2.7.2  

The institution offers degree programs that embody a coherent course of study that is compatible with its stated purpose and is based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education. (Program Content)

RATIONALE FOR COMPLIANCE JUDGMENT

Programs offered by Nashville State Technical Community College (NSCC), including degrees, certificates, English as a Second Language, and Developmental Studies, are directly related to the College mission “to provide comprehensive educational programs and partnerships, exemplary services, an accessible, progressive learning environment, and responsible leadership to improve the quality of life for the community it serves.”

A brief program description and list of all required courses for each degree and certificate can be accessed in the college catalog [1] from the table of contents.  All course descriptions, including prerequisites that indicate course sequencing, can also be accessed from the table of contents.

A program accreditation review, formal program review with external consultant, or academic audit is required for every certificate and degree program as part of Tennessee’s Performance Funding program.  At the beginning of a Performance Funding five-year cycle, the institution develops a calendar [2] for the review of programs.  Program reviews and academic audits are required at least once every five years, except for newly-approved and low-producing programs.  Low-producing programs, as determined by average number of graduates, are monitored through a different process. 

In most cases, Nashville State is using the Academic Audit process to review non-accreditable programs. A major component of the Academic Audit process requires program faculty to examine program and course outcomes and course sequencing to ensure that degree programs do indeed provide students with a coherent source of study.  For example, the Academic Audit handbook direct faculty to discuss the following questions: “Have we consciously considered what students who complete our courses/program should know and be able to do?  How do we determine what is taught, in what order, from what perspective” [3]?  Examples of Academic Audit, Program Review, and Accreditation reports that were completed during 2004-05 and 2005-06 are provided as documentation [ 4,5,6,7,8].  The fall 2006 self-study for the academic audit of the A.A. and A.S. degrees is also attached [9].  That academic audit is still in process.