Illinois Administrative Code
Title 23 - EDUCATION AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
Part 1050 - APPROVAL OF NEW UNITS OF INSTRUCTION, RESEARCH AND PUBLIC SERVICE AT PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
Section 1050.30 - Criteria for Approval

i) Faculty providing undergraduate general education coursework shall possess, at a minimum, a master's degree with 18 graduate hours appropriate to the academic field or discipline in which they are teaching.

ii) Faculty engaged in providing technical and career coursework at the associate degree level shall possess, at a minimum, at least 2,000 hours of work experience and the appropriate recognized credential depending on the specific field.

iii) Faculty teaching in a baccalaureate degree program shall have, at a minimum, a master's degree in the field of instruction.

iv) Faculty teaching in a graduate program shall have a doctorate or terminal degree in the field of instruction.

v) Exceptions may be made by the Board for professional experience, equivalent training and other qualifications; however, except in extraordinary circumstances, these should prove the exception and not the rule in meeting faculty qualification requirements.

i) Associate degree requires at least 60 semester credit hours or 90 quarter credit hours.

ii) Baccalaureate degree requires at least 120 semester credit hours or 180 quarter credit hours and at least 40 semester credit hours (60 quarter credit hours) in upper-division courses.

iii) Master's degree requires at least 30 semester credit hours or 45 quarter credit hours of appropriate post-baccalaureate coursework.

iv) Doctor's degree - Professional Practice requires the completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential or license required for professional practice; at least 60 semester hours of postsecondary credit required for admission to the program; and a total of at least six academic years of college work to complete the degree program, including prior required postsecondary work plus the length of the professional program itself.

v) Doctor's degree - Research and Scholarship requires the completion of an organized program of study beyond the master's level. The program shall demonstrate full understanding of the level and range of doctoral scholarship; the function of a dissertation and its defense based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement; the nature of comprehensive examination; and other standards commonly held for these degrees; at least 2 full time years of advanced academic coursework beyond the master's degree; and an independent performance of basic or applied research at the level of the professional scholar, typically a dissertation, or to perform independently the work of a profession that involves the highest levels of knowledge and expertise.

i) Graduation rates, certificate and degree completion rates, retention rates, and pass rates for licensure and certification aligned with thresholds set by State or national regulatory bodies.

ii) The success rate shall be, at a minimum, higher than those of the lowest quartile of these measures for similar Illinois institutions defined as open versus competitive enrollment institutions, and primarily associate versus primarily baccalaureate granting institutions. Exceptions may be made to the lowest quartile if an institution is above the national average for these measures using the same comparison categories of institutions.

i) At a minimum, these data shall include student loan default rates, student indebtedness rates, job placement rates, student learning measures and other success indicators.

ii) The success rate shall be, at a minimum, higher than those of the lowest quartile of these measures for similar Illinois institutions defined as open versus competitive enrollment institutions, and primarily associate versus primarily baccalaureate granting institutions. Exceptions may be made to the lowest quartile if an institution is above the national average for these measures using the same comparison categories of institutions.

i) The institution assures adequacy of technical and physical plant facilities, including appropriate staffing and technical assistance, to support its electronically offered programs.

ii) The institution provides students, faculty and staff with effective technical support and training for each educational technology hardware, software and delivery system required in a program. The institution provides adequate technical support to ensure students are able to complete coursework and make steady progress in their programs.

iii) Appropriate measures for security of systems and adequacy of support are maintained. The selection of technologies is based on appropriateness for the students, faculty and curriculum.

iv) Faculty are full participants in decisions regarding curricula and program oversight.

v) Demonstration of student learning and program outcomes are appropriate to the field and degree level and consistent regardless of program delivery method.

vi) Appropriate admission processes, policies and assessments are used to ensure that students are capable of succeeding in an on-line learning environment. Students shall be adequately informed of the nature and expectations of on-line learning.

vii) Assessments of student learning, especially exams, take place in circumstances that include definite student identification and assurance of the integrity of student work.

viii) Assessment of electronically offered programs by the institution occurs in the context of the regular evaluation of all academic programs.

i) An accurate description of the unit of instruction, including its objectives, length and residency requirements if any;

ii) Schedule of tuition, fees, and all other charges and expenses necessary for completion of the unit of instruction, and cancellation and refund policies;

iii) Student rights and responsibilities;

iv) A statement regarding the transferability of college credits, including the fact that the decision to accept transfer credits is determined by the receiving institutions;

v) A statement as to how the institution will advise students on the nature of the transfer process, including the importance of consulting with institutions to which the student may seek to transfer;

vi) Evidence of arrangements for the transfer of courses or credits or both to institutional counterparts, when these arrangements exist; these arrangements are also known as articulation agreements;

vii) A statement of the institution's most recent graduation rates and the number of graduates and enrollments as provided by the institution to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and any submissions of data to satisfy Board reporting requirements; and

viii) Other material facts concerning the institution and the unit of instruction as are likely to affect the decision of the student to enroll.