| (a) All proposed doctoral and professional degree programs
must meet the criteria set out in this subsection, in addition to
the general criteria in subchapter A, §2.5 of this chapter (relating
to General Criteria for Program Approval).
(b) Each institution must provide evidence in its application
that a proposed doctoral and professional program meets the following
criteria.
(1) Program Need. To meet the requirements of subchapter
A, §2.5(a)(1) and (2) of this chapter, the institution must be
able to demonstrate present and future workforce need of the state
and nation. There should be a ready job market for graduates of the
program. In assessing the need for the program, the institution should
consider labor market information and other data provided by Board
Staff in response to the institution's Planning Notification. While
Board Staff may also recommend or use generally available information
to assess the need for the program, particularly in cases where labor
market needs are changing rapidly, it is the responsibility of the
institution requesting a doctoral or professional program to demonstrate
that a workforce need for the proposed program exists. Acceptable
documentation includes:
(A) An analysis of national data showing the number
of doctoral or professional degrees being produced annually in the
discipline and comparing that to the numbers of professional job openings
for those degrees in the discipline as indicated by sources such as
the main professional journal(s) of the discipline.
(B) The institution must also provide data on the enrollments,
number of graduates, and capacity to accept additional students of
other similar doctoral programs in Texas, demonstrating that current
production levels of graduates are insufficient to meet projected
workforce needs. The Board may consider local, state, or national
workforce needs in this analysis.
(C) The institution should also provide evidence of
student demand for a doctoral program in the discipline, such as potential
student survey results and documentation that qualified students are
not gaining admission to existing programs in Texas.
(2) Adequate Financing. In assessing whether the program
meets the requirements of subchapter A, §2.5(a)(4) and (5) of
this chapter, the program must demonstrate that there is adequate
financing available to initiate the proposed program without reducing
funds for existing programs or weakening them in any way. For doctoral
programs, institutions shall offer comprehensive financial assistance
packages to recruit and retain high-quality doctoral students.
(3) Faculty and Resources. In assessing the criteria
under subchapter A, §2.5(a)(7) of this chapter, Board Staff shall
ensure that each institution demonstrates a strong core of qualified
doctoral faculty capable of guaranteeing a high-quality doctoral program
with the potential to attain national prominence. The institution
must employ at least one core faculty member active in the department
or unit offering the proposed program at the time of application.
The institution must also provide an approved hiring schedule demonstrating
the ability to hire any additional faculty appropriate to support
the projected number of enrolled students. The institution must provide
documentation on a schedule determined by Board Staff of the faculty
hires through submission of a letter of intent, curriculum vitae or
equivalent documentation of faculty credentials in a format determined
by the Board, and a list of courses in the curriculum that the faculty
hire would be qualified to teach. The program must not result in such
a high ratio of doctoral students to faculty as to make individual
guidance prohibitive. Evidence of quality faculty may include:
(A) Doctoral faculty, holding the Doctor of Philosophy
degree or its equivalent from a variety of graduate schools of recognized
reputation.
(B) Professors and associate professors have achieved
national or regional professional recognition.
(C) Core faculty are currently engaged in productive
research and have published the results of such research in the main
professional journals of their discipline.
(D) Faculty come from a variety of academic backgrounds
and have complementary areas of specialization within their field.
(E) Some doctoral faculty have experience directing
doctoral dissertations.
(F) In evaluating faculty resources for proposed degree
programs, the Board shall consider only those degrees held by the
faculty that were issued by:
(i) United States institutions accredited by accrediting
agencies recognized by the Board; or
(ii) institutions located outside the United States
that have demonstrated that their degrees are equivalent to degrees
issued from an institution in the United States accredited by accrediting
agencies recognized by the Board.
(4) Support Staff. Each program must have an adequate
number of support staff to provide sufficient services for both existing
programs and any proposed increases in students and faculty in the
proposed program.
(5) Facilities and Resources. To meet the criteria
in subchapter A, §2.5(a)(7) of this chapter, each program must
include adequate facilities and resources to accommodate the program,
including:
(A) Office space for the faculty, teaching assistants,
and administrative and technical support staff; seminar rooms; computer
and electronic resources; and other appropriate facilities such as
laboratories.
(B) Library and IT Resources. Library and information
technology resources must be adequate for the proposed program and
meet the standards of the appropriate accrediting agencies. Library
resources should be strong in the proposed doctoral program field
and in related and supporting fields.
(6) Quality of the Program and Alignment with the Long-Range
Plan. In addition to meeting the criteria in subchapter A, §2.5(a)(6)
and (8) of this chapter, an institution must demonstrate the quality
of a proposed program by the meeting the following:
(A) An institution shall be required to utilize disciplinary
experts to review the proposed program to assess the overall quality
of the program.
(B) Elements of a high-quality program, may include,
but are not limited to:
(i) Design of proposed program as evidenced by the
program's ability to prepare a graduate student for teaching, creative
activities, research, or other professional activities. The program
must be characterized by freedom of inquiry and expression.
(ii) Availability of quality undergraduate and graduate
programs in a wide number of disciplines at the undergraduate and
master's levels. The institution must also offer high-quality programs
in other related and supporting doctoral areas.
(iii) Quality Planning. The proposed program shall
be carefully planned and result in a degree plan that is clear, comprehensive,
and generally uniform. The program may include flexibility to meet
the legitimate professional interests of doctoral-level degree or
professional degree students. Evidence of a carefully planned, high-quality
program includes:
(I) A logical sequence of degree requirements;
(II) Alternative methods of determining mastery of
program content, such as competency-based education, prior learning
assessment, and other options for reducing students' time to degree;
(III) Specialization and breadth of education, with
rules for the distribution of study to achieve both, including interdisciplinary
programs if indicated; and
(IV) A research dissertation or equivalent requirements
to be judged by the doctoral faculty on the basis of quality.
(iv) External Learning Experiences. In disciplines
that require them program must include plans for external learning
experiences for students, such as internships, clerkships, or clinical
experiences, in disciplines that require them.
(v) Accreditation Standards. Each proposed program
shall meet the criteria of its accrediting Board and doctoral or professional
program criteria of relevant professional groups and organizations,
such as the Council of Graduate Schools, the Modern Language Association,
the American Historical Association, the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology, or other bodies where relevant to the particular discipline.
(vi) Teaching Loads of Faculty. Unless justification
is provided in the application, teaching loads of faculty in the doctoral
or professional program should not exceed two courses per term. The
mix of courses shall include advanced courses and seminars with low
enrollments.
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