Section III: Programs

(Educational Programs Standards for All Educational Programs)

3.4.1.  The institution demonstrates that each educational program for which academic credit is awarded (a) is approved by the faculty and the administration, and (b) establishes and evaluates program and learning outcomes.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Compliance.

NARRATIVE/JUSTIFICATION FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Northeast Alabama Community College demonstrates compliance.

(a) Educational programs awarding academic credit are approved by the faculty and administration: 

(1) Transfer curricula are approved under the Statewide Transfer and Articulation Reporting System (STARS). STARS was developed by the Alabama Articulation and General Studies Committee (AGSC), a panel of faculty representing Alabama senior colleges and universities and the public two-year colleges. Four faculty members from NACC were among the two-year college instructors who served on subcommittees to the panel, and ten instructors currently serve on AGSC Academic Committees. This system was implemented in the fall of 1998 after months of work on the part of the AGSC. Both STARS and NACC recognize two overall transfer-track degree programs, namely the A.A. and the A.S. The STARS Web site currently defines 153 articulated majors from which students may choose their desired program of study within either the A.A. or A.S. track. The programs of study chosen for inclusion in the Catalog are those determined most used among NACC students. However, as the 2003-2004 Catalog states, “. . . most all required courses can be completed at Northeast for practically all programs of study listed on the STARS Web site” (pp. 38, 62). These educational programs for which academic credit is awarded are clearly approved by faculty and administration, through faculty participation on the AGSC and administrative commitment to comply with the STARS agreement. Any additions to the Catalog from among these programs are approved by the NACC Curriculum Committee. 

Individual courses offered within transfer curricula are drawn from the standardized Alabama College System Course Directory developed through the Department of Postsecondary Education (DPE). The standardization in content and numbering provides for effective articulation among the public two-year colleges and the senior institutions of Alabama. When a course is identified as needed for a particular program of study (often by faculty advisors), the person proposing the course first ascertains that it is in the Course Directory. The proposal to teach the course at NACC is then submitted to the Curriculum Committee. This committee is composed mainly of the division chairs, thus providing for faculty review and opportunity for faculty approval or dissent. Both the committee and then the Dean of Instruction must approve the addition of the course to the curriculum. If the course is within the technical curriculum, the Dean of Technology and Workforce Development must also approve.

(2) Technical, vocational, and career education curricula are approved by the faculty and the administration. The introduction of a program to the NACC curriculum follows State Board Policy 702.01, which states that “Alabama College System institutions shall submit to the chancellor a written request for any new instructional program.” Identification of a technical, vocational, or career education program for inclusion in the curriculum will usually result from community needs assessment and/or advisory council observations. The possibility is first discussed between the President and the Dean of Technology and Workforce Development, involving faculty who may have an interest. If analysis and discussion conclude that the program has potential within NACC’s service area, is within the mission of the college, and can be established within budgetary and other constraints, it is then submitted to the Curriculum Committee. If agreed upon among the administrators and approved by the Curriculum Committee, the proposal is submitted to the Department of Postsecondary Education via a form called the Intent to Submit a Program Application (ISPA).  (At this point the program listing appears as an anticipated program in the NACC three-year Institutional Management Plan.) If DPE approves the ISPA, the college is allowed to submit an application. The application must clear approvals by DPE, the State Board, and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and is then returned to the State Board for final approval. Upon notification through DPE that the program application is approved, the NACC administration re-submits the program, with plans for implementation, to the Curriculum Committee for approval to deliver instruction.

Faculty approval is signified by the participation of all division chairs and additional faculty on the Curriculum Committee.

Table 1

(b) Each educational program for which academic credit is awarded  . . . establishes and evaluates program and learning outcomes.

Two of the institutional mission goals relate specifically to program and learning outcomes: 

Goal Three:  General education at the freshman and sophomore levels that prepares students to continue their education through transfer.

Goal Six:  Technical, vocational and career education programs that prepare students for employment in occupational fields and which lead to certificates, diplomas, and/or associate degrees.

Program and learning outcomes are evaluated for the transfer programs.  The desired outcome of the general education program is students prepared to continue their education through transfer.  The readiness of sophomores for transfer is monitored through the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP), an instrument provided by American College Testing (ACT). The CAAP assesses Writing Skills, Reading, Mathematics, Science Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.  Two of the five sections are administered each spring on a rotating basis to sophomores who have completed between 45 and 68 credit hours. 

The results indicate that NACC sophomores perform at a level that compares favorably with that of other public two-year colleges. Table 2 reports CAAP results over the past decade.

Another indicator of transfer readiness is the Alabama Basic Skills Test, which is administered to students applying to teacher education programs within the state. Student performance on this test serves as another indicator of the effectiveness of Northeast’s general education core and preparation for transfer (Tables 3, 4 and 5).

Table 2

Table 3