit of th e Te xas Workfor ce C ommission within the Wor kfor ce Informati on Anal ysis and Repor ting Divisi on. CDR provides career and occupation al inform ation softw are, h ardcopy mo nogra phs an d job huntin g guides, la bor mar ket and con tinui ng education ou tcomes data , in -service training , tabloi ds and oth er ma ter ials to assist students and jobs eekers in developing pla ns for th eir edu cati on a nd c are er ch oic es.

Career guidance and counseling. Student services whichthat allow students to evaluate and adjust career plans based upon information on employers, occupations, wages, job openings, skill qualifications, and education and training options.

Career lattices. Pr ogra ms in different six-digi t C IP cod es that can be combined into industry- defin ed care er pa thwa ys.

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Career School or Co llege. A n onp ubli c, p os tse con dary edu cati onal insti tution offeri ng applied associat e degree pr ogra ms. Previ ou sly know n a s a pr oprieta ry institu tion . Refer to THECB Rules and Regulati ons, C hap te r Sev en.

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CBM repo rts. C oor dina tin g B oar d Manag em en t r ep or ts r equir ed from hi gher edu cati on institutions as conditi on of eligibility to receive appropriati ons made by the T exas Legislature. Examples include CBM0 01 (Student Repor t), CB M002 (Success Initiative Repor t), CB M004 (Class Repor t), CB M00C (Contin uing Educa tion R epor t).

Censu s dat e. The o ffici al dat e b y w hich public c ommunity a nd t ech nical coll eg es mu st rep ort enrollm ent d ata t o the C oordi natin g Board for st ate r eimburs emen t, e.g., the twel fth class day in a long s e mester.

CERT1 . S ee Level One Certifi cate.

CERT2 . S ee Level Tw o Certifi cate.

CERT3 . S ee Enhanced Skills

Certifi cate.

Certificate program. A technical program designed for entry-level employment or for upgrading skills and knowledge within an occupation. Certificate programs serve as building blocks and exit points within AAS degree programs. Post-AAS certificates are also available.

Certification/licensure/registration. A process sponsored by an agency or association, design eddesignated by educators in cooperation with business, industry, and/or labor, that validates and/or certifies the skills and learning experiences of a candidate and enters the name of the successful candidate on a registry.

CIP code. The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is a federal taxonomy developed by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education and used throughout the nation by government agencies and professional associations to establish standard terminology and recor d-keepingrecordkeeping for higher education programs.

Clinical education. A type of external learning experience whereby the student receives instruction atin a sponsoring health professions setting. Clinical practice is supervised by qualified faculty members employed by the educational institution sponsoring the program or by preceptors employed by the clinical site.

Commissio n on Colle ges. T he Co mmission on Colle ges of the S ou ther n Associa tion of Colleg es an d Schools (S ACS) is th e r ecogni zed r egional accrediting body in the 11 U.S. southern states, incl uding T exas.

Competency profile. A list of skills and abilities defined and validated by business/industry as necessary to perform tasks related to a particular occupation or cluster of occupations.

Completer. A student who completes a Coordinating Board--approved associate degree, certificate, core curriculum, or field of study curriculum.

Concurren t course credit. Se e dual cr edit.

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Concurren t enrollme nt (dual en rollment ). Enrollment by a s tud ent in tw o dif fe rent institutions s imultaneousl y.

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Compressed semester. A semester in which the content of a 16-week course is delivered in a shorter period of time.

Contact hour. The basic instructional unit for funding purposes. A time unit of instruction consisting of 60 minutes, of which 50 minutes must be direct instruction.

Continuing education certificate. A Coordinating Board-approved workforce education certificate containing a coherent sequence of continuing education courses totaling 360 or more contact hours and listed on the college’s approved inventory of programs.

Continuing education course. A Coordinating Board--approved higher education technical course offered for continuing education units and conducted in a competency--based format. Such a course provides a quick and flexible response to business, industry, and student needs for intensive preparatory, supplemental, or upgrade training and education and has specific occupational and/or apprenticeship training objectives.

Continuing Education Unit (CEU). Basic unit for continuing education courses. One continuing education unit (CEU) is 10 contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.

Contract instruction. The delivery of a course or courses to meet the needs of a contracting entity, which may be a business, industry, or external agency. Refer to Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 9, Subchapter GChapt er Nin e of THECB Rules and Regulations..

Cooperative education. A type of external learning experience wher ein which students receive both lecture instruction and practical experience at a worksite.

Coordinating Board. A reference to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).. The Coordinating Board was created by the Texas Legislature in 1965 and is governed by members appointed from across the state by the Governor for six-year terms.

Coordinating Board staff. Professionals employed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to implement its policies.

Correct iona l instit uti on. Any pris on, jail, reformatory, wo rk farm , detention cen ter, hal fway house, com munity-based rehabilitation center, or any other similar institution designed for the confinem ent or rehabilitation of crim inal offenders.

Course inventory. A list of courses approved by the Coordinating Board for use by a specific college.

Credential. A license, certificate, registration, or other formal recognition that is legally required in order for a person to practice a specific occupation.

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Credentialing authority. A govern ment agency tha t is au thorized to grant creden tials, or a privat e orga nizati on t hat is gen erally recog nized and a ccep ted as th e gra ntor of cr ed entials.

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Developmental courses. Courses designated as remedial or compensatory to help students develop basic skills. such as reading, writing, oral communication, and mathematics. Developmental courses approved for state funding are listed in the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM).

Dual credit. A process by which a high school student enrolls in a college course and receives simultaneous academic credit for the course from both the college and the high school.

Dual enrollment. S ee Concurrent enrollm ent.

Eligible Pr ogram. For Institutional Effectiveness purpos es, a pr ogram t hat h as been appr ov ed for at least three years, i s not taught in a co rrecti onal facility, and has not been closed or dea ctiva ted.

Enhanced skills certificate. (ESC). A certificate consisting of at least six and no more than 15 semester credit hours and attached to an applied associate degree that provides the student with enhanced skillsskills beyond career entry as identified by business and industry. An ESC may extend an AAS or AAA degree to an overall total that must not exceed 72 SCH.

Exit points. Specified points in the sequence of courses in a program at which a student may exit the program, receive a certificate or degree, and possess the competencies required for employment in an identified occupation.

External learning experiences. Competency--based learning experiences, paid or unpaid, that supplement lectures and laboratory instruction and that are offered in business and industry (examples: cooperative education, clinical experience, practicum, internship, or apprenticeship).

Field-of-Study Curriculum (FOSC). A set of academic courses that will satisfy the lower-division requirements for a baccalaureate degree in a specific academic area at a general academic teaching institution. A field-of-study curriculum affects academic degree programs at public colleges or universities as designated within the particular field-of-study curriculum.

General education. Academic cour se wor kcoursework designed to give students a broad general background in selected disciplines.

Graduate. A student who completes a Coordinating Board--approved associate degree or certificate program.

Graduate guarantee. College certification of student competencies as defin ed by t he Pr ogram

Competen cy Profil e. A college Graduate Guarantee policy allows graduates who are judged by an employer to be lacking in technical job skills identified as exit competencies for their specific degree or certificate program to return to the college for up to nine tuition-free hours of education.

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Higher Education Regional Council (HERC). A group composed of representatives from all public higher educationaleducation institutions that exist within re giona l areasone of the stat estate’s ten Uniform State Service Regions. Its purpose is to coordinate planning among institutions by reviewing and recommending to the Coordinating Board institutional plans for out--of--district or distance education offerings.

Institutional award. A course or series of courses with fewer than 15 SCH or 360 CE contact hours that is not part of the Coordinating Board maintained Program Inventory, representing achievement of an identifiable skill proficiency or meeting a student’s self-defined educational objective.

Inst itu tiona l effectiveness. A co mpreh ensiv e stat ewid e evalua tion p rocess tha t t akes in to account the resources , processes, an d results of an educational institution and its programs and services.

Internship. A supervised, external learning experience for students in non-health professions programs. Students may be paid or unpaid.

Labor market information. Documentation pertinent to local, regional, state, and/or national workforce demand for the program, i.e., targeted occupations identified by an appropriate state or federal agency or committee.

Letter of intent. A written declaration of intent to offer a new program submitted to the Coor dinatin g Boar d a nd the Higher Education Regional Council at least 30 days but not m ore than 18 0 da ysand to the appropriate local workforce development board(s), prior to submitting a formal application for program approval, which serves notice that ind icat es the program is under development and gives the expected date of formal submission.

Level One Certificate. A program of study of no more than one year that consists of at least 15 and no more than 42 semester credit hours. Level I1 certificate programs are exempt from the requirements of the Texas Success Initiative, although all certifi cate programs must provide.

for l ocal ass essment an d rem ediatio n of students.

Level Two Certificate. A program of study that consists of at least 4330 and no more than 5951 semester credit hours. Level 2 Certificates are subject to the requirements of the Texas Success Initiative.

Level Thre e Certificat e. Se e Enhanced Skills Certifi cate.

Licensing. Legal authorization to practice in an occupational field, granted by a state agency after passage of a formal examination.

Local Need Course. A workforce education course approved for a specific college.

Local Workforce Development Board. MechanismEntity authorized by the Texas Legislature and used by a local governmental or economic development body to

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determine the workforce development needs of the area. Ref er t o t he we bsite a t: See www.twc.state.tx.us/dirs/wdbs/wdbmap.html for a listing of local boards.

Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM). The Coordinating Board’s official statewide inventory of lower division academic courses that may be offered for state funding by any community college.

Marketable Skills Achievement Award. A credit program of 9 to14to 14 SCH or a workforce continuing education program of 144 to 359 contact hours that meetmeets the minimum standard for program length specified in the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA)), but arewhich is too short to qualify as a certificate programs on the Coordin ati ng Boardprogram in an institution’s program inventory.

Mi rro r-ima ge course. A Workforc e Education C ourse Manu al (WECM) course that may be offered in both a SCH a nd a CE U format.

Non-credit courses. Courses that result in the award of continuing edu cati on u nits (CEU) as specifi ed by SACS criteri a. Only courses that resul t i n th e awar d o f CE U ma y b e submi tted f or state funding.

Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) codes. Five-digit identifi ers for occupational clusters tha t com prise a codi ng syst em design ed by th e U .S . Bureau of L abor Statisti cs. Th ese cod es ar e us ed b y t he T exas Wo rkfo rce Commis sion t o g ene rate o ccu pat ional pr oje ct ions an d expected in dustry st affi ng pa tt erns for T exas.

Optio ns. Di ffer ent asso ciat e d egr ee s in the sam e CIP code.

Portfolio. A collection or verification of student work, e.g., papers, videos, and assessments, demonstrati ng studentthat demonstrates a student’s competencies or skills.

Practicum. A type of external learning experience whereby students receive practical experiences in the workplace.

Prerequisite. A course or competency required prior to entering a program or a course.

Pri nciple s of Accredit ation: Fou ndation s f or Qualit y Enhancement. A do cu ment published by the Commis sion on Coll eges for the Sou ther n A ssociati on of Colle ges an d Sc ho ols con taining s tatem ents o f pe rfo rman ce r equir em ents a nd ad visory su gge stions. (Repl aces the Criteria for Accreditation.)

Program. An organized curriculum directly related to the acquisition and/or upgrading of technical skills whichthat may include several awards. Programs are defined by a CIP codecodes.

Program closure. The process whereby a pr ogr am is an institution officially discontinu ed discontinues a program and r em ovedremoves it from the institution’s program inventory ei ther volu nta rily by the in stitution or by th e C oor dinating Boa rd thr oug h the dea ctiva tion process .

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http://www.twc.state.tx.us/dirs/wdbs/wdbmap.html%20


Program competencies profile. A matrix or checklist of comp et en cies match ed a gainst learning modules or courses in whi ch the competencies will be developed.

Program deactivation. The process whereby an institution suspends all new student enrollments for a maximum of three years to assess program vitality and make revisions without loss of eligibility for state funding or dropping the program and its courses from the program/course inventory.

Program linkage. Agr eements b et ween comm unity a nd/ or techni cal college progra ms and oth er e du ca ti onal i ns ti tu ti ons t oArrangements that facilitate transfer of courses or course credits and promote a seamless educational pathway. Linkages may be demonstrated by articulation agreements that provide for student transfer, inverted degree plans, and advanced standing opportunities. (See Articulation Agreement.)

Program reactivation. A form alThe process t o r einstat ewhereby an institution reinstates a program that has been deactivated within the previous three years.

Program revision. The process whereby an institution requests a change to an existing approved program.

Program summary. A short des cri ption of a n ew pr ogram written by the college and included in the new p rogram appli cati on. It includes t he pr ogram des cr iption , pr ogr am need an d pot ential , an d pr ogram r esour ces .

Remediation. An a ctiv ity d esigned to tea ch ba sic comp etencies in such areas as r eadin g, writing, oral comm unication, and m athematics . See develop mental cour ses.

SCANS skills. Skills identified by the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills as needed by American workers for entry-level employment.

Skill standard. A standard that specifies the level of knowledge and competence required to successfully perform work-related functions within an occupational cluster.

Shortene d semester. A semester that is compressed into fewer than 16 weeks.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (S ACS ). A r egi onal agency th at sets standards for colleges and schools desiring accreditation. See Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The recognized regional accrediting body in 11 U.S. southern states, including Texas.

Special Topics course. A WECM course that should be used only when course content does not exist in any other WECM course. The Special Topics course is intended for temporary use or transitional content.

Specializat ions. C oncentrati onsSpecialization. A concentration within a certificate or applied associate degree pr ogra msprogram that reflectreflects the training required for

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a specific occupationsoccupation within a broad career field and resultresults in the same award. Specializations within a career field must share a common core of courses.

Start-up c osts. An estimate of the initial five years of r esources needed by an edu cati onal institution to begi n a new program, including personnel , f aci lities, equip ment , an d o perati ng expens es.

Student fo llow-up . Se e A ut om ate d S tu den t a nd A dul t L ear ner Foll ow- up S yst em.

Sunset review. A form al eval uati on process th rough which pro grams a re re view ed for u p t o three y ears by th e C oor dinating Boa rd for p ossib le cl osure. S unset r evi ew differs fr om program dea ctiva tion in tha t t he college may con tinue to enroll new s tudents in the program. (This classifica tion has been deleted and i s no l onger i n use.)

Targeted occupations. Occupations for which a workforce demand exists as identified by regional labor market information or local workforce development boards.

TASP . See Texas Academic Skills Program .

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Tech Prep. A program of st udy tha t begins in a second ary s chool a nd continu es in a community or technical college, resulting in a certifica te or associat e degr ee in a care er fi eld.

Technical. A term referring to workforce education courses and programs.

Texas Academic Skill s Pro gram (TAS P). A program tha t included an examinati on to assess each student's reading, writing and mathematical skills to determine wh ether the student is prepa red to successfully compl et e col lege -le vel course work. T he program also required all institutions to provide developm en tal co urses t o prepa re stu dents to complet e such course work. Th e T ASP was rep ealed by th e Texas L egis lature , eff ective Au gust 31, 2003 , a nd was repla ced by the T exas S uccess Ini tia tive.

Texas Education Code (TEC). The statutes of the State of Texas dealing with education. In general, the statutes dealing with higher education are contained within Title III of the code.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules and Regulations. The policies and procedures whichthat regulate the operation of public higher education institutions within the state of Texas. Th eseThe rules and regulations may be accessed electronically via the Coordinating Board’s Higher Education Laws and Rulesw ebsite at: page.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). S ee Coordi nating Boar dThe agency authorized by the State Legislature as the highest authority in the state in matters of public higher education. THECB is charged with the duty to take an active part in promoting quality education throughout the state.

Texas Success Initiative (TSI). A comprehensive program of assessment, advising, developmental education, and other strategies to ensure college readiness. Coordinating Board Rule 4.56 specifies that the TSI Assessment shall be the sole assessment instrument. Coordinating Board Rule 4.57 sets subject-area passing standards. More information about the TSI is available at Coordinating Board Rules Chapter 4, Subchapter CReplaces the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) on September 1, 2003.. Texas Workforce Commission. The agency established by the Texas Legislature to address welfare reform and workforce development program consolidation.

TSI. See Texas Success Initiative.

TSI-waived. Refers to certificate programs that are not subject to state-mandated assessment and remediation requirements.

Unique Need Course. An academic course approved for a specific college or university.

Workforce continu ing education course. Se e continuin g edu cati on course.

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http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=N&p_rloc=162970&p_tloc=&p_ploc=1&pg=2&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=1&ch=4&rl=56


http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/apps/Laws/default.cfm

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/apps/Laws/default.cfm


Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM). The Coordinating Board’s official statewide inventory of workforce education courses.

Workforce demand. The documented need for a program to provide education and training for specific businesses and industries.

Workforce basic skill s. Se e SCA NS skills.

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URL Web Site A ddresses

A. Coor dinating Boar d Information 109B. Fed eral Gov ernmen t Ag enci es (G en eral I nfo rma tion) 109C. State G over nment Agen cies ( Gen era l Inf ormatio n) 110D. Higher Education Ass oci ations and Informa tion Resour ces 111E. Program or Oc cup atio n- Spe cific Ac cr editing , C ert ifying or Li censing B odi es and

Professional Associations 113F. Regional Accredi ting Bo dies 116

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The following list has been compil ed by Career T echnical P rograms Department staff for the con veni en ce of th e re ad ers o f th e Guidelines for Instructi onal Progr am s i n Wor kf orc e E du cati on (GIPWE) . All URL ad dres ses wer e cor rect at th e ti me o f p ublication . Excep t f or th e C ar eer Tech nical Pr ograms in fo rmation on t he C oor dina ting B oard’s website, the Career T echnical Programs department staff takes no responsi bility for changes made by the owners of these websites . An y ov ersigh ts or in accura cies ar e u ni nten tional .

A. Coor dinatin g Boar d Information

Texas Higher Education Coor dinatin g Boar d M ain Website

Texas Higher Education Coor dinatin g Boar d Rul es and Regu lations

Texas Car eer Technical/ Work for ce E duca ti on We bsi te

Perkins Data Resources

B. Fed eral Gov ernmen t Ag enci es (G en eral I nfo rma tion)

Cent ers f or Disease C on trol a nd Pre venti on ( CD C)

Integrated Postsecondary Educati on Data System (IPEDS)

Natio nal Ar chives an d R ecords Admi nistratio n (F eder al Regis ter)

National Ce nter for Edu cati on S tatis tics (NCES)

NCES Fast Facts

Oc cup atio na l Inf orm atio n Ne twor k ( O- NET)

Secretary’s Commission on A chieving Necessary Skills (SCA NS)U.S. De part ment of Lab or – Empl oy ment and Tr aining Admi nistration (note: case s ensitive)

U.S. Bureau of L abor Sta tistics Hom e Page (BLS)

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Occup ationa l Outl ook Ha ndbook (online searchabl e edition)

U.S. Department of E du cati on/ Office of Vocational and Adul t Edu cati on

C. State G over nment Agen cies ( Gen era l Inf ormatio n)

Career D eve lopmen t Res ources (C DR) form erly S OICC

Legislative B udget B oard (LBB)

State of T exas Official W eb Site

Texas Com mission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA)

Texas Com mission on Fire Protection (TCFP)

Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)

Texas Depar tment of Health (T DH) – now part of Texas Depar tment of State Health Se rvices (DSH S)

Texas Depar tment of Hu man Ser vices (TDHHS) – now under Texas Health and Huma n Ser vices

Texas Education A gency (TEA)

T ex as E du ca ti on -R el ated sites (Links )

Texas Electronic Library

Texas Labor Market Information

T ex as S ta te Oc cup atio na l Inf orm atio n Coordinati ng Commi ttee (SOICC)

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Texas Offi ce of th e Se cr etary o f St at e (T exas Re gister)

Texas Workforce Commissi on/ Appr enticeships

Texas Workforce Commission/ Local Work for ce D evel opm ent Boards

Texas Workforce Commission/ Propri etary Insti tutions

Texas Workforce C ommission/ Workforc e Inves t ment A ct (WIA) of 1998

D. Higher Education Ass oci ations and Informa tion Resour ces

American Associati on of Collegiate R egistrars and Admissions Officers (A ACRAO)

American Associati on of Community Colleges (AA CC)

American College P erson nel Associati on (ACPA)

Associati on for Car eer an d Techni cal Educa tion ( ACTE)

Association for Institutio nal R es earc h (AIR )

Associati on of C ollege & Resear ch Li braries S tan dards (Am er ican Li brary Associati on)

Associati on on Higher E ducation and Disabiliti es (AHEAD)

Associati on of Schools of Allied H eal th Professions (ASAHP)

Boards of Higher E ducati on in th e U. S.

Career Colle ges an d S ch ools of T exa s (CCST)

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Cent er f or t he He alth Pr ofessio ns – PEW Health Professions Commission

Classification of Instructional Programs, 2010 Edition: (2000 Editio n:

ERIC Database (online search fu nction)

Health care Career Reso urce Cen ter

Inter nati ona l Technol ogy Edu cati on Associati on (ITEA)

NAFSA: Ass ociation of International Educators

National Ass ociation of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)

Natio nal Ass ocia ti on of S tude nt P ers onnel A dminis tr ator s (NASPA)

National Libr ary of M edi cine (NLM)

Soci ety for College and University Pl anning (SCUP)

South ern Regional E ducation Boar d (SREB)

State High er Education E xecuti ve Of fi cers ( SHEEO)

Texas Association of Ins tituti onal Research ers (T AIR)

Texas Association of Coll ege Registrars and Admissions Officers (TACRAO)

Tech Prep T exas Sta tewi de Arti cula tion a nd Ev aluation

Texas Admi nistrators of Conti nuing Educa tion ( TACE)

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Texas Association for Developmen tal E duc ati on (TA DE)

Texas Association of College Techni cal Educators (TACTE)

Texas Com mon Course Numbering System

Texas Com munity C ollege T eachers Associati on (TCCTA)

Texas Skill Standards Board

Texas Society of Allied Health Profes sions (TSAH P)

Virtual College of T exas

Western Interstate C om mission for Higher Education (WICHE)

E. Program or Oc cup atio n- Spe cific Ac cr editing , C ert ifying , or Licensing B odi es and Professional

Associati ons (In cludin g Vendor -Bas ed C ertifi cati ons for Infor mation Tech nology)

Accr editin g Board for En gineering an d Techn olog y (ABET) TAC Technology A c credit ation Commi ssion

Accrediting Bureau of H ealth E ducation S chools (ABHES)

American Associati on of Colleges for Teacher E du cati on (AAC TE)

American Associati on of Medical Assistants (AAMA)

American Associati on for Respiratory Care (AARC)

American Ba r Associatio n (ABA) S ta nding C om mittee on P aralegals

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Am eri can Bo ard o f Fun er al S er vi ce E duca ti on (A B FSE)

American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF)

American Health Inform ation Mana gemen t Association (AHIMA)

American Occupa tion al T herap y Asso ciatio n, In c. (AOTA)

American Ph ysical Th era py Associati on (APTA)

American Registry of Dia gnosti c M edi cal S onogra phers (ARD MS)

American Society of Clini cal Pa thol og ists (ASCP)

American Society of Clini cal Pa thol og ists Board o f Registry

American Society of Heal th-S ystem P harmacists ( ASHP)

Association of Collegiate Business Sc hools and Pr ograms (AC BSP)

Associati on of S urgical T ech nol ogists (AST)

Cisco Tr aini ng an d C erti ficati ons

Commission on A ccredit ation of Allied Health Educati on Programs (CAAHEP)

Em ergen cy Medi cal S ervi ces E du ca to rs’ Association of Texas (EMSEAT)

Emergen cy Medi cal S erv ices Association of T exas (EMSAT)

Federal A viation A dministration (FAA )Certifi cati on Inf ormati on for A vi ation Maintenan ce Technicia n Schools

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Inter nati ona l Associati on for Adminis trative Professionals (IA AP)

Joint Revi ew Committ ee in Radiol ogic Tec hnol ogy (JRCERT)

Micros oft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) Informati on

Micros oft Office Speciali st (M OS) Informati on

National Accredita tion C ommission of Cosm etol ogy Arts and Scien ces (N ACCAS)

National Accreditin g Agency for Clini cal La bor atory Sci en ces (NAACLS)

Natio nal Ass ocia ti on of S cho ols of Art and Design (NASAD)

National Co uncil for A ccredita tion of Tea cher Educati on ( NC ATE)

National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) Verbatim Reporters C enter

National S ociety for Histotechn ology (NSH)

National Ass ocia tion of Veterin ary Te chni cians in America (NA VTA)

Novell Professional Certi ficati ons

Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (BNE)

Texas Com mission on Law Enforcement Officer Stan dards a nd Edu catio n (TCLE OSE )

Texas Sta te Board of De ntal Examin ers

Texas Sta te Board of Ph armacy

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F. Regional Accredi ting Bo dies

Middle Stat es Commission on Higher Educa tion ( MSCHE)

New En glan d Associa tion of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)

North Centr al Associa tion of Coll eges and S ch ools (NCA)

Northwest A ssociati on of Colle ges an d Univ ersities (NWCCU )

South ern Associati on of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

Western Ass ocia tion of S chools an d Colleges (W ASC)

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Documents

Chapter One: Introduction - TCCIA Web view · 2014-01-17The processes associated with these guidelines include applications for new program approval, revisions for currently approved