New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 9A - HIGHER EDUCATION › Chapter 1 - LICENSURE RULES › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL STANDARDS › Section 9A:1-1.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Academic degree" means any associate degree, baccalaureate degree, master's degree, or doctoral degree regardless of the specific discipline in which it was awarded.
"Academic degree completion program" means a baccalaureate degree program consisting of at least 120 semester credit hours offered by a baccalaureate degree-granting institution for students who have earned transferable credit hours from another institution of higher education that are applicable to the baccalaureate degree program. In an academic degree completion program, the baccalaureate degree-granting institution shall offer course work totaling 26 percent or more of the credits required for the baccalaureate degree.
"Academic department" means a subdivision of an institution of higher education designated as such that is responsible for instruction and/or research in a specific discipline or disciplines.
"Academic disciplines" means the major areas of study identified in the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), that is, the first two digits of the CIP code, developed by the National Center for Education Statistics, 2010, incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented. The CIP may be obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics website at
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode
.
"Accreditation" and "accredited" both mean a status attained by an institution through voluntarily meeting standards for academic degree programs and/or college credit-bearing courses set by a nongovernmental entity recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
"Additional location" means a location, other than a branch campus, that is geographically apart from the main campus and at which the institution physically offers at least 50 percent of an educational program.
"Adequate, appropriate, equivalent, significant, suitable, and sufficient" mean adequate, appropriate, equivalent, significant, suitable, and sufficient in the judgment of the Secretary in consultation with the Presidents' Council.
"Adjunct faculty" means one who is employed to teach on a course-by-course or credit basis.
"Blended (or hybrid) learning" means a formal educational process in which a part of the instruction occurs when the learner and the instructor are physically located in the same place at the same time, but a part of the instruction occurs by distance learning.
"Branch campus" means a physical facility located at a place other than the institution's principal campus offering one or more complete programs leading to a degree.
"Changing the programmatic mission" means changing the level of academic degrees authorized for the institution.
"Closure" means the cessation of operations by an institution of higher education, or a proprietary institution licensed to offer academic degrees.
"College credit-bearing course" means an instructional activity upon a student's successful completion of which an institution of higher education awards recognition applicable to meeting the requirements for a degree or other formal academic award.
"College credit-bearing distance learning" means a distance learning activity upon a student's successful completion of which an institution of higher education awards recognition applicable to meeting the requirements for a degree or other formal academic award.
"College," "institution," or "institution of higher education" means a postsecondary educational institution that provides instruction beyond the 12th grade level in programs that satisfy the requirements for a degree at the associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level, and which, with the exception of institutions that have a specialty mission, offers a range of degree programs. A college has an independent board of trustees. It has a faculty whose duties may include the instruction of students, involvement in scholarship and research, or some combination of both the instruction of students and involvement in scholarship and research. A college has policies and procedures that encourage the academic officers and the faculty to exercise their full responsibility for the academic direction of the institution. A community college or county college is an institution of higher education that offers the associate degree only. A senior college offers degrees up to the baccalaureate level and/or offers graduate and professional degrees. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term "college" as used in this chapter refers to higher education institutions generally.
"Commission" means the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, which was the State-level planning and coordinating agency for higher education in New Jersey until June 29, 2011, when all functions, powers, duties, and personnel of the Commission were transferred to the Secretary of Higher Education, pursuant to Reorganization Plan No. 005-2011.
"Direct State support" means monetary funds or other forms of material support that are provided directly to an institution by an instrumentality of the State. Direct State support includes, but is not limited to, appropriations and bond funds that have been directed to an institution by an instrumentality of the State.
"Disorderly closure" means a closure that does not meet the requirements at P.L. 2021, c. 27.
"Distance learning" means a formal educational process in which instruction occurs when the learner and the instructor are not physically located in the same place at the same time.
"Educational delivery mode" means a formal educational process involving either blended (or hybrid) learning, distance learning, or traditional face-to-face learning.
"Educational program" means a group of related courses, organized for the purpose of attaining specified educational objectives.
"Eligible transfer institution" means an institution of higher education or a proprietary institution licensed to offer academic degrees that has been approved by the Secretary pursuant to P.L. 2021, c. 27.
"Exceeding the programmatic mission" means offering an academic degree beyond the authorized level for the institution.
"Full-time faculty member" is one who is appointed as such and who occupies a full-time faculty position with academic rank or other equivalent title whose primary employment is directly related to teaching, research, other aspects of the educational programs of institutions, or some combination thereof.
"Full-time student" means one who, in a semester, carries at least 12 semester credit hours as an undergraduate or nine semester credit hours as a graduate student or the equivalent in quarter hours, courses, or other methods of measurement used by the institution.
"General education" means instruction that presents forms of expression, fields of knowledge, and methods of inquiry fundamental to intellectual growth and to a mature understanding of the world and the human condition, as distinguished from "specialized education," which prepares individuals for particular occupations or specific professional responsibilities.
"Indirect State support" means monetary funds or other forms of material support that are provided by an instrumentality of the State, but are not directed to the recipient institution by an instrumentality of the State. Indirect State support includes, but is not limited to, State student assistance grant and scholarship programs that have been directed to an institution by a student.
"Information literacy" means a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed, have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information, and observe laws, regulations, and institutional policies related to the access and use of information.
"Institutional debt" means:
(1) the amount outstanding on any credit, including unpaid charges, extended by or on behalf of an institution of higher education or a proprietary institution licensed to offer academic degrees that a student is obligated to repay, whether the amount has been reduced to a judgment or the institution classifies it as a loan; or
(2) a non-Federal loan or debt agreement that is issued expressly for postsecondary education expenses and that is guaranteed by an institution of higher education or a proprietary institution, or a private educational lender that is affiliated with an institution of higher education or proprietary institution.
"Institutional financial aid agreement" means any contract, promissory note, part of an enrollment agreement, or other agreement in which a student agrees to pay an institutional debt.
"Letters" means the designated abbreviations used to refer to an academic degree.
"Library" means a physical space conducive to learning and research, providing patrons with efficient physical and/or electronic access to books, journals, databases, and other resource materials in support of the curriculum, and offering the assistance of qualified library professional(s), librarians, and support staff.
"Orderly closure" means a closure that meets the requirements at P.L. 2021, c. 27.
"OSHE" means the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
" Out-of-State institution" means an institution that is located within the United States or its possessions and is not incorporated in the State of New Jersey and whose accreditation status in New Jersey is based upon a location outside the State, as well as an institution located outside of the U.S. or its possessions that is recognized by the appropriate body in the particular country if the institution's requirements for awarding degrees are generally equivalent to those accepted in the U.S. by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
"Part-time faculty member" means one whose employment is related to teaching, research, and/or other aspects of the educational programs of the institution but whose assigned responsibilities do not constitute full-time work.
"Physical presence" means that an entity offers college credit-bearing courses from, or conducts some portion of the learning experience at, a physical location established in New Jersey by the entity, whether established directly or under the auspices of another entity or an institution, except in an instance where an interstate agreement that New Jersey is a party to, delineates any particular activity as not constituting a physical presence in the State and the offering entity is both licensed in a signatory state to that delineating agreement and authorized by the signatory state to operate pursuant to that delineating agreement.
"Presidents' Council" means the New Jersey Presidents' Council, a statutory body established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:3B-7.
"Program outcomes" means the broad set of goals identifying the comprehensive integration of skills, abilities, knowledge, or values gained that students should be able to demonstrate upon completion of an academic degree program.
"Programmatic mission" means all program offerings consistent with the levels of academic degrees or certificates that the institution has been authorized to grant by the State Board of Higher Education prior to July 1, 1994, or approved thereafter by either the Commission or the Secretary.
"Proprietary institution" means a postsecondary institution that is operated for profit.
"Qualified library professional" means an individual who has earned a master of library science degree from an American Library Association accredited program.
"School" ordinarily means a major subdivision of a college or university that is organized to carry out instruction and/or research in related academic and/or professional fields.
"Secretary" means the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education.
"Seeking accreditation" means that an institution has achieved candidacy status or the equivalent standing as evidenced by meeting standards for academic degree programs and/or college credit-bearing courses set by a nongovernmental entity recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
"Semester credit hour" means 150 minutes of academic work each week for 15 weeks in one semester, which is typically accomplished by 50 minutes of face-to-face class activity each week complemented by at least 100 minutes each week of laboratory or outside assignments (or the equivalent thereof for semesters of different length) but may also be accomplished through an equivalent amount of academic work as established by an institution, which may include additional class time, laboratory work, internships, practical studio work, and other forms of academic work.
"Specialty mission" means an institutional mission that is primarily focused on a single academic area.
"Student" means an individual enrolled at an institution of higher education or a proprietary institution licensed to offer academic degrees in New Jersey, or a New Jersey resident enrolled at an institution of higher education or proprietary institution located outside of this State.
"Student learning outcomes" means specific statements describing measurable skills, abilities, knowledge, or values that students should be able to demonstrate in order to show their achievement and mastery, upon the successful completion of a college credit-bearing course.
"Teach-out agreement" means a written agreement between institutions that provides for the equitable treatment of students and a reasonable opportunity for students to complete their program of study if an institution, or an institutional location that provides 100 percent of at least one program offered, ceases to operate before all enrolled students have completed their program of study.
"Teach-out plan" means a written plan developed by the institution that provides for the equitable treatment of students if an institution, or an institutional location, ceases to operate before all students have completed their program of study, and may include, if required by the institution's accrediting agency, a teach-out agreement between institutions.
"Traditional face-to-face learning" means a formal educational process in which all of the instruction takes place in the classroom or in out-of-class instruction under the direct supervision of the instructor.
"University" means an institution of higher education that provides undergraduate studies leading to the baccalaureate degree in a broad range of academic disciplines, as well as graduate studies leading to advanced degrees in at least three academic and/or professional fields.