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.
