Section III: Programs

(Educational Programs Standards for All Educational Programs)

3.4.13.  For each major in a degree program, the institution assigns responsibility for program coordination, as well as for curriculum development and review, to persons academically qualified in the field.  In those degree programs for which the institution does not identify a major, this requirement applies to a curricular area or concentration.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Compliance.

NARRATIVE/JUSTIFICATION FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Northeast Alabama Community College demonstrates compliance that for each major in a degree program, the institution assigns responsibility for program coordination, as well as for curriculum development and review, to persons academically qualified in the field, and that for those degree programs for which the institution does not identify a major, this requirement applies to a curricular area or concentration.

Program coordination involves attention to (1) adequacy of resources, including instructors, facilities, and laboratories; (2) currency of syllabi, texts, learning resources, laboratory supplies, instructional equipment, and clinical arrangements;  (3) informed, reliable advising of students; (4) community advisory input, including assessment of the need for continuation or development of the program; (5) program accreditations; (6) appropriate scheduling of courses at available times and sufficient frequency; (7) quality of instruction; (8) and planning, evaluation, and program improvement based on outcomes assessment and use of results.

Curriculum development involves first the development of the programs based on needs assessment and advisory input, and second the addition, modification or deletion of specific courses to keep pace with developments in the area of study, whether in the A.A.S. and Certificate curricula or the A.A. and A.S. transfer programs. Curriculum review implies regularly scheduled analysis of each program in terms of (1) its continuing relevance in transfer curricula or career potential; (2) adequacy and currency of resources; (3) numbers and demographics of students using the program; and (4) assessment of outcomes and recommendations for improvement. 

Responsibility for program coordination and curriculum development and review is assigned to persons academically qualified in the field. The curricular divisions and the Curriculum Committee, together with the college advising system, compose the structure through which persons academically qualified in the field are assigned program coordination, curriculum development, and curriculum review.

For the A.A.S and the Certificate programs, the assignments are described by Table 1 and Chart 1.  The division chairs individually carry responsibility for their respective divisions; collectively, through the structure of the Curriculum Committee, they are responsible for the entire curriculum.  In those cases where a division includes curricular areas not specifically included in the academic qualifications of the division chair, the chair assigns responsibility for program coordination and curriculum development and review to those instructors within the division who do have the appropriate academic qualifications.

Table 1

Chart 1

Northeast Alabama Community College

A.A.S. & Certificate Curricula: Coordination, Development and Review by Persons

Academically Qualified in the Field

In those degree programs for which Northeast does not identify a major, responsibility is assigned for each curricular area or concentration. The A.A. and A.S. programs receive overall curricular coordination through the Statewide Transfer and Articulation System (STARS).  Although majors are not designated as such in these associate degree transfer programs, programs of study within them are defined to lead into various majors starting at the junior level. The coordination that must occur locally for these programs of study includes (1) the decision to include a given A.A. or A.S. program of study in the NACC Catalog; (2) verification that the courses needed for the program are in the NACC curriculum and are offered with appropriate scheduling and frequency; (3) advising by academically qualified persons knowledgeable with respect to the concentration and the specific transfer requirements; and (4) use of outcomes assessment and program improvement procedures to maintain quality services. As indicated in the Catalog, most of the153 articulated programs of study available to students through the STARS Web site can be completed at Northeast; the decision to list the particular program of study in the Catalog is made by the Curriculum Committee based on analysis of the programs most used by students. The respective division chairs, working through the Curriculum Committee, see that the required classes for each program of study are in the curriculum, that the courses are adequately scheduled, and that specific advisors are assigned for each program of study. Assignment of the various concentrations or programs of study to specific advisors allows the advisors to develop and maintain a current awareness of transfer requirements, some of which are specific to various universities. Additionally, these advisors are in a position to inform division chairs of needed scheduling.

Outcomes assessment, along with correlated planning, evaluation, and use of results, is facilitated by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness in coordination with the assigned instructors and the division chairs.

Table 2 shows the assignment of faculty members to the various programs of study within the A.A., A.S., and A.A.S. degree and the Certificate programs. Also included in Table 2 are the dual enrollment advising (high school students who may not declare a major until they have achieved regular admission upon completion of high school) and programs within the Adult Education and Skills Training Division (programs with no college award are indicated by “nca”). The designation Undeclared Degree indicates students who need assistance in planning a career path; these students are advised by a counselor who gives attention to helping these students choose a major, at which time they are reassigned to the appropriate advisor.

Table 2