Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Degree Granting Institutions:
(a) Authorization to offer any degree in the
state will require either institutional accreditation by a U.S. Department of
Education recognized accreditor or authority to grant degrees by affirmative
vote of the Commission.
(b)
Unaccredited institutions seeking authority to grant degrees must meet, in
addition to the requirements in the Act and these rules for initial
authorization, at a minimum:
1. The
institution shall incorporate instructional procedures, texts, and materials
appropriate to the purpose, curriculum and standards of other degree granting
postsecondary educational institutions offering similar programs in the
state;
2. For undergraduate and
degree granting programs and except as noted further in subparagraph (c) of
this rule, twenty-five percent (25%) of the total program must be in general
education courses and should be indicated separately in the curriculum
presented;
3. Library resources and
holdings shall contain up-to-date titles, be available and accessible to all
enrolled students and commensurate with the proposed degree level;
4. Demonstration that the degree and the
program have merit and value academically, professionally, or vocationally in
Tennessee; and
5. Master's and
doctorate level degrees must demonstrate in the curriculum and outcomes
increasing levels of critical, analytical, and interpretive thinking, use of
primary documents or resources, and independent research skills.
(c) Undergraduate degree programs
must include at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the program in general
education courses unless the institution can demonstrate program accreditation
requirements which are lesser or for a unaccredited institution offering or
proposing an associate degree level, demonstrate to the Commission that because
of the occupational/technical nature of the program that a student would not
benefit in the job from general education courses and demonstrate the need to
use that twenty-five percent (25%) of the program for job skills
courses.
(d) Graduate degree
programs, in addition to staffing and study time requirements in these rules,
must provide experienced research staff to direct graduate research papers,
provide a program of sufficient length and arrangement to facilitate
student-to-student and student-to-staff exchange of ideas, provide
appropriately credentialed staff in collateral areas, and provide access to a
wide range of current reference materials in the subject field.
(2) Unaccredited institutions
shall not accept funds for tuition prior to ten (10) business days of the
scheduled start date of the course or program.
(3) Bartending institutions:
(a) Pursuant to T.C.A. §
49-7-115, all schools involved in
training in the areas of management, operation, procedures, or practice of
dispensing alcoholic beverages or bartending shall include instruction in the
problems of alcohol abuse and the effect of alcohol consumption on highway
safety.
(4) Programs
leading to licensure, certification, registration or similar recognition:
(a) Students shall not be required to take an
examination given by a private or public third-party as part of an
institution's program. For example, a truck driving program cannot include
successful completion of the Commercial Driver's License examination.
(b) Institutions offering programs in fields
that require a student to take an examination in order to be licensed or
similarly recognized before the student can be employed in the field shall
provide as part of the Reauthorization Application student-level data as to:
1. Whether the student sat for the
examination; and
2. Whether the
student passed the examination.
(c) Institutions may request a waiver from
Commission staff of subparagraph (4)(b) of this rule. Commission staff shall
grant the waiver upon receipt of documentation from the institution
demonstrating that the examination provider or related state agency will not
provide testing data to the institution.
(5) For programs of interest to other state
agencies, such as dental programs, Commission staff will endeavor to streamline
processes when a subject matter expert state agency has a law that is contrary
or duplicitous of the Act or these rules.
(6) Computer Training:
(a) Businesses offering specialized
certifications clearly used to denote technical, professional or vocational
proficiency toward an additional vocational goal or new job title must be
authorized for operation of that training in the state.
(7) Institutions that require students to
complete cleaning or similar tasks as part of any course or program shall limit
such tasks to those that are reasonably related to the field for which the
student is being prepared and that are consistent with the types of tasks that
the student would be expected to complete as part of the student's primary
duties or functions when working in the field that the education is preparing
the student to enter.
Authority: T.C.A. §§
49-7-2003,
49-7-2005, and
49-7-2008.
