Core Component 3.A

Main Content

DRAFT

3.A The institution’s degree programs are appropriate to higher education.

  1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of performance by students appropriate to the degree or certificate awarded.
  2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate, and certificate programs.
  3. The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, or any other modality).

Argument

3.A.1.  Southern Illinois University Carbondale cultivates quality teaching and learning through central roles played by faculty in the development and oversight of courses and programs. Courses and curricula in all programs are regularly evaluated through internal annual assessments, program reviews, or external accreditation reviews. Multiple levels of course and curricular development, review, approval, and modification preserve the authority of the faculty to oversee the curriculum of every program and certify the integrity of undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies.

Faculty curriculum committees at the department/school, college, and university levels oversee curricula and initiate changes to ensure courses remain current and concordant with student learning outcomes, state mandates, and accreditation standards. Modifications to curricula originate in programs and follow an extensive development and review process that includes the Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, and the University's Core Curriculum Executive Council. In the Faculty Senate, the Undergraduate Education Policy Committee addresses all matters which affect undergraduate education policy, including approval of new or modified programs. In the Graduate Council, this role involves the Programs Committee, the Education Policy Committee, and the Program Review Committee. Courses in the University Core Curriculum (UCC) are reviewed and approved by the Core Curriculum Executive Council, consisting of faculty teaching UCC courses and staff from advisement and transfer-student services.  The council reviews the assessment of student learning in all courses on a five-year cycle. 

Monitoring and modification of UCC courses, as well as all SIUC courses and programs, rely on the interrelated processes of assessment and program reviews (4.A.1).  SIUC houses 89 programs and units that receive accreditation or certification from external accrediting bodies. These programs meet discipline-specific standard. 

3.A.2. The articulation and differentiation of learning goals begins with the development of programs and continues through assessment plans, assessment reports, program reviews (internal and accreditation), and program modifications. Proposals for New Units of Instruction (NUI) and Reasonable and Moderate Extensions (RME) of existing programs must articulate student learning outcomes and assessment appropriate to the disciplines and degree level of the programs.  The assessment process for programs is discussed in section 4.A.1.

Best-practice recommendations from the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Programs call for the inclusion of student learning objectives in the syllabus. The course student learning objectives need to be in alignment with programmatic student learning objectives, as required for degree- or unit-specific accreditation. For a University Core Curriculum course, the learning objectives are approved by the Core Curriculum Executive Council (Section 3.B.1.).

Articulation of expectations for completion of course-work and programs at differentiated levels appears most clearly in graduation requirements. The Undergraduate Academic Catalog specifies the requirement of completing at least 120 semester hours of credit, with at least 42 hours of courses listed as 300-level or higher from a four-year institution. The Graduate Catalog details the graduation requirements for Master’s and Doctoral degrees and the criteria for completing certificate programs. Faculty create, modify, and oversee graduate courses and curricula (3.A.1). Each program defines specific credit hour requirements, courses, and supplemental competencies needed to meet the expectations of their discipline. Professional degrees awarded through the SIU School of Medicine and the SIU School of Law follow curricula that satisfy accreditation standards set by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the American Bar Association, respectively. SIUC offers 11 graduate certificate programs. Up to 15 credit hours taken for graduate certificate can be applied to degree requirements.

3.A.3. SIUC offers courses and programs online and at off-campus locations in 14 states. The off-campus programs are administered through SIU Extended Campus.  The director is a direct report to the provost.  Learning goals, assessment, faculty qualifications, advising, and student services are consistent across all modes of delivery. External accreditations are maintained by programs in all modes of delivery.

Extended Campus is the starting point for initiating online and off-campus programs.  The Center for Teaching Excellence offers grants and evaluates applications for online courses and programs.  Services include assistance from an Instructional Designer, an Online Development Speed Course, Quality Online Course Checklist, creation of engaged learning experiences that provide feedback, and extensive interaction between members of the course.  SIUC is also a member of Quality Matters, a platform and forum for ensuring standards of quality in online coursework.

A comprehensive account of the methods used to ensure comparable quality of instruction across all modes of delivery is reported in the assessment plan.  The plan documents the process for assessment and continuous improvement in courses and programs delivered face-to-face, off-site, online, and through distance education. Annual assessment reports provide regular documentation of the process.

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