Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024
(1)
Purpose: The purpose of reviewing and approving or disapproving off-campus
offerings of public postsecondary institutions is to insure that such offerings
meet the criteria and standards established by the Alabama Commission on Higher
Education.
(2) Commission
Responsibility: It is the responsibility of the Alabama Commission on Higher
Education to establish policies and procedures for reviewing new or existing
off-campus sites of public postsecondary institutions in Alabama, except for
exempt sites delineated by the Commission's statute. (See the definition for
Exempt Sites listed below at 4.)
(3) Definitions: For purposes of this rule,
the following definitions apply:
(a)
Off-Campus Site: the specific location where one or more courses are offered
for academic credit geographically distant from the sponsoring institution's
main campus.
(b) Off-Campus
Facility: the actual physical plant in which instruction is conducted at an
off-campus site.
(c) Branch: a
degree-granting division of an institution located in a geographical setting
separate from the sponsoring institution's main campus or central
administration and authorized for a stated purpose in relation to the
sponsoring institution and the area served. The branch offers all requirements
for completing degree programs in two or more fields of study as classified by
the CIP taxonomy at the 6 digit level. A branch provides the necessary
administrative services, student services, financial resources, library, and
physical facilities to provide adequate support for degree programs
offered.
(d) Branch Campus: the
physical boundaries of the location of an institution branch.
(e) Off-Campus Instruction: a course or
program taken by a student or students at a location other than a
Commission-recognized main or branch campus of the sponsoring institution. The
Commission's policy on off-campus instruction applies to traditional
instructional settings, i.e. face-to-face classroom instruction that occurs at
a location away from the Commission-recognized main or branch campus of the
institution. (Adapted from a Georgia Board of Regents definition; approved by
the Commission on March 2, 2007.)
(f) Off-Campus Course: a course provided to
any group of students for academic credit at a particular off-campus site in an
organized classroom setting.
(g)
Off-Campus Program: a program of instruction offered in its entirety at an
off-campus site. A program of instruction is defined by the Commission as an
organized set of courses and related activities for which, upon satisfactory
completion, some degree, diploma or certificate is awarded.
(h) Service Areas: (See attached service area
tables.) For the purposes of off-campus instruction, service areas for the
two-year colleges are those determined by the State Board of Education. Service
areas for senior institutions are determined by the Commission, using the
following considerations:
1. Proximity of the
off-campus site to the sponsoring institution
2. Relationship of the off-campus site to the
sponsoring institution based on student source reports that are produced using
data from the Alabama Statewide Student Database; and
3. The mission of the
institution.
(4) Exempt Sites: The following sites are
exempt from Commission approval.
(a) Statutory
Exemptions (
Code of Ala. 1975,
16-5-8
as amended):
1. Sites at which the Fall 1978
registrations exceeded 500 class enrollments.
2. University sites which were operated prior
to 1960.
3. Sites located on
military reservations.
4. Business
and industry sites where only their employees are enrolled in the off-campus
courses.
(b) Additional
exemptions approved by the Commission:
1.
Off-campus prison sites where courses are taught exclusively for inmates and
prison employees.
2. Courses
offered on an individual study basis.
3. Study abroad.
4. High school sites where courses are taught
exclusively to high school students enrolled in early admission, accelerated,
or dual enrollment/dual credit programs.
5. Two-year college sites located within
their respective State Board of Education approved service areas.
6. University sites located within their
respective service areas.
(c) The following stipulations apply to
exemptions 4, 5, and 6 above.
1. Information
items will be provided to the Commission for any new sites, i.e. sites which
previously have not been recognized by the Commission either by formal approval
or by information item.
2. Since
there are instances in which two-year colleges and universities are located
within overlapping areas, care must be taken to avoid the unnecessary
duplication of lower division courses. For this reason, a university shall not
offer lower division courses in the home county of a two-year institution main
campus which offers similar courses without the written consent of the two-year
institution, while a two-year institution shall not offer courses in the home
county of a university main campus which offers similar courses without the
written consent of the university. This stipulation does not apply to
situations in which a university and a two-year college are located in the same
county. In these situations, each institution may offer courses within the
shared area, but they should work together to avoid the unnecessary duplication
of course offering.
3. A university
shall not offer courses in the service area of another university which offers
similar courses without the written consent of the resident
university.
4. All universities
which are located in the same county or which share service areas may offer
courses within the shared area, but they should work together and in
conjunction with the Commission to avoid the unnecessary duplication of course
offerings.
5. It is desirable in
most instances to have the closest qualified institution respond to off-campus
credit course needs. [Based on a Georgia Board of Regents policy]
(5) Sites Subject to
Regular Review: All sites which are not covered by one or more of the exemption
categories above are subject to regular review and approval by the Commission.
For these sites, the following regulations apply.
(a) New off-campus site proposals must be
received by the Commission at least eight weeks in advance of the Commission
meeting in which they will be considered.
(b) A list of courses from which each term's
schedule will be developed will be submitted with each new site
proposal.
(c) No off-campus site
may be located nearer than 25 miles to a main campus of another institution
which offers similar courses without the written consent of that institution.
(d) Once an off-campus site is approved it does not require approval in
subsequent years, but annual reports are required.
(6) Compliance with Accreditation Guidelines
and Criteria: All sites, exempt and non-exempt, must be in full compliance with
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges
(SACS/COC) guidelines and criteria pertaining to curriculum, faculty,
administration, equipment, learning resources and student services. Council on
Occupational Education (COE) guidelines will apply to institutions accredited
by that agency.
(7) Annual
Follow-up Report Requirement: Regardless of exemption status, institutions will
submit an annual follow-up report for each off-campus site by July 1 each year.
The Department of Postsecondary Education may submit a comprehensive follow-up
report for the entire system. The Commission must be notified if a site is
discontinued so that annual reports will not be expected.
(8) Limitation on Course Lists: Extensive
course lists of upper division and graduate level courses that may constitute a
program in any discipline will not be accepted. Should an institution desire to
offer an extensive course list in a discipline, a proposal for an off-campus
program should be submitted for Commission review and approval.
(9) Public Review of Off-Campus Course
Proposals: All proposals for off-campus courses will be subject to a twenty-day
public comment period prior to action or acceptance by the Commission.
Proposals must be submitted electronically by the institutions and will be
posted to the Commission website for public review and comment. At the end of
the twenty-day period, the Commission staff will compile the comments and send
them to the applicant institution for response.
(10) Compliance Monitoring Authority: The
Commission retains the authority to monitor compliance with the guidelines. If
infractions are found, they will be referred to the appropriate governing board
for corrective action.
(11) Funding
of Off-Campus Instruction: Off-campus instruction should be self-supporting;
i.e. costs should be covered by tuition, fees, and extramural support. The
Commission will not include credit hours and enrollment generated by off-campus
instruction in its formula calculations in developing institutional budget
recommendations.
(12) Review and
Approval of Off-Campus Programs: In addition to all criteria stated for the
approval of off-campus courses, the following additional criteria shall apply
to the approval of off-campus instructional programs (approved by the
Commission on March 2, 2007):
(a) Location of
Programs: Complete degree programs may only be offered at Commission approved
sites. Distance from the offering institution to the proposed off-campus sites
will be a primary consideration in the delivery of off-campus programs, unless
it can be demonstrated that the proposed program is the only one of its
kind.
(b) Relationship to the
Commission's Academic Program Inventory: All programs to be offered off-campus
must be listed in the Commission's Academic Program Inventory for the proposing
institution.
(c) Strength of the
Existing On-Campus Program: Only programs which are academically strong and
productive on the main campus should be offered off-campus. Information related
to the main campus program must be provided. This includes:
1. Headcount enrollment data for the
preceding five academic years,
2.
Completion rates for the preceding five academic years as reported to the
National Center for Educational Statistics through the Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS), and
3. Current accreditation status, if
programmatic accreditation is available.
4. If graduates of the program are required
to pass a certification or licensure examination, the institution must provide
documentation related to the performance of its graduates on such an
examination.
5. The institution
must also include data related to the placement rates of graduates of the
program.
6. Exceptions to this rule
may be considered, based on (d), (e), and (f) following.
(d) Adequate Student Demand: The institution
must provide documentation of strong student demand, along with graduation
projections for the first five years of operation at the proposed site.
Post-implementation conditions on enrollment, graduation rates and job
placement similar to those placed on the approval of new academic programs will
be placed on the approval of off-campus programs. If a program is to be offered
on a limited one-time basis, this must be stated. In such cases, student
demand, enrollment projections, and graduation projections will be applied
accordingly.
(e) Need for the
Program: The institution must provide documentation that there is significant
unmet need (employer demand) which cannot be met by the campus-based program or
by other similar programs in the State.
(f) Effect on the Existing On-Campus Program:
In supporting documentation, the institution must explain potential effects of
the proposed off-campus program on the resources available to and the quality
of the program on the main campus. The institution must also provide
documentation that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and any
professional accreditation agencies, if applicable, have been notified of the
institution's intent to offer the proposed program off-campus. Documentation
must be provided that required clearances have been received from the
appropriate accreditation agencies.
(g) Clinical Sites: If the proposed program
requires a clinical component (example: allied health programs), signed
clinical agreements with appropriate agencies sufficient in number to
accommodate the projected enrollment in the program must be provided. These
agreements must indicate the total number of clinical slots that will be
available at each clinical site.
(h) Admission and Program Completion
Requirements: Admission and program completion requirements for a proposed
off-campus program must be the same as the requirements on the main
campus.
(i) Public Review of
Off-Campus Program Proposals: All proposals for off-campus programs will be
subject to a twenty-day public comment period prior to action or acceptance by
the Commission. Proposals must be submitted electronically by the institutions
and will be posted to the Commission website for public review and comment. At
the end of the twenty-day period, the Commission staff will compile the
comments and send them to the applicant institution for response.
(j) Compliance Monitoring of Off-Campus
Programs: If an institution is found to be offering an off-campus program
without the approval of the Commission, the Commission staff will notify the
institution in writing regarding the violation and may conduct an on-site visit
to confirm the non-compliance with Commission policy, if necessary. Following
this review, the Commission will take appropriate action concerning the
violation.
Author: William 0. Blow
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
1975, §§
16-5-1,
et
seq.
