Proposed Revision to 220 - Higher Education Centers
Introduction:
Montana's
community colleges, independent colleges and units of the University System
share the responsibility to maximize the availability of educational
opportunities for the state's citizens in a manner which will enhance quality
while minimizing unnecessary duplication of effort and potentially harmful
competition. Concurrently, these same
institutions must insure that the state's resources are used in a prudent and
responsible manner. To these ends, this
policy will govern the offering of off-campus instructional program by
units of the Montana University System.
Board policy:
1. The presidents of the Montana University
System are authorized to plan higher education centers to provide additional
educational services to the people of the State of Montana.
2. Credit courses shall be offered at locations
remote from the main campus through continuing education or at an approved
higher education center. Credit courses
offered through the regular instruction program shall be offered off-campus
only at approved higher education centers.
3. Higher education centers which duplicate
existing undergraduate programs offered by a community college or an
independent college in its respective local community will not be established
by a Montana University System institution unless the affected community
college or independent college signifies its approval of the offering in
writing to the Commissioner of Higher Education.
4. The Board of Regents may authorize the
establishment of a higher education center upon the recommendation of the
Commissioner of Higher Education, according to the following guidelines.
Procedures:
1. Any program offered at a higher education
center must be within the approved role and scope mission and authorized programs of the institution.
2. Before a request is made to the Commissioner
of Higher Education for approval to establish a higher education center or
revise an existing authorization, the president shall document that the
following conditions have been met.
a. Faculty. Persons assigned to teach courses for which resident credit is to
be granted must have credentials at least equivalent to those required of
faculty teaching the same or similar courses for resident credit at the home
institution.
b. Educational resources. Additional resources, including library
and/or laboratory facilities and other resources specifically developed for a
specific course or program must be sufficient to offer a quality program.
c. Student eligibility. Students must meet the same admission and
academic standards including grade point averages that are required of students
taking the same or similar programs at the home institution.
d. Local coordinator. A local coordinator shall be designated and
be available in the community in which the center is located in order to handle
administrative arrangements and to act as a contact person.
e. Student counseling and advisement. Provisions shall be made for student
counseling and advisement.
3. A higher education center may be designated
for only certain program areas or certain levels of instruction.
4. A higher education center shall offer a
structured, coherent educational program, and shall not be merely the physical
location for occasional course offerings. A proposal should contain data on the population to be served, the
course offerings projected, and the number of regular, resident and adjunct
faculty that will be utilized.
5. Student credit hour generation. Student credit hours generated in degree
credit programs at higher education centers shall be subject to the same
reporting requirements as regular instructional programs at the home
institution; however, separate reports shall be prepared for each center. The Montana University System Registrars'
Manual for Reporting Enrollment Data shall be followed. If a course would not be eligible for credit
at the home institution, it shall not be granted credit at a higher education
center.
6. Fees. The following fees apply:
a. Regular Student Fees. Centers shall charge enrolled students the
normal authorized on-campus fees including admission, registration,
incidentals, building, etc. Units,
however, may waive the student activity and student health fees for students
enrolled in off-campus programs. Students not qualifying as state residents shall be required to pay the
normal non-resident fee.
b. Educational Service Fee. Upon approval of the Commissioner of Higher
Education, an additional educational services fee may be charged each student
to provide the services required by the program.
c. Non-credit or Continuing Education Fees. Fees for any non-credit
or continuing education programs which may be offered through a higher
education center shall be governed by the appropriate Regent policies.
7. Interinstitutional relations.
a. When more than one institution conducts
programs through a higher education center in the same community, the
Commissioner of Higher Education shall be responsible for establishing policies
and procedures to insure necessary program coordination.
b. If concerns arise about potential
competition between an independent or community college and units of the
Montana University System in the development of higher education centers, the
Commissioner of Higher Education may incorporate measures for addressing the
problems.
c. Montana University System institutions are
encouraged to establish cooperative programs with independent colleges and
community colleges as appropriate.
d. Each college, university, vocational-technical
center and community college is authorized to serve as a higher education
center for delivery of academic programs from another unit, provided that there
is the appropriate memorandum of understanding signed by the respective
presidents and the Commissioner of Higher Education. Such memoranda shall be in effect for no more than three years,
but may be renewed with the approval of the Commissioner.
8. Montana University System Higher
Education Center. If a single
system-wide higher education center is deemed more appropriate than
separate institutional centers, the Commissioner of Higher Education shall
establish policies to provide for necessary coordination, equitable
distribution of student credit hours generated, allocation of fee revenues and
any other matters. If it becomes
desirable to change from existing separate higher education center operations
to a system-wide program, the Commissioner may make such changes.
9. Program quality. It shall be the responsibility of the
Commissioner of Higher Education and the president(s) involved to insure that
the quality of the programs offered at a higher education center shall meet the
same criteria by which the quality of programs is assessed at the home institution. Programs which cannot meet such criteria may
not be offered.
10. Evaluation. The Commissioner of Higher Education in
conjunction with the presidents shall provide for the evaluation of each higher
education center after the third year of operation and periodically
thereafter. If the center is not
meeting its original or modified objectives, the Commissioner may recommend to
the Regents that it be discontinued.
11. Program proposal dissemination. A copy of any proposal for the establishment
of new programs or major modification of existing programs through a higher
education center shall be provided to all institutions of higher education in
the state and to the vocational technical centers for their information and
comment. The proposal shall address
possible significant adverse impact on other Montana postsecondary educational
institutions.
12. Nomenclature. A higher education center shall be named as
follows: (Name of Institution) Center at (Location) or Montana University
System Center at (Location).
History:
Item 27-001-RO480, Higher Education Centers, Montana University System, April 21, 1980 as revised September 15, 1992.