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 |
![]() |
Instructions |
![]() |
Compliance Reports |
![]() |
Home |
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
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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]:
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]
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.
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:
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).
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
[3] Professional Programs General Education Curriculum [6] ENG 200-level course descriptions. Reinhardt University Undergraduate Catalog 2016-2017, p. 225 [13] The Purposes of Graduate Study, the Graduate Academic Catalog 2016-2017, p 7 [14] Discipline Specific Student Learning Outcomes [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 [22] Proposal for new concentrations in Cyber Security and Computer Forensics 2016 [23] Reinhardt New Programs Report, pp. 72-76 [25] NASM Commission Action Reports, 2012 |