Program review/elmination

[Robb Lightfoot]

Shasta College has in place a PIC - Program Improvement Committee, but the function of this group has been, to date, to eliminate programs. There is not a mechanism, as far as I have been able to see, to have this committee direct the administration or any planning body to put more resources behind low-enrollment or seldom-offered programs. The administration's position is that not only must programs be reviewed, but it is incumbent upon various planning bodies to eliminate programs from our catalog that are not able to generate enough interest to have the classes "make." The benchmark presently is 20 students at the start of the term. There are some exception to this, but the norm is 20.

The programs that the administration is presently focused on are AAs in the university studies and general education areas. These are NOT AA-T degrees.

I've spoken with several faculty who teach in programs that have very few graduate. These faculty usually have several programs, so it's not a matter of the programs being their only job. But the faculty express concern that these small-ish programs still serve a need, and that they offer, in places, an alternative to the AA-T. Not everyone seeks a degree, they note, and not all of our students go on to a CSU. A percentage of our students go on to Oregon, one notes. 

Another issue that a faculty member brought up is that the administration has not, in cases, let classes that were almost full go, and so repeated instances of this have cause a number of semesters go by without the course being offered. 

The administration's position is that faculty need to step up and take action to eliminate these degrees. Some of those affected cite instances where our counseling staff was not able to encourage students to embark on the degree because the counselor didn't know it existed.

So, my questions are these:

1. Does your school have a program elimination process?

2. How does it work?

3. Is there an appeal process or any provisions to support small programs.

4. Does your administration feel that there is a mandate to focus on paring programs with few graduates? (One administrator has suggested that any program with 10 or less graduates in the last 5 years should at least be reviewed.

The administration's position is that review is not termination, but there's no mechanism at present to have PIC direct any resources or policy changes to bolster flagging programs.

I'd appreciate any help in getting me up to speed on this issue. If there are specific parts of the ed code, or accreditation standards, that bear on this, it would help. Our previous VP of Instruction began this process, arguing that we must eliminate stand alone classes and that our school must focus its efforts, "We can't be all things to all people," he said. While this is true, the process of paring programs runs counter to the desires of some faculty, and I'd appreciate any models or methods that have been used at your school.

Thanks,

Robb Lightfoot

President, Academic Senate

Shasta College

rligh...@shastacollege.edu

530-242-2360

[Carol Kimbrough]

Hi Robb,

I'm attaching our  "Establishing, Revitalizing, and Discontinuing Academic Programs" AP & BP.  The policy stipulates that programs cannot be "discontinued" until there has been a revitalization process.  

Good luck!

Carol Kimbrough, MA, MFT

Psychology Instructor * Clinical Supervisor, Crisis Counseling Services * Chair, Curriculum Committee * President, Academic Senate

411 CENTRAL AVENUE | SALINAS, CA 93901

831.755-6856 Direct  | Office: E-308

ckimb...@hartnell.edu | www.hartnell.edu

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[Haproff, Jane E.]

Sierra College has two different Administrative Procedures (with accompanying BPs) to deal with this issue. The first one is a Program Vitality Policy that addresses some of the issues you raise about small programs needing resoureces, the second one deals with eliminating programs in times of fiscal downturns. This last one was created by a taskforce made by of Senators, a Dean from each division, and the VPI and the VPSS. This was in response to some of the cuts we feared we would have to make if Prop 30 failed. Thankfully we have never had to use it! But we have successfully used our Program Vitality Process 5 times. I 've included links to both policies below.

http://www.sierracollege.edu/_files/resources/about-us/board/policies/chapter4/Administrative-Procedure-4021.pdf
http://www.sierracollege.edu/_files/resources/about-us/board/policies/chapter4/Administrative-Procedure-4023.pdf

Jane Haproff
Academic Senate President
Sierra College
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Subject: [Google Group CCCSenates] Program review/elmination

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[Robb Lightfoot]

Outstanding. Thanks!

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[Robb Lightfoot]

I just finished reading this, and I want to thank you again for sharing it. I salute the work and care that went into crafting this process and policies.

I understand why our administration needs to clean up our catalog, but the revitalization piece is missing. This document really spells out how we can give foundering programs a chance, but still move to eliminate them when we must.

Robb

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