Reporting of Substantive Change (Procedure 1.7000)
| Authority: | F.S. 1001.64 |
|---|---|
| Date Adopted: | 07/10; 03/13 |
| Date of Review: | 08/11; 08/12; 02/13; 05/21 |
| Related Policy: | 1.270 |
Purpose
The purpose of the procedure is to ensure that the College proactively identifies, manages and reports to its accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), all substantive changes to the institution, in the timeframe and manner as outlined in the Commission’s Substantive Change Policy and Procedures and the Principals of Accreditation.
Definition
A substantive change is a significant modification or expansion of the nature and scope of an accredited institution as defined by SACSCOC. Current information about SACSCOC substantive change definitions and reporting or approval requirements are defined in Substantive Change Policy and Procedures, available on the SACSCOC website at www.sacscoc.org, or by contacting the College’s SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison. There are three procedures for addressing the different types of substantive changes:
- Procedure One (1) for the Review of Substantive Changes Requiring Notification and Approval Prior to Implementation – in some cases, as many as 12 months prior approval is needed before implementation.
- Procedure Two (2) for the Review of Substantive Changes Requiring Only Notification Prior to Implementation – usually in the form of a letter signed by the President.
- Procedure Three (3) for the Review of Substantive Changes Requiring Approval Prior to Implementation – typically six months before implementation.
Procedure
Compliance with the Commission’s substantive change policy and procedures will require collaboration and cooperation throughout the College. In general, responsibilities fall into these categories:
- The College President will sign and send to the President of the SACSCOC, as appropriate for the particular type of substantive change,
- timely notifications summarizing proposed changes, or
- a timely substantive change prospectus or application.
- The College’s SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison, as appointed by the President as required by SACSCOC, will be responsible for the following:
Ensuring that compliance with substantive change requirements is incorporated into the planning and evaluation process of the institution.- Preparing substantive change notification letters for the signature of the college President in accord with the substantive change policies of the SACSCOC.
- Preparing or ensuring preparation of any required substantive change prospectus or application for the signature of the President in accord with the substantive change policies of the SACSCOC.
- Educating faculty, staff and cross-functional committees regarding SACSCOC Substantive Change policies and procedures, particularly when such policies or procedures are revised by the Commission.
- Maintaining a database of substantive change initiatives, action plans and status.
- Presenting reports to the Executive Team and Academic Leadership Team– at a minimum quarterly -- on active substantive change issues.
- For any initiative that requires substantive change notification or approval, collaborating with the appropriate responsible administrator(s) in initiative planning and implementation so that all SACSCOC requirements are satisfied in a timeline manner.
- Serving as a contact person and communication liaison between SACSCOC staff and the College regarding substantive change.
- College administrators will be responsible for the following:
Learning about and maintaining awareness of current Commission on Colleges Substantive Change policies.- Identifying and ensuring appropriate training for employees and committees in their area who by the nature of their positions and responsibilities should also learn about and maintain awareness of Commission on Colleges Substantive change issues and ensuring that appropriate staff development takes place.
- Initiating communication with the College’s SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison whenever any initiative is being considered that might meet the current SACSCOC definition of “substantive change.” The purpose of the communication will be to accomplish the following:
- Log the potential substantive change issue into a database.
- Determine through dialogue about the proposed initiative whether and what type of substantive change might be entailed.
- If it is determined that the initiative meets the criteria for substantive change, develop a collaborative initiative action plan that will ensure compliance with SACSCOC substantive change requirements. Managing any approved initiative that requires SACSCOC substantive change notification or approval, keeping the SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison informed of status.
- Standing Committees as defined in College Procedure 1.0900 and cross-functional teams will be responsible for maintaining awareness of current SACSCOC Substantive Change policies during their deliberations and notifying the College’s SACSCOC Liaison of any initiatives that may have substantive change implications.
- Because such a broad spectrum of employees are necessarily involved in the substantive change process, the SACSCOC substantive change compliance matrix has been adapted, below, to clarify the types of substantive changes of which the College must be aware and to delineate responsibilities in identifying, reporting and documenting each type of change. It will be the responsibility of the SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison to maintain this table and to coordinate its implementation throughout the College.
Seminole State College of Florida Substantive Change Matrix
Because a variety of individuals are involved in the substantive change process, the SACSCOC matrix below has been adapted to delineate responsibilities in identifying, reporting and documenting substantive changes.
| Type of Change | Requires | Committee Visit | Fee | Documentation and Submission Timeline | Responsible Offices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Institutional Changes | |||||
Change in measure of student progress to completion. | Approval from Executive Council[GL1] of the Board of Trustees | No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | President, VP’s, SACSCOC Liaison |
Competency-based education by course/credit-based approach – institutional level approval.
| Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees | No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VPs, AVPs, Deans, SACSCOC Liaison |
Distance Education – Institutional-level approval
| Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees | No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VPs, AVPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Governance Change
| Notification and Approval of the Full Board of Trustees | Yes | Yes | Notification and Prospectus March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year. | President, Board of Trustees, SACSCOC Liaison |
Institution Closure | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No
| No | Teach-out plan January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Institution Relocation | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No
| Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Institution, Program, or Location Acquisition from another institution
| Notification and Approval of the Full Board of Trustees
| Yes
| Yes | Notification and Prospectus March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year. | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Institutional Contingency Teach-out Plan An institutional contingency teach-out plan must be approved if any of the following occur: a. the institution is placed on probation by SACSCOC, b. SACSCOC acts to end the institution’s accreditation, c. the institution’s state authorization is revoked, d. the institution is on provisional certification for federal financial aid by U.S. Department of Education (USDE), e. the institution is on reimbursement for federal financial aid by USDE, or f. the institution is the subject of emergency action by USDE. | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | No | Teach-out plan January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year.
| President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Level Change
| Approval of the Full Board of Trustees
| Yes
| Yes | Level change application March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year. | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Merger/Consolidation
| Notification and Approval of the Full Board of Trustees
| Yes | Yes | Notification and Prospectus March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Mission Change A significant change in the established mission of an institution requires SACSCOC approval prior to implementation. A mission change fundamentally alters the character of an institution and its portfolio of academic programs or other mission-driven activities. | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Ownership, Means of Control, or Legal Status Change
| Notification and Approval of the Full Board of Trustees
| Yes | Yes | Notification and Prospectus March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Program Changes | |||||
Clock-Credit Hour Conversion
| Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | No | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Competency-based Education by Direct Assessment A program in which 50% or more of the program may be earned through the direct assessment approach to competency-based education (CBE) requires SACSCOC approval prior to implementation. Each direct assessment CBE program requires SACSCOC approval, independent of prior direct assessment program approvals for the institution. | Approval of the Full Board of Trustees | Yes | Yes | Prospectus March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Competency-based Education by Direct Assessment A program in which 25-49% of the program may be earned through the direct-assessment approach to competency-based education (CBE) requires SACSCOC notification prior to implementation. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Cooperative Academic Arrangement | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Cooperative Academic Arrangement with Non-Title IV Entities – Approval An agreement with an entity (or entities) not certified to participate in U.S. Department of Education title IV programs to deliver 25-50% of a program’s content recorded on the SACSCOC institution’s transcript as its own requires SACSCOC approval prior to implementation. | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Cooperative Academic Arrangement with Non-Title IV Entities – Notification An agreement with an entity (or entities) not certified to participate in U.S. Department of Education title IV programs to deliver less than 25% of a program’s content recorded on the SACSCOC institution’s transcript as its own requires notification prior to implementation. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Correspondence Education
| Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Dual Academic Award
| Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Joint Academic Award with non-SACSCOC Institution(s) or Entity(ies)
| Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Joint Academic Award with SACSCOC Institution(s) | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Method of Delivery Adding a method of instructional delivery to an existing program requires notification prior to implementation where 50% or more of the content is delivered. The three methods of delivery are:
| Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
New Program – Approval A new program with 50-100% new content is a significant departure from the institution’s existing programs and requires SACSCOC approval prior to implementation. | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
New Program – Notification A new program with 25-49% new content is a significant departure from the institution’s existing programs and requires notification prior to implementation. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Program Closure | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | No | Teach-out plan January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Program Designed for Prior Learning Initiating a program requiring students to possess prior learning as a condition of admission requires notification prior to implementation. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation
| VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Program Length Change • program credit hours (or an equivalent or comparable measure of progress such as clock hours or demonstrated competencies) increase or decrease by 25% or more — AND — • students' expected time to completion increases or decreases by more than one term or its equivalent or comparable measure. | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year.
| AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Program Re-open A closed program may re-open within five years of the closure date by submitting notification. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation | AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Off-campus Instructional Site/Additional Location Changes | |||||
Off-campus Instructional Site Notification An off-campus instructional site at which 25-49% of a program’s instruction is delivered requires notification prior to implementation. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation | AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Dual Enrollment Coordinator, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison |
Off-campus Instructional Site Approval (including branch campus) An off-campus instructional site at which 50% or more of a program’s instruction is delivered requires SACSCOC approval prior to implementation. There are two site approval pathways: • approval by extensive review • approval by limited review. The pathway available to an institution depends on • the number of sites previously approved by extensive review, and • the status of an institution at the time a site prospectus is submitted to SACSCOC. | Extensive Review: Approval of the Full Board of Trustees OR Reaffirmation Limited Review:
Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| Contingent | Yes | Prospectus Extensive Review: March 15 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in June of the same calendar year, and September 1 for review at the Board’s biannual meeting in December of the same calendar year Limited Review: January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | President, VP, AVP, Dean, Program Manager, Dual Enrollment Coordinator, Course and Curriculum Development, SACSCOC Liaison
|
Off-campus Instructional Site Relocation – Non-branch campus The new location must serve the same geographic area or the same pool of students. Otherwise, the current location must be closed (requires a teach-out plan and closure approval) and the new location subject to notification or approval. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Off-campus Instructional Site Relocation – Branch Campus The new location must serve the same geographic area or the same pool of students. Otherwise, the current location must be closed (requires a teach-out plan and closure approval) and the new location subject to notification or approval. | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | Yes | Prospectus January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Off-campus Instructional Site Name or Address Change | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation | President, VPs, SACSCOC Liaison |
Off-campus Instructional Site Closure | Approval from Executive Council of the Board of Trustees
| No | No | Teach-out Plan January 1 for changes to be implemented July 1 through December 31 of the same calendar year, and July 1 for changes to be implemented January 1 through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. | VP, AVP, SACSCOC Liaison |
Off-campus Instructional Site Re-open An off-campus instructional site previously approved for closure may be re-opened with five years of the closure date by submitting notification. | Notification | No | No | Notification prior to implementation | VP, AVP, SACSCOC Liaison |
| Recommended by: | Executive Team/CAC | Date | 5/18/2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signed by: | President Georgia L Lorenz | Date | 5/24/2021 |