Section 2: CORE REQUIREMENTS

The institution has a governing board of at least five members that is the legal body with specific authority over the institution. The board is an active policy-making body for the institution and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the financial resources of the institution are adequate to provide a sound educational program. The board is not controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or interests separate from it. Neither the presiding officer of the board nor the majority of other voting members of the board have contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution.

A military institution authorized and operated by the federal government to award degrees has a public board in which neither the presiding officer nor a majority of the other members are civilian employees of the military or active/retired military. The board has broad and significant influence upon the institution’s programs and operations, plays an active role in policy-making, and ensures that the financial resources of the institution are used to provide a sound educational program. The board is not controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or interests separate from the board except as specified by the authorizing legislation. Neither the presiding officer of the board nor the majority of other voting board members have contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution.  (Governing Board)
 

TTU at Amarillo participates in the institutional planning and evaluation processes including development of a strategic plan for the site, which can be located at http://www.coe.ttu.edu/CoeWeb/amarillo/ and filing the 2003 Annual Assessment Report, which is located at http://www.irs.ttu.edu/SACS/AssessmentReports/33_3328_2003.pdf.  TTU’s Graduate School conducts five year program reviews for academic departments.  The degree programs offered at TTU at Amarillo will be reviewed in the 2005-06 academic year.

Assessment findings are utilized for improvement in planning processes, budgetary and human resource decision-making, educational and student support services, grant applications, and auxiliary and facility operations. Recent examples of assessment activities, findings and use for improvement have been summarized and are available for review at http://www.irs.ttu.edu/SACS/AssessmentReports/33_3328_2003.pdf

A comprehensive planning and assessment process for distance learning and off-campus instruction was conducted by TTU in 2003-2004; the resulting documentation was submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and is located at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf 

Library access and user privileges are provided to faculty and students at TTU at Amarillo.  Further documentation of library services and support for off-campus and distance learners and faculty can be found at http://library.ttu.edu/distance/ . The Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004) includes further documentation of library support for off-campus and distance learners; an on-line copy of the Plan is available at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.  All area public, community college and university libraries participate in TexShare and provide services to Texas Tech students and faculty who display a Texas Tech identification card (see http://www.texshare.edu).

Student support programs, services, and activities are provided to students at TTU at Amarillo.  Documentation of these resources can be found in the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004); an on-line copy of the Plan is available at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.  A Coordinator of Student Services is assigned to off-campus teaching sites to coordinate these services; Judy Hickerson, Coordinator of Student Services for Off-Campus Sites, maintains an office at TTU at Fredericksburg and travels to the various sites to provide services to on-site staff, students and faculty. Student support services are assessed and findings are used for improvement.

The institution has a sound financial base and demonstrated financial stability, and adequate physical resources to support the mission of the institution and the scope of its programs and services.

The member institution provides the following financial statements: (a) an institutional audit (or Standard Review Report issued in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services issued by the AICPA for those institutions audited as part of a systemwide or statewide audit) and written institutional management letter for the most recent fiscal year prepared by an independent certified public accountant and/or an appropriate governmental auditing agency employing the appropriate audit (or Standard Review Report) guide; (b) a statement of financial position of unrestricted net assets, exclusive of plant assets and plant-related debt, which represents the change in unrestricted net assets attributable to operations for the most recent year; and, (c) an annual budget that is preceded by sound planning, is subject to sound fiscal procedures, and is approved by the governing board.

Audit requirements for applicant institutions may be found in the Commission policy entitled "Accreditation Procedures for Applicant Institutions.  (Resources)

(Not applicable for the Compliance Certification submitted by institution).

Section 3:  COMPREHENSIVE STANDARDS

Institutional Mission, Governance, And Effectiveness

The mission statement for TTU at Amarillo flows from the College of Engineering mission statement; see http://www.coe.ttu.edu/CoeWeb/amarillo/  for a copy.

The Provost has defined and published organizational structure of official off-campus educational sites that is located at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/provost/provostorgchart.pdf.

The institution has qualified administrative and academic officers with the experience,
competence, and capacity to lead the institution.

Academic programs at TTU at Amarillo are led by the Department of Industrial Engineering Chairperson, Milton L. Smith, who is qualified to lead in the following ways: Professor Smith is a tenured professor in Industrial Engineering;  Smith has taught at Texas Tech University for thirty six years and has been department chairperson for three years; in addition he has taught courses at Amarillo for two semesters and has taught distance education courses available at Amarillo beginning with the inception of the program. See CV at http://www.ie.ttu.edu.

The institution defines and publishes policies regarding appointment and employment of
faculty and staff.

Personnel at TTU at Amarillo are evaluated on an annual basis according to TTU personnel policy (Operating Policy 70.12; http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual/OP70.12.html). Personnel files are located at the main campus Personnel Department, 153 Drane Hall.

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.

TTU at Amarillo participates in the institution’s planning and evaluation processes, which can viewed at                                                                   http://techdata.irs.ttu.edu/stratreport/.  In addition, the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004) provided an opportunity for institution-wide planning and assessment of off-campus educational sites; this plan is located on-line at  http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.  Identification of expected outcomes for educational programs offered at the site, assessment and use of findings for improvement is the responsibility of the respective academic program provided at the site (e.g. M.S. in Systems and Engineering Management and M.S. in Manufacturing Systems and Engineering); documentation of this information can be found in the College of Engineering Compliance Certification (see http://www.irim.ttu.edu/sacs/CCC/Units/ENComplianceRequirements.htm).

Identification of expected outcomes for administrative and educational support services, assessment and use of findings for improvement is the responsibility of the site leadership. In order to accomplish this, the site director has led a process to: 1) develop a mission statement, 2) develop a strategic plan to fulfill the mission, 3) develop and implement an assessment plan, 4) document actions taken based on analysis of assessment findings. This information is available at http://www.coe.ttu.edu/CoeWeb/amarillo/.

Longitudinal data is collected in the Annual Assessment Report http://www.irs.ttu.edu/SACS/AssessmentReports/33_3328_2003.pdf    but is limited due to the limited time of site operation, which began in January 2002.

PROGRAMS

Industrial Engineering offers two degree programs at TTU at Amarillo. Both of programs are approved by TTU, THECB and SACS.  Information on program evaluation and learning outcomes can be found at http://www.ie.ttu.edu/dept_info/gradCourses/ie_grad.htm and in the College of Engineering Certification of Compliance at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/sacs/CCC/Units/ENComplianceRequirements.htm.

TTU at Amarillo staff and faculty members provide outreach and service programs to the Abilene community consistent with their mission. No formal continuing education programs have been offered to date.

Students attending TTU at Amarillo are admitted by TTU in the same manner as all other TTU graduate students. See the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004) Section 1-6; this plan is located on-line at  http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.

Students attending TTU at Amarillo are covered under TTU policies applicable to all graduate students. See the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004) Section 1-7; this plan is located on-line at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf. 

TTU at Amarillo follows the academic policies that adhere to principles of good educational practices. These policies are distributed to students, faculty and other interested parties via the TTU Distance Education Portal, at www.de.ttu.edu .

See also the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004) Section 1-1; this plan is located on-line at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.

TTU at Amarillo is not a party to a formal consortial or contractual agreement.

Academic support services are provided to students attending TTU at Amarillo. These services are provided by faculty associated with the student’s academic program and on-site staff.  

See the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction (March 2004) Section 4-1; this plan is located on-line at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.

Each academic program offered to students attending TTU at Amarillo has a faculty program coordinator. The coordinator is listed for each of the following academic programs:

M.S. in Systems and Engineering Management : Dr. Milton Smith, Ph.D., PE
College of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering

M.S.  in Manufacturing Systems and Engineering: Dr. Milton Smith, Ph.D., PE
College of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering

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.

The use of technology at TTU at Amarillo is supported by TTU’s Institutional Technology division as part of its mission.  Further documentation can be found in the IT Compliance Certification at  http://www.irim.ttu.edu/sacs/CCC/Units/ITComplianceRequirements.htm.

As part of the institutional assessment process, technology support to off-campus educational sites is analyzed in the Institutional Plan for Distance Education and Off-Campus Instruction, Section 5-1; an on-line copy is available at http://www.irim.ttu.edu/SACS/TTUInstitutionalPlanfinal.pdf.  On-site IT personnel are also available to ensure quality delivery of instruction and respond to faculty and student IT needs.