Comprehensive Standards for All Educational Programs
1. The institution demonstrates that each educational program
a. is approved by the faculty and the administration.
b. has stated program and learning outcomes and ensures appropriate
levels of student achievement.
2. The institution ensures that off-campus and distance education
programs meet comprehensive standards applied to educational programs.
3. The institution publishes admission policies consistent with
the institution's mission.
4. The institution has a defined and published policy for evaluating
and awarding credit for transfer, experiential learning, advanced
placement, and professional certificates that is consistent with
its mission and ensures that course work and learning outcomes are
collegiate level and comparable to the institution's own degree programs.
5. The institution publishes and disseminates academic policies
to students, faculty, and other interested parties and produces publications
that adequately and accurately represent the programs and services
of the institution and that adhere to principles of good educational
practice.
6. The institution employs sound and acceptable practices for
awarding credit for courses it offers.
7. The institution is responsible for ensuring the quality of
educational programs/courses offered through consortial relationships
or contractual agreements, ensures ongoing compliance with the comprehensive
standards, and evaluates the agreement against the purpose of the
institution.
8. The institution awards academic credit for course work taken
on a non-credit basis only when there is documentation that the non-credit
course work is equivalent to a designated credit experience.
9. The institution has an effective program of academic advising.
10. The institution protects the security, confidentiality,
and integrity of its student academic records and maintains special
security measures to protect and back up the data.
11. The institution places primary responsibility for the quality
and oversight of its educational program with its faculty.
12. 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.
13. The institution's use of technology enhances student learning,
is appropriate for meeting the objectives of its programs, and ensures
that students have access to and training in the use of technology.
Comprehensive Standards for Undergraduate Programs
14. The institution defines and publishes general education
and major program requirements. These requirements conform to commonly
accepted standards and practices of collegiate institutions.
15. The institution identifies competencies within the general
education core and provides evidence that graduates have attained
those college-level competencies.
16. The institution awards degrees only to those students who
have earned at least 25 percent of the credit hours required for
the degree through instruction offered by that institution.
Comprehensive Standards for Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate
Professional Programs
17. The institution's post-baccalaureate professional degree
programs and its master's and doctoral degree programs are progressively
more advanced in academic content than undergraduate programs.
18. The institution provides adequate resources to support its
graduate and post-baccalaureate professional degree programs.
19. The institution has an appropriate means for determining
admission and completion of graduate and post-baccalaureate professional
degree requirements. These requirements conform to commonly accepted
standards and practices of institutions offering graduate and post-baccalaureate
professional degree programs.
20. The institution ensures that its graduate instruction and
resources foster independent learning enabling the graduate to contribute
to a profession or field of study.
21. The institution has sound and acceptable practices for awarding
or accepting graduate credits.
22. The majority of credits toward a graduate or a post-baccalaureate
professional degree is earned through the institution awarding the
degree. In the case of graduate and post-baccalaureate professional
degree programs offered through joint, cooperative, or consortial
arrangements, the student earns a majority of credits from the participating
institution.
