The institution defines and publishes requirements for its undergraduate programs, including its general education components. These requirements conform to commonly accepted standards and practices for degree programs.

_X_Compliance                      ___Partial Compliance                       ___Non-Compliance

Narrative

St. Petersburg College is in compliance with this comprehensive standard because it has:

·         Defined and published requirements for all programs, including general education requirements that meet state requirements.

·         Are similar to programs at other institutions.

·         Take advisory committee advice under consideration.

·         Are developed by Faculty.

State policies on general education and program requirements

Florida Statute 1007.25 assures that each degree program, certificate, or diploma program available at a college is offered at the established standard credit hour length. Revisions to the standard credit hour lengths and the lengths of new programs added to the Statewide Program Inventory list must be approved by the Florida State Board of Education.  Prerequisites for admission to upper division programs are defined in the State Common Prerequisites, further ensuring that College programs adhere to accepted academic practice and that students have access to this information.  This statute mandates conformance with acceptable standards and practice across publicly supported colleges and universities.  All of the College’s degree programs (B.A.S., B.S., A.A., A.S. and A.A.S.) also conform to State mandates regarding general education content.

Florida Board of Education Rules mandate that Associate in Arts degrees include a general education core curriculum of at least 36 semester hours of college credit in the liberal arts and sciences in order to ease the transfer of credits between colleges and universities within Florida.  Florida statutes dictate that the general education core curriculum include courses in the subject areas of communication, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.  The rules also mandate that Associate in Science degrees include at least fifteen to eighteen (15-18) semester hours in the general education core curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences comprised of courses which meet the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges criteria.

SPC policy addressing general education

The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees has instituted a policy for General Education core curriculum that requires 36 hours for A.A. degrees and at least 17 hours for A.S. degrees.  These requirements conform to accepted standards of academic practice for undergraduate degree programs.

The General Education requirements for the Associate in Arts degree, the Bachelor in Applied Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and the Bachelor in Science in Education degree include the following:

A.A. General Education requirements

Communications	9 credits
Humanities/Fine Arts	6 credits
Mathematics-Logic	6 credits
Natural Sciences	6 credits
Social/Behavioral Sciences	6 credits
Ethics	3 credits
Computer/Information Literacy Competency	no minimum required, competency must be demonstrated

The A.S. and A.A.S. programs have a minimum of 17 transferable semester hours of credit in General Education, as follows:

A.S. General Education requirements

 

Communications	6-9 credits
Humanities/Fine Arts	3 credits
Mathematics	3 credits
Natural Science	no minimum
Social & Behavioral Science	3 credits
Ethics	3 credits
Computer/Information Literacy Competency	no minimum credit hours, but demonstrated proficiency

Some A.S. programs, such as Nursing, have pre-entry requirements that may be applied to the general education requirements.

Publication of program requirements

St. Petersburg College clearly defines and publishes general education and all major program requirements in a variety of media.  General education and major program requirements are published in the College Catalog, which is available in hard copy or at the college’s Web site.  Two samples follow:

                   Sample A.S. degree program requirements from printed catalog

             Sample baccalaureate program general education requirements from College Web site

Brochures, such as the College of Education or College of Nursing containing this information are also available to current and prospective students.  This information is readily available to both current and prospective students, Faculty, staff and the general public.  Students are also informed of requirements through advising sheets provided by the campus that houses a student’s program of study.

Process for program development and the role of Faculty

The Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-3.04 on Course Descriptions and College Programs establishes the process for approving new degree programs.  The development of curriculum is primarily the responsibility of Faculty.  Every credit course and/or program is usually developed by Faculty and recommended through the curriculum process as defined in the Curriculum and Instruction Manual.

SPC follows academic procedures and processes noted in the Curriculum and Instruction (C & I) manual.  These procedures may differ slightly depending upon the program, but always involve the Faculty.  In many of the Associate of Science programs, an advisory committee, meeting with Faculty and administration, may begin the process by indicating a need or demand.  This same process occurs with some of the four year degree programs as well.  As the process progresses, content specialists in each program of study may be identified to research existing curricula and to work with the practitioners in each field of study to acknowledge areas that might also be incorporated into the curricula. While developing the College of Education program of study, content specialists, local school district personnel, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) personnel and outside evaluators were utilized.  Core courses were identified as well as electives.  A course of study outlining the requirements and any requested sequence of courses are presented.  Major learning outcomes are also developed.

The Curriculum and Instruction process, as delineated in Board Rule, provides the policy framework and accountability for the review, revision, adoption and discontinuance of programs and courses.  The Curriculum and Instruction Committee (C & I) receives recommendations from the various academic areas regarding proposed curriculum changes.  The C & I committee considers curriculum proposals for new courses, course changes, course deletions, new program, program changes, program deletions, and graduation or general education requirement modifications. The committee reviews the compatibility of the curriculum with the education objectives of the College by reviewing and making recommendations on the various proposals.  The committee is composed of representatives from the various disciplines and sites.

Adjustments in program and course offerings are driven by external and internal factors such as changes in programmatic accreditation standards, local employment trends, and emergence of new occupations, Faculty recommendations and evaluation of courses by students.  State accountability reports, program assessments, and program reviews stimulate change and ensure compliance with the current purpose and mission of the institution.

Among the accountability measures required by the state are A.A. degree transfer performance and Licensure pass rates.

• For 2005, SPC’s AA degree transfer with GPA’s greater than 2.5 was nearly identical to the statewide performance (74.2%) and the College met its target of 70%.  The mean GPA for the SPC transfer students remained essentially the same (2.92 versus 2.91) and was essentially identical to the statewide mean GPA (2.92).
• In 2003-2004 all SPC licensure pass rates were 81% or greater.  Several programs (Dental Hygiene, Funeral Services, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiology and Respiratory Therapy) had 100% pass rates.

Professional or discipline specific accreditation of SPC programs, when available and appropriate, ensures that major program requirements conform to commonly accepted standards and practices.  The following is a sampling of the accreditations received by SPC A.S. degree programs:

Excerpt from SPC Fact Book 2006-2007, updated with Paralegal accreditations

	LAST	NEXT	ACCREDITING
PROGRAM NAME	ACCREDITATION	ACCREDITATION	AGENCY
BS and BAS Degrees
Education	2003	2010	Florida Department of
			Education
Nursing	Currently Undergoing – final status expected 2007	Awaiting results of visit	Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
	2004	2009	National League for Nursing
			Accrediting Commission
			(NLNAC)
Orthotics and Prosthetics	Currently Undergoing –	Awaiting results of visit	National Coalition on
	final status expected 2007		Prosthetic and Orthotic
			Education(NCOPE)
Paralegal	2006	2011	Approved by American Bar Association (accreditation reserved for law schools)
Veterinary Technology	2005	2010	AVMA
A.S. Degree
Dental Hygiene	2005	2012	American Dental
			Association: Commission on
			Dental Accreditation
Emergency Medical Services	5/20/2005	05/20/2010	Joint Review Committee on
			Educational Programs for
			EMT/Paramedics, CAAHEP
Funeral Services	4/1/01	4/1/2008	American Board of Funeral
			Services
Health Information	4/22/04	Report of Current Status	American Health
Management		submitted in 2006/07	Information Management
			Association (AHIMA),
			CAAHEP
Medical Laboratory	10/31/00	2007	Nat'l Accrediting Agency
Technology			Clinical Laboratory Science
Nursing	1/1/04	1/1/12 (may be scheduled	National League for Nursing
		with BSN in 2009)
Physical Therapist Assistant	10/29/97	10/29/2007	American Physical Therapy
			Association
Radiography	5/2000	5/2010	SACS
Respiratory Care	10/16/98	2008	Committee of Accred. Of
			Allied Health Edu Prog
Paralegal	2004	2011	Approved by American Bar Association (accreditation reserved for law schools)
Veterinary Technology	5/2004	2010	American Veterinary Medical Association
Veterinary Technology – Distance	5/2004	2010	AVMA
Certificate
Emergency Medical Technician	11/18/2004	11/18/2006	State of Florida, Dept of Health, Bureau of
			Emergency Medical Serv.
Paramedic	11/18/2004	11/18/2006	Committee of Accred. Of Allied Health Edu Prog

Consistency of information in print and on the SPC Web site

Institutional Advancement (IA) is the department responsible for developing and coordinating all College materials that are intended for the public, including the College Catalog, Student Handbook, and specific program materials.  The process of developing materials generally starts with the department responsible for the content initiating a request for recruitment materials.  IA works closely with the initiating department on layout and content and distributes draft materials to other departments with content expertise to ensure the content is accurate.  All new program materials are approved by the President of the College or his designee after having been coordinated through all departments that have content expertise.

The primary repository of policy and practice is the College Catalog.  Its content forms the basis upon which many other publications are developed.  As an institution with a multitude of educational and career programs, its’ materials must accurately reflect a snapshot of those offerings in an easily readable format.  This is accomplished by ensuring that publications which encompass the College’s various degree and certificate programs provide highlights for viewers taken directly from the content of the College Catalog (e.g. the St. Petersburg College Course Schedule Booklet).

Sample page from B.A.S. in International Business program brochure replicating catalog information

College materials concerning academic programs provide information on the philosophy, goals, and required coursework so that students can make informed decisions.

             Sample Advanced Technical Certificate program information

Information on SPC’s Program Review process can be found in sections 3.3.1 and 3.5.1.

References