Effective Practices for Program Revision and Development

Kelly Locke,

Curriculum Chair and Math Faculty

Revised 2024

What is a Program?

“An organized sequence of courses leading to a defined objective, a degree, a certificate, a diploma, a license, or transfer to another institution of higher education.” (title 5 §55000)

Types

• Associate Degree (local)
• AS (STEM and CTE)
• AA (All others)
• Associate Degree for Transfer
• AA-T
• AS-T
• Certificate of Achievement
• Certificate of Completion or Competency
• Noncredit only

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Transcripted Programs

• Associate Degrees
• AA, AS (locally defined)
• AA-T, AS-T (externally defined)

• Certificates of Achievement
• 8-15.99 units, chaptered by CCCCO and not eligible for financial aid
• 16 or more units, chaptered by CCCCO and eligible for financial aid�

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Hartnell doesn’t have unchaptered, non-transcripted certificates.

Where do I start?

• Program Outcomes
• What will students be able to do when they complete the program?
• All courses should support the outcomes
• Minimum number of courses that achieve outcomes

Example of Program Goals (Outcomes)�

Certificate of Achievement in Bilingual Elementary Teacher Assistant/Special Education

Students who complete will be prepared to:

1. perform duties of a bilingual assistant in an elementary school classroom under the supervision of a credentialed teacher.
2. apply educational and developmental theories to elementary school classroom practices.
3. demonstrate language and teaching skills leading to success on the Bilingual Paraeducator exam.

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What courses?

• Courses with SLOs that support the outcomes should be included in the certificate�

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• What is the minimum list of courses that support those outcomes?

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Extra units create barriers to completion!

Who’s at the Table?

• Other faculty in discipline
• Faculty in affected disciplines
• Articulation Officer (transfer goals)
• Advisory Committees (for CTE programs)
• Curriculum Committee and support staff
• Area Dean
• AP4021 process if NEW Program composed of mostly new courses

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Outside Influences

• For CTE
• Advisory Committee (required)
• Labor Market data (required from Centers of Excellence)
• Regional Consortium (BACCC—required)
• c-id.net model curricula (MC) and transfer model curricula (TMC)for some CTE disciplines
• For transfer
• c-id.net MC and TMC and course descriptors

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Degree Standards

• Major: At least 18 semester units defining a major or area of emphasis
• These courses aligned with TOP code identified for the degree
• General Education
• Local GE pattern requires 23 units
• CalGETC transfer pattern requires 34 units
• At least 60 total semester units

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Certificates of Achievement (CoA)

• “Well-defined pattern of learning experiences designed to develop capabilities oriented to career or GE.”
• If 16 or more units, MUST submit to CCCCO
• If 8-15.99 units MAY submit to CCCCO
• Hartnell has only CCCCO submitted, transcripted certificates
• Note that certificates of less than 16 units are not eligible for financial aid

Certificate Units Considerations

• 16 or more units means CoA is eligible for financial aid
• Important consideration if you are interested in offering certificate with fewer than 16 units. Be Careful for your students!

Resources

• C-id.net for course descriptors,TMC, and MC
• Regional Consortium BACCC https://www.regionalcte.org to browse submissions from other colleges
• Hartnell Curriculum Committee webpage

Summary of Considerations for Degree and Certificate Revisions

• Courses in degree/certificate contribute to Program Learning Outcomes.�
• Consistent with similar degrees/certificates at other colleges.�
• Doesn’t unnecessarily duplicate another degree or certificate (multiple degrees in one discipline should have distinct purposes)

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Summary of Considerations for Degree and Certificate Revisions

• Courses are at the lower-division level.

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• Courses are program-applicable and meet the standards for a program-applicable course.
• 1-199 level, critical thinking, writing, problem solving, application, independent learning, college level rigor and vocabulary
• Total number of major units (including electives) is ideally 30 or fewer.

Summary of Considerations for Degree and Certificate Revisions

• Has appropriate number of required major units.
• Has appropriate number of restricted electives and choices.
• Required major courses contribute to core body of knowledge in the field.
• Restricted electives add to the body of knowledge and advance student ability while still at the lower division level

Summary of Considerations for Degree and Certificate Revisions

• Courses in program are active and the college is committed to offering the courses at least on a two-year cycle. ��

This includes restricted electives. Too many choices makes it difficult to have good enrollments and offer regularly.

Special Considerations for CTE

• Courses in degree/certificate lead to job opportunities
• If students are “jobbing out” after a few courses, this might be your “core” for a first level certificate
• Consider groups of restricted electives that will guide students in their selections.
• Certificates ideally have 30 or fewer units.