South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 62 - STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION › Article I - LICENSING NONPUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS › Section 62-11 - Program and Instructor Requirements for Associate Degree Programs

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Associate degree
			 programs are lower-division college programs which typically consist of courses
			 that full-time students may complete in a minimum of two academic years, i.e.,
			 six to eight academic quarters or four academic semesters. Courses offered in
			 non-traditional formats, e.g., concentrated or abbreviated time periods, must
			 be designed to ensure an opportunity for preparation, reflection, and analysis
			 concerning the subject matter. At least one calendar week of reflection and
			 analysis should be provided to students for each semester hour of credit
			 awarded (or equivalent for a quarter schedule so that a four-and-one-half
			 quarter hour course could be offered in no less than three weeks or a three
			 quarter-hour course could be offered in no less than two weeks).
B. The curriculum shall consist of at least
			 ninety quarter hours or sixty semester hours and, except for a highly
			 specialized curriculum, a maximum generally of one hundred ten quarter credit
			 hours or seventy-three semester credit hours of instruction. The curriculum
			 must include a minimum of fifteen semester hours or equivalent in general
			 education courses to include at least one (three semester-hour) course in each
			 of the following areas: the humanities/fine arts, the social/behavioral
			 sciences, and the natural sciences/mathematics. The curriculum must provide
			 components designed to ensure competence in reading, writing, oral
			 communication, fundamental mathematical skills, and basic use of
			 computers.
C. The Associate in Arts
			 and Associate in Science degrees primarily prepare the student to transfer to
			 an upper-division baccalaureate degree program. To qualify as a transfer
			 program, a minimum of fifty percent of credit hours required for completion of
			 that program shall consist of college-level courses in the arts and
			 sciences.
D. Occupational degrees
			 must include at least fifty percent of quarter or semester hours of related
			 technical course instruction.
E.
			 Associate degree programs designed primarily for immediate employment should be
			 designated as an Associate in Applied Science degree, or other appropriate
			 title, and identified with a specialty designation. This identification of a
			 specialty or major implies relevant preparation for employment in a specific
			 area of work (e.g., Associate in Applied Science, Computer
			 Technology).
F.
			 Remedial/developmental/deficiency/refresher courses shall not be credited
			 toward a degree.
G. Faculty members
			 who teach general education courses (humanities/fine arts, social/behavioral
			 sciences and natural sciences/mathematics) or professional, occupational, and
			 technical courses designed for college transfer must have completed at least
			 eighteen graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline and hold at least a
			 master's degree or hold the minimum of the master's degree with a major in the
			 teaching discipline. Exceptions to academic preparation may be made only with
			 the prior consent of the Commission.
H. Faculty members who teach courses in
			 professional, occupational, and technical areas that do not usually result in
			 college transfer or in the continuation of students in senior institutions,
			 must possess appropriate academic preparation (usually a bachelor's degree) or
			 academic preparation coupled with work experience. The minimum academic degree
			 for faculty teaching in professional, occupational and technical areas must be
			 in a related field and at the same level at which the faculty member is
			 teaching. Exceptions to academic preparation may be made only with the prior
			 consent of the Commission.
I. An
			 institution must employ faculty members whose highest earned degree presented
			 as the credential qualifying the faculty member to teach at the institution is
			 from an institution accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S.
			 Department of Education. Exceptions may be made only with the prior consent of
			 the Commission.
J. Notwithstanding
			 the above requirements, the Commission may license out-of-state institutions
			 accredited by a recognized accrediting agency to recruit in South
			 Carolina.