The institution demonstrates that program length is appropriate for each of the degrees offered.

_X_ Compliance                     ___Partial Compliance                       ___Non-Compliance

Narrative

St. Petersburg College is in compliance with this federal requirement because it follows state guidelines for establishing program lengths and has received state approval for all programs.

Criteria used for Program Length

Two-year programs.  St. Petersburg College offers three two-year degree categories – an Associate in Arts (A.A.) Degree, sixty Associate in Science (A.S.) Degrees and three Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) Degrees.  All three degree categories require a minimum of 60 credit hours, although some A.S. programs have higher credit hour requirements, depending on the course of study.  All degree programs comply with Florida Statutes and State Board of Education rules governing degree requirements of state universities and community colleges.  In addition, the Florida Department of Education has an Articulation Coordinating Committee (ACC) to coordinate ways to help students move easily from institution to institution and from one level of education to the next.  The ACC is a K-20 advisory body appointed by the Commissioner of Education and comprised of representatives from all levels of public and private education.

Associate of Arts degrees.  Florida Statute 1007.25  General education courses; common prerequisites; and other degree requirements gives the College’s Board of Trustees a responsibility parallel to the Principles of Accreditation Core Requirement:

Excerpt from Florida Statute 1007.25  General education courses; common prerequisites; and other degree requirements

St. Petersburg College follows the guidelines in the State Board of Education Rule 6C-6.004 Transfer Students—Undergraduate, (3) AA Degree Graduates from Florida Community Colleges and State University System (SUS) Universities, to ensure that SPC students graduating with an A.A. can transfer seamlessly into the State University System to pursue their baccalaureate degree.

Excerpt from State Department of Education Rule 6C-6.004 Transfer Students—Undergraduate

Example of A.A. program that articulates to a baccalaureate degree in Florida

Associate of Science/Associate of Applied Science degrees.  All programs require a minimum of 60 credit hours; many of the health related programs have over 70 hours of credit requirements, with the Dental Hygiene requiring 88 credit hours for completion.  Program lengths for workforce programs (A.S. and A.A.S.) conform to state curriculum frameworks:

Excerpt from: Florida DOE Community College Program Length Document

Four-Year programs.  Florida Statute 1007.25  General education courses; common prerequisites; and other degree requirements also addresses the length of baccalaureate programs.

Excerpt from Florida Statute 1007.25  General education courses; common prerequisites; and other degree requirements

St. Petersburg College offers four-year baccalaureate level degrees that all have a minimum of 120 hours.  Majors in the College of Education, Exceptional Educational with Infused ESOL and Secondary Science with a Biology emphasis require 124 hours for completion.  B.A.S. Programs require students to complete additional General Education courses to bring their total General Education coursework to 36 hours.  All program lengths have been approved by the State Board of Education.

Example of B.A.S. program length

Identifying the minimum number of credit hours required for degrees

St. Petersburg College Faculty are responsible for the development and revision of all degree programs and courses.  In Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-3.04, the College’s Board of Trustees has established a process reviewing recommendations for new programs and courses and revisions to programs and courses through the Collegewide curriculum committee.

Excerpt from Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-3.04 Course Descriptions and College Programs

The Curriculum and Instruction Committee is composed primarily of Faculty representatives across disciplines and sites.  New degree program proposals are developed by individual Faculty or collaborative Faculty groups by first researching educational needs through business and industry advisory committees and economic councils, reviewing accreditation requirements and existing state curriculum frameworks, and benchmarking similar programs at other institutions.  These proposals are then reviewed by other Faculty in the discipline and through the Curriculum and Instruction Committee.  Although proposals are passed through Provosts and department heads as part of the approval process, the Faculty bear sole responsibility for content and for methods of instruction.  This process is documented in the Curriculum and Instruction Manual and in minutes from the Curriculum and Instruction Committee meetings.  Each degree program offered in the College has an official set of requirements, approved by the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, and published in the College Catalog.  These requirements contain pre-entry requirements, required general education courses, core courses (in baccalaureate programs), major and support courses, any special graduation criteria, sequence of courses where applicable, and total program length.

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.  State and employment demand may influence the initiation of new programs (for example, the dramatic shortage of teachers in Florida has accelerated the need for graduates in this area).  Guidelines on program length from the Articulation Coordinating Committee (ACC) are followed to assist with seamless transfer between institutions.  For example, minutes from the October 26^th, 2006 ACC meeting recommended changes to State Board of Education Rule 6A-5.066, Approval of Preservice Teacher Education Programs:

Excerpt from ACC minutes, 10-26-06

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.  Once this curriculum process has been completed, the materials are submitted through a Collegewide process.  The Board of Trustees approves all programs after they are approved by the Curriculum and Instruction Committee and reviewed/approved by Cabinet.  New programs are submitted to the State of Florida Department of Education for final approval.

Each program of study has a designated number of general education courses.  The Bachelor’s degrees and A.A. degree must comply with the state of Florida mandate of 36 hours of General Education.  The A.S. and A.A.S. degrees have a minimum of 17 hours of general education courses, and could require more depending on the course of study. State guidelines, local industry representatives, program reviews, and advisory committees provide direction on appropriate support courses.  Some A.S. degrees are state mandated as transferable to SUS.  Some A.S. programs, such as Nursing, have pre-entry requirements that may be applied to the general education requirements.

Sufficiency of program length to gain mastery

St. Petersburg College uses a program sequencing map to ensure that the major learning outcomes determined by Faculty in the Curriculum and Instruction process are covered sufficiently to ensure mastery.  The criteria used in the sequencing maps are as follows:

• I = Introduces the Major Learning Outcome
• E = Enhances the Major Learning Outcome adds new or deeper content
• R = Reviews or reinforces the major learning outcome

The following table shows a typical Program Sequencing Map.

Sample Program Sequencing Map: Health Information Management

SPC monitors the mastery of programs through end-of-program assessments, general education assessments, transfer success rates and GPAs, licensure pass rates, employer surveys, and graduating student surveys.  These data are reviewed annually in the Education Oversight Group and changes are made to program length when deemed necessary.  This year’s Education Oversight Report made no program length recommendations, but there have been new programs in recent years that exceeded the state standard lengths that have been approved by the state.  For example, the state requires Baccalaureate programs of 120 hours, but the College of Education justified additional hours for Exceptional Educational with Infused ESOL and Secondary Science with a Biology Emphasis to the state.

Documents identifying program length

Proposals for new programs submitted to the Curriculum and Instruction Committee identify program lengths.  These proposals, once approved by the C&I committee, are forwarded to the President’s Cabinet and the Board of Trustees for approval.

Example of New Program Submission (Underlined courses indicate to the Board of Trustees the request for a new “Option B – Homeland Security” program)

EMERGENCY ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
(EAM-AS)
Associate in Science Degree
Charles Crowther, Lead Instructor, Telephone (727) 341-4479
General Education COURSES (18 credits)
ENC        1101        Composition I	3
SPC         1600        Introduction to Speech Communication OR	3
(SPC 1016, 1060 or 1600H)
Humanities/Fine Arts Approved Course
STA         2023        Elementary Statistics	3
SYG        2000        Introductory Sociology	3
PHI          2649        Applied Ethics in Public Safety Professions	3
Computer/Information Literacy Competency Requirement
SUPPORT COURSES (18 credits)
FFP         1823        Technical Applications in Emergency Management	3
FFP         2740        Fire Service Course Delivery	3
FFP         2820        Emergency Preparedness	3
FFP         2841        Contingency Planning for Business and Industry	3
FFP         2881        Emergency Management Leadership	3
and Administration
SYP         2460        Effects of Disasters on Society	3
Option A – Emergency Administration & Management Track (24 credits)
FFP         1830        Introduction to Hazards	3
FFP         2800        Emergency Management Public	3
Education Programs
FFP         2801        Fundamentals of Emergency Management	3
FFP         2821        Integrated Emergency Management	3
Planning Systems II (IEMS II)
FFP         2822        Integrated Emergency Management	3
Planning Systems I (IEMS I)
FFP         2831        Hazard Mitigation	3
FFP         2840        Disaster Recovery Operations	3
FFP         2880        Public Policy in Emergency Management	3
Option B – Homeland Security Track (24 credits)
DSC        1004        Introduction to the NRP and NIMS	3
DSC        1011        Domestic and International Terrorism	3
DSC        1033        Weapons of Mass Destruction	3
DSC        1222        Psychological Management of Weapons	3
Of Mass Destruction Victims
DSC        1552        Critical Infrastructure Protection	3
DSC        1562        Homeland Security Threat Strategy	3
DSC        1631        Planning Considerations Against Terrorist Activity	3
DSC        1751        Homeland Security Policy and Law	3
TOTAL PROGRAM HOURS	60

A description of the course requirements for each degree program, including program lengths, is clearly outlined in the College Catalog and on the Web site.

Excerpt from SPC Web site included program length

Baccalaureate brochures describe each program of learning and provide a description of the courses.  The courses offered to fulfill the requirements for a degree from each program are compatible with the purpose of the program.

Sample brochure with program overview