(a) Universities and health-related institutions are
encouraged to develop upper-division and graduate certificate programs
of less than degree length to meet the needs of students and the workforce.
These rules are intended to provide a streamlined process for approval
of those programs.
(b) Certificate programs for which no academic credit
is granted are exempt from the provisions of this section.
(c) Certificate programs for which academic credit
is granted at universities and health-related institutions must meet
the following criteria:
(1) They must meet identified workforce needs or provide
the student with skills and/or knowledge that shall be useful for
their lives or careers.
(2) They must be consistent with the standards of the
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools.
(3) They must meet the standards of all relevant state
agencies or licensing bodies which have oversight over the certificate
program or graduate.
(4) Adequate financing must be available to cover all
new costs to the institution five years after the implementation of
the program.
(d) The following certificate programs do not require
Board approval or notification:
(1) certificate programs for which no collegiate academic
credit is given,
(2) certificate programs in areas and at levels authorized
by the table of programs of the institution with curricula of the
following length:
(A) at the undergraduate level of 20 semester credit
hours or less,
(B) at the graduate and professional level of 15 semester
credit hours or less.
(e) The following certificate programs shall be approved
if the following conditions are met:
(1) the proposed certificate is an upper-level undergraduate
certificate of 21 - 36 hours in disciplinary areas where the institution
already offers an undergraduate degree program.
(2) the proposed certificate is a graduate-level and
professional certificate of 16 - 29 hours in disciplinary areas where
the institution already offers a graduate program at the same level
as the certificate.
(f) Lower-division certificate programs.
(1) One and two-year, post-secondary career technical/workforce
education programs should be delivered primarily by community, state,
and technical colleges. These institutions are uniquely suited by
virtue of their specialized mission, local governance, and student
support services to provide such opportunities in an efficient and
economical manner. For that reason, new lower-division career technical/workforce
certificate programs shall not generally be approved at public universities
and health-related institutions.
(2) Universities and health-related institutions should
not develop certificate programs at the upper or graduate level that
are equivalent to lower-division certificate programs offered at community,
state, and technical colleges.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §5.48 adopted to be effective May 28, 2003, 28 TexReg 4125; amended to be effective December 3, 2009, 34 TexReg 8512; amended to be effective August 15, 2013, 38 TexReg 5068 |