Reinhardt University SACSCOC Compliance Certification

Core Requirements

Table of Contents

2.1          Degree Grant. Auth
2.2 Governing Board
2.3 Chief Exec Officer
2.4 Institutional Mission
2.5 Inst. Effectiveness
2.6 Continuous Operation
2.7.1 Program Length
 
2.7.2 Program Content
2.7.3 General Education
  
2.7.4 Course Work
2.8 Faculty
2.9 Learning Resources
2.10 Student Support 
2.11.1 Financial Resources
2.11.2     Physical Resources
__________________

 
Part 1               Signature Attesting Integrity
Part 2 Substantive Changes
3 Comprehensive Standards
4 Federal Requirements
Part 4  Inst. Summary Form

 

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2.7.2 Program Content

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

Judgment check box Compliance

 
Narrative

Reinhardt University offers degree programs at the associate, bachelor, and master levels. Each program offers a coherent course of study that is compatible with the University’s mission and is based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education as demonstrated by 1) student learning outcomes that are linked to the University mission, 2) coherent academic programs that require increasing levels of skill, and 3) a curriculum review process that ensures fields of study appropriate to higher education.

The University Mission

Reinhardt University Mission Statement is as follows:

Reinhardt University seeks to educate the whole person by developing the intellectual, social, personal, vocational, spiritual and physical dimensions of its students. [1]

The undergraduate traditional and professional, degree-completion programs are guided by a set General Education Student Learning Outcomes that are compatible with the University’s mission “to educate the whole person.”  The graduate programs are guided by the “Purposes of Graduate Study,” designed to serve the ongoing educational needs of professionals and the local community in their vocational development.

Coherent Courses of Study: Undergraduate Programs  

As presented in Section 2.7.3 (General Education), Reinhardt University’s undergraduate traditional programs have a 48 to 50 credit-hour General Education Curriculum, which addresses the dimensions of the University Mission by allowing for a number of choices within four overarching domains of the General Education Student Learning Outcomes [2]:

  • Communication
  • Critical Thinking/Inquiry
  • Knowledge of Self, Society, and Culture
  • Values/Ethics.

Reinhardt’s distance education programs, which are designed for adult learners, address the General Education Student Learning Outcomes with a core curriculum that requires 36 semester credit hours in each of the following: [3]

  • Communication and Technology
  • Humanities
  • Social Sciences
  • Mathematics and Natural Sciences
  • General Education Electives.

All undergraduate programs, in any mode of delivery, address the University’s Mission with a balance of general education core requirements, major or professional course work, and electives to provide a theoretical and practical educational foundation to advance the “intellectual, social, personal, vocational, spiritual and physical dimensions” of students.

Major degree programs

Reinhart’s major degree requirements build on the general education components. Undergraduate courses are numbered 100-400, depending on the level of skills required.  The course numbering system ensures a coherent course of study by identifying increasing levels of integration of knowledge.

The following majors provide examples of program coherence.  The Bachelor of Arts in English (B.A.) and the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Early Childhood Education are traditional undergraduate programs.  The Bachelor of Healthcare Administration (B.H.A.) program is an online, degree-completion program from the School of Professional Studies.

Program: The Bachelor of Arts in English (B.A.) in English [4]
The B.A. in English builds on skills developed incrementally in the general education writing and literature courses.  Requirements for the English major, however, are not sequenced. Rather, the English major requires a breadth of knowledge and skills appropriate for higher education in literature by addressing different approaches to interpretation, such as biographical, historical, and formal/generic.
Requirements within General Education Curriculum

ENG 101 – Composition [5]
-text oriented composition
ENG 102 – Composition and Literature
(Prerequisite: A Grade of “C” or better in ENG 101)
-builds on the skills of ENG 101 and adds research skills
ENG 200-level literature survey [6]
(Prerequisite: A Grade of “C” or better in ENG 102)
-often includes a basic research assignment
English courses required for the English major [7]
1 – English 240 - Introduction to Critical Analysis300-400 level courses
(Prerequisite: A Grade of “C” or better in ENG 200-level literature survey)
1 – major author (ex.:  Chaucer, Shakespeare, Austen)
1 – single-genre course (ex. The British Novel or Studies in Poetry)
3 – historical period literature courses
(at least 1 before 1800 and at least 1 after 1800)
1 – English language course (ex. History of the English Language or
ENG 342 - Advanced Grammar)
2 – additional 300-400-level ENG classes
1 – Internship or Thesis

 

Program:  Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Early Childhood Education [8]

The B. S. in Early Childhood Education builds on a broad range of courses in the liberal arts through the general education curriculum.  Requirements for the Early Childhood Education major are connected to the Conceptual Framework of differentiated instruction and assessment. [9]  In preparation for teacher certification, Early Childhood Education majors develop an understanding of the growth and development of young children with diverse academic needs. Extensive opportunities for clinical practice and application are woven throughout the program with over 800 hours of field experience in education courses.

For admission into the Price School of Education, requirements within General Education Curriculum include communication courses and psychology, to prepare for the study of diverse learning needs.

ENG 101 – Composition

ENG 102 – Composition and Literature

COM 108 – Communicating Effectively

PSY 101 – Introduction to Psychology

Education courses required for the Early Childhood Education major help candidates build expertise in differentiated instruction and assessment.[10]
EDU 225 Lifespan Development from a Multicultural Perspective

EDU 230 Common Elements of Differentiated Instruction

EDU 318 Motivation and Learning for Diverse Students

EDU 325 Differentiated Curriculum and Instruction

EDU 344 Introduction to Reading

EDU 355 Reading Diagnosis

EDU 366 Literacy Instruction and ESOL

EDU 327 Differentiated Instruction & Assessment

EDU 329 Teaching in the Inclusion Classroom

EDU 384 Differentiation through Technology

The following courses are required during the final two semesters in the program and are designed for a year-long residency.  They provide the candidate with practical applications of differentiated instruction.

EDU 440 CP: Spirituality and the Nurturing Classroom

EDU 450 CP:  Mathematics & Problem Solving

EDU 451 CP:  Inquiry-Based Science

EDU 452 CP:  Social Studies and Fine Arts

EDU 453 CP:  Language Arts Integration

EDU 479 Clinical Residency

Clinical Practice (CP) courses are taken as a block during the first of two semesters and focus on methods for teaching content.  Clinical Residency is taken during the final semester of the program as part of the full-time candidate teaching experience.

 
Program:   The Bachelor in Healthcare Administration (B.H.A.)  [11]
The B.H.A. program is designed to build skills enabling students to enter and advance their professional careers in non-clinical administrative roles in healthcare organizations.  Most students enter the program as transfer students who have completed courses in both general education and in healthcare related technical fields.  The B.H.A. program curriculum offers two levels of courses.  The 300-level courses develop the student’s general understanding of business management principles as applied to the healthcare sector as well as an overall understanding of the U.S. healthcare system.  The 400-level courses address specific topics unique to the administration of organizations found in the healthcare sector.  Courses in the major, however, are not strictly sequenced, although an effort is made to schedule all students in four foundational courses within their first two semesters.300-level courses[12]These courses parallel those offered in a typical program offering a degree in business management with the exception that they focus on organizations in the healthcare sector.  Their purpose is to provide students the ability to understand and apply general principles of management to organizational operations and challenges:HCA 309 The US Healthcare System

HCA 300 Advanced Concepts in Healthcare Administration

HCA 301 Advanced Medical Terminology for Healthcare Administrators

HCA 305 Strategic Management in Healthcare Organizations

(Students are scheduled to take the above four courses in their first two    semesters in the BHA Program)

HCA 303 Organizational Behavior in the Healthcare Sector

HCA 304 Healthcare Law, Regulations, and Ethics

HCA 306 The Economics of Healthcare

HCA 307 Human Resource Management in Healthcare Organizations

HCA 308 Institutional Accounting and Finance for Healthcare Administrators

400-level courses

These courses engage the students in the study of operational issues and environmental factors specific to the healthcare sector.  While more narrowly focused than the 300-level courses, they require students to undertake an in-depth study of key issues important to the current healthcare system:

HCA 400 Health Information for the Healthcare Administrator

HCA 402 Institutional Patient Safety and Infection Prevention

HCA 403 Public Health Administration

HCA 404 Supply Chain Management for Healthcare

HCA 405 The Impact of Regulatory Policy on Healthcare

HCA 406 Healthcare Quality Management and Assessment

Students select one of two 400-level courses in their final semester to demonstrate their mastery of the program curriculum content:

HCA 410 Capstone Course in Healthcare Administration

HCA 490 Internship in Healthcare Administration

 

Coherent Course of Study:  Graduate Programs

All Reinhardt University graduate programs are guided by the “Purposes of Graduate Study,” [13] published in the Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017 as follows:

The graduate programs at Reinhardt University prepare students to become confident leaders in their chosen disciplines with the following attributes:

  1. Mastery of the current literature, prevailing knowledge, and/or skill set of a specific discipline
  2. Mastery of critical thinking through the practical application of theory;
  3. Mastery of skills to research a topic thoroughly;
  4. The ability to foster new knowledge in a discipline; and
  5. The strong communication skills necessary to present research.

Each program has discipline-specific learning outcomes, are published in the Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017. [14] Graduate courses are numbered 500 and above.

Most Reinhardt graduate programs have courses in a sequence that demonstrates coherence, for example, the Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Program:  Master of Business Administration (MBA) [15]
The Reinhardt MBA learning outcomes address the following skills at an advanced, managerial level:M1 Critical Thinking, Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills
M2 Interpersonal, Teamwork, Leadership, and Communications Skills
M3 Ethical Issues and Responsibilities
M4 Business Skills and Knowledge
M5 Awareness of Global and Multicultural Issues
M6 Research MethodologiesThe MBA program requires successful completion of advanced course work that is tied to the above learning outcomes.

Courses MBA learning outcomes
BUS 601 - Managing the Organization M1, M4
BUS 610 - Communications M1, M2
BUS 615 - Practicum I M1, M2, M4
BUS 625 – Managerial Accounting M1, M3, M4, M6
BUS 621 - Strategic Human Resources M1, M6
BUS 635 - Practicum II M1, M4, M6
BUS 640 - Law and Ethics M1, M4, M6
BUS 661 – Economics M1, M2, M3, M5
BUS 655 - Practicum III M1, M3, M4, M6
BUS 641 - Quantitative Decision Making M1, M3
BUS 665 - Marketing M1, M6
BUS 675 - Practicum IV M1, M2, M6
BUS 680 - Global  Business M1, M5,M6
BUS 690 - Strategic Management M1, M2, M5, M6
BUS 695 - Practicum V-Student Portfolio M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6

After each two courses, the candidate prepares a research paper and presentation (Practicum) about an assigned topic from his or her previous course work.  This project is presented to a panel of business faculty and experts. The final course, BUS 690 – Strategic Management – is a capstone course that requires students to integrate concepts from the all prior course work for the production of an organization’s strategic plan. [16]

Additional Evidence of Program Coherence in Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

Further evidence in support of curriculum coherence can be found in the curriculum maps developed by faculty in each degree program as part of the assessment efforts.  The maps indicate how each program student learning outcome is introduced, reinforced, mastered, and assessed.  The examples of curriculum maps for the B.H.A. program [17], the M.P.A. program [18], and the undergraduate program for Political Science [19] show that knowledge of each outcome is sequentially built from lower to upper level courses.

Programs Based upon Fields of Study Appropriate to Higher Education

Reinhardt University has well-defined procedures for ensuring that curriculum proposals offer study in fields appropriate to higher education.

A proposal must include a rationale and comparative data with regionally accredited institutions of higher education. For example, the McCamish School of Business, in November 2015, proposed converting its Bachelor of Arts in General Business Studies (B.A.-GBS) for adult learners to an online program, a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.).  The proposal noted that the B.A.-GBS was undersubscribed and that a number of comparable institutions offered fully online programs, the comparative data using two data bases, thebestschools.org and affordablecollegesonline.org. [20]

As a second example, in spring 2016, the academic coordinator of the Bachelor of Healthcare Administration (B.H.A.) program, an online degree-completion program, proposed a 3-credit hour course at the 300-level to address the program learning outcome, “Graduates will identify and describe the structure and components of the U.S. healthcare system.” The proposal for “HCA 309-The US Healthcare System” [21] included rationale and a reference to a similar course at St. Leo University. The proposal was approved for implementation in 2016-2017.

For a final example, in 2016, the School of Mathematics and Sciences proposed two new concentrations for the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics: Cyber Security and Computer Forensics. [22]  The proposal was supported by market research initiated by the president of the university. [23]

Some major degree programs also have external reviews and approvals which help to ensure their appropriateness for higher education.  For example, programs in the Price School of Education must be approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC), [24] and programs in the Murray Department of Music are approved the National Association of  Schools of Music (NASM). [25]  In addition, in fall of 2016 Reinhardt launched a cycle of academic program reviews, which operate on a seven-year rotation. [26] The reviewers include professionals and academics at peer institutions. [27]  Therefore, all undergraduate and graduate degree programs are evaluated either by accreditation review or by external peer review or in accordance with a published peer review cycle maintained by the Provost’s Office.

Conclusion

Reinhardt University offers degree programs that embody a coherent course of study that is compatible with its stated mission and is based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education.

 
Supporting Documents

[1] Reinhardt University Mission Statement, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 8

[2] General Education Student Learning Outcomes, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, pp. 8-9

[3] Professional Programs General Education Curriculum

[4] The Bachelor of Arts in English (B.A.) in English Program Requirements, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, pp. 121-122

[5] ENG 101 and ENG 102 course descriptions, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 225

[6] ENG 200-level course descriptions. Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 225

[7] ENG 300 and 400 level course descriptions, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 226-229

[8] Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Early Childhood Education, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, pp. 89-90

[9] Price School of Education Conceptual Framework, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 79

[10] B.S. in Early Childhood Education, 300-400 level course descriptions, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, pp. 218-225

[11] Bachelor of Healthcare Administration (B.H.A.), Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 192

[12] HCA 300 and 400 level courses descriptions, Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, pp. 231-33

[13] The Purposes of Graduate Study, the Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p 7

[14] Discipline Specific Student Learning Outcomes
MBA – Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p. 33
MAT – Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p. 38
MFA – Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p. 53
MPA – Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p. 58

[15] MBA Program Requirements, Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, pp. 31-34

[16] BUS 690 course description, Reinhardt University Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p. 63

[17] B.H.A. program curriculum map

[18] MPA program curriculum map

[19] Political Science program curriculum map

[20] B.B.A. New Program Proposal 2015, pp. 6-7

[21] HCA 309 proposal, 2015

[22] Proposal for new concentrations in Cyber Security and Computer Forensics 2016

[23] Reinhardt New Programs Report, pp. 72-76

[24] Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) approval of Reinhardt’s Education programs, 2010 and 2009

[25] NASM Commission Action Reports, 2012

[26] Schedule of program reviews

[27] CMS Program Review, with external reviewers