Judgment of Compliance: The College certifies COMPLIANCE.
Narrative:
"In keeping with its stated purpose of providing quality, economical, and convenient learning opportunities to meet student and community needs", the college offers a coherent course of study in 40 degree, 14 diploma, and 20 certificate programs. New programs are established as a response to local and regional labor market trends and community and student demand. Curriculums are designed and developed by WCC faculty and staff members with input from employers and advisory committee members.
In order to assure that its degree programs are based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education, Wayne Community College (WCC) adheres to the curriculum standards approval and review process required by NC General Statutes, the North Carolina Administrative Code, and the criteria of the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges. These criteria, which are administered by the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), require all of the state's community colleges to offer only State Board approved programs from existing Curriculum Program Groups System Curriculum Standards (Link requires internet connection.). If an institution wishes to initiate a new degree program, it must follow the system's Curriculum Program Application Procedures, which require the college to demonstrate, among other things, the purpose of the proposed program and how it relates to the college's mission, workforce training, and institutional effectiveness plan; the availability of employment for graduates; involvement of a planning/advisory committee or key industry representatives; adequate budgetary, faculty, library, and other resources; adherence to accreditation criteria; an appropriate curriculum design; and acceptance by senior administrators at other colleges in the system. An example of a WCC curriculum application process is the Business Administration – Operations Management program submitted by WCC and approved at the system level in 2003. The North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges must approve each application for a new curriculum program.
System-wide Curriculum Standards mandate the minimum and maximum number of semester credit hours required for associate, diploma, and certificate programs. In addition, Curriculum Standards dictate the number of "general education," "major hours," and "other major hours" requirements. The "major hours" include the core courses required for each curriculum. This list of core courses for each program, their hours, and descriptions were developed from 1995 to 1997 when the system carried out its reengineering initiative. This initiative had as its aim to convert all of the state's community colleges to the use of the semester system, to devise common curriculum standards (Link requires internet connection.) for all curriculum programs, and to establish the Common Course Library (Link requires internet connection.), a menu of State Board approved courses for use in the standard curricula. This reengineering initiative (Link requires internet connection.) was completed with the input of statewide advisory committees for each of the disciplines, which were composed of professionals from each field. During this process, discipline committees in English, mathematics, history, biology, and psychology reviewed and recommended courses needed for college/university transfer.
A Program of Study is developed at the local college level (adhering to state Curriculum Standards) before being submitted to the North Carolina Community College System office for approval. The faculty, department heads, and division heads of respective departments develop the Program of Study. Advisory Committees assist in ensuring necessary courses are included, content is appropriate, and students are prepared for successful employment upon graduation. The Business Administration – Operations Management curriculum is an example of how input from advisory committees and employers affect the courses selection and ultimate Program of Study. These advisors help ensure that graduates will gain the training and education they need to meet the workforce needs of the region. Once the instructional areas finalize the new or revised Program of Study, it is submitted to WCC’s Curriculum Committee. The Curriculum Committee is composed faculty and staff representing all areas of the campus and reviews all curriculum proposals for compliance with state and local requirements and purposes. Upon the Curriculum Committee’s approval of the new or revised Program of Study, the Curriculum Committee of the Board of Trustees reviews all documents and presents the Program of Study request to the WCC Board of Trustees for its approval. After approval by the WCC Board of Trustees, the Program of Study is sent to the North Carolina Community College System for its review process.
