Curriculum Concerns in
Program Viability and
Discontinuance Processes
Julie Bruno, Sierra College, Facilitator
Chris Hill, Grossmont College
Summer 2011 Curriculum Institute
Why Program Discontinuance?
Program discontinuance is at the forefront for a
number of reasons:
Program Review and Analysis trends
Changes in demand in the workforce
Changes in requirements from transfer institutions
Availability of human, physical, and fiscal resources
Budget concerns
What is the Definition of a Program?
Title 5 §55000(g) defines an educational program as
"an organized sequence of courses leading to a
defined objective, a degree, a certificate, a diploma,
a license, or transfer to another institution of higher
education.”
“an instructional program is defined as a discipline
and as an organized sequence or grouping of courses
leading to a defined objective such as a major,
degree, certificate, license, the acquisition of selected
knowledge or skills, or transfer to another institution
of higher education”
Statute, Regulation, and Accreditation

Title 5 §51022 requires that “Within six months of the formation of
a community college district, the governing board shall adopt and
carry out its policies for the establishment, modification, or
discontinuance of courses or programs.

Title 5 §55130 specifies that program approval is effective until the
program or implementation of the program is discontinued or
modified in any substantial way.

Title 5 §55601 requires local governing boards to appoint advisory
committees: “The governing board of each community college
district participating in a vocational education program shall appoint
a vocational education advisory committee to develop
recommendations on the program and to provide liaison between the
district and potential employers.”
Statute, Regulation, and Accreditation

Ed. Code 78016 - Every vocational or occupational
training program offered by a community college district
shall be reviewed every two years by the governing board
of the district to assure that each program, as
demonstrated by the California Occupational Labor Market
Information Program established in Section 10533 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code, or if this program is not
available in the labor market area, other available sources
of labor market information, does all of the following:



Meets a documented labor market demand
Does not represent unnecessary duplication of other
manpower training programs in the area
Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the
employment and completion success of its students.
Statute, Regulation, and Accreditation
Accreditation Standard II.A.6.b states that;
“when programs are eliminated or program
requirements are significantly changed, the
institution makes appropriate arrangements so
that enrolled students may complete their
education in a timely manner with a minimum of
disruption.”
10+1 Role of Academic Senate
The Academic Senate's primary function is to make
recommendations with respect to academic and
professional matters as follows:
Curriculum, including establishing prerequisites
and placing courses within disciplines
Degree and Certificate requirements
Educational Program Development
Title 5 §53200
Who Needs to be Involved?
Academic Senate
Governing Board
Curriculum Committee
Transfer center coordinator
Occupational Advisory Committee
Collective Bargaining Unit
Appropriate Educational Administrator(s)
Affected Faculty, Students and Staff
What is the Relationship or Linkage with
Program Review?
The longstanding position of the ASCCC has
been that the process of program discontinuance
should be kept distinct from program review.
See updated 2009, ASCCC paper entitled Program
Review: Setting a Standard.
Relationship / Linkage with Program Review
Relationship program discontinuance has to Program
Review processes and criteria:
During regular, periodic program review, principal
material is self study and institutional research.
During consideration of program discontinuance,
program review self studies are not referenced.
Institutional research data from previous as well as
current program reviews used.
During program discontinuance processes, program
faculty and administrators provide responses to and
submission of whatever information they feel pertinent.
What are the Curricular Issues?
Need to consider:
Impact on students currently within the program
Availability of program at other regional colleges
Impact on the balance of course offerings across
the curriculum
Maintain student's ability to transfer or complete a
program
Impact on other programs
Impact on local employers
What should the Criteria in a Program
Discontinuance Process Look Like?
Criteria should:
Be clearly stated
Contain uniform measures applied to all programs
Contain specific measures for categories of
programs (i.e. vocational, transfer)
Include narrative analysis of data elements by
program faculty
Be based on trends over time
Identify definite steps taken to strengthen at-risk
programs
Discussion
Activity
How is Program
Discontinuance initiated at
your college?
Case Study – Initiating Process
Saddleback CC - Program discontinuance discussions can be initiated in college
governance forums including the Planning and Budget Council, Deans Cabinet,
and the Academic Senate, as well as the individual divisions and/or departments,
the Office of the President, Vice President of Instruction and/or Vice President of
Student Services
Fullerton CC - Upon receipt of an informal proposal for discontinuance of a
program, or at his/her initiative, the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA)
shall conduct a preliminary review. Formal proposals for the discontinuance of a
program shall originate with the VPAA.
Solano CC - The Vice President of Academic Affairs and the Division Deans shall
develop a proposed list of programs to be reviewed. Individual Divisions or
Departments/Disciplines may also make proposals for the discontinuance of
courses or programs to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the Division
Deans.
Discussion
Who leads and who is involved
in Program Discontinuance at
your college?
Case Study – Working Group
Saddleback CC – Academic Senate forms a Program Discontinuance Committee
Fullerton CC – Academic Senate Executive Committee forms Ad Hoc
Discontinuance Review Subcommittee.
Solano CC - The Division Dean and the faculty for each affected Program shall
conduct a self-study of the affected Program … As soon as possible following the
completion of the self-studies, the Vice President of Academic Affairs shall notify
the Curriculum Committee and provide it with the proposed list of affected
programs and copies of the self-studies. … an Evaluation Committee shall be
initiated by the Senate to continue the process.
Irvine Valley CC - The Office of the President and the Academic Senate shall
jointly form a Program Continuance Task Force including faculty, staff,
administrators and other parties potentially affected by the decision.
Discussion
What criteria (qualitative and
quantitative) do you use to evaluate
programs in your Program
Discontinuance process?
Case Study – Evaluation Criteria
Qualitative Criteria
Quantitative Criteria
•The pedagogy of the discipline, i.e. are the
methods, analyses, and techniques currently
used appropriate and updated?
•The balance of college curriculum
•The effect on students as a result of the
discontinuance of the program, including
their ability to complete a degree/certificate
or transfer
•The potential for a disproportionate impact
on diversity
•The quality of the program
•The replication of programs
•Enrollment trends over the past five years.
•The projected demand for the program in
the future.
•The persistence of students in the program.
•Frequency of course section offerings.
•Term to term persistence (significantly
below the college average) of students within
the program.
•Retention or success rates (significantly
below the college average) of students.
•Productivity in terms of WSCH per FTE
ratios.
•Success rate of students passing state and
national licensing exams
Case Study – Recommendation Options
Recommendation to Continue
Recommendation to Continue with Qualifications –
includes a timeline, interventions, and expected outcomes
Recommendation to Discontinue – includes:
Timeline for phasing out program
Plan for implementing collective bargaining requirements
Any external licensing or regulatory recommendations
Case Study – Final Steps
Saddleback CC – Recommendations are forwarded to Academic Senate, then to
College President.
Fullerton CC - The Ad Hoc Subcommittee shall forward its recommendation to the
Planning Resource Budget Committee. The PRBC shall forward its
recommendation to the Academic Senate, then it goes to the College President.
Solano CC - Following submission of the Evaluation Committee report to the
Curriculum Committee, the Curriculum Committee shall vote, after full discussion
with the Evaluation Committee members and all relevant constituencies, on
whether the Program should be modified, continued or discontinued. The
Curriculum Committee forwards its recommendations to the College President
with a copy to the Academic Senate.
Irvine Valley CC – Task Force makes recommendations to the Academic Senate,
who then make a recommendation to the VPI. VPI carries the recommendation to
the President's Executive Council.
Concluding Thoughts
Program discontinuance should include:
Well-articulated board and administrative policy
Discussion involving a number of groups including the
Academic Senate, appropriate administrators, affected
faculty, appropriate community members, as well as the
collective bargaining unit
Careful consideration of qualitative and quantitative
criteria
Process for recommendations that focus on helping
identify a program's weaknesses and needs and providing
guidance for improvement, rather than just on elimination
Questions or Comments?