Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 9 - Education- Mississippi Community College Board › Part 3 - Programs › Chapter 2 - Standards for Quality and Accountability › Rule 9-3-2.1 - Standards for Quality and Accountability

Current through June 25, 2024
The Mississippi Community College Board's standards for
				  quality and accountability are as follows:
1. It is the policy of the Mississippi
				Community College Board (MCCB) to accept the Commission on Colleges of the
				Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' (SACS) Criteria for Accreditation
				as the basic standards for quality and accountability for the state's public
				community and junior colleges.
2.
				The MCCB also accepts the Criteria for Accreditation of SACS as the standards
				for assuring financial adequacy for all state community and junior colleges.
3. Although direct governance of
				the state's community and junior colleges is the responsibility of the local
				boards of trustees, the MCCB, through the authority established in Section
				37-4-3
				of the Mississippi Code, may request any such reports as the Board deems
				necessary to provide such information as needed to verify the fiscal condition
				of any of the state's community and junior colleges.
4. Pursuant to Section
				37-4-3,
				6(1), the MCCB will fix standards for community and junior colleges to qualify
				for state appropriations.
At its October 19, 1995, regular board meeting, the
				  Mississippi Community College Board officially adopted the Commission on
				  Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Criteria for
				  Accreditation as the basic standards for quality and accountability for the
				  state's public community and junior colleges.
The Mississippi Community College Board further accepted the
				  Criteria for Accreditation of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
				  Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as the standards for assuring
				  financial adequacy for all state community and junior colleges. In addition,
				  the Mississippi Community College Board recognizes that all of the state's
				  community and junior colleges must abide by all appertaining state and federal
				  regulations regarding the receipt, management, and expenditure of funds. Direct
				  governance of the state's community and junior colleges with regard to fiscal
				  and other areas of function is the responsibility of the local boards of
				  trustees. However, through the authority established in Section
				  37-4-3
				  of the Mississippi Code, the Mississippi Community College Board may request
				  any such reports as the Board deems advisable to provide such information as
				  needed to verify the fiscal condition of any of the state's community and
				  junior colleges.
In addition, the Mississippi Community College Board, at its
				  October 19, 1995, regular board meeting, officially adopted the following
operational guidelines for distance learning
.
1. Students enrolled in courses where
				instruction is delivered via distance learning technologies will be counted for
				audit purposes, the same as that for students enrolled via traditional delivery
				methods, with the following stipulation. State appropriations will be awarded
				only for Internet (on-line) courses that are offered through the Mississippi
				Virtual Community College using the common software platform. Internet courses
				may be defined as those that are not classroom based, content is delivered
				on-line, do not require regular campus attendance, can be accomplished from a
				remote site, and are distinguished from hybrid courses, which are merely
				Internet enhanced. Colleges will be compensated according to their roles as
				host and/or provider institutions for students and courses.
2. To evaluate properly the institution's
				distance learning activities, a separate and distinct budget should be
				maintained. Costs related to distance learning can then be evaluated in terms
				of institutional mission and goals. Further, accountability can be established
				more easily when one office has budget responsibility.
3. Institutions should make appropriate plans
				to budget sufficient amounts to cover maintenance and operational costs. User
				fees for community service activities should be set at a level to cover the
				costs associated with community service programs. Also, if state and/or federal
				funds are not appropriated for distance-learning activities, an institutional
				assessment may be required to cover state-wide system costs.
4. Grades will be assigned by the Originating
				Site instructor of record who is also considered an adjunct instructor at the
				Receive Site. The originating institution will provide the Receive Site with a
				copy of the faculty member's credentials, verified by the Originating Site
				institution and so stated in the file at the Receive Site.
5. Instructors of record will be responsible
				for evaluating students in the same way that instructors are responsible for
				evaluating on-campus students receiving instruction by traditional delivery
				methods. Institutional polices at the Originating Site institution will govern
				grading. All details will be approved by and course materials sent to the
				instructional deans of the institutions. The instructors of record will provide
				official grades for the students to Receive Site registrars. Receive Site
				registrars will provide the instructors of record a copy of the class rolls for
				the courses.
6. Notification to
				all instructional deans will be given by the Originating Site as soon as it is
				determined that a course will be offered.
7. Institutions offering courses for credit
				through distance learning activities and programs must meet all SACS criteria
				related to faculty. Whether through direct contact or other appropriate means,
				institutions offering distance learning programs must provide students with
				structured access to and interaction with faculty members.
Finally, the Mississippi Community College Board adopted the
				  following
operational guidelines as additional quantitative
				  requirements:
1. A semester
				credit hour is defined as a minimum student-teacher contact of 750 minutes for
				lecture and 1500 minutes for laboratory.
2. The minimum load for a full-time student
				is 12 semester credit hours per semester.
3. The normal load for a full-time career
				student shall be 25 clock hours per week. (Some specific programs may require
				more hours as approved by the Mississippi Community College Board.)
4. The standard teaching load in semester
				credit hours is recognized to be 15. The maximum teaching load is generally
				recognized to be 18 semester credit hours. The teaching schedule of each
				instructor should ordinarily be arranged so that a typical teaching load per
				week may vary from 450 to 600 student clock hours, depending on the type of
				class. A minimum of two hours of laboratory work shall be counted as one
				semester credit hour.
5. The Board
				recognizes only those academic courses included in the Uniform Course Numbering
				System for allocation of state funds.
Some appropriate guidelines, i.e. ALA-ACRL STANDARDS FOR
				  COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES, should be used as a reference point with regard
				  to measuring the various aspects of the library/learning resource center
				  activities
6. Pursuant to
				Section
				37-4-1,
				Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated, the Legislature has determined that the
				social, cultural and economic well being of the people of Mississippi, and
				hence the state, are enhanced by various educational experiences beyond the
				elementary and secondary school years. The Legislature thereby provided a means
				for the continuation of a system of community and junior colleges by the
				creation of the Mississippi Community College Board; and one of its powers and
				duties, Section
				37-4-3,
				(6)(I), is to fix standards for community and junior colleges to qualify for
				appropriations. Therefore, for the purpose of allocating state funds based on
				enrollment.
Academic and Technical
students must meet one
				  of the following
criteria for admissions
:
a. The completion of at least one unit less
				than the minimum acceptable high school units as prescribed by law, i.e. if the
				state requires 21 high school units to graduate, a student can be admitted into
				a community/junior college with 20 high school units; or,
b. An approved High School Equivalency
				certificate; or,
c. A High school
				diploma;
d. Mississippi
				Occupational Diploma;
e. A
				state-approved Career Certificate from a Mississippi community or junior
				college; or
f. An official
				transcript from an accredited college or university.
Career
students must meet one of the following
criteria for admissions
:
a. The completion of at least one unit less
				than the minimum acceptable high school units as prescribed by law, i.e. if the
				state requires 21 high school units to graduate, a student can be admitted into
				a community/junior college with 20 high school units; or,
b. An approved High School Equivalency
				Certificate; or,
c. A High school
				diploma;
d. Mississippi
				Occupational Diploma; or
e. A
				state-approved Career Certificate from a Mississippi community or junior
				college; or
f. An official
				transcript from an accredited college or university; or
g. The completion of a federally approved
				ability-to-benefit test.
A student not meeting the requirements stated above may be
				  admitted as non-degree seeking under the following conditions:
a. Meets the requirement to enroll in dual
				enrollment/dual credit Academic, Career or Technical Classes; OR
b. Meets the requirements to enroll in an
				approved career-pathway program that integrates Adult Basic Education (ABE)
				with skills training (Career or Technical).
By law, in addition to meeting the admissions requirements,
				  all students must meet attendance requirements. The following requirements must
				  be met by all students to be considered "in attendance."
a. A student whose last day of attendance
				occurred on or after the last class meeting of the sixth week of each semester,
				or its equivalent shall be deemed in attendance, provided that the student did
				not exceed the maximum allowed absences within the first six weeks (or its
				equivalent).
b. The following
				chart illustrates the maximum number of allowed absences within the first six
				week (or equivalent) period for various term lengths (regardless of course
				credit hours) by the number of class meetings per week.
Term Length (weeks)
Class Meetings Per Wk
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Maximum number of
allowed
absences
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
0
1
1
1
1
2
2
3
0
1
1
2
2
2
3
4
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
3
4
5
6
1
2
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
1
2
4
5
6
7
8
10
1
3
4
5
7
8
9
11
1
3
4
6
7
9
10
12
2
3
5
6
8
10
11
13
2
3
5
7
9
10
12
14
2
4
6
7
9
11
13
15
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2
4
6
9
11
13
15
17
2
5
7
9
11
14
16
18
2
5
7
10
12
14
17
c. A
				student who withdraws and is subsequently reinstated before the sixth week in a
				semester (or its equivalent) and has not missed more than the maximum allowed
				absences described above shall be deemed in attendance.
The above requirements are for the purposes of allocating
				  state appropriations, and are not to be misconstrued as required institutional
				  student admission and attendance requirements. Section
				  37-29-1
				  refers to the types of instruction community and junior colleges can offer and
				  to whom. General admission policies, according to SACS, Criteria for
				  Accreditation, 4.2.1, may be established by the governing board on
				  recommendation of the administration. Implementation of specific admission or
				  attendance policies is the responsibility of the administration and faculty of
				  each institution.