A certificate program is a prescribed course or series of courses designed to strengthen specific occupational skills.  The College of Micronesia-FSM offers three kinds of certificates.  A Certificate of Achievement requires the completion of at least 30 semester credits (2 semesters).  A Certificate of Completion is awarded for programs that offer a minimum of 10 credit hours.  A Certificate of Attendance requires the completion of a course that focuses on development of specific occupational skills. 

 

1.  Approval of a Certificate Program

a. The program initiator writes a proposal which includes evidence of need, the objectives, program activities, schedule of courses, description of courses, program staff, evaluation procedure, and budget, then submits it with an application for program implementation (Appendix  F).

   

b. Instructional Coordinator or appropriate college personnel reviews and submits the proposal to Committee Chairperson.

 

c. Curriculum Committee reviews the proposal and makes a recommendation to President for final action.

  

d. The Committee Chairperson informs the State Campus or appropriate College personnel of the President's decision and, if approved proceeds with the implementation of the certificate program.

2.  Evaluation of a Certificate Program

 

At the completion of a certificate program, an evaluation report is to be prepared by the program staff and sent to Committee Chairperson for verification of the successful completion of the program activities.  The report should include the evaluation procedures used in assessing the program effectiveness, student performances, names of participants and grades earned from each of the courses.  After the review and acceptance of the report by the program evaluators, certificates are issued to the recommended candidates.

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C. Degree Programs

1.  Approval of a Degree Program

 

A degree program may be initiated by the staff of an academic division after consulting educators and leaders of the college as well as the community about the practicality of a new degree program. The procedure for submitting a request for a degree program is as follows:

 

a.   A need assessment study, which includes new program implementation, is conducted and, if the results confirm the need for developing the degree program, a proposal is developed.

 

b. The program developer writes the proposal which includes rationale, instructional Program Learning Outcomes, implementation procedure, complete suggested schedule, description of new courses, staffing needs and budget (Appendix G).

 

c. Division staff reviews the proposal and submits it to the Committee Chairperson.

 

d. The Committee Chairperson reviews it with the Curriculum Committee and makes recommendation to President for action.

 

e.  If President approves the proposal, it is forwarded to the Cabinet for review and recommendation to Board of Regents for final action.

  

f. If approved by the Board of Regents, the program becomes a  regular program.

2. Program Evaluation

 

Program evaluation is a part of the institution's overall planning and assessment processes.  It provides the divisions and the state campuses an opportunity to evaluate Program Learning Outcomes and its goals and objectives as they relate to the College's mission. Program evaluation is done annually using the following health indicators:  program enrollment, graduation rate, average class size, students' seat cost, completion rate for all courses, students' satisfaction rate, employment data, and students' transfer rate, program and courses learning outcomes assessment data and analysis.

 

3.  Program Deletion

 

Program review and evaluation processes may indicate that an instructional program is not viable and should be eliminated from College offerings; the program needs to be deleted.  Deletion refers only to those programs that will not likely again be offered; it does not refer to those programs that may be offered on a cyclical basis and have periods of inactivity.  While programs may be removed from the catalog, specific courses will remain on the "list of active courses" for transcribing purposes.  (Appendix S) shows the policy on Program Deletion

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4.  Program Modification

a. When a program is outdated and needs to be revised, the academic division chairperson requests for course modification (Appendix X).

 

b. Upon receipt of permission, the  program is revised, then submitted    to the Committee Chairperson along with a copy of the old program.

 

c. The Committee Chairperson will review the revised program with the Curriculum Committee and send their recommendation  to the President for final action if the changes don't include changes in total number of credits.  If the total number of credits will change, then the program modification is   submitted to the cabinet for recommendation and then to the Board of Regents for final action.

 

d. The Committee Chair informs the    academic divisions and the Instructional Coordinator of the President's or Board of Regents' final decision on the revised

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NON-CREDIT PROGRAMS

A wide range of non-credit courses, programs, and services are offered through the State Campuses to meet the needs of business and industry as well as the community and special groups. These courses do not meet the requirements for college credits.  Although there are no prerequisites for admissions into non-credit programs, a specific course may require some prior experience or knowledge of the subject for the student to obtain maximum benefit.

  

a.   All non-credit courses are assigned the alpha  "CEU".

 

b.   Tuition and fees vary depending on the length of the course.

 

c.    An evaluation (Appendix U) will be completed for all non-credit courses offered by the college.  The completed forms will be forwarded to the instructional coordinator at the State campus for compilation.  The evaluation will be used as an improvement tool for future deliveries.

 

A proposal for a non-credit course may be initiated by a faculty member, an academic division or department, a training institute, an administrator or a concerned citizen.  A new non-credit course proposal must be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee and approved by the Vice President of Instructional Affairs.  These procedures are to be followed when submitting a new non-credit course proposal for review.  

The non-credit course subcommittee is comprised of the Director of Academic Programs, Director of Vocational, Community and Continuing Education, and three (3) appointed experts from any combination of staff, faculty and/or the community in the subject matter.

 

1. Non-credit Course Proposal Request

 

a. Course initiator obtains the course proposal form (Appendix A) from the Curriculum Committee Chairperson or the Campus Director and completes it.

 

b. The course initiator submits the completed course proposal form through the Campus Director or  through the appropriate on-campus staff for review and action before the subcommittee's review.

 

c. If the request is approved by the Vice President of Instructional Affairs, the course initiator is informed of this action thru the Campus Director or subcommittee Chairperson. Disapproved proposal requests are returned to the appropriate State Campus and person initiating the request with comments indicating the reasons the proposal was not approved and/or suggestions for improving the proposal.

2.    Non-credit Course Outline Approval

 

a. Upon approval of the request, the course initiator completes and attaches a cover page (Appendix Q) to the course outline. 

 

b. The course initiator writes the course outline based on the accepted format (SLO) to meet the following criteria:

 

*It is a formal program of learning which can contribute to professional competency

 

*Contains practical content to improve or enhance career potential

 

*Includes learning outcome(s), course content, and evaluation and assessment methods.

 

*Contains content to enrich personal goals and development

 

c. The proposed non-credit course outline is submitted to the subcommittee chairperson thru the Campus Director or appropriate National Campus staff.

 

d.  After the Curriculum subcommittee reviews and ensures the course quality the Committee Chairperson signs the course  cover page and forwards the course outline to the President for final action.  The Committee Chairperson informs all concerned of the President's final action.

3.   Non-credit Instructor Approval

 

a. Instructor for non-credit courses shall possess at least 3 of the following qualifications:

 

*Competence in the subject matter (a minimum of three (3) years work experience).

 

*Knowledge and skills in instructional methodologies (at least 2 years of teaching experience).

 

*A professional designation of a recognized industry.

 

*A degree from a regionally accredited or equivalent college in the subject matter or related area.

 

*Expert in the subject matter.  (Possesses an industry certificate, Journeyman certificate or a certificate/document signifying skills relevant to the subject matter.

 

b.  Applicant for non-credit courses must submit:

*     A current resume

*     Official transcript

*     Two letters of recommendation

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