California Code of Regulations › Title 5 - Education › Division 7.5 - Private Postsecondary Education › Chapter 3 - Institutional Operating Standards › Article 1 - Minimum Operating Standards › Section 71720 - Faculty

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) An Educational
				  Program Leading to a Degree.
(1) An
				  institution offering an educational program that leads to a degree shall employ
				  duly qualified faculty sufficient in number to provide the instruction, student
				  advisement, and learning outcomes evaluation necessary for the institution to
				  document its achievement of its stated mission and objectives, and for students
				  to achieve the specific learning objectives of each course offered;
(2) Each institution shall develop and
				  implement written policies and procedures providing for the participation by
				  duly qualified faculty in the conducting of research, development of curricula,
				  academic planning, enforcement of standards of academic quality, pursuit of
				  academic matters related to the institution's mission and objectives,
				  establishment of criteria for contracting with new faculty, and evaluation of
				  faculty credentials;
(3) In
				  determining the number of faculty sufficient to satisfy subdivision (a)(1) of
				  this section and to implement the policies established pursuant to subdivision
				  (a)(2) of this section, the institution shall base its faculty requirements on
				  all of the following factors:
(A) The
				  educational level and number of students;
(B) The number of hours needed for direct
				  interaction between students and faculty per course, quarter, semester, or
				  other term;
(C) The number of hours
				  needed to be spent on evaluating written materials prepared by students, such
				  as distance education, papers, and examinations, per course, quarter, semester,
				  or other term;
(D) The number of
				  group meetings per course, quarter, semester, or other term;
(E) The faculty duties established by the
				  institution as required under subdivision (a)(2) of this section; and
(F) The number of hours per week or units per
				  term considered full-time for faculty in the institution.
(4) The faculty shall have sufficient
				  expertise to support the institution's awarding of a degree identifying a
				  specialty or major field of emphasis, demonstrated by, at a minimum:
(A) That the person possesses one of the
				  following:
1. a degree from: an institution
				  approved by the Bureau or previously approved by a predecessor agency of the
				  Bureau; or an accredited institution in the United States or Canada; or other
				  state approved institution that documents that the institution at which the
				  faculty member earned his or her degree is equivalent to an institution that is
				  approved by the Bureau; or an institution outside the United States or Canada
				  and in addition provides a comprehensive evaluation of the degree performed by
				  a foreign credential evaluation service that is a member of the National
				  Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).
2. a credential generally recognized in the
				  field of instruction.
(B)
				  The degree, professional license, or credential possessed by the person shall
				  be at least equivalent to the level of instruction being taught or
				  evaluated;
(5) The
				  institution's faculty as a whole shall possess a diverse educational background
				  which shall be demonstrated in part by earned degrees from a variety of
				  colleges and universities or by credentials generally recognized in the field
				  of instruction;
(6) When
				  contracting for educational services, the institution shall maintain control
				  of, and responsibility for, all academic matters, and shall assure that the
				  instruction and faculty satisfy the standards established by the Act and this
				  chapter;
(7) The institution shall
				  not employ or continue to employ any faculty who were adjudicated in a judicial
				  or administrative proceeding as having violated any provision of the Act or
				  this chapter or as having committed any act that would constitute grounds for
				  the denial of a license under Section
				  480
				  of the Business and Professions Code;
(8) Each institution shall have a written
				  Academic Freedom Policy which describes the latitude the institution allows
				  faculty in the classroom so faculty will not inadvertently violate the
				  principles of academic freedom. These policies shall be made available to any
				  person upon request. The institution shall not take adverse action based on a
				  staff member's exercise of academic freedom consistent with the institution's
				  policy; and
(9) The institution
				  shall maintain records documenting that each faculty member is duly qualified
				  and was qualified to perform the duties to which the faculty member was
				  assigned, including providing instruction, evaluating learning outcomes,
				  evaluating graduate dissertations, theses, and student projects, and
				  participating on doctoral committees.