Program Approvals and SCHEV Strategic Plan Priorities

1. Program Approvals and • SCHEV Strategic Plan Priorities • Dr. Joseph G. DeFilippo • Academic Affairs Committee • May 21, 2018

2. § 23.1-203. Duties of Council • Review and approve or disapprove all new undergraduate or graduate academic programs that any public institution of higher education proposes.

3. Three Big Questions • What’s the Policy? • What’s the Process? • What are the Outcomes?

4. What’s the Policy? Pt 1 Strategic Plan References • Council Responsibilities (p.1): • To consider programs while developing a statewide strategic plan that “identifies a coordinated approach to … state and regional goals, and emphasizes the future needs for higher education in the Commonwealth at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels.” (§ 23.1-203(1)) • Policy Statements (p. 2) • “The policies and guidelines expressed here will help ensure that Virginia’s public institutions continue to use resources efficiently, offer programming to address state needs, avoid unnecessary duplication, and contribute to the achievement of Council’s strategic plan aspirations.”

5. What’s the Policy? Pt 2 Program Description: • Program Background • Mission • Admission Criteria • Target population • Curriculum • Student Retention Plan • Faculty • Program Administration • Student Assessment • Employment Skills/Workplace Competencies • Program Assessment • Relations to Existing Programs

6. What’s the Policy? Pt 3 Program Justification: • Response to Current Needs (Specific Demand) • Employment Demand • Duplication • Student Demand • Projected Enrollment • Projected resources • Resource Needs: explanation, charts, certification statements

7. What’s the Policy? Pt 4 • Response to Current Needs (Specific Demand) • The purpose of this section is for the proposing institution to articulate, with objective evidence, the need for a new standalone academic degree program in the discipline and at the levelbeing proposed. • Objective research supporting state and/or national need.

8. What’s the Policy? Pt 5 • Employment Demand • Labor market info (BLS, Va. Workforce Connection) • Job ads (specific to degree subject and level) • Curriculum has to match workplace competencies • Testimony of potential employers (looking for something stronger than generic letters of support)

9. What’s the Policy? Pt 6 Duplication • Existence of similar programs at other public institutions • There is no formal definition of “duplication” and no assumed threshold of duplication that is not allowed. Each case is evaluated on its merits and the circumstances. • Factors: degree of need (employment demand), institutional mission, locale, differences between similar programs, differences in institutional selectivity, effects on existing programs.

10. Other Relevant Factors • Institutions have a lot of autonomy to revise programs (e.g., add options, tracks, majors) • Program Productivity Review (every 5 years) • 2014: 113 programs reviewed; 33 closed; 6 continued with conditions

11. What’s the Process? Pt 1 • Submission 9 months before intended start date • Initial feedback within 8 weeks (maximum) • 6 months allowed back on campus before review is closed (without prejudice) • “Work with” institution toward approval • A “no” from staff is not final—only Council has final say.

12. What’s the Process? Pt 2 SCHEV review addresses all the components described above under “What’s the Policy,” plus: • Integration • How all the pieces fit together. It’s not enough simply to have information relating to all the different requirements. The different pieces of the proposal must reinforce each other, i.e., no internal inconsistencies. • Examples of integration issues: • Employment data for an occupation that is not reflected in the learning outcomes of the program • Claims of local/regional demand, but all job ads are from out of region • Data actually show that current state needs are already being met

13. What’s the Process? Pt 3 • “Facilitated Approval” for specific kinds of programs • Community Colleges: applied associate degrees • Four-year Institutions: high need, low duplication programs (These don’t make it onto Council agendas)

14. What are the Outcomes? Pt 1 • Four-year institutions, 2015-17: • 30 distinct programs submitted, 7 disapproved, 1 withdrawn • One disapproval was brought to Council for deliberation (JMU Sport Leadership MS) • Three disapprovals were eventually resubmitted and approved • “Specific demand” and “integration” were the most common issues among disapproval decisions • Two-year institutions, 2015-17: • 32 approved, no disapprovals

15. What are the Outcomes? Pt 2. 2-yr approvals, 08-17

16. What are the Outcomes? Pt 3. 2-yr approvals by subject, 08-17

17. What are the Outcomes? Pt 4. 4-yr approvals, 08-17

18. What are the Outcomes? Pt 5. 4-yr approvals by subject

19. What are the Outcomes? Pt 6. 4-yr approvals, 08-17, top subjects. Top 5: 51-Health: 27 52-Business: 11 14-Engineering: 12 26-Bio/Biomed: 10 13-Education: 9 31-Parks/Fitness: 9 • Regrouped: • Health (51+19+34+42+44): 39 • Engineering (14+15+10+11+41): 26 • Bio/Biomed (26+01+03): 16 • Total: 81/158 = 51%

20. Virginia Plan Goals • Provide Affordable Access for All • Optimize Student Success for Work and Life • Drive Change and Improvement through Innovation and Investment • Advance the Economic & Cultural Prosperity of the Commonwealth & its Regions

21. Options…. • Incorporate strategic plan goals more directly into the policy • Incorporate strategic plan goals more intentionally into the staff review • Incorporate strategic plan goals into the agenda book write-ups of proposed programs. • Process modifications to reflect Council priorities? • does the SCHEV review need to address all the components currently included in the policy? • are there factors SCHEV should address that are not in the current policy/process?