West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 135 - Community And Technical College Education › Title 135 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE EDUCATION › Series 135-11 - Degree Designation, General Education Requirements, New Program Approval, and Discontinuance of Existing Programs › Section 135-11-2 - Purpose

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
2.1. Certificate
				and associate degree programs are central to the mission of community and
				technical colleges. They are a means through which the institution develops and
				maintains integrity in its educational programs. Appropriately defined, these
				degrees become an integrating force for the institution, set academic standards
				and goals for achievement of students, and establish the relationship between
				the college and other institutions at community college and baccalaureate
				college levels.
The associate degree program establishes the community
				  college vision of what it means to be an educated person and affirms the
				  college's commitment to program coherence, continuity, and student success.
				  Awarding the associate degree is a way by which an institution indicates the
				  student has completed a program of academic development and has achieved a
				  level of performance reflected in student learning outcomes sufficient to
				  progress to upper division collegiate work or to enter directly into specific
				  occupations in the workplace. The associate degree is recognized by
				  baccalaureate degree-granting institutions and by employers as a critical
				  indicator a student has demonstrated proficiencies at levels deemed appropriate
				  to enter upper-division college programs or to enter a field of work.
				  Certificate and associate degree programs must consist of a coherent and
				  sequenced set of courses, including an evaluation procedure that assesses the
				  outcomes of the learning process.
All degree programs must include a complement of general
				  education requirements appropriate to the level of the degree. Therefore, it is
				  the purpose of this policy to adopt and require the use of nationally
				  standardized nomenclature regarding certificate and associate degrees and the
				  nationally promulgated standards for the general education components of the
				  respective degrees. It is the goal of this policy to ensure a common
				  understanding of the associate degrees awarded by West Virginia community and
				  technical colleges; to promote the transferability and portability of degrees
				  among the colleges and with baccalaureate degree granting institutions; and to
				  foster recognition of the degrees as a respected credential for
				  employment.
The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College
				  Education is charged by statute with general authority for academic program
				  approval for West Virginia community and technical colleges. To facilitate the
				  discharge of these responsibilities, the procedures and format included within
				  this rule shall be followed by each institution in submitting to the chancellor
				  for consideration by the Council proposals to establish academic
				  programs.