Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) In order to be approved to offer dual
credit courses in Illinois, an institution must maintain the following
standards:
1) State Laws and Regulations and
Accreditation Standards
A) Institutions must
have operating authority, in the Higher Education Region in which coursework
will be offered, under BHE rules (23 Ill. Adm. Code 1030 (Program Review
(Private Colleges and Universities)) for private colleges and universities and
23 Ill. Adm. Code 1050 (Approval of New Units of Instruction, Research and
Public Service at Public Institutions) for public universities).
B) Institutions must provide evidence of
accreditation by a body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or
the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
C) Institutions must comply with all State
laws, State agency regulations, accreditation standards, and institution
policies that apply to courses and instructional procedures.
D) All academic standards at the college or
university must apply to college-level courses offered by the institution on
campus, at off-campus sites, and at secondary schools.
E) These policies, regulations, instructional
procedures and academic standards apply to students, faculty and staff
associated with these courses.
2) Faculty
A) The instructors for these courses shall be
selected, assigned and evaluated by the college or university. They shall be
selected from individuals with appropriate credentials and demonstrated
teaching competencies at the college level.
i)
For transfer courses, these qualifications include a minimum of a Master's
degree with 18 graduate hours appropriate to the academic field or discipline
in which they are teaching.
ii) For
Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses, these qualifications include
2,000 hours of work experience and the appropriate recognizable credential
depending on the specific field.
iii) Exceptions may be made for professional
experience, equivalent training and other qualifications; however, these should
be the exceptions and not the rule in meeting faculty qualification
requirements. These exceptions for faculty may be reviewed by the Board
staff.
B)
Institutions shall provide high school instructors with an orientation
in course curriculum, assessment methods, and administrative requirements
before high school instructors are permitted to teach dual credit
courses (Section 20 of the Act).
C)
Dual credit instructors must be
given the opportunity to participate in all activities available to other
adjunct faculty, including professional development, seminars, site visits, and
internal communication, provided that such opportunities do not interfere with
an instructor's regular teaching duties (Section 20 of the
Act).
3) Qualification
of Students
A) Students accepted for
enrollment in college-level courses must have appropriate academic
qualifications, a high level of motivation, and adequate time to devote to
studying a college-level course.
B)
Students shall select dual credit courses in consultation with high school
counselors and/or principals and participation is restricted to those who are
able to demonstrate readiness for college-level work, as determined by
placement procedures consistent with those that would be used with
college-level students at the offering institution of higher
education.
C) Students shall meet
all college criteria and follow all college or university procedures for
enrolling in courses.
4)
Placement Testing and Prerequisites
High school students enrolling in college-level courses must
satisfy course placement tests or course prerequisites established and
administered by the college or university, when applicable, to ensure that they
have the same qualifications and preparation as other college
students.
5) Course
Offerings
Institutions shall offer for dual credit only coursework that
is also offered on campus. Courses must have been articulated with at least
three regionally-accredited Illinois universities.
6) Course Requirements
A) The content of each dual credit course
shall be the same as courses offered on campus and at other off-campus sites
and shall contain the same content as the master course that has been
articulated with coursework at Illinois institutions.
B) Course prerequisites, descriptions,
outlines, requirements, learning outcomes and methods of evaluating students
shall be the same as for on-campus offerings.
C)
Every dual credit course must be
reviewed annually by faculty through the appropriate college or university
department to ensure consistency with campus courses (Section 20 of
the Act).
7)
Publications and Information
Higher education institutions offering dual credit courses must
provide students with catalog information including: course descriptions,
course prerequisites, enrollment and admissions processes, course costs, fail
and repeatability policies, transcripts and records information, and
information about situations in which earned credits will be
accepted.
8) Distance
Education
A) The institution must provide
students, faculty and staff with effective technical support and training for
any educational technology hardware, software and delivery system that will be
used.
B) The help desk function
must be available to students during hours when it is likely to be needed,
which shall be, at a minimum, 18 hours a day.
C) Appropriate admissions processes, policies
and assessments must be used to ensure that students are capable of succeeding
in an online environment and that students are adequately informed of the
nature and expectations of online learning.
D) Appropriate measures of security systems
must be maintained.
E) Assessments
of student learning, especially exams, must take place in circumstances that
include student identification and assurance of the integrity of student
work.