(A) Authority
This rule is adopted under the authority conferred upon the
chancellor of higher education by section
1713.03 of the Revised
Code.
(B) General
(1) All institutions as defined in section
1713.01 of the Revised Code must
demonstrate compliance with the chancellor of higher education's (chancellor)
standards for academic programs as outlined in the Ohio department of higher
education manual, titled "Guidelines and Procedures for Academic Program
Review" and dated August 2, 2016 (herein after referred to as the "manual").
Compliance with the standards ensures that basic expectations for academic
degrees or instruction creditable toward such degrees are met by each
institution that operates in the state. Institutions are responsible for
maintaining all academic programming in accordance with the standards and for
notifying the chancellor, as outlined in the manual, of any substantive change.
When compliance is demonstrated, the institution is granted a certificate of
authorization.
(2) The manual is
available on the chancellor's website.
(C) Initial authorization
(1) Certificates of authorization
shall
may be
issued by the chancellor to a nonprofit or for-profit university, college,
academy, school, or other institution, incorporated or unincorporated, which
offers instruction in one or more fields such as technical education, the arts
and sciences, teacher education, business administration, engineering,
philosophy, literature, fine arts, law, medicine, nursing, social work,
theology, and other recognized academic and professional fields of study as
required by Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code.
(2) Applicants for authorization shall
certify that the incorporated or unincorporated institution represents an
organization established for the principal purposes of teaching and scholarship
and that the institution is not, through its stated purposes, its financial
resources, the make-up of its governing board or administrative staff, or
otherwise, effectively subservient to any organization or group of persons
principally dedicated to purposes other than teaching and scholarship. This
provision shall
does not prohibit the chancellor from reviewing and
authorizing degree programs by duly constituted religious bodies otherwise
meeting the requirements of Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code and outlined in
this rule.
(3) Applicants for
authorization must demonstrate compliance with the chancellor's standards for
academic programs which cover institutional accreditation, mission and
governance, institutional and program resources and facilities, academic
policies, student support services, curriculum, faculty capacity and
credentialing and assessment. The standards and their implementation are
further described in the manual.
(4) An application for a certificate of
authorization
shall
is to be submitted to the chancellor with the required
fees provided in rule
3333-1-13 of the Administrative
Code. The institution's programs
shall
will be evaluated using the standards and
processes outlined in the manual.
(a)
Proposals for the authorization of undergraduate degrees such as the associate
of arts, associate of science, bachelor of arts and bachelor of science
shall
will be
evaluated using the processes outlined in the manual and authorization
shall
will
ordinarily be granted for the full range of individual programs of instruction
commonly recognized by award of these general degrees. Individual approval for
fields of specialization within such general degrees will ordinarily not be
required and will not be separately listed on the certificates of
authorization.
(b) Proposals for
the authorization of specialized undergraduate technical and professional
education programs, such as, but not limited to, the associate of applied
business in accounting, associate of applied science in respiratory therapy,
bachelor of music, bachelor of science in nursing, bachelor of fine arts, and
so forth shall
will be evaluated independently using the processes
outlined in the manual and authorization of such will be separately listed on
the certificates of authorization.
(c) Proposals for the authorization of
programs at the masters and doctoral levels, whether resulting in award of the
general degrees such as, but not limited to, the master of arts, master of
science, and doctor of philosophy or in particular fields of specialization
such as, but not limited to, the master of business administration, master of
social work, master of fine arts, doctor of education or the doctor of business
administration and so forth shall
will be evaluated independently using the
processes outlined in the manual and authorization of such will be listed
separately on the certificates of authorization.
(d) Proposals for the authorization of
programs that lead to educator preparation licenses and endorsements
shall
will be
evaluated independently using the processes outlined in the manual and
the requirements of
as specified in rule 3333-1-16
3333-1-05
of the Administrative Code and authorization of such will be listed on the
chancellor's website.
(e) Proposals
for the authorization of programs at off-campus sites or using online or
flexibly scheduled course delivery shall
will be evaluated using the processes outlined in
the manual and authorization of such will be listed separately on the
certificates of authorization.
(5) Following application, each institution
seeking initial authorization
shall
will be examined by representatives of the
chancellor for the purposes of assessing the institution's compliance with the
standards outlined in the manual. The institution
must
is responsible
for
bear
bearing the costs of the examination as specified in
rule
3333-1-13 of the Administrative
Code.
(6) At the conclusion of the
examination process, a recommendation regarding initial authorization shall be
posted on the chancellor's website for a ten-day public comment period. At the
conclusion of the public comment period, the recommendation and public comments
will be presented to the chancellor for final consideration and
approval.
(7) Upon the chancellor's
determination that an applicant institution is entitled to a certificate of
authorization, an appropriate certificate attesting this action by the
chancellor shall
will be issued to the applicant institution and the
institution shall be
is entitled to indicate, where appropriate,
"certificate of authorization received from the chancellor of higher education"
in its official publications. If the institution is incorporated, the
institution shall file a copy of the certificate of authorization with the
secretary of state as required by section
1713.02 of the Revised
Code.
(D) Expansion of
the scope of authorization
(1) An institution
seeking authorization to expand the array of degree programs listed on its
current certificate of authorization
shall
will be evaluated using the standards and
processes outlined in the manual and
shall
will be subject to fees and expenses for such
evaluation
, as specified in rule
3333-1-13 of the Administrative
Code.
(2) An institution seeking
authorization to change the way that its educational programs are offered
(i.e., at off-campus sites or using online or flexibly scheduled course
delivery) shall submit change request materials using the processes outlined in
the manual.
(3) Proposals for the
authorization of programs that lead to educator preparation licenses and
endorsements shall
will be evaluated independently using the processes
outlined in the manual and the requirements
of
as specified in rule
3333-1-16
3333-1-05 of the Administrative Code and authorization
of such will be listed on the chancellor's website.
(4) The chancellor may request additional
material or conduct a site visit in reviewing any request for expansion of the
scope of authorization if, in the chancellor's determination, the information
submitted requires additional consideration.
(5) If the institution is incorporated, the
institution shall file a copy of the amended certificate of authorization with
the secretary of state as required by section
1713.02 of the Revised
Code.
(E) Institutional
reauthorization
All institutions authorized to operate in the state of Ohio
shall undergo periodic reauthorization to ensure that the institution is
following the standards outlined in the manual. To avoid duplicative and
burdensome review processes, reauthorization reviews are completed in
conjunction with the institution's regional, national or institutional
specialized accreditor.
Applicants for reauthorization shall
will be
evaluated using the standards and processes outlined in the manual and
shall
will be
subject to fees and expenses for such evaluation as specified in rule
3333-1-13 of the Administrative
Code.
(F) Authorized
institutions undergoing a major change
Authorized institutions shall inform the chancellor whenever
changes occur that might affect the institution's ability to deliver its
academic programs in compliance with the standards outlined in the manual.
Major changes include, but are not limited to, a change of status (public,
private not-for-profit, private for-profit), a change of ownership, or a change
in regional, national, or specialized institutional or professional
accreditation status. Institutions shall notify the chancellor when such
changes occur so that the appropriate steps can be taken to ensure continuing
authorization of the institution and its programs, or if necessary, begin the
initial authorization process.
The necessary steps may range from a formal letter to the
chancellor explaining the change (for changes that are expected to have minimal
impact on the institution's ability to deliver its programs) to a
re-authorization of the institution and its programs, including a proposal,
site visit and provisional authorization period (for changes that are expected
to impact substantially the institution's ability to deliver its programs). The
chancellor's staff members will work with institutions on a case-by-case basis
to determine the steps needed to maintain authorization, or if necessary, the
steps needed for initial authorization, and will coordinate authorization
activities with the appropriate accreditors and state agencies.
(G) Chancellor-initiated review of
authorization
The chancellor reserves the right to review an institution
holding a certificate of authorization if the chancellor has reasonable belief
that state standards as set forth in the manual are not being met or that any
major change listed in paragraph (E) of this rule has occurred.
The chancellor's staff members will work with institutions on a
case-by-case basis to determine the steps needed to maintain authorization, or
if necessary, the steps needed for initial authorization, and will coordinate
authorization activities with the appropriate accreditors and state
agencies.
(H) Revocation of
certificate of authorization
Pursuant to section
1713.04 of the Revised Code, a
certificate of authorization is subject to revocation for cause, which includes
but is not limited to, non-compliance with the standards set forth in this rule
and the manual or failure of the institution to affirm that it follows such
standards as is required by paragraph (A) of this rule.
