Program and Course Approval Handbook

(PCAH)—Update Katrina VanderWoudeVice President of Instruction, Grossmont College—Facilitator)

Gregory AndersonVice President of Instruction, Canada College

Shelly L. HessDean of Curriculum and Instructional Services, San Diego CCCD

Erik ShearerProfessor—Napa Valley College, Co-chair SACC, C-ID Curriculum Director

From one to three documents: PCAH: Lean and Mean

Focusing on 2 elements: Criteria used by the CO staff for

curriculum review; and

Approval and Legal Standards(requires revision only when regulation or curriculum standards change)

Structure of the 6th Edition

Step-by-step guide for developing and submitting curriculum proposals

Refers to PCAH for approval criteria and standards

Development is emphasizing consistency with PCAH

Curriculum Submission Guidelines

New

“How-to” Guide for the Curriculum Inventory

Updated as needed; only contains technical directions

Care is taken not to introduce new curriculum expectations or standards as technology is updated

Technical ManualNew

Part I: Introduction to Program and Course Approval Overview of curriculum regulations and

approval Background on authority for approvals Development Criteria for Curriculum Table of Acronyms

Overview of Content

Part 2: Credit Course Review Criteria Credit Course Standards

(including credit hour calculations)

Part 3: Credit Program Criteria and

Standards

Overview of Content—Credit Courses and Programs

Part 4: Noncredit Course and Approval Criteria and Standards

Part 5: Noncredit Programs Criteria and Standards

Overview of Content—Noncredit Section

6th edition will include an index! Appendices will not be part of the formally approved

PCAH so they can be revised as necessary Proposed Appendices

Title 5 citations Ed Code tables and text Resource Page Credit hour calculation samples Double counting guidelines and samples At-a-glance guides for common topics (sub vs non-

sub, etc.)

PCAH Appendices and Other Changes

SACC and PCAH writers finalize the draft Draft sent to the field for review and

recommendations Finalized PCAH sent to Legal for review Finalized PCAH to BOG for approval

Are we there yet? Anticipated timeline.

Next Steps

Questions

Credit Hour Calculations and Non-substantial Course

Submissions

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Standard Formula for Credit Hour Calculations

Units of Credit =

[Total Contact Hours + Outside-of-class Hours]Hours-per-unit Divisor

Definitions for Standard Formula

Total Contact Hours Sum of all contact hours for the course in all

calculations categories. Required on COR.

Outside-of-class Hours Hours students are expected to engage in course

work outside of the classroom. Required for Credit Hour definition and calculation.

Hours-per-unit Divisor Total student learning hours (contact + outside) for

which the college awards one unit of credit. (48 – 54)

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Standard Ratios forOutside-of-Class Hours

Instructional CategoryIn-class Hours

Outside-of-class Hours

Lecture(Lecture, Discussion, Seminar and Related Work)

1 2

Activity(Activity, Lab w/ Homework, Studio, and Similar)

2 1

Laboratory(Traditional Lab, Natural Science Lab, Clinical, and Similar)

3 0

Hours-per-unit Divisor

Total student learning hours (contact + outside) for which the college awards one unit of credit.

Minimum of 48, maximum of 54. (Min 33, max 36 quarter)

Divisor and dividend in local calculations should match, e.g. if college bases the dividend on a 51 = 1 unit model, the divisor should be 51.

Colleges that indicate the minimum and maximum range of 48 – 54 should show that same range for the dividend in the equation and resulting unit calculation.

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Example

36 Lecture72 Lab72 Outside-of-class hours=180 total student learning hours

180 / 54 = 3.33; therefore, 3 units of credit

Fractional Unit Awards and Unit Increments

Title 5 requires .5 increments; allows for smaller increments.

Each unit increment represents a minimum threshold. The next increment of credit is only awarded once the student passes the minimum number of hours for that increment.

Similar to awards of grades (e.g. 80-89% = B)

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Sample Calculation TablesSemester Calculations

Lecture 48 = 1 unit     54 = 1 unit  

UnitsContact Hours

Homework Hours

Total Student Learning Hours

Contact Hours

Homework Hours

Total Student Learning Hours

0.5 8 16 24   9 18 27

1.0 16 32 48   18 36 54

1.5 24 48 72   27 54 81

2.0 32 64 96   36 72 108

2.5 40 80 120   45 90 135

3.0 48 96 144   54 108 162

3.5 56 112 168   63 126 189

4.0 64 128 192   72 144 216

4.5 72 144 216   81 162 243

5.0 80 160 240   90 180 270

Substantial vs. Nonsubstantial: Courses

Substantial Change creates a new course with a new control number based upon an active course record.

Nonsubstantial Change is an action to change an active course record and retain the existing control number.

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Non-substantial Change Credit Courses

Effective October 27, new expedited process for nonsubstantial change credit courses

Conduct random spot checks of these proposal types for data integrity

Nonsubstantial change credit courses that were in the queue were sent back to the college

Memo asking CIO to sign a certification form