System Procedure 3.36.1 Academic Programs - History
System Procedure History:
Date of Adoption: 8/01/07
Date of Implementation: 8/01/07
Date of Last Review: 8/28/24
Date & Subject of Amendments:
08/18/24 – Full Five-Year Review. Updated language on Master’s degrees and Minn. Stat. 136F.32 DEGREES; DIPLOMAS; CERTIFICATES (NESS legislation).
06/21/23 – Removed Articulation Agreement, Baccalaureate completion program, Advisory Committee, and Colleges and Universities from the Part 2 Definitions. Limited Review of Part 3, Subpart C, 3 and 4. Deleted “associates of arts” in title of Part 3, Subp. C, 3, added requirement that Group Waiver requests for similar academic programs must be pursued by all schools offering that degree program, added “The senior vice chancellor or designee shall make the final determination on a waiver appeal and the decision is binding on all parties.” to clarify waiver application process, and added to Part 5, Subp. D, 1 the requirement that “once closed, a program can only be reopened, replicated, or relocated by submitting a new program application.”
08/30/19 – Adopted and implemented legislation concerning transfer pathways along with several updates to the baccalaureate completion program. Technical Changes made throughout the procedure and updated the language and formatting with the new writing and formatting styles.
3/6/15 - Amended Part 2 to add definitions in Subparts Q, AA, EE, FF, GG, KK, and LL. Amended Part 3.B, sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 to reduce the minimum number of credits required to be taught by faculty offering the award from 20 to 15 to align with Higher Learning Commission assumed practices. Amended Part 3.B.3 to adopt a standard name for associate of arts degree programs. Amended Part 3.B.5 to prioritize system universities for articulation agreements and reclassified specific and broad fields of study as single and allied sets of specialties. Amended Part 3.B.7 to specify the requirements for the bachelor of applied science degree. Amended Part 3, by adding Subparts D and E to address credit hour definitions and requirements for federal student aid. Amended Part 4.A to delete the list of specific requirements included in a related procedure. Amended Part 5 by replacing the specific list of reporting requirements with seven areas in which requirements may be set. Added Part 5.B to establish rules for the collection and maintenance of records for academic programs, and added Part 5.C to establish restrictions on program names. Deleted Part 5.D.2 to avoid duplicating efforts with the Higher Learning Commission in regard to online programs. Added Part 5.E to emphasize the role of students in academic program decisions. Added Part 5.G to offer means for expedited approval processes for certificate programs. Amended Part 7 to eliminate regular system program review requirements in deference to those required by the Higher Learning Commission.
3/10/13 - Amended Part 3 to permit approval of associate in fine arts and associate in science degree programs to be considered when the articulation agreement is with an accredited non-system university; remove reference to general education and thereby clarify that required credits be selected from Minnesota transfer curriculum goal areas.
7/20/12 - Amended Part 3, subparts B2, B4, B5, B6, and B7, to provide students an opportunity to design an academic program to meet specific goals. Amended Part 3, subpart C3c to allow other forms of distribution for the waiver application. Amended Part 4, subpart 4, replaced language.
6/20/12 - Amended Part 3, subpart B2 to allow individualization of diplomas. Amended Part 3, subpart B4 to allow individualization of an associate in fine arts degree program. Amended Part 3, subpart B5 to allow individualization of an associate in science degree program. Amended Part 3, subpart B6 to allow individualization of an associate in applied science degree program. Amended Part 3, subpart B7 to allow individualization of a baccalaureate degree program. Amended the title of Part 3, subpart C3. Amended Part 3, subpart C3b to include academic program advisory committee waiver language from subpart C2. Added a new Part 3, subpart C4, Waiver Process for Associate in Applied Science degrees. Added a new Part 5, subpart C, Approval of Individualized Academic Programs.
1/25/12 - The Chancellor amends all current system procedures effective February 15, 2012, to change the term "Office of the Chancellor" to "system office" or similar term reflecting the grammatical context of the sentence.
10/12/10 - amended Part 4, Subpart A, Number 2 to require approval by the Vice Chancellor-Chief Financial Officer instead of the Chancellor.
4/5/10 - amended to replace "institution" with "college and university." Part 3, Subpart B4 amended to define the disciplines as presented in the procedure. Part 5 amended to allow the chancellor to place conditions on an academic program. Amends Part 5, Subpart B2 to remove language to clarify that approval will be through the Higher Learning Commission. Amends Part 5, Subpart B4 to require that reinstatement plans describe reasons for suspension and specific actions for resolution. Amends Part 7, Subpart A to include labor market information, resources, policies, procedures and guidelines, and articulations agreements.
1/30/09 - amended to set program credit length limits for associate and baccalaureate degree programs; define waiver criteria and processes; improve language for Bachelor's & Master's degrees and doctorate; align procedure with policy regarding program suspension; set additional documentation requirements for new program applications; and clarify scope and criteria for academic program review.
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