Certification of Compliance
Section III: COMPREHENSIVE STANDARDS
For every Comprehensive Standard mandating a policy or procedure, it is implicit that
the policy or procedure is in writing, approved through appropriate institutional processes,
published in appropriate institutional documents accessible to those affected by the policy or
procedure, and implemented and enforced by the institution. For obtaining or maintaining
accreditation with the Commission on Colleges, an institution must meet the following
Comprehensive Standards:
INSTITUTION MISSION, GOVERNANCE, AND EFFECTIVENESS
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3.1.1
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The institution has a clear and comprehensive mission statement that guides it;
is approved by the governing board; is periodically reviewed by the board; and
is communicated to the institution?s constituencies.
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3.2.1
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The governing board of the institution is responsible for the selection and
the evaluation of the chief executive officer.
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3.2.2
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The legal authority and operating control of the institution are clearly defined
for the following areas within the institution's governance structure:
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3.2.2.1
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the institution's mission;
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3.2.2.2
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the fiscal stability of the institution;
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3.2.2.3
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institutional policy, including policies concerning related and affiliated
corporate entities and all auxiliary services;
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3.2.2.4
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related foundations (athletic, research, etc.) and other corporate entities whose
primary purpose is to support the institution and/or its programs.
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3.2.3
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The board has a policy addressing conflict of interest for its members.
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3.2.4
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The governing board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other
external bodies, and protects the institution from such influence.
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3.2.5
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Members of the governing board can be dismissed only for cause and by due process.
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3.2.6
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There is a clear and appropriate distinction, in writing and practice, between the
policy-making functions of the governing board and the responsibility of the administration
and faculty to administer and implement policy.
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3.2.7
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The institution has a clearly defined and published organizational structure that
delineates responsibility for the administration of policies.
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3.2.8
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The institution has qualified administrative and academic officers with the experience,
competence, and capacity to lead the institution.
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3.2.9
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The institution defines and publishes policies regarding appointment and employment of
faculty and staff.
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3.2.10
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The institution evaluates the effectiveness of its administrators, including the chief
executive officer, on a periodic basis.
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3.2.11
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The institution?s chief executive officer has ultimate responsibility for, and exercises
appropriate administrative and fiscal control over, the institution?s intercollegiate
athletics program.
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3.2.12
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The institution?s chief executive officer has ultimate control of the institution's
fund-raising activities.
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3.2.13
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Any institution-related foundation not controlled by the institution has a contractual or
other formal agreement that (a) accurately describes the relationship between the institution
and the foundation, and (b) describes any liability associated with that relationship.
In all cases, the institution ensures that the relationship is consistent with its mission.
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3.2.14
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The institution?s policies are clear concerning ownership of materials, compensation,
copyright issues, and the use of revenue derived from the creation and production of
all intellectual property. This applies to students, faculty and staff.
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3.3.1
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The institution identifies expected outcomes for its educational programs and its
administrative and educational support services; assesses whether it achieves these
outcomes; and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of those results.
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PROGRAMS
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3.4.1
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The institution demonstrates that each educational program for which academic credit is
awarded (a) is approved by the faculty and the administration, and (b) establishes and
evaluates program and learning outcomes.
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3.4.2
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The institution's continuing education, outreach, and service programs are consistent with the
institution's mission.
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3.4.3
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The institution publishes admissions policies consistent with its mission.
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3.4.4
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The institution has a defined and published policy for evaluating, awarding, and
accepting credit for transfer, experiential learning, advanced placement, and
professional certificates that is consistent with its mission and ensures that course
work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and comparable to the institution's
own degree programs. The institution assumes responsibility for the academic quality of
any course work or credit recorded on the institution's transcript.
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3.4.5
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The institution publishes academic policies that adhere to principles of good educational
practice. These are disseminated to students, faculty, and other interested parties
through publications that accurately represent the programs and services of the institution.
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3.4.6
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The institution employs sound and acceptable practices for determining the amount and
level of credit awarded for courses, regardless of format or mode of delivery.
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3.4.7
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The institution ensures the quality of educational programs/courses offered through
consortia relationships or contractual agreements, ensures ongoing compliance with
the comprehensive requirements, and evaluates the consortial relationship and/or
agreement against the purpose of the institution.
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3.4.8
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The institution awards academic credit for course work taken on a noncredit basis only
when there is documentation that the noncredit course work is equivalent to a designated
credit experience.
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3.4.9
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The institution provides appropriate academic support services.
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3.4.10
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The institution defines and publishes general education requirements for its undergraduate
programs and major program requirements for all its programs. These requirements conform
to commonly accepted standards and practices for degree programs.
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3.4.11
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The institution protects the security, confidentiality, and integrity of its student
academic records and maintains special security measures to protect and back up data.
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3.4.12
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The institution places primary responsibility for the content, quality, and
effectiveness of its curriculum with its faculty.
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3.4.13
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For each major in a degree program, the institution assigns responsibility for
program coordination, as well as for curriculum development and review, to
persons academically qualified in the field. In those degree programs for which
the institution does not identify a major, this requirement applies to a curricular
area or concentration.
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3.4.14
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The institution's use of technology enhances student learning, is appropriate for meeting
the objectives of its programs, and ensures that students have access to and training in
the use of technology.
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3.5.1
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The institution identifies college-level competencies within the general education
core and provides evidence that graduates have attained those competencies.
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3.5.2
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The institution awards degrees only to those students who have earned at least
25 percent of the credit hours required for the degree through instruction offered
by that institution.
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3.6.1
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The institution?s post-baccalaureate professional degree programs, and its master's
and doctoral degree programs are progressively more advanced in academic content
than undergraduate programs.
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3.6.2
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The institution ensures that its graduate instruction and resources foster independent
learning, enabling the graduate to contribute to a profession or field of study.
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3.6.3
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The majority of credits toward a graduate or a post-baccalaureate professional
degree is earned through the institution awarding the degree. In the case of
graduate and post-baccalaureate professional degree programs offered through joint,
cooperative, or consortia arrangements, the student earns a majority of credits from
the participating institutions.
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3.7.1
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The institution employs competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission
and goals of the institution. When determining acceptable qualifications of its faculty,
an institution gives primary consideration to the highest earned degree in the discipline
in accordance with the guidelines listed below. The institution also considers competence,
effectiveness, and capacity, including, as appropriate, undergraduate and graduate degrees,
related work experiences in the field, professional licensure and certifications, honors
and awards, continuous documented excellence in teaching, or other demonstrated
competencies and achievements that contribute to effective teaching and student learning
outcomes. For all cases, the institution is responsible for justifying and documenting
the qualifications of all its faculty.
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3.7.2
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The institution regularly evaluates the effectiveness of each faculty member in
accord with published criteria, regardless of contractual or tenured status.
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3.7.3
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The institution provides evidence of ongoing professional development of faculty as
teachers, scholars, and practitioners.
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3.7.4
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The institution ensures adequate procedures for safeguarding and protecting academic freedom.
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3.7.5
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The institution publishes policies on the responsibility and authority of faculty in
academic and governance matters.
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3.8.1
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The institution provides facilities, services, and other learning/information resources
that are appropriate to support its teaching, research, and service mission.
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3.8.2
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The institution ensures that users have access to regular and timely instruction in the
use of the library and other learning/information resources.
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3.8.3
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The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff--with appropriate
education or experiences in library and/or other learning/information resources?to
accomplish the mission of the institution.
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3.9.1
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The institution publishes a clear and appropriate statement of student rights and responsibilities
and disseminates the statement to the campus community.
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3.9.2
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The institution protects the security, confidentiality, and integrity of its student records.
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3.9.3
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The institution provides services supporting its mission with qualified personnel to ensure
the quality and effectiveness of its student affairs programs.
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RESOURCES
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3.10.1
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The institution's recent financial history demonstrates financial stability.
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3.10.2
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The institution provides financial statements and related documents, including multiple
measures for determining financial health as requested by the Commission, that accurately
and appropriately represent the total operation of the institution.
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3.10.3
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The institution audits financial aid programs as required by federal and state regulations.
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3.10.4
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The institution exercises appropriate control over all its financial and physical resources.
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3.10.5
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The institution maintains financial control over externally funded or sponsored research and programs.
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3.10.6
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The institution takes reasonable steps to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment
for all members of the campus community.
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3.10.7
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The institution operates and maintains physical facilities, both on and off campus,
that are adequate to serve the needs of the institution's educational programs,
support services, and mission-related activities.
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For more information or questions, please contact us at (806)742-2166
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