Policies and Procedures

Section III Postsecondary Affairs

L. Continuing Education/Off-Campus Instruction Prior Learning

Boise State University, Idaho State University, Lewis-Clark State College, and the University of Idaho are covered by these policies. The six (6) area vocational-technical schools also are included. North Idaho College and the College of Southern Idaho are excluded, except as specified in those policies designed to encourage inter-institutional cooperation.

Higher education in Idaho is committed, as part of its responsibility to the people of the state, to serving the needs of part-time students and adults requiring continuing education. Societal change, technological advances, certification requirements and licensing are but a few of the reasons why all institutions are committed to providing opportunities for citizens to continue their education regardless of location, age, and job responsibilities. The intent of these policies is to assist the college and universities in developing appropriate measures to ensure this access as part of their obligation to the people of Idaho. The policies also seek to encourage inter-institutional cooperation among the state's two-year and four-year institutions in providing continuing education.

1. Definition and Functions
   
   Continuing education is the philosophy and the process under which an institution, organization, agency, or individual provides organized learning activities for the professional or personal development of adults whose primary role is ordinarily something other than a student. Continuing education usually involves off-campus, weekend, or evening instruction, but it may also include daytime and on-campus instruction. The general functions of continuing education include, but are not limited to, the personal development and cultural enrichment of the individual and community; licensing and certification for professional and practitioner qualification; and credential and degree achievement. Of these functions, personal development and cultural enrichment are offered for non-credit.



2. Institutional Policies and Procedures
   
   Each institution must establish appropriate administrative structure and internal operating policies and procedures to provide continuing education opportunities for Idaho citizens consistent with Board policies.
   
   
   1. Continuing education activities that complement but do not directly compete with institutional programs may be conducted on-campus.
   
   
   
   2. Any such credit activities offered on-campus must provide for the enrollment of full-time, on-campus students at no additional general education fee, with the exception of approved laboratory fees.


3. Primary Service Regions
   
   The Board has established primary service regions for the college and universities and vocational technical education based on the geography of the state. Service regions of North Idaho College and the College of Southern Idaho have been established by legislative statute, Section 33-2101, Idaho Code. The delineation of primary service regions does not preclude an institution from offering courses and programs in regions where the offerings are consistent with the institution's role and mission (see 5. Unique Programs).
   
   
   1. Academic
      
      The three (3) primary service regions of the college and universities are:
      
      North (Primary service region of Lewis-Clark State College, North Idaho College, and the University of Idaho.) The service area shall be the entire panhandle, south to and including Riggins. Within this area, North Idaho College serves lower division undergraduate needs in the counties of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, and Shoshone; Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho serve noncompeting, upper division undergraduate needs in those counties. Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho serve noncompeting, upper ivision undergraduate needs in the ten (10) county region that includes the counties of Nez Perce, Clearwater, Latah, Lewis, Idaho, Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, and Shoshone. The University of Idaho serves the graduate needs of the entire region.
      
      Southwest (Primary service region of Boise State University.) The service area shall be the southwestern section of the state to be bounded by Nevada on the south, Oregon on the west, north to and including New Meadows, and east to Glenns Ferry inclusively.
      
      Southeast (Primary service region of College of Southern Idaho and Idaho State University.) The service area shall be the southeastern section of the state to be bounded by Montana, Wyoming, Utah/Nevada, to the north, east, and south respectively, and a perpendicular line extending from north to south to include Stanley, Fairfield, and Bliss. Within this area, the College of Southern Idaho serves lower division undergraduate needs in the counties of Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls; Idaho State University serves noncompeting, lower division undergraduate needs of this ten-county area as well as upper division, undergraduate and graduate needs of the entire region with the exception that Boise State University will provide the ten-county area with business programs at the undergraduate and graduate level.
   
   
   
   2. Professional-Technical Education
      
      Postsecondary vocational-technical education is delivered by six (6) institutions, each having responsibility for serving a multi-county region. The designated regions, their service institutions, and constituent counties are:
      
      Region I (Primary service region of North Idaho College): Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, and Shoshone.
      
      Region II (Primary service region of Lewis-Clark State College): Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, and Nez Perce.
      
      Region III (Primary service region of Boise State University): Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley, and Washington.
      
      Region IV (Primary service region of College of Southern Idaho): Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls.
      
      Region V (Primary service region of Idaho State University): Bannock, Bingham, Bear Lake, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, and Power.
      
      Region VI (Primary service region of Eastern Idaho Technical College): Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, and Teton.
   
   
   
   3. Implementation Procedures
      
      

      (1) When a primary service region is served by more than one postsecondary institution, an agreement must be developed by the institutions which details the implementation strategies consistent with policies 3.a-b above.
      
      (2) An institution desiring to offer instructional activities in a service region assigned to another institution must request permission from the other institution at least thirty (30) days prior to offering or scheduling a course or program and must document, through a survey of potential students or other appropriate means, an unmet need of the residents of that service region. If the course in question is likely to be transferred into a program of the primary service institution, documentation must include a course syllabus. The institution having primary service area responsibility must within thirty (30) days concur that a legitimate unmet need exists, and it may independently or cooperatively with the requesting institution offer activities to meet the documented need. If the primary service institution chooses not to offer activities to meet the documented need, the requesting institution may do so.
      
      (3) In addition to the documentation, the requesting institution must meet the minimum standards for continuing education activities as stated in these policies and procedures.
      
      (4) If the Board's minimum standards and an unmet program need of service region residents are appropriately documented, a letter of agreement is drafted and signed by the chief academic officer of each institution involved and submitted to the Office of the State Board for review and information.
      
      (5) Conflicts between institutions regarding primary service regions are submitted in writing first to the respective chief academic officers and secondly, if resolution is not achieved, to the Board's chief academic officer for review and resolution.
      
      (6) An institution may, with prior Board approval, establish off-campus centers for instructional activities. The establishment of off-campus centers and the offering of courses or programs at those centers are to be governed by the concept of primary service regions outlined in this section and policies on Program Approval, Section III.G. A roster of all Board-approved off-campus centers, programs, and program sites is maintained at the Office of the State Board of Education.



4. Inter-Institutional Cooperation
   
   Institutional chief academic officers will develop letters of agreement to facilitate inter-institutional cooperation; the letters, unless otherwise indicated by the Board, will be retained on file at the institutional level. The letters will indicate institutional cooperation and support with regard to:
   
   
   1. Continuing education activities within respective primary service regions offered at off-campus site locations.
   
   
   
   2. Their willingness to cooperate with one another by making contact with their counterparts at the other institutions when requests are received from interested Idaho citizens concerning continuing education courses or programs not available at their institutions.
   
   
   
   3. Their acceptance of areas of subject matter expertise or approved programs available only at a given institution, thereby encouraging the administrator receiving the request to refer it to his/her counterpart at another institution who can provide the subject matter expertise from that institution.
   
   
   
   4. Their institutions' participation in the approval of another institution's teaching faculty to offer cross-listed courses for their institutions.
   
   
   
   5. Their willingness to cooperate with each other in the offering of programs on an inter-institutional basis in those subject matter areas that are interdisciplinary in scope, making use of appropriate faculty from two (2) or more institutions.
   
   
   
   6. Exchanging continuing education course/program activities schedules to ensure open communication and to ensure cooperation in the delivery of continuing education activities to the citizens of Idaho.
   
   
   
   7. Offering noncompeting courses and programs for which there is a demonstrated need at off-campus centers.
   
   
   Upon request by the Board office, each institution will submit a report concerning cooperative agreements and institutional continuing education activities during the current academic year and will clearly identify all off-campus instructional credit hours and headcount enrollments.


5. Unique Programs
   
   A unique program is defined as an academic or vocational program which is offered by and available at only one (1) of the institutions under the governance of the Board.
   
   
   1. An institution desiring to offer one (1) or more of its unique programs in a "primary service region" of another institution shall inform the chief academic officer at the assigned service region institution.
   
   
   
   2. Courses which are unique to the specific program and not available through the assigned service region institution may be offered by the requesting institution upon notification of the respective chief academic officer at the assigned service region institution.
   
   
   
   3. Courses which are not unique to the specific program and available through the service region institution may be offered by the service region institution in cooperation with the requesting institution. If an assigned service region institution does not desire to offer the necessary courses for the unique program, the requesting institution may offer the courses.
   
   
   
   4. Any conflicts which may occur in programs previously approved by the Board must be first submitted to the respective chief academic officers and secondly, if not resolved, to the Board's chief academic officer for review and resolution.
   
   
   


6. Minimum Standards for Continuing Education Activities
   
   The following minimum standards are established for continuing education activities of the Board's institutions and agencies. The community colleges are encouraged to comply with these minimum standards.
   
   
   1. All academic credit activities shall be equivalent in quality to comparable instructional courses and programs offered on the campuses of the institutions, especially with respect to:

      (1) the appointment, orientation, supervision, and evaluation of faculty members in the courses, programs, or activities;
      
      (2) procedures for the approval of courses, programs, or activities;
      
      (3) the stature of the curriculum with respect to its organization, appropriateness, level, intellectual demands, instructional contact time, and out-of-class effort.
      
      (4) the admission of students, the advising process, and the evaluation of student performance in courses, programs, or activities;
      
      (5) the support offered by library, classroom, laboratory, and other resources;
      
      (6) the detailed as well as general responsibility for the quality of courses, programs, and activities accepted by the appropriate academic and administrative units on the campus; and
      
      (7) the keeping of student records for such activities as admission, academic performance, and transfer credit.

   
   
   2. All academic credit and non-credit activities must conform to institutional role and mission policies approved by the Board (Section III.I.) and to primary service region policies outlined in 3.a-b above.
   
   
   
   3. No institution will offer undergraduate or graduate courses or programs unless there is reasonable access to faculty, library materials, and other resources of the appropriate on-campus units because of the heavy and sophisticated demands made by some undergraduate and graduate courses, programs, or activities upon:
      
      

      (1) library resources (and, in appropriate cases, laboratory and clinical resources);
      
      (2) the availability of a sufficient number of advanced faculty members in the academic unit to confer and decide on evaluation of student progress in all aspects of courses, programs, activities, and research; and
      
      (3) the availability of faculty members in related fields for advice and guidance and service on examining committees.
      
      

   
   
   4. All continuing education activities must be accountable to and monitored by the appropriate undergraduate or graduate organization of the institution, i.e., the curriculum committee, respective administrators, graduate curriculum committee, and faculty council, and approved by the chief academic officer or his or her designee as meeting these standards.


7. Continuing Education Fees
   
   Continuing education fee policies are provided in Section V.R.



8. Non-Credit Activities
   
   Continuing education non-credit activities provide for certification and recertification, licensure, professional development and promotion, job skills upgrading and retraining, and recreation and life enrichment. These activities may be measured by such recognized national standards as the Continuing Education Unit (C.E.U.), which is a non-credit unit requiring ten (10) contact hours of participation in an organized activity under the sponsorship and direction of qualified instructors, and they should adhere to the Principles of Good Practice in Continuing Education as a framework for quality assurance.



9. External Degree Programs
   
   In order to maximize the availability of the educational resources of the Idaho system of postsecondary education, the State Board of Education authorizes the offering of external degree programs.
   
   
   1. Definition
      
      An external degree program is defined as an organized curriculum leading to a degree offered in whole or in part with on-campus residency requirements by a system institution at an off-campus site.
   
   
   
   2. Policy
      
      External degree programs may be offered on the campus of another, cooperating system institution or at any other appropriate location approved by the Board. Authorization to offer an external degree program will be granted only upon a clear demonstration by the requesting institution that all necessary facilities, faculty, staff and other supporting resources are available or can be provided at the off-campus site to maintain program standards equal to those maintained on campus. While another system institution may cooperate in the offering of an external degree program, the institution authorized to offer the program shall be charged with the full responsibility for its management and quality. External degree proposals may be submitted only from those institutions having authorized degrees in the disciplines proposed. Approval of a substantive change in an existing program may be required by the Northwest Association Commission on Colleges following Board approval of an external degree program and prior to program implementation.
      
      The applicable board policies of PROGRAM APPROVAL (Section III.G), PROGRAM REVIEW (Section III.H), and SERVICE REGION (Subsections 3-6 above) shall apply to the development and offering of external degree programs. Institutions submitting proposals for external degree programs shall follow Board policy and the procedural guidelines established by the Academic Affairs and Program Committee for approval of new programs.


10. Alternate Delivery Systems for Continuing Education
    
    The Board encourages the development, establishment, and implementation of alternate delivery systems for continuing education activities. Any such alternate delivery system will maintain comparable standards as are expected for on-campus courses and are subject to all policies and procedures outlined in 1-10 above.
    
    
    1. Correspondence Study
       
       The Correspondence Study Program offers another continuing education opportunity to Idaho citizens. The Correspondence Study Program is administered by the University of Idaho in cooperation with the other institutions and is a statewide program. Credit earned through correspondence study will be accepted as any other credit activity in accordance with the policies and procedures established by each institution.
    
    
    
    2. Idaho Educational Public Broadcasting System
       
       Courses for credit or telecourses may be offered by an institution through the Idaho Educational Public Broadcasting System through the cooperative efforts of one (1) or more institutions.
    
    
    
    3. Other Media Delivery
       
       Other media instructional delivery systems, such as radio, video cassette tape, television, computer assisted, ITFS (Instructional Television Fixed Service), and microwave are also encouraged and are required to meet academic standards as established by the policies and procedures of the involved institution as approved by the chief academic officer.

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